News 08:00

BULLETIN 29 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA demands transparency on the SETA appointments
# The National Assembly approves three nominees to fill Election Commission vacancies
# And Hurricane Melissa is heading towards Cuba after causing extensive damage in Jamaica

# The DA says South Africans have a right to know who is managing 20-billion-rand in taxpayers’ money. The party is demanding that Higher Education and Training minister Buti Manamela release the full list of Sector Education and Training Authority accounting authority appointments made last month, including the names, backgrounds, and sectors represented. The DA’s Karabo Khakhau warns that keeping this information secret undermines public trust:

# The National Assembly has approved a motion to recommend three candidates for appointment as Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa. The nominees are Joyce Pitso, Judge Dhana Pillay, and Mosotho Moepya. Parliament says the appointment process is designed to ensure transparency and integrity. The names will be sent to president Cyril Ramaphosa. Upon appointment by the president, the three nominees will fill vacancies that will arise on 4 November, when the terms of office of the current chairperson and two other commissioners expire.

# The GOOD Party says Cape Town cannot claim to be a world-class city while families on the Cape Flats are living under gunfire. At least 22 murders were reported across Cape Flats communities over the weekend. The GOOD’s secretary general, Brett Herron, says families on the Cape Flats deserve the same security, dignity, and protection afforded to tourists and those in the metro’s wealthier neighbourhoods. He adds that safety cannot be a privilege reserved for the few:

# Hurricane Melissa is heading towards eastern Cuba after crossing Jamaica as the strongest storm ever to hit the Caribbean nation in modern history. The storm has weakened to a category three but is expected to remain powerful with wind speeds of 125 kilometres per hour. Melissa is responsible for seven deaths, three in Jamaica during storm preparations, three in Haiti, and one in the Dominican Republic. Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, told CNN that the island has been declared a disaster area:

# Soccer: Banyana Banyana have booked their place in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, after beating the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in the second leg qualifier in Soweto. The two nations locked horns in the first leg in Kinshasa last week, playing to a 1-1 draw. A second-half goal from Thembi Kgatlana in the second leg secured the victory and a 15th Wafcon appearance. A semifinal finish for South Africa at Wafon would punch their ticket to the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-14-cents and the euro at 19-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 112-thousand-520-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-965-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….