News 08:00

BULLETIN 17 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament responds to complaints over a parliamentary delegation visiting Russia
# The government plans to attract 750-billion-rand for Special Economic Zones
# And, over 500 are feared dead in two suspected shipwrecks off the Myanmar coast

# National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, and National Council of Provinces chairperson, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, say they have noted the concerns raised by some political parties regarding the parliamentary delegation currently undertaking an official bilateral working visit to Russia. Except for one Al Jama‑ah MP, the five‑member delegation is composed entirely of ANC MPs, a decision the MK Party says violates long‑standing parliamentary conventions requiring delegations to reflect proportional representation. Parliament spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, says the complaints will be dealt with through the appropriate parliamentary processes:

# The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition says government is targeting 750-billion-rand worth of investments for Special Economic Zones in the current fiscal year. The zones are geographically designated areas that offer world-class infrastructure, streamlined administrative processes, and a range of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives aimed at attracting investment and supporting industrial development. To date, the SEZ programme has attracted over 31-billion-rand in investment from 224 companies and created more than 28-thousand direct jobs. The department says it plans to raise the capital from infrastructure investments, development finance institutions, and other lenders.

# Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has warned that the metro only has enough funds to sustain operations for the next 12 days. The metro owes Eskom approximately 3.7-billion-rand and Rand Water about 1.2-billion-rand. It is set to pay 1.4-billion-rand to the power utility later this month and 960-million-rand to Rand Water. Johannesburg has regularised 1.8-billion-rand in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure. Morero says they are awaiting an equitable share transfer from the National Treasury, which is expected next week, to cover critical bills:

# Two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days. This is according to the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations Refugee Agency. The vessels left Myanmar’s Rakhine State last month carrying mostly ethnic minority Rohingya passengers, reportedly ​including some from refugee camps in Bangladesh. The UN agencies say that if verified, this tragedy would add to the nearly 300 people reported to be missing or to have lost their lives in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal so far this year, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals. 

# Golf: American Jackson Suber leads the 154th Open Championship on five under par 65 after the opening round at Royal Birkdale in England. The 26-year-old, who is making his Open debut and first visit to Europe, holds a one-shot lead over England’s Dan Brown and South Korea’s Im Sung-jae. Defending champion American Scottie Scheffler opened with a two-under 68; Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy opened his bid for a seventh major title with a disappointing two-over 72. Suber says he enjoyed the opening round:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-45-cents and the euro at 18-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-15-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-637-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-996-dollars-31-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….