News 08:00

BULLETIN 22 February 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Steenhuisen receives the first shipment of one million high-potency FMD vaccines
# SANRAL increases toll tariffs
# And rugby, the Lions reaches the URC top eight after beating the Sharks

# The minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, has officially received the first shipment of one-million high-potency foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. It arrived at OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni from from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina. Steenhuisen says the vaccines mark a decisive turning point in protecting South Africa’s livestock industry. He says by end of March more five-million vaccines would have entered the country from the three international suppliers:

# Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa says the upcoming local government elections are expected to be highly contested, reflecting the vibrancy and maturity of South Africa’s constitutional democracy. Hlabisa convened the first meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections for this year. The department’s spokesperson, Pearl Maseko-Binqose says government need to intensify civic and democracy education initiatives to enhance voter awareness and participation in the municipal elections:

# Eskom says its generation performance continues to show steady and measurable improvement, reinforcing the reliability of South Africa’s power system and supporting confidence in the wider economy. Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says improvements in plant availability, together with reduced unplanned outages, have strengthened the stability of the national grid. She says these gains, enabled by the generation recovery plan, are contributing to long-term energy security and helping sustain uninterrupted supply:

# The South African National Roads Agency has announced an adjustment to the toll tariffs effective from the first of next month. SANRAL’s spokesperson Vusi Mona says the annual toll tariffs will increase by 3.12-percent, as published in the government gazette this month. This rate is less than last year’s adjustment of 4.85-percent. Mona explained that toll revenue is necessary to maintain, operate, and improve toll roads, as well as servicing debt incurred to implement a toll road project.

# American president Donald Trump said on Saturday he will raise a temporary tariff from 10 to 15-percent on US imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law. The move came after Trump announced a 10-percent across-the-board tariff on Friday, after a court decision that the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law. Trade experts and congressional aides are sceptical that Congress would extend the tariffs. Recent polls showed growing numbers of Americans blame the duties for higher prices.

# Rugby:  The Lions powered their way into the United Rugby Championship top eight on Saturday. They overcame two yellow cards to defeat the Sharks 34-22 in Johannesburg for an invaluable bonus-point win in their rescheduled round eight clash. The victory is expected to boost the Lions’ confidence significantly going into the rest of the tournament.  The URC returns with a full round next weekend, when the Lions host the Stormers at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, while the Sharks will travel to Pretoria to take on the Bulls at Loftus.

Stay tuned for more news………….