News 08:00

BULLETIN 31 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Kubayi says they are busy appointing an acting IDAC head
# The Political Killings Task Team has found the body of a missing EFF member
# And, Masala Makutu secures South Africa’s first track and field medal at the Commonwealth Games

# Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says they are in the process of appointing an acting head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption. This follows the resignation of former head Andrea Johnson, who concluded her six-day marathon testimony before the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday. Kubayi says she has decided against promoting someone from IDAC’s current leadership, emphasising that she does not want to perpetuate the problems the entity is facing even further:

# Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance says the appointment of deputy minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Seiso Mohai, as the Public Investment Corporation board chairperson is a significant step towards strengthening governance stability. He replaces deputy minister of Finance David Masondo, who became the sixth person to step down from the PIC board last week. The committee’s chairperson, doctor Joe Maswanganyi, says they are confident that Mohai, together with the board, will provide stable and effective leadership while ensuring that the PIC remains firmly focused on fulfilling its mandate.

# The Gauteng Political Killings Task Team has found the body of EFF member Aaron Makola, who was reported missing in Bronkhorstspruit. The 51-year-old went missing on 10 July and a day later his vehicle was found abandoned. National spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says the task team took over the investigation after meeting with Makola’s family and obtaining crucial new information about his disappearance. She says an extensive investigation led members of the task team to Delmas, Mpumalanga, yesterday, where the EFF member was found:

# US president Donald Trump says the Board of Peace, which consists of over 20 countries, has reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. In a post on Truth Social, he says that as disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilisation Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbours. Trump says the agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases.

# Commonwealth Games: Paralympian Masala Makutu secured South Africa’s first track and field medal at the Games in Glasgow, winning silver in the men’s T12 100-metres final. The 20-year-old finished in a personal best time of 11.04 seconds. Sinesipho Dambile produced a blistering 19.82-second performance, the second fastest time ever recorded in the Games, to book his place in the men’s 200-metres final. Meanwhile, the women’s netball team has bowed out of medal contention after going down 58-54 to England. South Africa’s medal tally stands at 23.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-51-cents and the euro at 18-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-310-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-74-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….