News 08:00

BULLETIN 12 May 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF says it will oppose president Ramaphosa’s review of the Section 89 report
# The DA says the president’s decision to review the Section 89 report must not delay accountability
# And, there are growing calls for the British prime minister to set out a timetable for his resignation

# The EFF says president Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to proceed with a judicial review application against the Section 89 Phala Phala report is fundamentally opportunistic. The Constitutional Court cleared the path last Friday for a public impeachment hearing into the president’s conduct in the theft of money from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. The EFF’s Sinawo Thambo says it is not surprising that Ramaphosa is exhausting every political and legal mechanism to evade accountability:

Meanwhile, the DA says Ramaphosa’s decision to take the Section 89 panel report on the Phala Phala matter on review must not be used to delay the work of Parliament. The Constitutional Court ruling found that Parliament acted irrationally in December 2022 when it blocked the referral of the panel report into the president’s conduct to an impeachment committee. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says Ramaphosa should bring any review application with due haste and on an expedited basis:

# The United National Transport Union has declared a dispute at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and has threatened to embark on a strike. This comes after a wage deadlock with the port logistics company South African Cargo Services. Untu is demanding an 11.8-percent wage increase, which is almost four times the inflation rate, while the company is offering a 3.5-percent increase. The union says that, from the outset, SA Cargo Services has approached the latest round of wage negotiations with arrogance, secrecy, and contempt for workers.

# UK prime minister Keir Starmer is set to hold a crucial cabinet meeting today, amidst growing calls from members of his government to set out a timetable for his resignation. Last week’s local elections saw the Labour party lose almost one-thousand council seats across England, while Reform UK made massive gains. The party also lost power in Wales, where it had enjoyed political dominance for a century. In a speech on Monday, Starmer promised to prove his “doubters” wrong:

# Cricket: The Delhi Capitals defeated the Punjab Kings by three wickets to remain in contention of making the playoffs in the Indian Premier League. Captain Shreyas Iyer smashed an unbeaten 59 as Punjab scored 210 for five in their 20 overs. In reply, Axar Patel and David Miller scored 56 and 51 respectively, and shared a 64-run fifth-wicket stand, to power the Capitals to victory with an over to spare. This is Punjab’s fourth successive defeat, keeping them fourth on the table.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-46-cents and the euro at 19-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-37-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-209-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-727-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 103-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….