News 08:00

BULLETIN 24 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa unveils the National Water Action Plan
# The chairperson of the Public Investment Corporation board, David Masondo, has resigned
# And, Britain is ready to defend itself against Iran

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled the National Water Action Plan, aimed at addressing the root causes of the water supply challenges in many municipalities. The plan outlines strategic interventions to address the water crisis over the short, medium and long term. In February, he announced the establishment of the National Water Crisis Committee, now known as Watercom, vowing to bring an end to the crippling water crisis. Ramaphosa says the plan outlines a clear and practical approach to ensure water security for all citizens:

# Deputy minister of Finance, David Masondo, has resigned as the Public Investment Corporation board chairperson, amid a governance crisis engulfing South Africa’s largest asset manager. His resignation follows the precautionary suspension of CEO Patrick Dlamini and the resignation of six non-executive directors. Masondo says his resignation is in the interests of the country and the continued stability of the PIC. He says throughout his tenure, the board acted collectively, in good faith, based on sound legal advice and in accordance with the principles of good governance.

# Statistics South Africa says debt-related civil court cases increased in the three months to May. The number of civil summonses issued for debt rose by 1.4-percent, while the number of civil judgements increased by 7.4-percent compared with the same period last year. Stats SA’s Vhonani Kwinda says the total value of civil judgements also increased, indicating larger amounts of debt are being awarded through the courts:

# The UK government says it is ready to defend itself against Iranian missile attacks. This follows a threat from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, after American B-1 bombers launched strike missions against Iranian targets from RAF Fairford, in southwest England, for the first time this week. The decision came under new prime minister Andy Burnham, who expanded the previous arrangement allowing US forces to use UK soil for defensive operations. The IRGC has threatened to attack RAF Fairford, saying any base used for aggression against Iranian territory is a legitimate target.

# Cycling: Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz won stage 18 of the Tour de France, his first stage win at this year’s race and second overall. The 33-year-old EF Education-Easypost rider finished 45 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid of Jayco-Alula and American Matteo Jorgenson of Visma-Lease a Bike. Slovenian defending champion Tadej Pogačar has retained the overall lead by four-minutes-32 seconds over his closest rival, Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and his UAE Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro of Mexico. Yesterday’s stage was the first of three straight days of Alpine climbs.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-83-cents and the euro at 19-rand-15-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-40-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-309-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-30-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….