News 09:00

BULLETIN 28 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government has paid out over 230-million-rand in claims to former mineworkers
# Minister Naledi Pandor says the unlawful occupation of Western Sahara has endured for too long
# And tennis, Daniil Medvedev kick-starts his Dubai Championship title defence with a convincing win

# The deputy minister of Health, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, says more than 230-million-rand has been paid to former mineworkers, who were injured or have contracted respiratory-related illnesses on duty. This forms part of a government programme that seeks to track, trace, and provide compensation, pension, and provident funds to eligible ex-mineworkers who worked in the mines from 1965 to 2019. Dhlomo says at least 20-thousand former mineworkers have been reached through this programme:

# Home Affairs has introduced the Trusted Employer Scheme to streamline the visa regime and expedite visa processing, to attract skills for the South African economy and promote tourism. The scheme reduces visa processing time from 22 weeks to 20 days. This makes it easier for employers to recruit and employ expats within a shorter time frame. To qualify for membership, employers, investors, or businesses must demonstrate financial strength to employ foreign nationals, run training programmes for South African citizens, and exhibit good corporate citizenship. 

# The GOOD Party says it has joined forces with other opposition parties to submit a motion of no confidence in DA- Drakenstein mayor Conrad Poole. This follows allegations that he was running a pay-for-jobs scheme with councillors paying a kickback for lucrative mayoral committee positions. The GOOD Party’s, Keagen Gertse, says the motion, which will be heard in council today, is the opposition’s way of holding the DA accountable for their commitment to good governance:

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, says the continued unlawful occupation of Western Sahara is a stain on the human conscience and has endured for far too long. She spoke at a side event organised by the Geneva Support Group for Western Sarahawi at the 55th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Pandor says they remain concerned about the impasse toward finding a lasting solution that will provide for the self-determination of Sahrawi through a referendum in line with the relevant resolutions.

# Tennis: World number four Daniil Medvedev got his Dubai Championship title defence off to a winning start. The Russian, who was playing for the first time since losing the Australian Open final last month, defeated Kazakhstani Alexander Shevchenko, 6-3, 7-5, to record his 340th career win. Medvedev will play Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the round of 16 today. France’s Ugo Humbert saw off countryman Gael Monfils, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, while fourth seed Karen Khachanov of Russia defeated Frenchman Luca Van Assche in straight sets.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-12-cents and the euro at 20-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-149-dollars-22-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-30-dollars-60-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….