News 09:00

BULLETIN 7 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Gordhan says confidentiality in the SAA-Takatso deal does not mean secrecy
# Meanwhile, the DA says Gordhan’s cover-up of the deal is concerning
# And, a manhunt is launched following the kidnapping of two cousins in Brits, North West

# Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan has defended the need for confidentiality on the South African Airways-Takatso Consortium deal. Parliament’s portfolio committee on Public Enterprises has been in a tussle with the minister over access to a list of documents on the deal. In 2021, Takatso was announced as the preferred equity partner to buy a 51-percent stake in SAA, while the government kept a 49-percent stake. Gordhan says there is no evidence of corruption in this transaction:

Meanwhile, the DA says it is disappointed by Parliament’s Legal Services’ decision to shield the deal from public scrutiny. Parliamentary legal adviser, Andile Tetyana, says the agreement signed in June 2021 must remain confidential as it is still a live transaction. The DA says it is simply unconscionable that after spending 38.1-billion-rand of taxpayers’ money bailing out SAA, with billions more still needed for recapitalisation, Gordhan still thinks citizens do not deserve to know the terms of the deal.

# North West police have launched a manhunt following the kidnapping of two cousins aged 17 and 19 in Brits. Zahraa Mohammed and Bataviya Mohammed were on their way to school at Hartbeespoort, when the car they were driving in was bumped from the front by a maroon Audi A3, forcing it to stop. Police spokesperson, Amanda Funani, says allegedly two armed men got out of the Audi and ordered the cousins to get into another car, a white Volkswagen Polo. The suspects fled the scene with the victims inside:

# A World Bank’s initiative, Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up, aims to electrify millions of people, farms, businesses, schools, and clinics in Africa and globally by 2030. The World Bank’s lead energy specialist, Raihan Elahi, emphasised the importance of distributed renewable energy in achieving universal energy access by 2030. Speaking at the Africa Energy Indaba in Cape Town, Elahi noted that distributed renewable energy, focusing on mini-grids and standalone solar power, could benefit 50-percent of Africans without electricity. 

# Soccer: Defending champions Manchester City and Real Madrid are through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. City beat Copenhagen three-one in the second leg with goals from Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez, and Erling Haaland, to secure a six-two aggregate win. Meanwhile, Madrid edged past RB Leipzig two-one on aggregate after a one-all draw in their second leg. City manager, Pep Guardiola, says making the Champions League quarterfinals for a seventh consecutive season is all credit to the players and the club:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 20-rand-50-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-997-dollars-96-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-158-dollars-21-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….