News 09:00

BULLETIN 24 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The National Assembly agrees to establish an ad hoc committee to probe Mkhwanazi’s allegations
# Minister McKenzie clarifies misleading reports on the Mzansi Golden Economy applicants
# And according to a report, Trump’s name appears multiple times in the Epstein files

# The National Assembly has adopted the joint report of the portfolio committees on Police, and Justice, and Constitutional Development. The report recommends that an ad hoc committee be established to probe allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The ad hoc committee is expected to conclude its investigation within 90 days. Parliament’s Police committee chairperson, Ian Cameron, says they have identified several critical areas of concern that the ad hoc committee should investigate thoroughly:

# Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says media reports that suggest that companies listed on the 2025/2026 Mzansi Golden Economy Open Call Approved Projects sheet have been approved for funding are misleading. The department will only enter into contracts with approved applicants following the submission and verification of all required compliance documentation. McKenzie says the preliminary list of approved applicants was released in the interests of transparency, adding that the department has not released any money to any applicant yet.

# KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli says he notes the serious allegations made against Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka. Simelane’s family business, Kwazi-Gugu Investments, allegedly received duplicated payments totalling 1.42-million-rand from the provincial Department of Agriculture. Hlomuka allegedly handpicked service providers for the National School Nutrition Programme, has been tainted by procurement manipulation. The premier’s spokesperson, Lindelani Mbatha, says the allegations will be investigated:

# The Wall Street Journal reports that US president Donald Trump’s name appears multiple times in the Justice Department’s files relating to the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed Trump in May that he is named in the now notorious Epstein files, and that the records also included child pornography. The White House says the claims are nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.

# Soccer: Spain defeated eight-time winners Germany 1-0 to book a spot in their first-ever Women’s European Championship final in Switzerland. Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati scored the winning goal in the 113th minute. This is the first time Germany has been eliminated at the semifinal stage of the competition since 1997. Spain will face defending champions England in the final in Basel on Sunday, a repeat of 2023’s World Cup showpiece, which Spain won 1-0.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-51-cents and the euro at 20-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-326-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-383-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-14-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….