News 09:00

BULLETIN 19 October 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA wants Eskom to account for over 41.4-billion-rand in contract expansions
# The ANC is facing a legal battle over an alleged 40-million-rand debt
# And, the National Gambling Board warns against student grant gambling

 # The DA wants the Eskom leadership to account for additional work allocated through existing contracts rather than competitive tenders. An investigation by the Sunday Times found that the power utility accounted for nearly 60-percent of the 69.6-billion-rand in contract expansions across national departments and state entities between October 2023 and March this year. The DA’s Kevin Mileham says Eskom has received qualified audit opinions, yet it has now been identified as responsible for 41.4-billion-rand in contract expansions over two and a half years:

# Digital campaign company Eltel is taking the ANC to court to recover an alleged 40-million-rand debt for services rendered during the 2019 elections. This relates to digital marketing, communications and technical support services provided to the party. In court papers, the original debt of 24-million-rand has increased to approximately 40-million-rand including 13-million-rand in interest and 2.9-million-rand in legal fees. The company’s founder, Asif Casoojee, is asking the court to order the Electoral Commission to divert funds allocated to the ANC towards settling the alleged debt.

# The National Gambling Board has warned that students are using their National Student Financial Aid Scheme allowances for online gambling. Speaking at the launch of the Responsible Gambling Charter at Sun International, acting CEO Lungile Dukwana says vulnerable groups are risking money meant for essentials like food, rent and education. He confirmed that the board and NSFAS have partnered to raise awareness through campus workshops, student discussions and financial literacy campaigns:

# US president Donald Trump has defended his decision to block sanctions on Russia two days before they were due to take effect. He issued an executive order on Friday, pausing the sanctions, including on Russia’s economy, for 60 days. Trump also waived proposed tariffs on countries importing oil from Moscow. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he is in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he didn’t want to do anything that would drive, foolishly, Moscow away from the bargaining table.

# Tennis: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina earned the biggest title of his career by winning the Shanghai Masters. The 27-year-old Spaniard defeated compatriot Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 to win his first ATP Masters one-thousand trophy. Meanwhile, French Open women’s runner-up Maja Chwalinska of Poland won the Wuhan Open final in China, her first WTA one-thousand title. She rallied from a set down to beat Britain’s Sonay Kartal, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Chwalinska is the fourth player to win a maiden WTA one-thousand title this season.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-45-cents and the euro at 18-rand-47-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-92-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-450-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-177-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….