News 09:00

BULLETIN 6 May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation is admitted as friend of the court in the IEC’s appeal case
# Numsa welcomes the signing of a wage deal in the passenger bus sector
# And the bodies of missing tourist surfers found with gunshot wounds in Mexico

# The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has been accepted as friend of the court in the Electoral Commission’s appeal to the Constitutional Court. The IEC is appealing the Electoral Court ruling giving former president Jacob Zuma the green light to stand for public office in the upcoming general elections. The IEC had disqualified Zuma, as a result of the 15-month prison sentence he was given in 2021 for contempt. The foundation says the former president is a constitutional delinquent and is not suitable for Parliament. The matter will be heard on Friday.

# Metalworkers’ union Numsa has welcomed the two-year wage deal reached in the passenger bus sector. Increases of five-percent this year and 6.5-percent next year on base salaries have been agreed to between labour and employers in the sector. Numsa’s spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, says the agreement signed at the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council, also sees employers contributing on a 50/50 split to primary healthcare cover for workers:

# The late Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi was reportedly paid 2.5-million-rand while he was suspended. He died last month. Mthunzi was suspended on allegations of authorising purchase order requests, in the scheme of the irregular tenders exposed by whistle-blower Babita Deokaran. He died before a nearly two-year disciplinary process could be concluded. Mthunzi’s estate is set to receive millions in pension payouts from the Government Employee Pension Fund because he passed away while in service.

# Mexican authorities have identified the bodies of three tourists found dumped in a well with gunshot wounds to the head. Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were on a surfing and camping trip when they went missing in the Pacific coast state of Baja California, Mexico, last month. Officials believe the men were attacked as they were trying to fend off an attempted theft of their truck. Three suspects have been arrested. The FBI says it’s also looking into the case.

# Tennis: Andrey Rublev overcame illness and injury on his way to the Madrid Open title. The Russian defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, to win his second Masters 1,000 title. Twenty-six-year-old Rublev, who arrived in the Spanish capital off the back of a four-match losing streak, says he gives full credit to the doctors who made it possible for him to play:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-52-cents and the euro at 19-rand-94-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-181-dollars-24-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-308-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….