News 09:00

BULLETIN 7 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party says SONA was hollow and uninspiring
# RISE Mzansi is impressed with the plans set out in SONA
# And the SACP says South Africa won’t allow Trump to undermine its sovereignty

# The MK Party says the state of the nation address was disappointing, hollow, and uninspiring. In his address on Thursday evening, president Cyril Ramaphosa made strong statements about investing in the future of South Africa and standing up to bullies on the global stage. MK Party’s deputy president, John Hlophe, says Ramaphosa should have started his address by giving an update on the progress made to the promises he made in his speech last year:

Meanwhile, ActionSA says the state of the nation address was nothing more than a rehash of empty promises, white papers, strategies, new funding models, and grand plans. ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, says instead of confronting the root causes, corruption and a bloated, inefficient civil service, Ramaphosa continued to peddle hollow commitments:

And RISE Mzansi says the state of the nation address was probably president Cyril Ramaphosa’s strongest yet, however, the proof will be in the budget and implementation. The party as the government of national unity partner, although outside of the executive, welcomes the inclusion of some of its proposals including prioritising water infrastructure at scale. RISE Mzansi president, Songezo Zibi, says they will support Ramaphosa and his government:

# The South African Communist Party says US president Donald Trump’s opposition to the Land Expropriation Act, as reflected in his misleading and reactionary statements, exposes his hypocrisy. Trump accused the government of confiscating land and threatened to cut funding to the country pending an investigation. The SACP says South Africa is an independent country with its own democratic sovereignty and territorial integrity. It adds that they will not allow Trump to interfere in the country’s internal affairs, and undermine its democratic national sovereignty.

# Tennis: Top-seed Carlos Alcaraz eased into the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open in the Netherlands, as he continued his bid for a maiden indoor trophy. The Spaniard defeated Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori, 6-2, 6-1, to make his 42nd tour-level quarterfinal. Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas saved a match point and battled from a set down to beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5.  Also through to the quarterfinals is last year’s runner-up Alex de Minaur of Australia and Spain’s Pedro Martinez.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-42-cents and the euro at 19-rand-11-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-710-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-868-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….