News 09:00

BULLETIN 7 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party and ATM enter into a political pact
# The DA says the title deeds for black emerging farmers must be prioritised
# And Donald Trump signs an order to delay the Canada and Mexico tariffs

# The MK Party and the African Transformation Movement have agreed to collaborate on all community and parliamentary programmes and activities. The agreement follows a meeting in Durban between former president and MK Party leader Jacob Zuma and his long-time friend, ATM funder professor Caesar Nongqunga. MK secured 14.58-percent support in the 2024 elections, while ATM only got 0.4-percent. ATM’s spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, says they are confident the parties can work together without losing their identity or being deregistered:

#The DA in the Western Cape calls on the Government of National Unity to prioritise issuing title deeds to Black emerging farmers. Many, like Vaalkuil Boerdery, face long-term sustainability challenges due to a lack of land ownership, preventing access to financing and stifling growth. The party supports the Standing Committee’s resolution to escalate the issue and will continue advocating for reforms to transfer title deeds. Spokesperson Noko Masipa says this move will enable farmers to access resources and secure financing:

# Consulting Engineers South Africa has stressed that policy reforms must be effectively implemented to address the country’s infrastructure challenges. Speaking ahead of CESA’s Infrastructure Indaba scheduled for March 18 and 19, CESA CEO Chris Campbell stresses that poor execution, lack of technical expertise, and corruption hinder progress. Campbell calls for stricter enforcement of payment policies, upskilling officials, and stronger public-private partnerships. He urges immediate action to prevent further infrastructure decline, emphasising accountability and better governance at all levels.

# US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order once again delaying 25-percent tariffs until April 2nd on goods from both Mexico and Canada. The delay in the implementation of the tariffs applies to goods shipped under North America’s free trade pact, the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, which Trump signed during his first term. Trump says the reversal has nothing to do with turbulence in the stock market in recent days. He adds that there will be no further delays in the implementation of the tariffs.

# Soccer: Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. Joshua Zirkzee’s second-half strike was cancelled out by Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty. Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 1-0 first-leg defeat to AZ Alkmaar through Lucas Bergvall’s own goal. Rangers stunned Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce with a 3-1 victory. United manager, Ruben Amorim, says they are ready for the second leg on home turf at Old Trafford next Thursday:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-13-cents and the euro at 19-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-140-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-906-dollars-15-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….