News 09:00

BULLETIN 19 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says the Public Service Commission Bill will help abolish cadre deployment
# SALGA warns of more illegal connections amid the electricity price hike
# And the two NASA astronauts stuck in space are finally back on Earth

# The DA says the fight to end and abolish ANC cadre deployment has taken a step forward, as the National Assembly debated and adopted the Public Service Commission Bill. The bill aims to regulate the Public Service Commission and enhance its independence. The DA’s, Jan de Villiers, says an independent Public Service Commission is critical for ensuring that the public service is made up of professional, best-qualified, and merit-based appointees, free from political influence:

# The South African Local Government Association warns that Eskom’s electricity tariff hikes could lead to increased illegal connections. The National Energy Regulator approved a 12.74-percent increase for direct customers from 1 April and an 11.32-percent hike for municipalities from 1 July. SALGA’s Head of Energy, Nhlanhla Ngidi, says struggling consumers may resort to unsafe, illicit connections. He warns this could escalate vandalism and strain municipalities already battling financial challenges.

# The eThekwini Municipality has welcomed the declaration of a state of disaster in KwaZulu-Natal by the national government following deadly floods. Between 19 February and 15 March, the floods claimed the lives of 15 people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure. eThekwini mayor, Cyril Xaba, says since 2019 the municipality has only received a total of 1.7-billion-rand out of 3.1-billion-rand it has applied for from the national government for disaster relief: 

# Tennis: The Professional Tennis Players’ Association, co-founded by Novak Djokovic, is taking legal action against the sport’s governing bodies over anti-competitive practices and a lack of player welfare. The 163-page lawsuit says professional tennis players are stuck in a rigged game, which gives them limited control over their careers and brands. The association also criticises the scheduling of matches, ranking systems, and control over image rights. The ATP says the PTPA’s case has no merit and it will vigorously defend its position.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-13-cents and the euro at 19-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-923-dollars. Gold sells at Drie-thousand-36-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

# And finally, a SpaceX capsule holding NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been in space for nine months, and two others have safely splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday. The duo, who were originally due to be on the International Space Station for only eight days, got stuck on the station in June last year after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned. NASA’s Commercial Crew Programme manager, Steve Stich, says they are glad Wilmore and Williams are back home:

Stay tuned for more news………….