News 09:00

BULLETIN 1 April 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# TLU SA says the Expropriation Act is a disastrous step
# Two former State Security Agency officers are arrested for fraud
# And the Institute for the Study of War says Russia is stalling the ceasefire

# Agricultural organisation TLU SA says its legal team is ready to support the necessary legal actions to oppose the Expropriation Act. Several political parties and organisations are challenging the Act in the Constitutional Court. TLU SA’s, Bennie van Zyl, says every institution and individual with an understanding of economics has long warned that expropriation without compensation will have a catastrophic impact on investor confidence. He adds that the expropriation clause is unconstitutional and should be rejected by the ConCourt:

# Two former State Security Agency senior intelligence officers have been arrested for the misappropriation of about 5.8-million-rand in state funds and money laundering. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption says Ntshavheni Prince Makhathana and Matome Solomon Ralebipi are accused of money laundering using Ralebipi Properties CC. This is a corporate entity that the state alleges was created to serve as a money laundering platform to conceal the origin of the proceeds of crime. The two appeared in court on Monday where they were granted bail.

# KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has welcomed the allocation of 227.7-million-rand to municipalities within KwaZulu-Natal. The funding allocated by the national government is to repair infrastructure damaged by natural disasters including floods and fires. The provincial department’s spokesperson, Senzelwe Mzila, says between December 2024 and March this year, 30 people have died from natural disasters in KZN and over ten-thousand affected:

# The Institute for the Study of War says there are continued Russian efforts to hold the temporary ceasefire in the Black Sea hostage, to stall efforts toward a general ceasefire in Ukraine. Last week, the Kremlin stated that it will not implement the agreed ceasefire in the Black Sea until the US lifts sanctions on Russian state-owned agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank, and other unspecified financial organisations. The institute added it was unlikely that the US, Ukraine, and Russia could negotiate the terms of a general ceasefire within the next three weeks.

# Cricket: The Mumbai Indians earned their first win of this year’s Indian Premier League by beating defeating champions Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets. Debutant Ashwani Kumar claimed four wickets as KKR were bowled out for 116. The 23-year-old is the first Indian player to take four wickets on his IPL debut. In reply, South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton scored an unbeaten 62, as Mumbai easily chased down the total with 43 balls to spare. Rickelton says it is a relief to get this win:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-27-cents and the euro at 19-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-62-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-26-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-142-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….