News 09:00

BULLETIN 25 April 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says the ANC wants to ensure ethical leadership
# The pleasant VAT surprise doesn’t solve the fiscal crisis
# And the French prime minister is calling for a crackdown on knife crime in schools

# ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the party is in the process of implementing robust internal mechanisms to ensure ethical leadership, effective governance, and transparent decision-making. He gave the closing remarks at the ANC Northern Cape Provincial Conference, where Zamani Saul was elected unopposed for a third term as the provincial chairperson. Mbalula says ANC members have a responsibility to uphold high levels of discipline:

# Stellenbosch Business School economist André Roux says keeping VAT unchanged is good news for the public, but warns the government still has a big budget gap to fix. He adds with lower economic growth expected, tax income will shrink even more. Roux believes the best solution is to cut wasteful government spending and boost the South African Revenue Service’s ability to collect unpaid taxes:

# The DA in Gauteng is demanding decisive action against the principal of Madisong High School in Hammanskraal, who is accused of implementing corporal punishment. The provincial Education Department has launched an investigation after pupils came forward with complaints against the principal. One learner reported hand pain allegedly sustained after being punished for missing a holiday catch-up programme. The DA’s, Sergio Isa Dos Santos, says instead of a suspension, the department has merely moved the principal to the District Office:

# French prime minister, François Bayrou, has called for an intensification of checks for knives in schools. This comes after a teenage girl was killed and three students injured in a stabbing at the Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides school in Nantes. The attacker, a 15-year-old boy, is said to have been arrested at the scene after being restrained by a teacher. Bayrou says a commission will be established to look into how to deal with teenage knife crime in terms of weapons sales, and the owning and carrying of knives.

# Cricket: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat the Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs to record back-to-back victories in the Indian Premier League. Virat Kohli scored 70 off 42 balls, while Devdutt Padikkal made 50 from 27 deliveries, as RCB posted 205 for five. In reply, Josh Hazlewood took four wickets as the Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 194 for nine, their fifth consecutive defeat. The win lifts RCB to third, level with leading sides Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals on 12 points, but having played a game more.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-83-cents and the euro at 21-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-261-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-323-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….