News 09:00

BULLETIN 30 July 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Key sectors of the economy continue to lag in black empowerment compliance
# The government is committed to safe and functional public infrastructure projects
# And, the death toll from the Japan earthquake has risen to 30

# South Africa has made progress in implementing Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment over the past decade; however, transformation efforts have slowed since the Covid-19 pandemic. This is according to the Economic Empowerment Commission’s latest report, which draws on empowerment scorecards and compliance reports from both public and private sector entities. The property sector recorded the highest non-compliance rate at 67-percent, followed by financial services and agriculture. These sectors failed to meet the minimum ownership targets for both black people and black women. Sectors including construction and transport recorded the highest levels of compliance.

# Public Works and Infrastructure deputy minister, Sihle Zikalala, says the department is committed to ensuring that public infrastructure projects are delivered efficiently, meet the required standards, and provide functional, safe and modern facilities for government service delivery. He conducted a site inspection of the new office accommodation for the Department of Employment and Labour at 4 Rissik Street, Johannesburg yesterday. Zikalala emphasised that accommodation provided by government must be fit for occupation:

# The Public Servants Association is calling for the immediate appointment of a qualified, competent CEO to take over and urgently address the situation at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital. This follows reports of mismanagement of state assets, blatant negligence, and uncaring management. PSA’s Claude Naicker says it is disturbing that the hospital management is hoarding stocks of medical supplies and equipment in no proper locked storage facilities until they expire and disposing of these without following the necessary protocols:

# The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Japan on Tuesday has risen to 30, as rescue teams race to find survivors underneath collapsed buildings. The earthquake that struck Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu left at least 62 people injured, while the region experienced over 100 aftershocks. Rescue workers continue to search the rubble of the Aeon shopping mall and a paper factory. Officials say high temperatures are making the rescue efforts increasingly difficult. Some 36-thousand-700 households are without electricity.

# Soccer: FIFA has set a deadline of 19 September for all 211 member associations to approve its controversial plan to sell off stakes in its major competitions. FIFA is planning to raise an estimated 70.35 billion-rand this year by selling a reported 20-percent minority stake in a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise, at an equity valuation of around 334.46 billion-rand. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the plan, calling it an offer, not an obligation:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-66-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-29-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-52-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….