News 09:00

BULLETIN 23 January 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Independent Electoral Commission aims to boost voter registration during the final registration weekend
# Thabi Leoka has now stepped down from the MTN board over her PhD scandal
# And, ActionSA says the ANC must account for the continued deaths and fires in hijacked buildings in Joburg

# The Independent Electoral Commission aims to boost voter registration during the final registration weekend on 3 and 4 February. November’s drive saw one-million new registrants, bringing the total to just over 26-million out of 42.3-million eligible voters. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo assures preparations are in place to address challenges, including protests that disrupted some voting stations. The IEC plans to visit prisons and extend online registration for South Africans abroad. Mamabolo will announce readiness closer to the registration weekend.

# Economist, Thabi Leoka, has now stepped down from the board of telecom giant MTN SA after she resigned as a non-executive director of the Anglo American Platinum board yesterday. She was exposed for allegedly not holding a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics in the UK. MTN SA says Leoka resigned to attend to her health and the questions she has been facing concerning her academic qualifications. If she fails to prove that she has a PhD from the institution, she could face perjury charges and a fine or imprisonment.

# ActionSA in Johannesburg says it is of the view that the fatalities owing to fires within the Johannesburg CBD should be squarely blamed on the delinquent ANC-led government. On Sunday, a two-storey building was intentionally set alight, claiming the lives of two people, while last year’s Marshalltown fire left 77 people dead. In both incidents, the buildings were hijacked. ActionSA’s, Nobuhle Mthembu, says mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has used every trick in the book to deter the party’s motions, which were aimed at addressing hijacked buildings:

# Western Cape MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, has called for the immediate retrieval of 15 firearms and eight imitation weapons stolen from Mitchells Plain Police Station. The incident, discovered in November last year, involved a police officer, who has since been arrested and dismissed. He is due in court on 2 February. Allen calls for more charges if the stolen firearms were used in crimes:

# Soccer: Nigeria, Egypt, Cape Verde, and Equatorial Guinea are through to the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations. Opa Sangante’s own goal earned Nigeria a one-nil win over Guinea-Bissau. With Equatorial Guinea thumping hosts Ivory Coast four-nil in the other Group A game, Nigeria finished second in the group. Egypt scraped through with a two-all draw with Group B leaders Cape Verde. Meanwhile, Ghana also played to a two-all draw with Mozambique as a place in the last 16 slipped through their fingers.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-13-cents and the euro at 20-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-35-cents and Bitcoin trades at 10-thousand-78-dollars-30-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-27-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….