News 09:00

BULLETIN 7 March 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Patrice Motsepe denies running for ANC president
# President Ramaphosa will deliver a tribute to reverend Jesse Jackson
# And motorsport: The Middle Eastern F1 races won’t be replaced if they have to be cancelled

# South African billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe has denied rumours that he is running as a candidate for the ANC president position at the party’s 2027 national elective conference. There have been suggestions from ANC circles that Motsepe could throw his hat in the ring as a candidate to replace his brother-in-law, Cyril Ramaphosa. Motsepe yesterday addressed shareholders of his company African Rainbow Minerals, dismissing the rumours, saying that he had no idea where it came from:

# President Ramaphosa will today join members of the Jackson family, the PUSH Rainbow Coalition, the broader US Civil rights movement and other American and international dignitaries in paying tribute to the late Reverend Jesse Jackson. President spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Ramaphosa will deliver his tribute at the private funeral ceremony in Chicago later today:

# The agriculture organisation TLU SA is pleased with the record export performance by South Africa’s agricultural sector in the fourth quarter of 2025. The minister of Agriculture John Steenhuise, says the country’s total exports reached a record 581.5-billion-rand by the end of the fourth quarter, with agriculture contributing 268.7-billion-rand. TLU SA’s Bennie Van Zyl says the agriculture sector remains a major contributor to the South Africa’s economy:

# The DA in the Western Cape has condemned the torching of nine minibus taxis at the Nyanga rank. The party says the act is a direct assault on the mobility and livelihoods of the communities and constitutes a serious criminal offence. The DA’s Benedicta van Minnen says such lawlessness has no place in the province, and they stand resolutely with the commuting public who have been victimised by the incident. She called on the police to increase their visible presence at these transport hubs and prioritise their investigations into the incidents of taxi violence.

Sports news:

# Motorsport: Formula One doesn’t plan any replacements should next month’s Grand Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have to be cancelled because of the conflict in the Middle East. The races are in serious doubt as Iran targeted US and Israeli interests in those countries in retaliations to their strikes on Tehran. Governing body F-I-A will reportedly make a decision by the 20th of this month. Although other circuits have been mooted as possible replacements, there won’t be enough time to organise the events.

# Abd soccer: Morocco parted company with coach Walid Regragui, three months before the World Cup, with the country’s governing body naming Mohamed Ouahbi as his replacement. Regragui leaves despite leading the Atlas Lions to the World Cup semifinals in 2022 and to the Africa Cup of Nations final earlier this year. He says he leaves with loyalty, gratitude, and the certainty that he has served his country. Forty-nine-year-old Ouahbi is promoted to the role, having overseen Morocco’s triumph at the Under-20 World Cup in October.

Stay tuned for more news………….