News 09:00

BULLETIN 7 May 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC says political financing shapes the competitiveness of elections
# SAFTU says Ramaphosa must stop hiding while his ministers face serious allegations
# And, physical antisemitic assaults reached a record high in the US in 2025

# The Electoral Commission says political financing remains one of the most consequential and contested dimensions of democratic governance. The IEC, in partnership with the Electoral Institute of Sustainable Democracy in Africa, has published a special issue in the Journal of African Elections focusing on political finance. IEC chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, says the publication interrogates key questions shaping electoral integrity across Africa, including corporate financing of political parties, the persistence of vote buying in law and practice, and the evolving role of public funding:

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions says president Cyril Ramaphosa must publicly state whether he still has confidence in Social Development minister, Sisisi Tolashe and Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie. Tolashe is accused of misleading Parliament over undeclared Chinese-donated vehicles, while McKenzie is facing allegations relating to alleged links to drug-related organised crime. Saftu’s spokesperson, Asive Dyani, says these allegations require proper investigation and public accountability:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Justice and Constitutional Development says the Special Investigating Unit’s funding model constrains the unit’s workforce and ability to carry out its mandate effectively. The SIU’s allocated grant funding of over 487-million-rand for 2026/2027 falls significantly short of its operational requirements. The proportion of grant income relative to total budgeted costs is declining, from approximately 50 to below 40-percent. The committee says the SIU acts on proclamations issued by the president, yet it is required to recover its costs from the very institutions it investigates.

# Antisemitic physical assaults increased by four-percent in the United States in 2025, while assaults involving a deadly weapon went up by 39-percent. This is according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual report. There were a total of six-thousand-274 incidents of antisemitic assaults, harassment, and vandalism last year, an average of 17 incidents per day. One incident was the killing of two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in May last year. New York, California, and New Jersey had the most antisemitic incidents in 2025.

# Soccer: Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain are through to the Champions League final for the second consecutive year, after beating Bayern Munich 6-5 on aggregate. Ousmane Dembélé put PSG ahead after just three minutes. Harry Kane scored his 55th goal of the season for Bayern in stoppage time, but it was not enough. The reigning champions will face Arsenal in the final in Budapest on May 30th. PSG manager Luis Enrique says the character his players showed against a team like Bayern was so positive:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-27-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-913-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-693-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….