News 09:00

BULLETIN 6 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A professor at Wits University says the ANC is wounded and decaying heading into the elections
# Government seeks to review water and sanitation service delivery mechanisms in municipalities
# And rugby: a clash between Wales and the Springboks at Twickenham might be on the cards

# Unless something unforeseen occurs, the shape of post-election South Africa will show a wounded and decaying ANC. This is the view of Wits School of Governance professor, David Everatt. He says the ANC is grappling with a significant decline, polling at a mere 42-percent among determined registered voters, with the DA and the EFF winning less than a fifth of the vote. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Everatt says the ANC’s dominance in KwaZulu-Natal has severely eroded, with polls predicting only 26-percent of the votes:

# The Departments of Water and Sanitation and Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and the South African Local Government Association, are establishing a coordinated task team to review service delivery mechanisms for water and sanitation services. The task team is set up to initiate and coordinate Municipal Systems Act Section 78 processes in certain municipalities. The Department of Water and Sanitation’s spokesperson, Wisane Mavasa, says the task team aims to address declining water and sanitation services as outlined in the latest Blue, Green and No Drop reports:

# The Cape Winelands District Municipality says the Brandvlei and Bainskloof fires have been contained while the fire line at Matroosberg is not yet under control. Yesterday evening the Brandvlei fire was burning out of control and made its way to the grounds of the Brandvlei Prison. The municipality’s spokesperson, Anesca Roodt, says a small, corrugated storage structure was destroyed; however, there was no further loss of property:

# International Relations minister Naledi Pandor underscores the significance of global solidarity in combatting oppression. She spoke at Cape Town’s Masjidul Quds Mosque on the International Court of Justice’s ruling against Israel for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. Pandor noted numerous countries joining the legal battle post the court’s interim ruling. She lauded the accountability of Israel by the global community, marking a historic moment. Pandor also recalls late Namibian president Hage Geingob’s support, highlighting his stance against genocide.

# Rugby: The Wales Rugby Union is reportedly in talks with SA Rugby over the possibility of a match at Twickenham in the final week of June. This would also see the Springboks return to the venue where they recorded a 35-7 demolition of the All Blacks in a World Cup warm-up game last year. For Wales, the game would be a warm-up before they take on Australia in a two-Test series in July. According to reports, if the match does happen, it will be held the weekend after the United Rugby Championship final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-2-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-789-dollars-99-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-25-dollars-42-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-18-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….