News 09:00

BULLETIN 9 June 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa extends the deadline for the Eskom restructuring report
# Five more senior police officers linked to the controversial Medicare24 tender are suspended
# And, the Road Freight Association says the write-off of all e-toll debt is a victory

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the deadline for the Eskom Restructuring Task Team to produce a report on establishing South Africa’s independent Transmission System Operator to the end of this month. The task team’s work centres on establishing a fully independent, state-owned transmission system operator that will own and control transmission assets. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the task team’s work is undertaken in two phases: the first is the establishment of the TSO, and the second includes developing a detailed implementation plan:

# Five additional senior police officers have been suspended over the controversial 360-million-rand Medicare24 tender linked to organised crime suspect Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. This follows the suspension of nine other police officers last Friday, who were on the Bid Evaluation Committee responsible for awarding the tender to Matlala. This brings the total number of suspended officers to 14. According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Treasury regulations were violated, and Matlala and Medicare24 were favoured by the bid committee members. National Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, says internal departmental processes are currently underway.

# The Road Freight Association has welcomed Cabinet’s decision to officially approve the complete write-off of all outstanding and unpaid historical e-toll debt in Gauteng. While the controversial e-toll gantries were turned off in April 2024, motorists were still legally obligated to pay for any e-toll invoices incurred before the cutoff. The write-off covers approximately 29-billion-rand in outstanding and unpaid debt. The association’s CEO, Gavin Kelly, says this brings much-needed relief to motorists:

# United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, has expressed alarm at the renewed escalation in the Middle East. Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in retaliation for a strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Israel responded on Monday morning by targeting Iranian military sites. This is the first time since an April ceasefire that the two countries have traded fire. UN deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, says all parties are urged to refrain from any action that could further inflame an already volatile situation:

# Soccer: Somalian referee Omar Artan will miss the World Cup after he was denied entry to the United States. The 34-year-old was forced to fly back to Istanbul, Turkey, after he was turned back at the Miami International Airport. US Customs and Border Protection says Artan underwent additional inspection upon arrival in America and was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns. FIFA says it is not involved in host-country immigration processes and has been informed by authorities that Artan’s status will not be changed at present.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-48-cents and the euro at 19-rand-2-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand, and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-806-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-330-dollars-32-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….