News 11:00

BULLETIN 20 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Prasa welcomes the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into tender contracts and ghost workers
# The South African Police Union calls for an increased budget for community policing forums
# And, the EFF in Gauteng says Panyaza Lesufi’s state of the province address was lacklustre 

# The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has welcomed the Special Investigating Unit being authorised to probe allegations of serious maladministration in the affairs of the agency. The SIU’s probe into Prasa relates to fraudulent liability claims processed and paid by the entity’s Group Insurance Department. The investigation will also extend to the employment of ghost employees. Prasa’s spokesperson, Andiswa Makhanda, says the probe will further enhance clean and effective governance within the entity and eradicate corruption:

# The South African Policing Union urges government to increase the 70-million-rand allocated for community policing forums to enhance resources and collaboration in the fight against crime. This follows Police minister Bheki Cele’s release of the third-quarter crime statistics, revealing a 2.1-percent year-on-year rise in the murder rate. The union expresses concern over the safety of law enforcement officials, citing the need for proactive measures. According to SAPU, the forums play a critical role in enhancing public safety and addressing the growing challenges posed by crime.

# The EFF in Gauteng has described premier Panyaza Lesufi’s state of the province address as lacklustre and filled with empty promises. At the heart of the premier’s speech were crime prevention efforts and plans to make Gauteng an investment-friendly destination. The EFF’s provincial chairperson, Nkululeko Dunga, says Lesufi failed to solidify plans to see two-million residents of Gauteng acquiring employment and economic opportunities as promised last year:

# The UK government has rejected calls to consider a prisoner swap to free dual British-Russian citizen, Vladimir Kara-Murza. A former journalist, he is serving a 25-year sentence for treason in Moscow. Kara-Murza has twice survived poisonings that he blamed on the Russian authorities and rejected the charges against him as punishment for standing up to president Vladimir Putin. UK members of Parliament have expressed fear that Kara-Murza could be next, after the death of Alexei Navalny. Government says every effort is being made for Kara-Murza’s release.

# Cricket: England coach Brendon McCullum has backed Jonny Bairstow, saying he has no plans to drop him for the fourth Test against India. The 34-year-old has come under some criticism for his batting, scoring just 102 runs in the first three Test matches. He scored only four runs in England’s 434-run thrashing in the third test in Rajkot. McCullum has acknowledged that Bairstow has underperformed in this series but says they have to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-95-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-957-dollars-86-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-19-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-44-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….