News 11:00

BULLETIN 31 July 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An energy expert predicts the end of load-shedding by year-end
# The EFF is demanding accountability for 123-million-rand looted from the National Skills Fund
# And Olympic Games: Tatjana Smith returns to the pool for the 200-metre breaststroke

# Energy expert Sampson Mamphweli believes government could declare the end of load-shedding around November or December this year. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Mamphweli cites a positive energy availability outlook, with four months of no load-shedding, an energy availability factor above 60-percent, and fewer breakdowns. He is hopeful Eskom will sustain the energy supply through the beginning of summer:

# The EFF’s Student Command is demanding the immediate arrest of all individuals implicated in the looting of the National Skills Fund under the Department of Higher Education and Training. A forensic report has revealed that 123-million-rand was looted from the fund, with the money used to buy a farm and luxury cars. The report also uncovered fraud and non-delivery of services, leading to millions of rand being unaccounted for. The EFF says this gross misuse of public funds represents a direct assault on the integrity of the education system.

# The GOOD Party says Western Cape premier Alan Winde must account for the failure to deliver on many of his promises when he opens the provincial legislature today. The premier is set to outline the plans his government have developed to take the achievements of the sixth administration forward. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, urges Winde to abandon his bad habit of making bold announcements that he has no ability or plans to implement:

# Hamas says its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has been killed in an Israeli raid while on a visit to Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. This comes a day after an Israeli strike on a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, in retaliation for a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend that killed 12 people. Hamas says Haniyeh’s assassination is a cowardly act that will not go unanswered. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the assassination, saying this is a dangerous development.

# Olympic Games: Gold medal winner Tatjana Smith returns to the swimming pool in Paris today to compete in the 200-metre breaststroke. She won gold in the item at the previous Games in Tokyo, where she clinched silver in the 100-metre breaststroke and upgraded that to gold on Monday. Another South African, Kaylene Corbett, is in the same heat as Smith. Pieter Coetzé swims in the men’s 200-metre backstroke. Vicky van der Merwe, Henri Schoeman and Jamie Riddle are representing the country in the triathlons.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-24-cents and the euro at 19-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-422-dollars-36-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-420-dollars-32-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-56-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….