News 11:00

BULLETIN 3 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Donald Trump is cutting off all future US funding to South Africa
# Transport Department puts in place plans to ensure sufficient jet fuel at OR Tambo Airport
# And golf: McIlroy wins the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

# US president Donald Trump says he is cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation into the country’s land expropriation policies has been completed. This comes after president Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law last month. The law stipulates that the government may, in certain circumstances, offer no compensation for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest. Trump says the law is a massive human rights violation, at a minimum:

Meanwhile International Relations and Cooperation minister, Ronald Lamola, has urged Trump to attain a thorough understanding of South Africa’s policies within the framework of a constitutional democracy. Lamola says it may become clear to Trump’s advisors during this investigative period that the country’s Expropriation Act is not exceptional, as many countries have similar legislation.

# The Department of Transport says a logistics plan has been adopted for the transportation of jet fuel from the port of Durban to OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng. The airport has been experiencing a shortage of jet fuel after the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa had to shut down after it caught fire on January 4. The department’s spokesperson, Collen Msibi, says on Saturday, the opening jet fuel stock at the airport was 20.1-million litres:

# The South African Human Rights Commission will today convene a national investigative inquiry into the impact of Eskom’s load reduction on human rights. Load reduction is a targeted power management strategy affecting specific areas during peak usage times, particularly historically disadvantaged communities. The commission says the aim of the inquiry includes evaluating the legal, policy, and practical justifications of load reduction, and investigating the overarching impacts of load reduction on the affected populations. The inquiry will be held today, tomorrow, and on the 18th of February.

# Golf: Four-time major champion, Rory McIlroy, has made a winning start to his PGA Tour season, with a two-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. The Northern Irishman finished with a six-under 66 to win on 21 under par, securing his 27th victory on the PGA Tour. Ireland’s Shane Lowry finished second while England’s Justin Rose finished tied third alongside American Lucas Glover. McIlroy says to win at one of the cathedrals of golf is special:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-91-cents and the euro at 19-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-147-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-787-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….