News 11:00

BULLETIN 4 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# BOSA urges Ramaphosa not to make promises he can’t keep in his state of the nation address
# Donald Trump pauses the proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada
# And cricket: A place in the final of the SA20 is at stake today

# With president Cyril Ramaphosa set to deliver the state of the nation address on Thursday, Build One South Africa says citizens deserve more than recycled rhetoric. The party has accused the president of making promises in his SONA speeches which he has failed to fulfil. BOSA’s Roger Solomons says they have identified ten of the most glaring broken promises that expose Ramaphosa’s failure to deliver over the past years. He says these include Eskom’s unbundling, reducing unemployment, and digital migration:

# The South African Informal Traders Alliance says while it acknowledges the health risks of smoking, it is concerned about the economic impact of the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. Parliament’s portfolio committee on Health has concluded provincial public hearings on the bill. The legislation introduces stricter measures aimed at reducing smoking prevalence and limiting exposure to tobacco smoke. The alliance says if signed into law, the bill could inflict harm on over six-million informal traders who rely partly on tobacco sales for their livelihoods.

# Gauteng police are investigating cases of murder after two bus drivers were shot and killed in two separate incidents in Soweto, on Monday evening. Police spokesperson, Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, says in the first incident, a Rea Vaya bus driver had reportedly stopped at a traffic light along Wild Chestnut Street when he was shot by unknown suspects. Nevhuhulwi says the bus company has temporarily suspended its services until further notice:

# US president Donald Trump has agreed to a 30-day pause on his proposed 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which were due to take effect today. This follows talks he had with Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum. China is still set to face an additional ten-percent levy on its exports to the US from today. Trudeau says the proposed tariffs would have made life less affordable for Canadians and Americans alike, and weaken economic growth in both countries:

# Cricket: A place in Saturday’s final of the SA20 is at stake in today’s first qualifier between neighbours MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals in Gqeberha. The winner will have the luxury of waiting for the confirmation of their opponent at the Wanderers, while the loser will still have a chance to rectify the situation. That team will play the winner of tomorrow’s eliminator between Joburg Super Kings and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in Centurion. The winner will earn 34-million-rand and the losing finalist 16.25-million.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-77-cents and the euro at 19-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 99-thousand-406-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-812-dollars-88-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….