News 11:00

BULLETIN 25 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Institute of Race Relations welcomes minister Malatsi’s pragmatic step, but says bigger strides are needed to unlock growth
# The Activists and Citizens Forum says the Ramaphosa White House visit was to hand over power to Donald Trump
# And, Eskom says diesel usage is expected to decline

# The Institute of Race Relations says Communications and Digital Technologies minister, Solly Malatsi’s decision to direct the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa  to “urgently consider” regulatory changes in the telecoms sector is a welcome step towards shifting South Africa to a pro-growth footing.  Malatsi announced government will ease the 30% Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment requirement to facilitate the entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink into the South African market. The institute’s Hermann Pretorius says there is still farther to go if all barriers to growth are to be removed.

# The Activists and Citizens Forum says president Cyril Ramaphosa must be honest with the people of the country and tell them what his real mission was with his visit to the White House. Forum spokesperson Dennis Bloem says government cabinet ministers were sitting like spectators listening to invitees of president Donald Trump, Johan Rupert, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, who acted as the mouthpiece of South Africa:

Eskom says the diesel expenditure is still within budget for the current financial year. Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena says year-to-date, the power utility spent approximately 3.11-billion-rand on fuel for the open-cycle gas turbine fleet, generating over 520-gigawatt-hour. She says diesel usage is expected to decline further as more units return from long-term repairs and maintenance activities are reduced, increasing available generation capacity:

# Western Cape premier Alan Winde says the only way the province will tackle crime more effectively is by securing from national government the policing resources and authority residents need and deserve. Police crime statistics revealed there was a 4-percent decrease in the overall murder rate for quarter four of 2024/2025. This follows a 7.9-percent decrease in quarter three and an 8.7-percent decrease in quarter two. Winde says the latest reduction represents a decrease of 44 murders:

# North Korea has arrested three officials said to be responsible for a major blunder last week, during the launch of a new warship. The failed launch crippled the five-thousand-tonne warship and was witnessed by Kim Jong Un. State media said a loss of balance led to the accident. The North Korean dictator called it a “criminal act” and vowed to punish those found responsible. After an investigation, authorities arrested the chief engineer of the shipyard, the head of the hull construction workshop and the deputy manager for administrative affairs. .

# And finally some soccer: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti wished the man set to replace him, Xabi Alonso, all the luck in the world. Bayer Leverkusen coach Alonso is set to take over ahead of the Club World Cup although Madrid have not yet named him officially as their next coach. Ancelotti spoke before the match at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Sociedad in La Liga, his last game before taking the reins of the Brazil national team. Ancelotti coached Madrid for six seasons split across two spells, winning 15 trophies.

Stay tuned for more news………….