News 11:00

BULLETIN 15 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu is happy the outgoing CEO of the Independent Development Trust won’t receive a golden handshake
# ActionSA says government has failed to adequately deal with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak
# And rugby: Scott Robertson has stepped down as New Zealand’s coach

# Cosatu has welcomed the resignation of state-owned Independent Development Trust CEO Tebogo Malaka. Her resignation comes amid allegations that she offered a bribe to an investigative journalist at Daily Maverick to bury an ongoing investigation. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Zanele Sabele, says they are relieved Malaka will not receive a golden handshake nor will her resignation shield her from facing criminal charges:

# ActionSA says government has failed to contain the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, and bureaucratic gatekeeping and rigid adherence to outdated legislation will only worsen the crisis. The current outbreak began in 2021 after animals were moved from Phalaborwa to KwaZulu-Natal, now regarded as the epicentre of the disease. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip says the Agriculture Department’s heavy reliance on livestock movement controls in the absence of compensation for production losses, livestock deaths and the loss of irreplaceable genetic material, is fundamentally flawed:

# ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the party is working hard to address the future of the government of provincial unity in KwaZulu-Natal. This comes after the National Freedom Party, which has been described as a kingmaker, pulled out of the coalition government. Mbalula believes the GPU will be in a position to weather the storm because it is stable, unlike the MK Party:

Moving abroad:

# US president Donald Trump says he has been told on good authority that Iran has no plan for executions, amid fears for the fate of a detained anti-government protester. Iran had reportedly scheduled to execute 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani yesterday. He was arrested during the height of the demonstrations that resulted in the killing of over two-thousand protesters. Trump has weighed a range of potential actions against Iran in response to its deadly crackdown on protesters, including the potential for military strikes.

# Rugby: The All Blacks have parted ways with coach Scott Robertson, two years into his four-year contract. The 51-year-old came under huge pressure following a first-ever away defeat to Argentina and a record 43-10 loss to South Africa in Wellington last year. Robertson says following the end-of-year review, he believes it’s in the best interests of the team for him to step aside. He says his departure will give the new coaching group time to prepare and take the team into the next World Cup.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-39-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-243-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-608-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….