News 11:00

BULLETIN 8 February 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Freedom Front Plus says government’s failure leaves South Africa’s automotive industry in crisis and erodes investor confidence
# TLU SA says South Africa needs to import massive amounts of vaccine to curb foot-and-mouth disease
# And cricket, the defending champions India open their 2026 T20 World Cup with a win over USA

# The Freedom Front Plus says the future of Volkswagen South Africa and with it more than four-thousand jobs hangs in the balance. The party says this is due to government’s ongoing failure to take decisive action by making essential policy adjustments for the automotive industry. FF Plus Jaco Mulder says Volkswagen has unequivocally stated that 2026 will be a make-or-break year for the company in South Africa:

# The agricultural organisation TLU SA says South Africa needs to import massive amounts of vaccine to curb the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the country. Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has confirmed that the Botswana Vaccine Institute will be supplying 700-thousand doses of vaccine by the end of this month. TLU SA’s Bennie Van Zyl says this is not nearly enough as South Africa has 40-million cattle:

# KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has placed disaster management teams on high alert. This follows an urgent weather outlook issued by the South African Weather Service for today. The department’s spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila says the province faces a dual threat, with a Level Five severe thunderstorm warning for the western and southern regions and a level two warning for the remainder of the province:

# COSATU in Gauteng has welcomed the announcement of the 2-billion-rand investment in the new Soufflet Malt facility located in Midvaal, Sedibeng.  COSATU chairperson Amos Monyela says the investment, which will see a state-of-the-art malting plant built next to Heineken Beverages’ Sedibeng Brewery, signals confidence in the economy and provide employment opportunities for Gauteng residents:

# The African Water and Sanitation Institutions of South Africa approved a resolution to award South Africa the honour of hosting the 2030 AfWASA Congress. Spokesperson Nndweleni Mphephu says the decision was taken following a meeting of the institution’s executive board in Yaoundé, Cameroon, yesterday. He says the year 2030 carries deep national, continental, and global significance. He adds for South Africa, it marks the review point of the National Development Plan Vision 2030.

# And finally ricket: Defending champions India secured a hard-fought 29-run victory over the USA at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium to open their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign. Despite a collapse to 77/6, captain Suryakumar Yadav struck a masterly unbeaten 84 off 49 balls to lift India to 161 for 9. In response, the USA were restricted to 132 for 8. Elsewhere, Pakistan edged out the Netherlands by three wickets, while the West Indies comfortably beat Scotland by 35 runs. This morning, Nieu-Zealand is up against Afghanistan, England take on Nepal, and Sri Lanka play Ireland.

Stay tuned for more news………….