News 11:00

BULLETIN 31 January 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The International Monetary Fund says South Africa’s energy and logistical challenges are a concern
# Cosatu condemns the secrecy around the KPMG and VBS Bank settlement
# And, the United Nations says there is no substitute for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s lifesaving work in Gaza 

# The International Monetary Fund says South Africa has been handicapped by rolling power cuts and logistic challenges that reflect years of inadequate investment and poor management. The fund has cut the country’s forecast to just one-percent for this year. IMF chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, says it is essential to ensure that the power plants can get back online, to connect more renewable energy, and create a conducive environment to attract more private investment. He says the elevated public debt levels are also a major concern:

# Union federation Cosatu says it strongly condemns the secrecy surrounding the out-of-court settlement between financial institution KPMG and the liquidators of VBS Mutual Bank. The federation expressed concern that the confidential nature of the settlement denies workers and affected communities the transparency necessary to understand the full extent of the financial mismanagement and corruption at VBS. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks demands the immediate publication of the settlement details to ensure accountability and restore public trust. Parks calls for mandatory auditor rotation to prevent potential corruption in auditing practices.

# Three suspected members of a notorious gang have been shot and killed by police at the Lungelani informal settlement in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, in the early hours of this morning. Police spokesperson, Jay Naicker, says they received intelligence that a group involved in serious crimes, including murders committed in the Inanda area, were hiding at the informal settlement. He says a team comprising various police disciplines, including members of the Hawks, descended on the location:

# No organisation can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity and the fabric of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s work in Gaza. This is according to the UN senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag. The agency’s operations are in jeopardy after several donor countries suspended funding, in the wake of allegations that several of its staff were involved in the seventh of October Hamas terror attack in Israel. Kaag says the humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza must be met:

# Tennis: The International Tennis Integrity Agency decided to appeal an independent tribunal’s decision to clear British player Tara Moore of a positive doping test. The country’s leading doubles player was provisionally banned in May 2022 after testing positive for two banned substances while competing in Colombia. The tribunal accepted her explanation that contaminated meat was the source, finding she bore no fault or negligence. The agency’s appeal will be heard before the Court of Arbitration for Sport at a later date.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-82-cents and the euro at 20-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-971-dollars-6-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-36-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….