News 11:00

BULLETIN 4 June 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says he won’t be distracted by political theatre or electoral posturing
# Minister Tau tests positive for Covid-19
# And rugby: Donavan Don has joined the Blitzbok squad in Bordeaux 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will not be distracted by the clamour of some political parties for attention, emphasising he remains committed to the Constitution and the rule of law. Opposition parties have called on him to come clean and address the Phala Phala saga, despite facing the prospect of an impeachment inquiry. Ramaphosa asked for a court revision of the Section 89 independent panel which found he had a case to answer. He says his approach to this matter is guided by the Constitution:

# Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, has tested positive for Covid-19, prompting self-isolation to work on his recovery. He appeared in Parliament last week to deliver the department’s 2026/27 budget, and his most recent international travel was last month when he attended the World Hydrogen Summit in the Netherlands. The department encourages all those who have been in contact with Tau recently to get tested and exercise precautionary measures. It adds he is in good spirits.

# ActionSA welcomes Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts’ decision to lay criminal charges against former Road Accident Fund CEO Collins Letsoalo for refusing to appear before the committee. The party’s Alan Beesley says the move confirms no public official is above the law and Parliament’s oversight powers must be respected. Beesley adds the fund is facing serious governance and financial problems that threaten its ability to compensate road accident victims:

Moving abroad:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed suggestions of tensions with Donald Trump after the US president admitted he called Netanyahu ‘crazy’ during a head phone conversation over Israel’s military action in Lebanon. In an interview with CNBC, Netanyahu says while he and Trump might have tactical disagreements over how to handle the war, they agree on many things. He adds Trump has been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House:

# Rugby: Winger Donavan Don has replaced Dewald Human in the Springbok Sevens squad for the final World Championship event in Bordeaux, France, this weekend. Human sustained a knee injury in Spain last weekend, which prompted the playmaker’s return to South Africa. The Blitzboks won the first event in Hong Kong, but lost to Australia in the final in Spain. South Africa still leads the table with 38 points, followed by Argentina and Australia, as they look to win the title.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-32-cents and the euro at 18-rand-94-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-761-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-464-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….