News 11:00

BULLETIN 6 June 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government welcomes Fitch’s decision to upgrade South Africa’s long-term credit ratings
# FOSA welcomes the dismissal of Richard Shibiri but demands full accountability
# And, Tennis: Alexander Zverev will face Flavio Cobolli in the French Open final

# Government has welcomed Fitch’s decision to upgrade South Africa’s long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-’ and maintain the stable outlook. According to Fitch, the upgrade reflects South Africa’s record of prudent fiscal management and its progress on fiscal consolidation, despite weak economic growth and domestic and external shocks. Fitch said this leaves government debt and gross domestic product ratio well below levels anticipated at the time of the rating downgrade to ‘BB- in 2020. Government says this is Fitch’s first rating upgrade for South Africa in almost 21 years.

# The Forum for South Africa  has welcomed the dismissal of  the former component head for organised crime with the police, Richard Shibiri, following internal disciplinary proceedings. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane, says it is deeply alarming that a senior police official entrusted with fighting organised crime has been found guilty of misconduct. He says even more concerning are revelations that he allegedly received money from Vusimuzi Cat Matlala, a matter that surfaced during the Madlanga Commission:

# AfriForum says the City of Johannesburg has approved a 65.6-percent increase in the water demand management levy without providing key information on how the increase was calculated. The organisation argues that residents were expected to comment on the budget without access to proper details, making public participation meaningless. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal says the increase, from 65-rand-eight-cents to 107-rand-74-cents per month, lacks transparency and proper justification:

# A 28-year-old foreign national male was arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of five young men in Motherwell in the Eastern Cape. Police spokesperson, Nobuntu Gantana says the case stems from a mass shooting incident that occurred  last month at a residence in Motherwell. She says acting on intelligence gathered during the probe, detectives conducted a tracing operation resulting in the successful apprehension of the suspect yesterday:

# Tennis: Alexander Zverev moved to the verge of a long-awaited first Grand Slam title as the second seed saw off Jakub Mensik in four sets on Friday to set up a French Open final against 10thseed Flavio Cobolli. Zverev has endured several near misses at the majors, with three previous final defeats, including against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros two years ago. He will be a strong favourite when he faces Cobolli, against whom he holds a 3-1 winning record, to finally get over the line and lift a Grand Slam trophy.

# Tennis: A new women’s champion will be crowned at the French Open in Paris today. World number seven, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, comes up against the first qualifier to reach the title match at Roland Garros in the professional era, Maja Chwalinska of Poland. The 24-year-old, 114th in the world rankings, stunned several much-higher ranking players to earn her place in the final. Nineteen-year-old Andreeva’s best other Grand Slam result was reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year.

Stay tuned for more news………….