News 12:00

BULLETIN 2 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says the ANC’s SOE model has collapsed public finances 
# Learner transport operators are striking in the Eastern Cape
# And golf: Tiger Woods plans to play in the PGA Championship later this month

# The DA says it is clear that the ANC government’s state-led state-owned enterprises model has collapsed public finances. Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan replied to a DA question in Parliament that 283-billion-rand has been spent on bailing out Eskom, Denel, Transnet, and South African Airways over the past five years. The DA’s Mimmy Gondwe says Gordhan tries to justify this wasteful expenditure as capital investment and not as bailouts:

# The Eastern Cape Department of Transport says a strike by learner transport operators is affecting the flow of traffic in some parts of the province, making it nearly impossible for people, goods and services to move around. They are protesting against the delay of payment dating from January from the provincial government learner transport programme. The department’s spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, says the next run of payment amounting to 5.9-million-rand is scheduled for tomorrow:

# Branded foods and beverages group, Clover, will lose its Halaal certification in August. The Muslim Judicial Council’s Halaal Trust says this is a stance against the Gaza conflict. The trust ceased certifying Clover products as Halaal since the beginning of this year. Chief operations official Moulana Zakariyah Philander explains that nine months were allocated to the phasing out of its logos, with remaining stock bearing the Halaal logo phased out by August. Clover was bought by Milco, a consortium headed by Israeli beverage firm Central Bottling Company, in 2019.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protests sweeping across universities in America have now spread to the UK. Students in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, and Bristol have set up tents outside university buildings, demanding that institutions boycott companies and individuals with ties to Israel. About 50 students have set up camp at the University of Manchester. Universities UK, which represents 142 institutions, says universities work hard to strike the right balance between ensuring the safety of all students and staff and supporting lawful free speech on campus.

# Golf: Fifteen-time major champion Tiger Woods says he is ready to play the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, later this month. The 48-year-old still has physical limitations in the wake of a 2021 car crash. Last month he completed the Masters, the fourth time Woods has managed all four rounds of a competitive event since his Masters title defence in November 2020. He says he still hopes to play one tournament a month for the rest of this year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-665-dollars-36-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-306-dollars-88-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….