News 12:00

BULLETIN14 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# State capture prosecutions are in jeopardy as evidence database is reportedly lost
# The Gauteng government is ordered to pay 500-million-rand to the horse-racing industry
# And, rugby: More nations now stand a chance of qualifying for the men’s World Cup

# The National Prosecuting Authority and the Investigating Directorate have reportedly lost the state capture evidence database gathered by Zondo commission investigators. This is due to a lack of maintenance. The evidence is stored in a secure cloud using specialised software, and the Justice ministry is the custodian. According to News24, the database is suspected to hold more incriminating evidence against ANC members and state-owned entities, including Eskom and Transnet. NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga says without this data they are unable to make significant progress on state capture matters.

# Union federation Cosatu says the country needs a medium-term budget policy statement that will boldly declare war on unemployment and kickstart a painfully weak economy. South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased from 32.9-percent in the first quarter of this year to 33.5-percent in the second quarter. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says the government and the private sector need to appreciate the crisis facing the unemployed and their families:

# The Gauteng High Court has ruled that the provincial government must pay approximately 500-million-rand to the horse-racing industry. The court found that it unlawfully ended a crucial betting levy. The ruling requires the government to restore the levy, which benefits local racing companies and potentially other operators across South Africa. This ruling follows the government’s unsuccessful appeal in its long-standing dispute with Phumelela Gaming and Leisure.

# Rugby: World Rugby has announced changes to the format for the men’s World Cup in Australia in 2027, with the number of competing teams increasing from 20 to 24. Twelve teams, including South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, and England, have qualified directly by finishing in the top three of their respective pools in last year’s tournament in France. World Rugby CEO, Alan Gilpin, says 12 other nations will go through a global qualification process:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-8-cents and the euro at 19-rand-91-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-616-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-469-dollars-4-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-6-cents a barrel.

# And finally: British banknotes with a face value of almost 80-thousand-pounds have raised more than eleven times that amount for charity following a series of auctions. New 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-pound notes featuring King Charles entered circulation in June. He received a full set of the first issues – each with a serial number ending on 000001 – but hundreds of other low-serial numbered banknotes went under the hammer. The four sales run by auctioneers Spink in London raised just over 914-thousand-pounds in total. The proceeds will be shared equally between ten charities.

Stay tuned for more news………….