News 12:00

BULLETIN 28 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The United Nations warns of toxic pollution in South Africa due to corporate greed and government inaction
# The Transport minister demands an immediate plan to address flight delays
# And, rugby: Etzebeth is still a possibility for the first All Blacks Test despite a knee niggle

# The people and the environment are two of South Africa’s most valuable assets, but they must be protected from toxic pollution being fuelled by corporate greed and government inaction. This is according to a report by the United Nations special rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana. Amongst other things, the report focused on air pollution, the just energy transition, mining, and waste management. He says government must stop licensing new greenhouse gas-intensive projects but rather set up infrastructure for new waste streams from renewable energy technologies.

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy urges aviation entities to address ongoing flight delays. In a recent meeting with Air Traffic Navigation Services, Airports Company South Africa, and South African Civil Aviation Authority, Creecy called for a comprehensive, costed plan to address the flight delays while ensuring safety is not compromised. The plan is to be submitted within two weeks. The department’s Collen Msibi apologised to travellers and assured them that efforts are underway to resolve the delays: 

# Presidency project management office head Rudi Dicks says government’s end goal is to increase the market share of freight rail and move more commodities, including those of agriculture, from road onto rail. South Africa lost out on a combined 140-billion-rand in export revenue from coal and iron ore between 2021 and last year. Dick says a combination of Transnet’s financial problems and structural challenges had caused a significant decline in rail capacity and efficiency. He adds that the Freight Logistics Roadmap outlines a clear path to address the immediate challenges.

# The City of Cape Town has unveiled the new Choose Cape Town branding campaign at the Cape Town International Airport, setting the stage for an impactful travel marketing initiative. Between January and July this year, international flight arrivals increased by eleven-percent compared to the same period last year. Mayoral committee member for Economic Growth, James Vos, says this campaign falls within the five-point action programme, namely expand flights, boost cruises, drive conferences, diversify tourism and do targeted marketing:

# Rugby: Eben Etzebeth could still play for the Springboks in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, despite being omitted from the match-day squad because of a knee niggle. Pieter-Steph du Toit was named number 4 lock and will pair with Ruan Nortjé. But head coach Rassie Erasmus says Etzebeth, a veteran of 124 Tests, did a whole training session on Monday and could play in place of one of the substitute loose forwards, namely Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden and Elrigh Louw.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-76-cents and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-849-dollars-63-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-507-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-5-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….