News 12:00

BULLETIN 3 September 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF calls on government to rework its division of revenue
# The Johannesburg Market continues to excel with one-billion-rand turnover in August
# And, rugby: The All Blacks are looking to improve on intensity in the second Test against the Boks

# The EFF is calling on government to rework its division of revenue to prioritise funding of basic services such as water and electricity. At the end of June, municipalities owed water boards 22.4-billion-rand. The EFF’s Leigh-Ann Mathys says private sector businesses are contributing to the failure of municipalities to pay water boards through not paying water bills. She adds it is also the misguided fiscal framework from the National Treasury that has placed water and electricity supply as the core revenue-generating areas for municipalities.

# The Automobile Association has raised concerns over the Department of Transport’s appointment of French firm IDEMIA to produce new smart driving licence cards. The AA highlights questions, including the role of Government Printing Works and the rationale behind IDEMIA’s selection. Spokesperson Layton Beard also questions the secrecy of the tender process, and suggests digitisation would be more secure:

# The leading fresh produce trading hub in the Southern African Development Community region, the Johannesburg market, achieved a turnover of 1.024-billion-rand last month. This matches the turnover recorded in April. The market’s acting chief operations official, Charles Park, says the key drivers behind this achievement were the sales of potatoes and other vegetables. Potato sales alone contributed 31.2-percent of the market share by mass and accounted for 28-percent of the total turnover. Park adds this achievement showcases the market’s sustained performance and resilience.

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he disagrees with US president Joe Biden’s stance that he is not doing enough to secure a ceasefire deal. Tens of thousands of Israelis have been demonstrating against the government’s handling of the war in Gaza, and lack of effort to release hostages held by Hamas. The protests were prompted by the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in Gaza. Netanyahu says he will free hostages through military pressure instead of sealing a deal with Hamas:

# Rugby: New Zealand forwards coach Jason Ryan says they want to build on the positive aspects of the first Championship Test against South Africa heading into the second game in Cape Town. The All Blacks lost 27-31 to the Springboks at Ellis Park. Ryan says the drop in intensity and lack of scoring in the final quarter of the first game are issues they are looking at:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-85-cents and the euro at 19-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-43-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-41-dollars-52-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-502-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….