News 12:00

BULLETIN 5 December 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF welcomes the Public Protector’s probe into minister Gayton McKenzie’s Paris trip
# Flight Centre South Africa is monitoring the SAA pilots’ strike
# And cricket: Ben Stokes is not impressed with the docking of WTC points for slow over-rates in the Christchurch Test against England

# The EFF has commended the Public Protector’s office for launching an investigation into allegations of misuse of public funds by Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie. This is concerning his trip to the Olympics in the French capital of Paris at the end of July. The investigation follows a complaint the EFF filed by Parliament’s Ethics and Members’ Interests committee last month, accusing McKenzie of excessive spending during his visit. The party says the minister violated ethical principles and misused taxpayer money.

# Flight Centre South Africa is monitoring the strike by the South African Airways’ Pilots Association. The association’s initial demand tabled in May was for a 30-percent increase in pilot salaries, subsequently reduced to 15.7-percent plus associated benefits. SAA has offered salary increases of 8.46-percent. Flight Centre’s managing director, Euan McNeil, says while the strike’s duration remains unclear, this development raises significant concerns about potential disruptions during the peak December travel season.

# The City of Tshwane is calling on all spaza shop owners to make use of the online registration system as the deadline for registration looms. The online registration seeks to give effect to president Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive for all spaza shops and food-handling businesses to be registered at their respective municipalities by 15 December. This is amid the deadly foodborne illness outbreak in the country linked to spaza shops. Mayoral committee member for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, Sarah Mabotsa, says registration of spaza businesses is mandatory:

# Cricket: England captain Ben Stokes reacted sarcastically to the news the International Cricket Council docked both his team and New Zealand three World Test Championship points over slow over-rates during the first Test in Christchurch. All the players were also fined 15-percent of their match fees. New Zealand and England are now fifth and sixth in the WTC rankings, respectively, behind India, South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka. Stokes pointed out on social media they beat the Black Caps with 10 hours of play left.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-6-cents and the euro at 19-rand-3-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-638-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-646-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Spotify South Africa says 2024 was not just about global hits, it was the year for local sound to shine. This progress is reflected in a 93-percent growth in local music consumption and the rise of local sounds. This includes the infectious beats of Amapiano, traditional music, and beloved podcasts. Spotify’s Sithabile Kachisa says female artists made huge strides in the South African music scene, with Tyla and Lwah Ndlunkulu leading the charts for the most streamed albums:

Stay tuned for more news………….