News 12:00

BULLETIN 13 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SCOPA is to scrutinise the budget to avoid wasteful spending
# Gauteng Health Department is grappling to replace the funding lost from USAID
# And Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz remains firmly on course for an Indian Wells three-peat

# Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts will analyse the 2025 budget to eliminate wasteful expenditure. Chairperson Songezo Zibi emphasises the committee’s mandate to ensure proper fund allocation. Zibi calls for a holistic review of the budget to address national needs. He confirmed that Parliament will debate and process the fiscal framework over the next 30 days, leading to discussions on the budget and potential new proposals:

# The Gauteng Department of Health is grappling to replace the 1.4-billion-rand lost from the United States Agency for International Development funding. President Donald Trump’s administration has cancelled 83-percent of USAID programmes globally, saying it does not align with its “America First” agenda. Health MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, says there is no budget or alternative funding sources or partnerships to mitigate the loss of US assistance so far. She adds that divisions that have been negatively affected include HIV testing and counselling and human resources.

# Anti-apartheid activist Allan Boesak has announced that he will not attend the proposed national dialogue, stating that it won’t solve South Africa’s issues. Speaking in Cape Town, Boesak opposed the government of national unity. He also criticised Trump’s lack of knowledge on global affairs, adding that AfriForum’s actions against the Expropriation Act are detrimental to South Africa:

# Tennis: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is through to the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters for the fourth consecutive year. The Spaniard eased past Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov to set up a clash with Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, who beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur. Alcaraz is aiming to win the tournament for the third time. Twenty-two-year-old American Ben Shelton defeated countryman Brandon Nakashima to become the youngest local quarterfinalist in 21 years. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Britain’s Jack Draper are also through to the last eight.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-928-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-942-dollars-78-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-88-cents a barrel.

# And finally: An American dog owner was shot by his pet after it jumped on his bed and set off a loaded gun. The man, from Memphis, Tennessee, was asleep beside his female partner when he was shot, escaping with a graze to his left thigh that was treated in hospital. A police incident report said the dog, a year-old pit bull named Oreo, got his paw stuck in the trigger guard and ended up hitting the trigger.

Stay tuned for more news………….