News 12:00

BULLETIN 16 January 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Mchunu will lead the water services authorities’ summit on drop reports
# Sekunjalo Investment Holdings intends suing president Ramaphosa and other state organs for 75-billion-rand
# And soccer: Bafana faces Mali in their first Afcon game this evening

# The minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, will lead a two-day summit for the Water Services Authorities in response to the Blue and No Drop reports and Green Drop progress assessment report. The summit scheduled at Emperors Palace in Gauteng for Thursday and Friday gathers representatives from 144 water services authorities to address declining water quality and increased non-revenue water. The department’s spokesperson, Wisane Mavasa, says action plans will be formulated for municipalities with varying performance levels, collaboration, and transparency, including corrective measures for deficiencies:

# Sekunjalo Investment Holdings has given notice that it intends to sue president Cyril Ramaphosa, the Presidency, the minister of Finance, the National Treasury, the minister of Justice and Correctional Services, and the State Attorney. It says the lawsuits follow a protracted period of targeted sabotage, whereby elements of South African state power have been corrupted and used to deliberately undermine and wish harm on Sekunjalo’s executive chairperson, Iqbal Survé, and companies allied to the group. Sekunjalo is claiming damages amounting to 75-billion-rand.

# Human Rights Watch’s annual world report has criticised governments for selectively condemning conflicts affecting human rights. The organisation’s director for the Horn of Africa, Laetitia Bader, says the report sheds light on conflicts, oppressive leadership, and international negligence. She spoke to Newzroom Afrika and detailed major conflicts in regions including Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and Sudan, where thousands of lives have been lost and affected. The report also highlights severe restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan, which Bader says prevents them from getting educated and engaging in various activities.

# Soccer: South Africa plays its first group match in the Africa Cup of Nations today when the country takes on Mali in Ivory Coast at ten o’clock this evening. Earlier, neighbours Namibia will play Tunisia, with kick-off at seven o’clock. The day’s first encounter between Burkina Faso and Mauritania starts at four. Bafana Bafana’s other group matches are against Namibia on Sunday and Tunisia next Wednesday.  

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-88-cents and the euro at 20-rand-58-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-876-dollars-31-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-45-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-44-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….