News 12:00

BULLETIN 22 January 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says education is powerful in breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty
# TLU SA submits inputs to minister Enoch Godongwana ahead of the budget 
# And tennis: Dayana Yastremska and Linda Noskova reach their first career Grand Slam quarterfinals

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says education is about so much more than personal betterment or obtaining a qualification to seek gainful employment; it’s a ladder out of poverty. In his weekly newsletter, he says the achievements of last year’s matriculants show the progress government has made not only in making education more accessible but also in making it more equal. Ramaphosa says government continues to invest heavily in improving school infrastructure, including school sanitation, and in the provision of teacher and learner support materials to schools in poor districts.

# The agricultural union TLU SA has written a letter to Finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, on issues that are of vital importance for sustainable food provision. This is ahead of the budget speech next month. The union’s Bennie van Zyl says a proposal to allow commercial farmers to save profits tax-free during good years and enable them to continue production during times of losses is imperative. He adds that much better provision should be made for assistance for farmers during disaster so they can stay in production:

# An independent analyst has highlighted the urgent need to resolve Cape Town’s port struggles. Equipment breakdowns, insufficient labour, a lack of maintenance and declining productivity, along with strong winds, have resulted in massive backlogs and delays. Fruit producers have been forced to start their peak trading season behind schedule. Some fruit exports are 60-percent lower than last year. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Mbuso Zulu says the setback in fruit exports is concerning:

# Tennis: Qualifier Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine is through to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career, after knocking out two-time champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old defeated the former world number one, 7-6, 6-4. Czech teenager Linda Noskova also advanced into her first major quarterfinal after Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina had to retire from their round of 16 match due to a back injury. Yastremska says it took everything out of her to win against Azarenka:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-18-cents and the euro at 20-rand-19-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 40-thousand-823-dollars-70-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-22-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South African film Runs in the Family has scored a GLAAD Media Award nomination in the Outstanding Film, Streaming or TV category. The film follows the adventures of an Indian dad and his transgender son as they cross South Africa to rescue the son’s mother from a rehabilitation clinic. Now streaming globally on Netflix, Runs in the Family has been nominated alongside Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Rustin, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, and All Of Us Strangers, amongst others.

Stay tuned for more news………….