News 12:00

BULLETIN 29 October 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Please Call Me inventor challenges a 13-million-rand legal bill
# Rugby: The Bok coach has full confidence in rookie prop Zachary Porthen
# And David Kramer and Taliep Petersen will receive Cape Town’s highest honour

# Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate is challenging a 13-million-rand legal costs order following his Constitutional Court loss to Vodacom. The costs relate to a single day’s arguments after the apex court ruled in Vodacom’s favour and referred the case back to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Makate calls the order unfair and excessive, citing his defence against two dismissed applications. The dispute forms part of a long-running billion-rand compensation battle over the innovation.

# The National Employers’ Association of South Africa says the steel sector is in sharp decline, signalling serious concerns for the economy. Over the past five years, the number of employers has fallen by 12-percent, while employment dropped by 23-percent, meaning110-thousand people lost their work. NEASA’s Gerhard Papenfus blames high wages, government interference, high tariffs, crime, corruption, and poor infrastructure. He calls for decisive leadership to prevent further job losses and revive the sector.

# National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, has signed the Barcelona Declaration on Tuberculosis. This marks South Africa’s formal commitment to a renewed global parliamentary movement to eradicate TB within a generation. The signing ceremony coincided with the official launch of the South African TB Parliamentary Caucus. TB has killed more people than any other infectious disease in human history. Didiza says with TB remaining a health challenge globally despite it being a treatable disease, parliamentarians across the globe are advocating for better investments to address the disease.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he has full confidence in prop Zachary Porthen. The 21-year-old is set to make his debut for South Africa in Saturday’s Test against Japan at Wembley in London. The former SA Under-20 captain has only played in five senior matches for the Stormers, four off the bench and one starting. Erasmus says Porthen will be nervous, but physically he’ll be up for it:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-12-cents and the euro at 19-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 113-thousand-328-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-six-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-57-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Two Cape Town cultural icons, David Kramer and the late Taliep Petersen, will receive the metro’s highest civic honour, Freedom of the City. The duo are being recognised for their countless individual creative achievements, including masterpiece theatrical collaborations for District Six: The Musical and Kat and the Kings. The accolade will be presented at a ceremony in January. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the two were able to blend entertainment with social commentary and activism:

Stay tuned for more news………….