News 12:00

BULLETIN 21 April 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa is diversifying its fuel imports amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz
# The livestock sector warns of a looming crisis as the foot-and-mouth vaccination plan falls short
# And the Lower Sabie restaurant and reception area in the Kruger National Park are closed after a fire

# The Fuel Industry Association of South Africa says South Africa is shifting fuel imports away from the Gulf due to shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The shipping channel is responsible for transporting roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply. The association’s CEO, Avhapfani Tshifularo, says the domestic fuels industry has implemented coordinated, short‑term security‑of‑supply responses focusing on logistics, diversification, and stock management. This includes tight daily monitoring of stock levels and vessel movements, and increasing shipments sourced in West Africa, the Atlantic Basin and Asia.

# Foot and Mouth Disease Response South Africa is calling for urgent private sector involvement to help procure and distribute the 14-million vaccine doses needed to curb the outbreak. Spokesperson Andrew Morphew warns the government’s plan to vaccinate 80-percent of cattle within a year is too slow, and red tape and centralised control are delaying progress. He adds failure to act swiftly could lead to major financial losses:

# The Public Servants Association is concerned about the persistent and costly practice of prolonged precautionary suspensions across the Public Service. Over the five years from the 2021/22 to the 2025/26-financial years, government has spent over one-billion-rand on salaries and benefits of employees placed on paid suspension across national, provincial, and local government. PSA’s Claude Naicker says precautionary suspension is intended to be a temporary measure and not a long-term arrangement:

# A fire broke out at Lower Sabie rest camp in the Kruger National Park early this morning, damaging the shop and restaurant areas. Ranger teams and staff acted swiftly and contained the blaze before it could spread to nearby structures. No injuries were reported. The cause remains under investigation. SANParks spokesperson JP Louw says the restaurant and reception area are currently closed while safety checks and recovery work continue.

# Rugby: The Junior Springboks have made an injury-forced change to their squad for the Under-20 Rugby Championship, which starts next Monday in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. Experienced hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele sustained an ankle injury in Stellenbosch last week and will be replaced by Mahle Sithole. Head coach Kevin Foote says Mnebelele’s injury is unfortunate, but this gives Sithole a great chance to showcase his abilities. South Africa will open its campaign against Argentina, followed by Australia on 3 May and New Zealand on 9 May.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-274-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-787-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….