News 12:00

BULLETIN 24 April 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# FOSA says a formal inquiry into Fannie Masemola’s fitness to hold office should have been instituted
# The Basic Education Department clarifies schools will not be closed from Tuesdag to Thursday next week
# And soccer: The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture is taking 16 fans to the World Cup in Northern America

# Forum for South Africa has cautiously welcomed the precautionary suspension of national police commissioner Fannie Masemola. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane, says while the suspension is long overdue, it is merely a minimal response to a deepening crisis within the leadership of the South African Police Service. He says president Cyril Ramaphosa must be condemned for failing to institute a formal inquiry into Masemola’s fitness to hold office:

# The latest Business Leadership South Africa Reform Tracker shows the structural reform agenda driven through Operation Vulindlela is delivering measurable progress. The tracker’s overall completion index has climbed to 71.75, up 27-percent since March 2024. Operation Vulindlela’s latest report shows 67-percent of the reform progress is on track, while seven-percent of the reform work has been completed, six-percent faces significant challenges, and 20-percent is delayed. BLSA CEO Busisiwe Mavuso warns that reform progress can be slowed by institutional resistance.

# The Department of Basic Education says the circulation of misleading information on social media platforms claiming that public schools will be closed from Tuesday to Thursday next week is false. Schooling will continue as normal in accordance with the officially approved 2026 school calendar for public schools. The department’s spokesperson, Terence Khala, says the spreading of incorrect information undermines effective planning and may negatively impact attendance and learning outcomes:

Moving abroad:

# Former Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, will face trial at the International Criminal Court. Judges confirmed charges of crimes against humanity over the deadly anti-drug crackdowns he allegedly oversaw while in office. In their 50-page decision, a three-judge panel says prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Duterte’s behest, starting in 2011 and motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves. Over six-thousand people were reportedly killed. A date for the trial has not yet been set.

# Soccer: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says 16 superfans will win an all-expenses-paid trip to watch Bafana Bafana at the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. One lucky fan from every Premier Soccer League team will be selected by a panel of respected figures in South African sport and entertainment, including Robert Marawa and Andile Ncube. McKenzie says the department has secured sponsorship from two big companies:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-59-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-942-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-691-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….