News 12:00

BULLETIN 11 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says a partnership between government and business is important
# A new Brenthurst survey shows the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party could outperform the EFF 
# And tennis: Alcaraz, Sinner and Tsitsipas are through to the fourth round at Indian Wells 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says government will strive to deepen its partnership with business. The collaboration was established in June last year to tackle the electricity supply crisis, the severe challenges in freight rail and port operations, and crime and corruption. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says since then, the private sector has contributed more than 170-million-rand of direct support and has mobilised over 350 technical experts. He says over the next few months the focus will be on increasing electricity generation capacity and helping Transnet rebuild internal capacity.

# The ANC’s support appears to be in freefall, at 39-percent, making a coalition government more likely. This is according to a new national survey by the Brenthurst Foundation. The survey shows the support for the DA nationally has risen to 27-percent and uMkhonto we Sizwe Party is at 13-percent, with the EFF trailing behind with ten-percent. In Gauteng, the Multi-Party Charter’s support is at 38-percent with the ANC at 34-percent. In KwaZulu-Natal, MK is set to be the largest party, with 25-percent of the vote, and the ANC at 20-percent.

# The Gauteng Traffic Department says in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies it will leave no stone unturned in finding the killers of Clearance Tlou Kgomo. The 44-year-old provincial inspector was gunned down and robbed of his service pistol in Pretoria West on Friday night. The department’s spokesperson, Sello Maremane, says Kgomo was accosted by unknown assailants near the Saulsville hostel:

# Tennis: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is through to the fourth round at Indian Wells. The Spaniard defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-2, 6-3, to extend his winning streak in the American tournament to eight matches. Italian third seed Jannik Sinner beat German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4, to progress to the round of 16, while eleventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece defeated American Frances Tiafoe in straight sets. Alcaraz says he is really happy with his level at the moment:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-71-cents and the euro at 20-rand-48-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-653-dollars-9-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-180-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-16-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The fourth annual Mental State of the World Report has once again placed South Africa among the bottom three countries worldwide in terms of mental health. The Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka and Tanzania lead the rankings, while Brazil, South Africa, the UK and Uzbekistan are at the bottom. Sapien Labs’ lead scientist, Jennifer Newson, highlights a persistent trend of diminished mental health, especially with the use of smartphones. Newson emphasises the need for understanding and addressing factors affecting collective well-being.

Stay tuned for more news………….