News 13:00

BULLETIN 27 February 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa extends the term of the SARS commissioner 
# A Limpopo court postpones a German tourist’s murder case to Monday 
# And Rugby: The Bulls are looking to break their losing streak against the Stormers

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the term of office for the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, Edward Kieswetter, to two years. The decision aims to facilitate an orderly leadership transition within the organisation. Kieswetter, initially appointed in March 2019 for a five-year term starting on May 1, 2019, will continue leading the execution of the current strategic direction of SARS while ensuring a smooth transition in leadership.

# Three Zimbabweans accused of murdering a German tourist in Limpopo must return to the Northam Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Jan Moshabi, Abstein Madzvimbo and Thomas Moyo are facing charges of murder and contravening the Immigration Act after 74-year-old Herman Westphal was assaulted and killed in the town this past weekend. The National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, says the case was postponed for the accused to get legal representation:

# Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink says a lot of work has been done, especially to fix two of the three major Auditor-General findings, cash flow and money paid to creditors. The metro expects to receive the audit outcome for the 2023/24 financial year in the next few weeks, after receiving an adverse audit outcome for the previous year ending June 2022. Brink says the goal is not compliance, but to ensure maximum accountability and procure maximum value for the money spent on residents’ behalf.

# Rugby: The top two South African sides in the United Rugby Championship will meet on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld. Third-placed Bulls will look to break their losing streak against the sixth-placed Stormers after the Cape Town team won their previous five meetings. Bulls assistant coach Andries Bekker says they a looking for more consistency:

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-19-cents and the euro at 20-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-34-cents and Bitcoin trades at 56-thousand-616-dollars-20-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-35-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-65-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Social Kids ZA is calling on parents to proactively educate their children below the age of 11 about the risks and dangers associated with digital media. This campaign is in response to the increasing prevalence of children engaging with digital platforms without a full understanding of the potential risks. The founder of the organisation, Cheryl Barnett, says she has developed a specialised programme aimed at assisting parents:

Stay tuned for more news………….