News 13:00

BULLETIN 1 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa suspends deputy minister Dipuo Peters
# AZAPO calls for the axing of minister Pravin Gordhan
# And Rugby: Loftus is expected to be packed for the Bulls/Stormers clash 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended deputy minister of Small Business Development Dipuo Peters. This follows after Parliament’s joint committee on Ethics and Members Interests found that Peters had breached the Code of Ethical Conduct in her former portfolio as minister of Transport. A complaint was filed against Peters in 2022 for not appointing a Prasa CEO and dismissing the board. She also requested Prasa buses to be used for the ANC for celebrations on 8 January 2015, which were not paid for. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed the suspension and sanctions:

Meanwhile, the Azanian People’s Organisation is calling on Ramaphosa to immediately remove Pravin Gordhan as the minister of Public Enterprises and to personally ensure the full disclosure of the details of the sale of South African Airways. AZAPO’s spokesperson, Jabu Rakwena says nothing exposes the devastating effects of capitalism like the sale of the national airline carrier to a private entity known as Takatso and the secrecy surrounding the transaction:

# Gauteng police says it will continue to target crime hotspots including clamping down on illegal liquor outlets through Operation Shanela. A total of 354 suspects were arrested during high-visibility operations in Tshwane this week. Police spokesperson, Johan van Dyk, says three people were arrested for murder, five for attempted murder and five for rape:

# Rugby: Tomorrow’s match between the Bulls and the Stormers at an expected packed Loftus Versfeld is the most awaited of the weekend’s United Rugby Championship fixtures. The Pretoria team lost to their archrivals in all five their previous matches in the competition, and wants to prove a point. In the other South African derby, the Lions will host the Sharks at Ellis Park. The Bulls are currently in third place on the log, the Stormers sixth, the Lions 11th and the Sharks 16th.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-21-cents and the euro at 20-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-205-dollars-87-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-44-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Civil society organisations and pro-Palestine activists evaluated the ramifications of the Israel-Hamas conflict at a gathering at the University of Cape Town. One-thousand-200 people were killed when Hamas attacked Israel on the seventh of October last year. In retaliation attacks by Israel, over 30-thousand people have been killed. Tshisimani Centre’s Siviwe Mdoda, emphasised the importance of unified action against injustice, saying many lessons can be learned from the ongoing conflict.

Stay tuned for more news………….