News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Joslin Smith’s mother is one of the accused in her disappearance 
# More than 200 unemployed doctors receive appointment letters
# And cricket: Respected South African umpire Marais Erasmus stands in his final Test 

# Four people, including Joslin Smith’s mother, Kelly, appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on the West Coast in connection with the disappearance of the seven-year-old girl, who went missing in Saldanha Bay on 19 February. Two men allegedly confessed to selling Joslin for muti after 36 hours of interrogation. The case has been postponed to next week Wednesday for bail applications. All accused are in custody. Joslin’s whereabouts remain unknown.

# Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla, says over 200 unemployed doctors have received letters of appointment. This follows a 3.7-billion-rand allocation for recruitment and compensation in February’s national budget. Provinces advertised previously frozen positions, addressing concerns raised by protesting doctors. Phaahla assured more appointments by month-end, though the exact number remains uncertain. The allocation also covers nurses, pharmacists, and other health workers.

# The GOOD Party says it has officially registered to contest the 29 May general elections on the national ballot, as well as all nine provincial ballots. The party says it has paid the required 750-thousand-rand deposit to the Independent Electoral Commission to register for its second election. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, says in the 2021 local government election they contested only 40 municipalities which saw 51 of its councillors elected in four provinces:

# The Road Freight Association says the continuous increases in the price of fuel inevitably drive the cost of transport and logistics up. Petrol has gone up by one-rand-21-cents per litre while diesel and illuminating paraffin have also increased. The association’s CEO, Gavin Kelly says road freight companies will now be faced with the reality of having to increase pricing to cover the ever-increasing cost of diesel:

# Cricket: The second and final Test between New Zealand and Australia starting in Christchurch tomorrow will be the swansong of respected South African umpire Marais Erasmus. He recently announced he is calling it quits after a distinguished career in which he officiated in 80 Tests, 124 one-day internationals and 61 international T20s. Erasmus made his debut in a T20 between the Proteas and Australia at the Wanderers in February 2006. He says he will miss the privileges and travelling, but is looking forward to a more boring life.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 20-rand-49-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-727-dollars-96-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-154-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….