News 13:00

BULLETIN 5 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA leads in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni as Gauteng’s results take shape
# Tshwane braces for another coalition government
# And rugby: Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok has signed a multi-year deal with the Sharks

# The DA is leading in the Gauteng metros of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni as election results continue to come in. In Johannesburg, the DA has more than 42-percent of the vote, followed by ActionSA on 15.5-percent and the ANC third on 15-percent. The DA is also leading in Ekurhuleni with 43.7-percent, while the ANC has 14-percent. In Tshwane, ActionSA is ahead, followed by the ANC and the DA.

Meanwhile, Tshwane’s mayoral candidates are bracing for another possible coalition government as the counting continues. No party is expected to secure an outright majority, with coalition talks likely to begin soon. Tshwane has been governed through coalitions since 2016, marked by instability and a revolving door of mayors. DA candidate Cilliers Brink says they will only partner with parties committed to fixing water and electricity problems and restoring the rule of law. ActionSA says it will prioritise residents’ interests in any deal.

And in Midrand, Gauteng, chief electoral commissioner Sy Mamabolo says the counting and verification of votes is being conducted under strict transparency and accountability measures. He says ballots are counted at voting stations in the presence of party agents and accredited observers. Results slips are then transported in tamper-evident envelopes to capturing centres. Mamabolo emphasises a top-tier quality assurance process has been implemented:

# Environmental group The Green Connection is calling on the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to disclose the decisions that have permitted commercial sardine fishing to continue. This follows a mass sardine die-off, which was attributed to pilchard herpesvirus, along roughly two-thousand-600 kilometres of the country’s coastline.  The Green Connection’s Neville van Rooy calls for a temporary suspension of sardine fishing until a new biomass survey is completed and an updated catch limit is announced:

# Rugby: Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok has signed with the Sharks on a multi-year deal from July next year. The 29-year-old, who has 34 Test caps, previously had a brief stint with the team in 2020 and 2021 before joining the Stormers and helping win them the inaugural United Rugby Championship title in 2022. The World Cup winner is currently playing in Japan with Hanazono Kintetsu Liners. Sharks coach JP Pietersen says Libbok’s attacking ability and experience will be invaluable for the team.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36-cents and the euro at 18-rand-40-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-242-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-127-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-5-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….