News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC reports 98-percent of the election results are captured, with the expected finalisation later today
# The SACP calls for a review of the trade concessions granted to the United States
# And, Meghan Markle’s father appears in a US court over child sexual abuse material

# The Electoral Commission says 98 -percent of the 2026 local government election results have been captured by mid-morning. The Commission is expecting to finalise the capturing of results this afternoon. The latest update brings the country closer to the completion of the vote-counting process, with outstanding results still undergoing processing and verification. The IEC is expected to provide further updates as it works towards finalising the results and announcing the official election outcome.

Government meanwhile has commended the 15.9 million South Africans who participated particularly young people who took part in the democratic process. Government deputy spokesperson William Baloyi has described the reported turnout as an important milestone in the country’s democratic development. While the Electoral Commission is still to provide the official voter turnout figures, Baloyi has welcomed reports of increased youth participation:

# The South African Communist Party is calling on government to immediately review all trade concessions and arrangements granted to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This follows the US administration’s decision to exclude South Africa from the trade programme, effective January 2027. The SACP says the review should cover tariff-rate quotas, trade preferences and food safety concessions relating to poultry, beef and pork imports. The party is also calling on government to reconsider any trade, regulatory and market-access agreements concluded in response to US demands linked to South Africa’s eligibility for AGOA.

# The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa has strongly criticised an application by Rustenburg Platinum Mines, a subsidiary of Valterra Platinum, seeking exemptions from several provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. GIWUSA president, Mametlwe Sebei says the application, submitted to the Employment and Labour Department, could weaken fundamental workplace protections for mineworkers across operations in Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga. He says the requested exemptions include allowing working days of up to 13 hours and increasing averaged weekly overtime:

# Thomas Markle, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has appeared in a US court after being arrested on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material. The 82-year-old was arrested in Florida on Friday following an FBI investigation. Agents seized about 78 items from two storage units in California. Court documents allege some images showed Markle with underage girls. He denies the allegations and has not entered a plea. A judge has released him under home detention and electronic monitoring while the case proceeds.

# And cricket: Former Australian batter Mike Hussey will be his country’s consulting coach in the next Ashes series against England and next year’s one-day World Cup. The 51-year-old was approached following Australia’s batting woes in the recent series in South Africa which the Proteas clinched 2-1. Hussey will also provide assistance during this month’s T20 home series against England, the Test series against New Zealand, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the T20 World Cup in the same year.

Stay tuned for more news………….