News 13:00

BULLETIN 29 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# TotalEnergies withdraws from South Africa’s offshore gas fields
# Minister Meth welcomes the signing into law of the Companies Amendment Bill
# And, Olympic Games: The swimming leg of the triathlon may have to be abandoned because of the Seine’s poor water quality

# French energy giant TotalEnergies has announced it was withdrawing from two offshore gas fields in South Africa as they did not appear economically viable. A subsidiary of TotalEnergies owns a 45-percent stake in a block off the country’s southern coast where the fields, Brulpadda and Luiperd, were discovered. TotalEnergies said they could not be turned into a commercial development as it appeared to be too challenging to economically develop and monetise these gas discoveries for the South African market.

# Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, has welcomed the signing into law of the Companies Amendment Bill. The act streamlines company law to be clear, user-friendly and less burdensome on the conduct of business. The department’s spokesperson, Teboho Thejane, says the law addresses public concerns regarding high levels of inequalities in society by introducing better disclosure of senior executives’ remuneration:

# The Commission for Gender Equality says justice Mandisa Maya’s appointment as chief justice will go a long way in ensuring that more women are considered for senior positions in the judiciary. The commission’s chairperson, Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, says in 2016, they released a report titled, Gender Transformation in the Judiciary. Sepanya-Mogale says the findings decried among, others, a lack of gender transformation:

# Olympic Games: Training for the triathlon had to be cancelled for the second successive day today because of the polluted River Seine in Paris. The organisers and World Triathlon say tests have shown the water quality was not up to standard. The men’s triathlon is due to start tomorrow. If the water quality has not improved by then, the swimming leg will be moved to later this week, or abandoned if it can’t go ahead. The standard was good until heavy rain this weekend diminished the quality.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-53-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-510-dollars-12-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-392-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

# And finally, despite high costs, South African students are reportedly flocking to UK universities, with five-thousand-240 enrolled between 2019 and ’22. The University of Birmingham is offering a 40-percent discount on tuition fees for its Dubai campus, bringing the cost to 396-thousand-rand compared to 660-thousand-rand. In contrast, tuition at the University of Pretoria ranges from 55- to 62-thousand-rand. Universities like Birmingham, Bradford, and Manchester Metropolitan are seeing increased interest, with discounts and scholarships available to attract South African students.

Stay tuned for more news………….