News 13:00

BULLETIN 9 September 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A Pakistani businessman has been rescued and three suspects were arrested in Gauteng
# A parliamentary committee criticises ineffective measures against extortion mafias
# And, rugby: Siya Kolisi returns to the Sharks

# A South African and two Mozambican nationals have been arrested at various addresses in Gauteng following the kidnapping of a Pakistani businessman and the murder of another. Police spokesperson, Amanda van Wyk says police have been working on a kidnapping case emanating from a business robbery in Ennerdale on 27 August in which two business partners were attacked at their hardware store. She says one was killed at the scene and another kidnapped for ransom:

Meanwhile, the chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Police, Ian Cameron, has criticised government’s approach to combatting extortion mafias, calling it ineffective. His remarks follow the recent launch of a special hotline to report extortion in the Eastern Cape. Cameron says the lack of consequences has fueled the rise of extortion across various sectors. He urges government to adopt a more proactive strategy to dismantle these criminal networks:

# The South African Local Government Association says the landmark wage agreement reached with organised labour is a historic achievement in both the local government sector and the broader public service. The agreement will see the country’s estimated 300-thousand municipal workers getting wage increases of six-percent in the first year and consumer price inflation-linked increase over the next four years. Salga, the employer body representing the country’s 257 municipalities, says this agreement will provide much-needed stability in the local government sector.

# The non-profit organisation Blind South Africa has filed an urgent application in the Equality Court against the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers or ICB. The organisation represented by SECTION27, accuses ICB of unfairly discriminating against 50 blind and visually impaired students, who are trying to complete the National Certificate in Small Business and Financial Management. It also challenges ICB’s claim that the 50 students were never registered for the course. Blind SA says ICB’s refusal to adapt its online platform to accommodate blind and visually impaired students is unacceptable.

# Rugby: The Sharks have confirmed that Springbok captain Siya Kolisi will return home to join the Durban team upon the completion of his current national duties. After spending a season abroad with French Top 14 club Racing 92, the 33-year-old makes a welcome return home to South Africa. Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell says Kolisi is an influential player, whose leadership and passion is known and celebrated across the globe.  

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-92-cents and the euro at 19-rand-81-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-47-cents and Bitcoin trades at 55-thousand-325-dollars-10-cent. Gold sells at two-thousand-495-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….