News 13:00

BULLETIN 6 February 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Western Cape premier urges Ramaphosa to prioritise economic growth and job creation in SONA
# Another wave of quakes hits the Greek island of Santorini
# And rugby: Canan Moodie plays his 50th match for the Bulls on Saturday

# Western Cape premier Alan Winde is calling for a bold and decisive state of the nation address that prioritises economic growth and job creation. He urges president Cyril Ramaphosa to focus on fixing the ports and rail network to boost trade and investment. Winde calls for fiscal discipline to ensure resources are directed to essential services:

Meanwhile, the agricultural organisation TLU SA is appealing to Ramaphosa to announce the withdrawal of the Land Expropriation Act for review this evening. The organisation’s Bennie van Zyl says the implementation of this law will harm the economy, investor confidence, and the country’s future. He adds the core issue is not the principle of an expropriation law itself, but the vague definition of public interest:

# A fresh series of quakes hit the Greek tourism island of Santorini, part of an unprecedented seismic wave that has baffled scientists and led to a mass exodus of residents. Seven successive tremors measuring over 4 magnitude were recorded in the early morning. This was after a 5.2 quake, the strongest so far since the weekend, was recorded yesterday evening. Experts have so far been unable to give a definitive estimate on when the seismic activity will end, but stress that it is unprecedented.

# Rugby: Springbok winger Canan Moodie will play his 50th match for the Bulls in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship game against the Stormers in Cape Town. It’s the same city where he made his debut for the Pretoria side’s Currie Cup team against Western Province in 2022. The 22-year-old grew up in the Boland. The Bulls are currently third on the URC log after winning six of their eight previous matches, while the Stormers are 12th after losing five out of nine games.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-62-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 98-thousand-586-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-856-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The SA Army Band Western Cape honoured the late former president Nelson Mandela’s legacy with a concert at Jubilee and Jabulani Memorial Homes in Cape Town. The concert was part of the global 67 Minutes initiative. The band performed timeless pieces like Frank Sinatra in Concert, Misty, Rock Fantasy, and Carpenters in Concert. The band says the performance was a musical tribute not only to Mandela’s enduring spirit of service but also a celebration of community and heritage.

Stay tuned for more news………….