News 13:00

BULLETIN 14 April 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Thembi Simelane is invited to present the George building collapse report to the Western Cape legislature
# Netball: South Africa will play New Zealand in a three-Test series in September
# And the DA overtakes the ANC in a public opinion poll for the first time

# The Western Cape provincial Parliament’s standing committee on Infrastructure has invited Human Settlements minister, Thembi Simelane, to appear before it and present the George building collapse report. Last week, the minister revealed the findings of the National Home Builders Regulatory Council’s investigation report into the building collapse, which resulted in the deaths of 34 people in May last year. The DA’s Dirk Wessels says the collapse of the building was a structural, governance, and human tragedy:

Cosatu has meanwhile welcomed Simelane’s assurances that individuals flouting regulations of the New Housing Protection Act promulgated in January, would face more stringent sanctions and penalties. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Zanele Sabela, says health and safety requirements as stipulated by the National Building Regulation were also flouted in George:

# The Freedom Front Plus says the large number of informal settlements illegally connected to the City of Tshwane’s power network is causing the already unreliable network to become even more unstable. Last December, the metro identified 575 informal settlements that are expanding very quickly as a result of illegal land occupations. The metro’s Petition Committee also received around 20 petitions from informal settlements requesting to be temporarily connected to the power network. The FF Plus says illegal connections pose serious safety risks to residents.

# Netball: World number five South Africa will tour New Zealand for a three-Test series in September in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year. The Proteas will play the second-ranked Silver Ferns for the Taini Jamison Trophy. Proteas coach Jenny van Dyk says it’s important to play against the top teams, especially heading into the 2027 World Cup in Australia. New Zealand coach Noeline Taurua says the matches will serve as a great test as they continue to build squad depth and combinations.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-88-cents and the euro at 21-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 84-thousand-781-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-227-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-71-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Institute of Race Relations says the DA has surpassed the ANC for the first time in its polling public opinion. The DA at 30.3-percent edges past the ANC at 29.7-percent in the poll, with the budget proposal to raise the VAT contributing significantly to this shift. The IRR says the DA’s support among black voters has surged from five to 18-percent, demonstrating the political potential for the party to grow its support across traditional divides. The full results of the poll will be released tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more news………….