News 13:00

BULLETIN 27 June 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Defence minister Motshekga assures the SANDF’s capability despite budget constraints
# The DA demands answers on Armscor’s defence plans and Denel’s missing reports
# And cricket: The stop-clock rule extends to Tests

# Defence minister Angie Motshekga has reaffirmed the South African National Defence Force’s readiness to defend the country’s sovereignty, despite ongoing fiscal constraints and ageing equipment. She says the department is actively working with Treasury and the Presidency to stabilise and improve the Air Force’s capacity, including ongoing aircraft servicing and procurement efforts. Mothshekga says they have challenges but are not completely dysfunctional. She says they are working hard to stay afloat, stay in the air, and continue to confront challenges.

Meanwhile, the DA says it is alarmed that Armscor and Denel are pushing ahead with grand defence plans while ignoring the law, the budget, and basic accountability. Armscor’s latest corporate plan leans heavily on a strategy inspired by president Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for more defence spending and a target of 1.5-percent of gross domestic product. The DA’s Chris Hattingh says over the past few years, Denel has received more than ten-billion-rand in bailouts without proper public reporting:

# The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is under fire for defying a court order to pay over nine-million-rand to the Insika Foundation. The foundation approached the courts last year seeking an order for the department to pay for services delivered, which it was granted. The department appealed but lost. The foundation’s CEO, Ziphozethu Busisiwe Matheniwa, says they intend to pursue further legal relief and also file a formal complaint to Parliament and the Public Protector.

# Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has condemned a widespread campaign of misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. The campaign falsely claims that vaccines are harmful, and wrongly involves scientists like professor Salim Abdool Karim. Motsoaledi warns that some people are promoting fake heart medicines to make money, putting lives at risk. Ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale urges the public to unite against misinformation to protect public health:

# Cricket: A stop-clock rule has been introduced in Tests because of the long-standing problem of slow over-rates. The rule, already in use in white-ball cricket for the past year, forces the fielding side to start an over within a minute after ending the previous one. The International Cricket Council says an electronic clock will be displayed that counts up the seconds from zero to 60. A five-run penalty will be issued after two warnings, while warnings will be reset to zero after the completion of 80 overs.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-91-cents and the euro at 20-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-61-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-926-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-285-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….