News 13:00

BULLETIN 10 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# OUTA says it has the support of students following an explosive report implicating Blade Nzimande 
# The Western Cape authorities call for safe learner transport as schools reopen next week
# And Tennis: Richard Gasquet exits the top 100 list after 956 weeks

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says it has received support from students and student unions following the exposure of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme scandal. OUTA recently released recordings revealing that millions of rand were purportedly paid as kickbacks to minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande and the scheme’s board chairperson, Ernest Khosa. OUTA’s head of investigations, Rudie Heyneke, says the investigations suggest that these kickbacks were exchanged for tenders and protection for the service providers involved.

Meanwhile, the Student Forum 4 Service Delivery is calling again for government to scrap the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. The forum says a soft approach is no longer acceptable. The party’s Nhongo Solo says it previously warned all pertinent institutions and stakeholders, including students, about the ongoing mismanagement of funds and corruption within NSFAS:

# Western Cape authorities are calling on learner transporters to practice road safety protocols ahead of the schools reopening next week. MEC for Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie says drivers must ensure the safety of learners while being transported to and from schools. He also emphasised to eNCA that learner transporters must ensure they are registered as operators:

# Tennis: French veteran Richard Gasquet will exit the men’s top 100 list for the first time since April 2005. This follows his defeat to young compatriot Arthur Fils (Fis), who beat him in straight sets in the first rond of the ASB Classic in New Zealand. Thirty-seven-year-old Gasquet’s 956 weeks among the 100 best players in the world is the most for active players, but Spain’s Rafael Nadal keeps the overall record of one-thousand-and-29 weeks. Nineteen-year-old Fils is seen as the next French player to watch.

# And finally: The largest male specimen of the world’s most venomous spider, the deadly Sydney funnel-web spider, has been found north of Sydney in Australia. Hercules, as he is called, now lives at the Australian Reptile Park, where it will contribute to the anti-venom programme. Spider experts from the park retrieved the arachnid and soon realised it was the largest male specimen ever discovered in Australia. He measures 7.9 centimetres from foot to foot. Sydney funnel-web spiders have powerful fangs that can pierce a human fingernail and typically range in length from one to five centimetres.

Stay tuned for more news………….