News 13:00

BULLETIN 12 September 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Forum for South Africa says the Constitutional Court ruling on men taking their wives’ surnames undermines culture
# Deputy president Mashatile says municipalities are drowning in 25-billion-rand’s water debt
# And the legendary former Springbok Jan “Boland” Coetzee dies at the age of 80

# Forum for South Africa has strongly condemned the Constitutional Court ruling permitting husbands to legally adopt their wives’ surnames. The court confirmed that sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act were unconstitutional, effectively upholding a lower court’s ruling. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane, says the ruling is an outright attack on South Africa’s culture, religion, and customs, adding that it undermines centuries of heritage and traditions:

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says government is tightening measures to deal with municipalities defaulting on water payments. He told the National Council of Provinces by June municipalities collectively owed waterboards over 25-billion-rand. Mashatile says some metros, including Johannesburg and Tshwane in Gauteng, and Mangaung in the Free State, have already settled their debts:

# AfriForum Youth has mourned the murder of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on a Utah university campus on Wednesday. The group laid a wreath at the US embassy in Pretoria, sending condolences to his family. In its tribute, AfriForum praised Kirk’s faith, courage, and influence on young people worldwide. Spokesperson Louis Boshoff says the killing reflects growing intolerance toward conservative voices and stressed that well-founded arguments must be heard despite opposition.

# Legendary former Springbok Jan “Boland” Coetzee has died at the age of 80. He also played for Western Province and Maties. Coetzee played six Tests for South Africa between 1974 and ’76, including in the 1976 home series against the All Blacks which the Boks won 3-1. He also represented Province between 1967 and ’79, and was a member of the University of Stellenbosch’s team for several years. Coetzee later became a renowned winemaker on his farm, Vriesenhof, in the Stellenbosch area.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-40-cents and the euro at 20-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 114-thousand-987-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-645-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Retired high school principal Alui Tshigabe has fulfilled a lifelong dream by obtaining a PhD in just 26-months, a feat many doubted he could achieve in such a short time. The 68-year-old obtained his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Venda. He says many people told him it would take four years to complete the degree, but adds he was determined to prove his doubters wrong. Tshigabe says he is now working on a book on wildlife at the Kruger National Park.

Stay tuned for more news………….