News 13:00

BULLETIN 31 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Reserve Bank governor says the push for a three-percent inflation target should not be delayed
# The FF Plus warns that Ekurhuleni is dangerously close to a fiscal edge of ruin
# And cricket: South Africa or India will claim the coveted Women’s World Cup for the very first time

# Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago says there is no reason to delay lowering South Africa’s inflation target to three-percent, despite pressures from electricity and water tariffs, and salary agreements. He told Reuters waiting for multi-year wage deals to expire would stall progress. Kganyago insists the current three-to-six-percent target band is outdated and uncompetitive. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana hasn’t formalised the change, but Kganyago says market confidence and falling bond yields support the move.

# The Freedom Front Plus has expressed alarm at the Ekurhuleni Municipality in Gauteng’s first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year report. The party’s Denise Janse van Rensburg says although the metro claims its collection rate is 96.26-percent, previous reports indicate that collection levels in Eskom areas are, in fact, as low as 11.8-percent. She says cash reserves have dropped to only 15 days, far below the National Treasury’s minimum requirement of 25 days:

# The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning has given environmental authorisation to the Cape Winelands International Airport project in Cape Town. The eight-billion-rand project entails the expansion of the airport just outside Durbanville in a series of phased developments. Airport managing director, Deon Cloete, says the development will also include airside infrastructure such as taxiways and aircraft parking stands:

# Cricket: A new one-day Women’s World Cup champion will be crowned on Sunday when South Africa takes on co-hostesses India in the final in Mumbai. This will be the Proteas’ first time featuring in the final. India previously played in the title decider in 2005 and 2017 when they finished as runners-up behind Australia and England, respectively. South Africa reached the final by thrashing England by 125 runs in the semifinal, while India beat defending champions Australia by five wickets yesterday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-30-cents and the euro at 20-rand-2-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-55-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-two-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

# And finally: Fifteen-year-old Owen Lineker from Plettenberg Bay has smashed both the South African and the All-Africa junior record at the Junior Bottom Fish Nationals. He caught a 5.9-kilogram red stumpnose on a reef off the Gqeberha coast, surpassing the previous record of 4.9-kilograms. Found around rocky reefs, red stumpnose are prized by anglers for their fighting spirit and rarity as a top recreational catch. Owen says he now has his sights on representing South Africa on the international stage.

Stay tuned for more news………….