News 13:00

BULLETIN 12th November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Convicted criminal Scharnick claims he knows the Crime Intelligence boss for three years
# The Western Cape’s unemployment rate drops to below 20-percent
# And Steenhuisen says government is strengthening South Africa’s beekeeping industry

# Convicted criminal and associate of suspended national deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, Stuart Scharnick, says he has known Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo for three years. Scharnick opened a defamation case against Khumalo at the Pretoria Central police station this morning. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, he accuses Khumalo of lying under oath at the Madlanga commission, saying the false claims endangered his family and caused irreparable reputational damage:

# Western Cape premier Alan Winde says the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows that the province’s Growth for Jobs Strategy is working. The province’s unemployment rate has declined to 19.7-percent in the third quarter compared to 21.1-percent in the second. Winde says 65-thousand jobs were added, but more work still needs to be done:

# Leading Chinese carmaker Beijing Automotive Group, BAIC, will start assembling its newly-launched B30 off-road SUV at its factory in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape as early as January. Financial head Anele Geza told Reuters the model with combustion engine and hybrid models will be assembled using a completely knocked-down production process. It assembles cars from many small parts, with increased local content. Multi-national automakers – including Toyota and Ford – have been advocating for increased local production by newcomers in order to preserve the domestic auto industry and increase local content.

# Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthening South Africa’s beekeeping industry. Bee pollination contributes more than ten-billion-rand to agriculture every year. The country produces up to two-thousand-500 tons of honey annually but consumes nearly double that amount, relying heavily on imports, primarily from China. Steenhuisen says beekeeping is a vital contributor to the country’s agricultural sector for its contribution to food security, income generation and economic development:

# Soccer: South Africa’s Amajimbos are plagued by injuries before Saturday’s match against Japan in the last 32 of the Under 17 World Cup in Qatar. This is the first time South Africa had reached the tournament’s knockout stage. Coach Vela Khumalo is worried about the lack of defenders because of injuries, forcing him to constantly change his team. He hopes some of the injured will be fit in time. Khumalo is nonetheless very proud of his charges for coming this far.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-13-cents and the euro at 19-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-47-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-761-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-125-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-46-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….