News 13:00

BULLETIN 15 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SAFTU calls for urgent action to rebuild South Africa’s collapsing infrastructure
# Rugby: The Boks and Italy kick off the weekend’s thrilling international action
# And, veteran journalist Clarence Keyter dies at 80

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions is calling on government and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to take urgent action to rebuild South Africa’s collapsing infrastructure. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced the new Infrastructure Finance and Implementation Support Agency, which will be operational by March 2026, aimed to provide project preparation support for the Infrastructure pipeline.  SAFTU’s Asive Dyani says when infrastructure collapses, it is workers and the poor who suffer:

# The DA has welcomed the upgrade of South Africa’s credit rating by S&P for the first time since August 2005. The DA’s Wendy Alexander says the BB rating is a clear sign of a positive outlook, which is further confirmation that South Africa, under the government of national unity, has new fiscal credibility:

# Eskom says the generation fleet continues to demonstrate resilience and improvement, marking a significant turnaround driven by the success of the generation recovery plan. Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena says South Africa has now experienced 182 consecutive days without an interrupted supply, with only 26 hours of load-shedding recorded in April and May during this financial year. She says the energy availability factor has reached 70.75-percent month-to-date, a notable increase from 63.16-percent in the same period last year:

# US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order allowing a range of food products, including coffee, bananas, and beef, to escape his sweeping tariffs. The move comes as his administration faces mounting pressure over rising prices. While Trump previously downplayed concerns about the cost of living, he has focused on the issue since his Republican Party’s poor performance in last week’s elections. The dozens of products included on the White House’s list of exemptions range from avocados and tomatoes to coconuts and mangoes. The Trump administration said these goods cannot be produced in sufficient quantities domestically.

# Rugby: The Springboks and Italy kick off a weekend of thrilling international action in Turin at 2.40 this afternoon. This will be followed by a suspected blockbuster between England and New Zealand at Twickenham, whereafter Wales will welcome Japan to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Ireland and the Wallabies, fresh off defeat to Italy, will face off at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and France and Fiji will take to the field in Bordeaux. Tomorrow, Scotland will host Argentina at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

# And finally: Veteran journalist Clarence Keyter died last night at the age of 80. Keyter rose to fame when he provided live TV coverage for the SABC on former president Nelson Mandela’s release from Victor Verster Prison. Initially scheduled to be on air for only seven minutes, Keyter ended up live for 76 minutes after Mandela’s release was delayed. The broadcast was retransmitted to 116 countries worldwide. He is survived by his wife, Francis.

Stay tuned for more news………….