News 13:00

BULLETIN 22 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Workers fear job losses at De Beers’ Venetia diamond mine
# Women and Men Against Child Abuse says justice delayed is justice denied for the survivor in the Iain Wares case
# And athletics: Bayanda Walaza has become the fourth-fastest South African of all-time

# Workers at De Beers’ Venetia Mine in Alldays, Limpopo, are concerned over possible job losses following the company’s decision to suspend production for two years. The move has placed more than one-thousand-200 jobs at risk at South Africa’s largest diamond mine. Some employees have already received Section 189A notices, which could lead to retrenchments. De Beers says the production pause will support its underground expansion project as it responds to weak global demand for natural diamonds.

# Women and Men Against Child Abuse says the repeated delays in the sentencing of convicted paedophile Iain Wares are denying his victim justice. The former teacher from Rondebosch Boys Primary in Cape Town was convicted in a historic sexual abuse case in which he violated a learner who was 12-years-old at the time of the offences, over three decades ago. The organisation’s Claudine Shiels says it’s imperative to conclude this high-profile case in an act of accountability to a watching public.

# Forum for South Africa has welcomed the national inquiry into the criminal justice system’s response to gender-based violence and femicide. The Commission for Gender Equality, the South African Human Rights Commission and the CRL Rights Commission’s inquiry seeks to identify systemic weaknesses in the reporting, investigation and victim support processes. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane, says the inquiry presents an important opportunity to expose systemic failures within the criminal justice system:

# AfriForum has called on police to provide an update on the investigation into former Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad’s alleged reckless handling of a firearm. He allegedly appeared in a video discharging a firearm in public in April. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk says they lodged a criminal complaint with police, alleging contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He says there has still been no meaningful progress in the investigation:

# Athletics: Twenty-year-old Bayanda Walaza became the fourth fastest South African of all-time when he won the men’s 100-metres at a meeting in Slovakia. He crossed the line in 9.89-seconds, his best personal time and a meeting record, placing him behind Akani Simbine, Benjamin Richardson and Gift Leotlela. Jamaican Ackeem Blake finished second and Canadian Andre de Grasse third. Twelve South Africans have now broken ten seconds in the item, including Wayde van Niekerk.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-45-cents and the euro at 18-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-954-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-118-dollars-7-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….