News 13:00

BULLETIN 30 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High Court dismisses Zuma and Mbeki’s bid to remove Judge Khampepe
# Ramaphosa says South Africa offers a favourable investment destination
# And tennis: Zverev replaces Djokovic in third place in the mens’ world rankings

# The High Court in Johannesburg has dismissed an application by former presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki to have retired Justice Sisi Khampepe recuse herself from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of inquiry. The former presidents’ application alleged bias, conflict of interest, and misconduct. They claimed Khampepe’s past roles in the TRC and the National Prosecuting Authority compromised her neutrality in investigating the non-prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. The ruling means she will continue chairing the commission probing stalled prosecutions.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa presents a favourable proposition as investors look to destinations that have demonstrated resilience in the face of increasingly volatile global financial conditions. The sixth South African Investment Conference will be held in Gauteng tomorrow. In the first five-year investment drive, which ran from 2018 to 2023, the country secured 1.56-trillion-rand in investment pledges. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says through this conference, government will demonstrate its commitment to structural reform, policy certainty and policy execution. 

# The City of Cape Town is set to become the first municipality in South Africa to procure electricity at scale from licensed energy traders and aggregators. A new energy trader tender aims to procure 500 megawatts through Power Purchase Agreements spanning one to ten years, from a variety of power generation technologies, including solar. Mayoral committee member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg, says tenderers have until 13 May to respond to this innovative tender:

Moving abroad:

# The Australian government will halve fuel tax for the next three months in an effort to tackle skyrocketing energy prices due to the US-Israeli war on Iran. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20-percent of the world’s oil and natural gas flows, led to the implementation of measures to conserve fuel. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese says they are also suspending the charge on heavy vehicles:

# Tennis: Alexander Zverev of Germany replaced Serbian veteran Novak Djokovic in third place in the men’s world rankings after reaching the semifinal of the Miami Open, where he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. The Italian remains second behind Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who was eliminated in the round of 32. Another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, is fifth and Australian Alex de Minaur sixth, followed by Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. Russian Daniil Medvedev completes the top-ten.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-466-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-530-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 107-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….