News 13:00

BULLETIN 9 April 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The new Whistleblower Bill expands state protection for whistleblowers
# The DA wants minister Motsoaledi to present a full roll-out plan of the HIV prevention medicine Lenacapavir
# And athletics: The fire at Rio’s Olympic stadium didn’t damage the track

# Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi says the Protected Disclosure Bill will extend state protection to whistleblowers, including relocation, identity protection and security measures. Speaking during the release of the draft bill, Kubayi says it expands the role of witness protection units and allows access to legal aid at state expense. She also announced a new complaints mechanism to handle cases of retaliation or inaction:

# The DA plans to request that minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi, present to Parliament a full roll-out plan and timeline of Lenacapavir, as well as progress on implementation. The first batch of the new HIV prevention medicine has arrived in South Africa. Close to 38-thousand doses have been donated by the Global Fund. The DA’s Michéle Clarke says this marks a major step forward in the fight against HIV:

# Volkswagen Group Africa announced the production of its 500-thousandth Polo for the export market. The vehicle rolling off the Kariega plant assembly line in the Eastern Cape was an ice blue, right‑hand‑drive Polo destined for the UK, one of the group’s main export markets. The current model has been in production at the plant since 2021. On average it takes three days to build one car, with around one-thousand-400 parts coming together to create the vehicle. Over the past 30-years, four generations of Polo have been produced at Kariega.

# Athletics: The track wasn’t damaged in yesterday’s fire at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which hosted the Games of 2016. Dozens of firefighters converged on the velodrome, which houses the Olympic Museum that features exhibits and artefacts from the Games. No injuries were reported, and the flames didn’t spread to other parts of the complex. The stadium’s roof also caught fire twice in 2017, both incidents being linked to falling sky lanterns.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-44-cents and the euro at 19-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-250-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-732-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-32-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Lilanga High School in Diepdale, Mpumalanga, forces about one-thousand learners to share two overflowing pit toilets, raising serious health and dignity concerns. The issue, ongoing for years, persists despite a 1.6-million-rand allocation in 2020 for upgrades that were never implemented. Experts say poor planning and underfunding have delayed sanitation improvements. Learners reportedly resort to nearby bushes or neighbours’ toilets. The Education Department cites water scarcity, with the municipality supplying water only weekly, as a contributing challenge.

Stay tuned for more news………….