News 13:00

BULLETIN 6 June 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government is seeking alternative ways to keep the Road Accident Fund financially sustainable
# Anti-immigrant protests organisers seek urgent meeting with government on planned march
# And, Rugby: The Stormers captain says they didn’t go to Dublin just to take part

#  Transport minister Barbara Creecy says her department is researching a new vehicle contributory scheme that could add a specific fee to South Africa’s annual licence disc renewal. She says government is also seeking an alternative ways to keep the Road Accident Fund financially sustainable. Creecy says the RAF is currently funded via a fuel levy on petrol and diesel. The minister says government is  evaluating options for vehicle owners to contribute toward the RAF directly, possibly when purchasing or renewing their licence disc.

# Anti-immigrant protests organisers say they are seeking urgent meetings with the government and police to outline their intentions for a planned June 30 immigrants national march. The march leader, Phakamile Ndabandaba, says they have not yet finalised what they will be doing on the march day. He reiterated the campaign’s position that undocumented foreign national should leave South Africa by the end of this month. He told News24 that they are happy to see that other African counties have already started making plans for their people to go back home.

# Saftu says for more than a decade, the Department of Basic Education budgets have failed to keep pace with enrolment growth, inflation, infrastructure needs and staffing requirements. The federation’s Asive Dyani says provincial education departments in all nine provinces have repeatedly cited budget constraints as the reason for freezing or delaying appointments. She says government and the National Treasury must prioritise budget increase for the 2027 school academic year:

# The EFF in Gauteng has welcomed the seizure of properties and luxury assets worth three-million-rand  linked to Hangwani Maumela as part of the ongoing investigation into the looting of public funds at the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital. EFF spokesperson, Dumisani Baleni, says the seizure of these assets demonstrates that corruption has consequences and that proceeds of crime can and must be recovered for the benefit of the people. He says the seizure of assets must, however, be followed by successful prosecutions and the recovery of all stolen funds.

# The City of Tshwane says the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Plant is back in operation following the successful repair of its raw water pump. The city’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo says the plant experienced a mechanical breakdown at its raw water abstraction works section on Wednesday, affecting the plant’s ability to abstract and treat raw water. He says Bronkhorstspruit,  Zithobeni  and Ekandustria reservoirs have improved:

# Rugby: The Stormers know they are up against it in their United Rugby Championship semifinal against Leinster that hardly ever loses in Dublin but their leadership group is convinced they have a chance of taking their campaign all the way to the final. Stormers director of rugby John Dobson says last week’s game against Cardiff was a very expensive one in terms of injury but he is confident that the replacements will do well. Captain Ruhan Nel agrees and says they are not there to compete; they are there to win. Kickoff in Dublin is at 18:30 South African time.

Stay tuned for more news………….