News 14:00

BULLETIN 15 March 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC ensures election security with a Natjoints deployment 
# Cosatu says government must be credited for allocating 60-percent of the budget to social wages
# And rugby: Ireland’s squad is unchanged for their Six Nations decider against Scotland 

# Independent Electoral Commission CEO Sy Mamabolo has confirmed the deployment of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure to safeguard the May general elections. Speaking at a National Press Club dialogue, Mamabolo emphasised Natjoints’ role in ensuring the security of the election process across all nine provinces. He also issued a stern warning, stating that any attempts to destabilise the process would result in arrest and prosecution:

# Cosatu says government must be credited for allocating 60-percent of the budget to the social wage and investments in working class communities. These are critical towards ensuring that no one is left behind and there is a measure of stability and social cohesion as the blockages to growing the economy are resolved. Cosatu acting spokesperson, Matthew Parks says the trade union federation welcomes the increase in the social relief of distress grant from 1 April: 

# Johannesburg Water’s operations manager, Logan Munsamy, says the majority of the city’s water systems have improved and are now back in operation. Munsamy was giving an update on systems that were affected by incidents that occurred at the Eikenhof pump station, resulting in disruptions to water supply throughout the city. He says the Kensington B reservoir is very stable at 70-percent, and Blairgowrie reservoir, that supply water to Randburg, is now at 65-percent:

# Russians started voting today in a three-day presidential election that is set to hand veteran leader Vladimir Putin another six-year term as the raging conflict in Ukraine spreads further into Russian territory. Putin has been in power as president or prime minister since the final day of 1999. The former KGB agent is casting the election as a show of Russians’ loyalty and support for his military assault on Ukraine, now in its third year. Polling stations opened early morning in the country spread over eleven time zones.

# Rugby: Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named an unchanged team for tomorrow’s title-deciding Six Nations match against Scotland in Dublin. While last weekend’s loss to England ended Ireland’s bid to become the first team to win successive Grand Slams, they will retain the Six Nations by avoiding defeat or securing two losing bonus points. Farrell says it will be an exciting finale: 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-69-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-84-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-806-dollars-35-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-170-dollars-39-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-90-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….