News 14:00

BULLETIN NEWS AGENCY 6 September 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Hawks raid the Polokwane municipality to seize evidence tied to Thembi Simelane’s VBS loan 
# Rugby: Spectators are urged to use the free park-and-ride service for tomorrow’s Springboks-All Blacks Test
# And, TIME magazine unveils its 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence

# The Hawks have raided Polokwane Municipality in Limpopo, seizing evidence related to Justice Minister Thembi Simelane’s 575-thousand-600-rand loan from a VBS-linked fixer for a Sandton coffee shop when she was the mayor. The search targeted Simelane’s former personal assistant, seeking documents and communications connected to 349-million-rand the municipality invested in VBS. The loan and investment are under investigation for potential corruption and money laundering. Simelane briefed Parliament’s portfolio committee on Justice, and asserted she adhered to all corrective measures to resolve the matter:

# The MK Party is demanding the reinstatement of Ithala’s banking licence, saying the KwaZulu-Natal development bank has become a reference point for hope and inclusion for poor citizens. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority suspended the bank’s licence as it had failed to meet financial soundness requirements. The MK Party says both the Financial Matters Amendment Act and the Banks Act should be amended, to provide for the registration and licensing of provincial entities like Ithala into full banking instruments and institutions.

# Transnet says it plans to open applications for private train operators wanting to access the freight rail network before the end of this year. This means private train operators will be able to access the rail network by April next year. Transnet’s Yolisa Kani says this is part of a strategy to enhance rail efficiency, reduce costs, and support economic growth through expanded infrastructure and collaboration with private operators. Kani adds that access to the rail network will be regulated by a Transport Economic Regulator.

# Rugby: Spectators in tomorrow’s Rugby Championship Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town are encouraged to make use of the city’s free park-and-ride service to get to the Cape Town stadium. The shuttle service will be available from 12pm from Century City, the University of Cape town, the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Thibault Square, and the Civic Centre. The last MyCiTi bus will leave the stadium at 9.30pm. There will also be a dedicated e-hailing area in Main Road, Green Point.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-72-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 56-thousand-3-dollars-93-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-517-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

# And, finally: Time Magazine has revealed its 2024 list of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence. They include Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and ByteDance CEO and co-founder Liang Rubo. Time’s editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, told CNBC this year’s list offers examples of the possibilities for A-I when it moves out of the lab and into the world:

Stay tuned for more news………….