News 14:00

BULLETIN 4 December 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High court orders Floyd Brink’s removal as city manager of Johannesburg
# A moderate earthquake strikes west of Springbok in the Northern Cape
# And cricket: Heinrich Klaasen captains the Proteas in the T20s against Pakistan while Aiden Markram is rested

# The Gauteng High Court has ordered Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink to vacate office within ten working days. The DA brought the case, citing concerns over Brink’s appointment. The court declared his appointment as irregular. The decision followed an urgent and exceptional council report, which included Brink’s own complaint about being overlooked for the permanent role while serving as acting city manager.

# Cope says a reassessment of the provinces and the excessive layers of government is long overdue. The party’s Pakes Dikgetsi says it’s time for taxpayers to carefully consider the implications of the Electoral Laws Second Amendment Bill, which proposes significant efforts to reduce the size of national and provincial legislatures. Dikgetsi says the bill carries far-reaching consequences for how taxpayers’ money is being wasted through excessive spending on legislatures:

# A 4.2 magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Springbok in the Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape late last night. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported the quake at a depth of ten kilometres. Seismologists are reviewing data, as reports from other agencies emerge. No immediate damage or injuries have been reported.

# Cricket: Heinrich Klaasen will captain the Proteas in the three T20s against Pakistan, starting in Durban on Tuesday. This follows the decision not to consider regular white-ball captain Aiden Markram, as well a Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Tristan Stubbs. They are currently involved in the Test series against Sri Lanka and won’t play in the T20s due to the quick turnaround between the series. Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and quick bowler Anrich Nortjé return for the first time since the T20 World Cup in June.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-15-cents and the euro at 19-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-795-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-641-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The City of Cape Town says the annual Identikidz programme kicks off in Strandfontein next Saturday. The programme aims to keep children safe and provide accompanying parents and caregivers peace of mind when visiting the beach. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says last season 133-thousand-730 children were tagged over five priority weekends, with 302 children reunited with their loved ones:

Stay tuned for more news………….