News 14:00

BULLETIN 9 December 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa’s G20 presidency will tackle global challenges with the ubuntu spirit
# Municipal consumer’s electricity debt hits 347-billion-rand
# And cricket: The Proteas advance to the top of the World Test Championship after a 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka

# International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa’s G20 Presidency will address global challenges with a focus on the ubuntu spirit of shared humanity. Speaking at the first G20 Sherpas meeting in Sandton, Johannesburg, Lamola outlined priorities such as inclusive economic growth, food security, disaster resilience, and the governance of artificial intelligence. He told the media South Africa will also launch task forces on debt sustainability, energy transitions, and critical minerals:

# Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africans owe municipalities 347.6-billion-rand for electricity, while municipalities owe Eskom over 90-billion-rand. He blames outdated billing systems, inefficiencies, and socio-economic challenges for the crisis. Ramokgopa says governance weaknesses, including mismanagement and corruption, worsen the issue. He is intervening in several municipalities to address the debt.

Meanwhile, union Giwusa is calling for national demonstrations against Eskom’s tariff increase application to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. The power utility wants a 36.15-percent tariff increase for the 2025/26 financial year alone. Giwusa’s spokesperson, Koketso Phasha, says Eskom tariffs are already exorbitant since the adoption of the growth employment and redistribution strategy in 1996:

# Cricket: South Africa completed a 2-nil Test series whitewash against Sri Lanka when they beat the visitors by 109 runs in Gqeberha. Sri Lanka resumed their second innings on 205 for five on the final morning, chasing a winning target of 348. But their last five wickets fell in quick succession and all the batters were out with 238 on the board. Spinner Keshav Maharaj took five wickets. With the victory, the Proteas advanced to the top of the World Test Championship.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-85-cents and the euro at 18-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 98-thousand-446-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-657-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-68-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The South African Vaccine Producers, a part of the National Health Laboratory Service, is facing delays in producing snakebite antivenom due to facility upgrades, which have led to the depletion of reserves. Spokesperson Mzi Gcukumana says the NHLS initiated a renovation project to improve antivenom production efficiency. He says the initiative will address previous concerns related to machine breakdowns, mostly caused by ageing equipment and inadequate infrastructure:

Stay tuned for more news………….