News 14:00

BULLETIN 2 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is making real progress in removing obstacles to faster growth and job creation
# The Border Management Authority targets festive season return traffic at borders
# And cricket: The Proteas coach realises they need good competition to prepare for the final of the World Test Championship

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says through the partnership between government and business and through the ongoing cooperation with social partners, including labour, government is making real progress in removing the obstacles to faster growth and job creation. He says the economy is slowly but steadily improving and more South Africans are finding jobs. Ramaphosa says inflation has been falling, making essential goods more affordable for households:

# The Border Management Authority has launched the return leg of their border post operations to manage returning festive season travellers. Speaking at Beitbridge Port of Entry in Limpopo, commissioner Michael Masiapato, said efforts continue until 15 January as southbound traffic peaks. He confirmed that officials are assisting travellers heading to SADC countries like Angola and Zimbabwe while focusing on immigration control at border posts:

# The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution plans to address Parliament on impeached individuals serving as members of Parliament. Speaking to eNCA, executive director Lawson Naidoo noted no restrictions for impeached judges like MK Party parliamentary leader John Hlope or Chapter 9 heads like Busisiwe Mkhwebane. He says CASAC will submit proposals to Parliament’s constitutional review committee to resolve the issue:

# Police in South Korea raided Muan international airport, the offices of Jeju Air and a regional aviation body this morning amid investigations into the deadliest-ever air disaster on South Korean soil. The raids come as aviation authorities, including officials from the United States, are probing the cause of the deadly crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 on Sunday, which killed 179 of 181 people on board. South Korean acting president, Choi Sang-mok, said today immediate action must be taken if the inspections revealed any problems with the aircraft model.

# Cricket: Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad is facing a dilemma while preparing his team for June’s final of the World Test Championship. At this stage, South Africa will only play in one more Test before then – the second Test against Pakistan, starting at Newlands in Cape Town tomorrow. Thereafter, the players will primarily be involved in white-ball action, starting with the SA20 competion and advancing to the Indian Premier League. Conrad says they will have to find some good opposition to prepare properly for the final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-70-cents and the euro at 19-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-36-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-532-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-638-dollars-51-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-46-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….