News 14:00

BULLETIN 9 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is to deliver the State of the Nation address on 6 February
# The Road Freight Association is concerned about delays at Durban’s Pier 2 Container Terminal
# And Tennis: NextGen champion books a place in the Australian Open main draw

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver his state-of-the-nation address on the 6th of next month at seven in the evening. Following that, Parliament will engage in a two-day debate on the speech, starting on 11 February, with the president responding to the debate on the13th. On 19 February, Finance minister Enoch Godongwana will present the highly anticipated annual budget speech, outlining the government’s financial plans for the year.

# The Road Freight Association says it is concerned about delays at Transnet’s Pier 2 container terminal at the Durban Port. In an advisory to customers on Tuesday, the port operator said that the shortage of equipment, including straddle carriers, has hampered recovery operations and service delivery at the terminal, due to intermittent breakdowns and inclement weather. The association’s CEO Gavin Kelly told the SABC that the financial and operational impact of these delays will only be clearer later this month or in February:

# The DA in the Western Cape has demanded a public apology from Project Blue for its misleading claims about Cape Town’s coastal water quality. The municipality revealed that Project Blue’s report relied on unaccredited laboratories and lacked scientific credibility, causing unnecessary alarm among residents and tourists. The DA’s Dave Bryant urges Project Blue to release its testing methodology, sample details, and funding sources to ensure transparency and accountability:

# The South African Revenue Service has yet to clarify key changes to its customs system affecting international e-commerce imports. Allegations of tax manipulation by Shein and Temu have raised concerns, with local retailers claiming unfair practices like splitting shipments to avoid higher taxes. According to an article on MyBroadband, while SARS introduced a 15-percent Value-Added Tax and a reconfiguration of flat duty rates, full declaration values remain undisclosed.

# Tennis: NextGen champion Joao Fonseca’s dazzling run of form propelled him into a maiden Grand Slam main draw when he powered through Australian Open qualifying. The Brazilian talent became the second-youngest champion of the NextGen ATP tournament last month since current world number one Jannik Sinner claimed the title, also aged 18, five years ago. His 6-4, 6-1 win over Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante to book his place in the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday, was his 13th straight victory.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-86-cents and the euro at 19-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-419-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-665-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….