News 14:00

BULLETIN 12 February 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An economist says South Africa needs to urgently respond to Donald Trump’s threats
# The FF Plus says Social Development urgently needs to resolve the crisis surrounding non-profit organisations
# And rugby: The axed Warren Gatland is already linked to the Wallaby job

# North-West University economist professor Raymond Parsons says disinformation about the situation in South Africa and negative US statements about the country’s policies, have triggered a worrying spike in economic uncertainty. He says to minimise the possible impact of external shocks, South Africa needs to respond urgently to the latest threats from US president Donald Trump’s administration and make the economy as Trump-proof as possible. Parsons says it is therefore necessary to do battle with disinformation about South Africa at several levels.

Meanwhile, AgriSA CEO Johann Kotzé has accused Trump of fueling division within South Africa’s farming community. This follows after he claimed Afrikaners are facing persecution as a result of the Land Expropriation Act. Kotzé dismissed claims of land grabs and farm murders as politically motivated. According to MoneyWeb, he warned that Trump’s stance could endanger South Africa’s duty-free trade access. While AgriSA also has concerns about the Expropriation Act, Kotzé confirmed that no farms have been seized without compensation.

# The Freedom Front Plus says it is concerned that over 203-thousand non-profit organisations are at risk of closure due to a failure to submit annual reports. A total of over 41-thousand institutions have already been notified of this and more than six-thousand have already been discontinued. The FF Plus’s Philip van Staden says the Department of Social Development should assist these organisations to comply with the relevant legislation:

# State-owned arms manufacturer Denel says it continues to grow its global profile, with a strong presence at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi next week. The event will have around one-thousand-400 exhibitors from 65 countries and will attract some 135-thousand visitors. Denel’s spokesperson, Pam Dlamini, says the event is an ideal platform to re-introduce their products, which are regarded as cost-effective solutions in the defence and security environments:

# Rugby: Warren Gatland, who had just been axed as head coach of Wales after 14 consecutive losses, had already been linked to another international job. This follows earlier news Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt won’t extend his contract when it expires at the end of this year’s Rugby Championship in October. Gatland, as well as former Australian coach Michael Cheika, are both suddenly available. Cheika, who recently announced he won’t extend his contract with English club Leicester, had also been touted as one of Gatland’s possible successors in Wales.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-43-cents and the euro at 19-rand-11-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-93-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-50-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-887-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-2-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….