News 14:00

BULLETIN 28 February 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Expropriation Act is expected to boost youth economic participation
# The Institute of Race Relations demands the withdrawal of the national minimum wage
# And tennis: Jannik Sinner’s Laureus award nomination is withdrawn after his doping ban

# The Expropriation Act is expected to create opportunities for youth to participate in the economy. Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, announced government’s plan to tackle youth unemployment in five years. Speaking at the inaugural Empower Youth Indaba in Johannesburg, she said government will use its G20 presidency to position young people for future jobs:

# The Institute of Race Relations says it has sent a letter of demand to Employment and Labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth requesting her to withdraw the latest 4.2-percent national minimum wage hike, as it is invalid. Spokesperson Gabriel Crouse says the National Minimum Wage Act requires that all ministerial regulations under the act must first be proposed in draft form to give the public 21 days to comment:

# The City of Ekurhuleni has reduced its employee-related costs from 12.2-billion- to 11.7-billion-rand in its adjusted budget, turning to contracted services due to high vacancy rates and overtime abuse by municipal employees. The finance committee flagged inefficiencies, noting that non-revenue departments like Health and Social Development were consuming significant resources without delivering results. According to News24, opposition councillors are now warning of the financial strain from relying on contracted work. The council plans to reduce overtime by 50-percent and review shift systems to improve productivity.

# Durban Container Terminals will receive over 100 new cargo handling machines this year, including 20 straddle carriers for Pier 2 and nine rubber-tyred gantry cranes for Pier 1. Transnet Port Terminals has invested 3.4-billion-rand in fleet upgrades as the terminals will receive the largest share. According to Transnet, additional equipment, including ship-to-shore cranes and hybrid straddle carriers, will arrive throughout 2025. Transnet says it aims to improve efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance port operations through infrastructure investment and maintenance initiatives.

# Tennis: World number one Jannik Sinner’s nomination for the Laureus sportsman of the year award has been withdrawn after he received a three-month doping ban. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who had two positive drug tests last year, will be out of action until May, having reached a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency. Laureus World Sports Academy chairperson, Sean Fitzpatrick, says while they note the extenuating circumstances involved in this case, they feel that the ban renders Sinner’s nomination ineligible.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-51-cents and the euro at 19-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-31-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-943-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-861-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….