News 14:00

BULLETIN 18 March 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The World Bank raises concerns over insufficient water infrastructure investment
# Weevils are deployed to combat the invasive water plants at Hartbeespoort Dam
# And motorsport: Lando Norris says McLaren learned from last year’s mistakes

# The World Bank has raised concerns over inadequate spending on critical water infrastructure worldwide. Speaking at the 14th International Water Association Conference in Cape Town, Water Global director, Saroj Kumar Jha, called for increased investment to ensure long-term water security. He warns that without sufficient funding, many nations could face severe water shortages amid climate change and population growth, impacting economies and livelihoods:

Meanwhile, the Water and Sanitation Department has released weevil insects to tackle the invasive Salvinia minima plant at Hartbeespoort Dam in North West. Imported from America in collaboration with the National Research Foundation and Rhodes University, the weevils will help restore oxygen levels in the water. Water and Sanitation deputy minister Sello Seitlholo says the plant caused fish deaths in January due to depleting oxygen. The initiative forms part of a biological control strategy to protect South Africa’s freshwater ecosystems.

# The DA says it strongly opposes Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to gazette regulations banning cannabis and hemp-derived foodstuffs. The regulations, in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act of 1972, bans any food with ingredients derived from cannabis, hemp seed oil, or hemp seed flour. The DA’s Michele Clarke says the ban threatens over one-thousand-400 licensed businesses and 400 small, medium, and micro enterprises, impacting economic growth and job creation:

# Motorsport: British driver Lando Norris says his Formula One team, McLaren, learned from last year’s mistakes when they won the constructors’ championship, but he finished second behind Red Bull’s Dutch driver, Max Verstappen, in the drivers’ championship. Norris beat Verstappen in the season’s first Grand Prix on a wet course in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday. Norris says they’ve worked hard during winter to prepare for a wet race after missing out in similar conditions in Canada and at Silverstone due to tyre calls last season.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-5-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-45-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-676-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-25-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africa’s electricity demand continued to decline in 2024 due to rapid growth in private solar installations. A new report by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research indicates peak demand fell one-percent to 33.5-gigawatts, while overall energy demand dropped three-percent. By September, over six-gigawatts of private solar was installed, easing reliance on Eskom. The report also indicated that load-shedding hours sharply declined, and diesel-fueled power generation fell by 48-percent. Meanwhile, electricity tariffs rose by 190-percent over a decade, exceeding inflation and renewable energy costs.

Stay tuned for more news………….