News 14:00

BULLETIN 25 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament considers amending the SAPS Act to empower the metro police in investigations 
# The Eastern Cape Health Department’s spokesperson is released on bail after appearing on fraud and forgery charges
# And soccer: Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is ruled out of the clash with Brighton 

# Parliament’s chairperson of the portfolio committee on Police, Albert Seabi has revealed plans to amend the South African Police Service Act, granting metro police investigative powers. This follows discussions about metro police departments’ potential role in investigations. The move aligns with the Chapter 4 White Paper on Policing, aiming to establish a regulatory framework for metro police investigative authority. The amendment seeks to enhance prosecution capabilities, addressing challenges within traffic and by-law enforcement.

# The Eastern Cape Health Department says it welcomes any move that promotes good and clean governance. This comes as the department’s spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, was released on 30-thousand-rand bail after appearing in the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday. He faces allegations of fraud, forgery and uttering. Hawks spokesperson Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana says Kupelo applied for employment at the office of the premier as a communication official in March 2002, and was successfully employed the next month:

# AfriForum says proponents of the National Health Insurance paint a distorted picture of private healthcare in South Africa to present it as the only solution. The NHI Bill, which provides a framework for the provision of universal care through a state-run fund, is on president Cyril Ramaphosa’s desk to be signed into law. AfriForum’s Louis Boshoff says the implementation of NHI may jeopardise clinics serving poorer communities:

# Soccer: Manchester City’s Premier League title bid suffered a blow after Norway striker Erling Haaland was ruled out of today’s crucial clash at Brighton. Haaland missed City’s one-nil win over Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday. He sustained a muscle injury in the Champions League quarter-final exit against Real Madrid last week. City’s leading scorer, who has 20 Premier League goals this season, is yet to recover as the champions look to close the gap on leaders Arsenal.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-97-cents and the euro at 20-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-569-dollars-11-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-325-dollars-51-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-2-cents a barrel.

# And finally: According to Nedbank’s latest state of the economy report, employees can expect some relief this year, as salary hikes are expected to outstrip inflation after two-years of falling short. BusinessTech reports, salary increases are projected to average 6.9-percent. At the same time, inflation is likely to average five-percent, resulting in a 1.9-percent real increase, providing some respite for households stretched thin financially. Despite the projected salary growth, challenges such as job losses and high-interest rates may limit the financial relief for South African households.

Stay tuned for more news………….