News 14:00

BULLETIN 18 September 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The alleged Tembisa tender don Maumela faces a 1.9-billion-rand tax bill
# Russia goes to the polls in its first parliamentary election since the invasion
# And rugby: The Springboks lock in Fiji for their final World Cup warm-up match

# Businessman Hangwani Maumela, who is at the centre of a wider investigation into alleged corruption at Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng, is challenging a 1.9-billion-rand tax bill. The South African Revenue Service is seeking the money from Maumela and trustees of the MHR Family Trust. The Special Investigating Unit has previously linked his family trust to assets preserved in connection with the probe. The investigation into alleged procurement fraud at the hospital has involved billions of rand in transactions.

# The United Democratic Movement will approach the Electoral Court over the omission of its ward councillor candidates in the Buffalo City Metro in the Eastern Cape. Deputy president Nqabayomzi Kwankwa says court papers will be filed next week, challenging the Electoral Commission’s decision as some of its candidates are missing from the final lists. He confirmed the party is seeking legal clarity over the discrepancies:

# Union federation COSATU is concerned about the dangers posed by the Constitutional Court ruling setting aside the Public Procurement Act. The legislation aimed to create uniform rules for how government institutions, provinces, and municipalities spend public money on goods and services. The court ruled the National Assembly failed to allow reasonable public participation following significant changes. COSATU’s Matthew Parks says they supported provisions to boost emerging small, medium, and micro enterprises:

Moving abroad:

# More than 111-million Russians are voting for the next three days in a parliamentary election, the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. President Vladimir Putin has framed the vote as a test of support for the war, with the United Russia party expected to retain its dominance. The election comes amid warnings from Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, that Russia may be planning attacks on NATO countries, potentially disguising them as accidents. Most anti-war candidates have been excluded from the ballot.

# Rugby: The Springboks will complete their preparations for next year’s World Cup with a final Test against Fiji at the Polytec Stadium in Gosford, north of Sydney, Australia, on 18 September. The match will mark only the fourth time the two nations have met. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes Fiji will provide his team with exactly the type of challenge they need before beginning their title defence. The Boks will aim for a historic third consecutive title in Australia.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-25-cents and the euro at 18-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-141-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-378-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….