News 14:00

BULLETIN 23 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government reaffirms the medium-term development plan priorities
# The death toll in the Eastern Cape school shooting rises to three
# And cricket: South Africa seals a Super Six spot in the Under-19 World Cup

# Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, says the seventh administration has continued the tradition of five-year planning through the Medium-Term Development Plan for 2024 to 2029. She presented government’s performance against the plan. Ramokgopa says it aligns government planning, budgeting, implementation and oversight across all spheres, and is anchored on inclusive economic growth, reducing poverty and the cost of living:

# The Eastern Cape Education Department has confirmed another teacher has died following a shooting at Ntabankulu Junior Secondary School, bringing the death toll to three, including the alleged perpetrator. Police spokesperson, Nobuntu Gantana, says the former teacher, out on bail for sexual assault charges, forced entry onto the school premises and shot three female teachers before taking his own life. One teacher died at the scene and another in hospital, while a third remains critically injured. Gantana confirms classes will resume on Monday.

# Education activist Hendrick Makaneta says children must never suffer because of a broken education system. He condemned the protests outside Addington Primary School in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Makaneta says learners are caught in the middle of anger over overcrowded schools and poor infrastructure. He says the real responsibility lies with the government, which must fix schools and governance failures to protect children’s right to education:

# The Cape Winelands District Municipality has confirmed that the Franschhoek Pass has reopened following ongoing firefighting operations on a blaze burning in the mountains above Franschhoek. Spokesperson Jo-Anne Otto says flames on the right-hand side of the pass, heading towards Villiersdorp, threatened nearby properties early this morning. Fire crews managed to push the fire back into mountainous areas, protecting farms and guest houses. Teams continuing containment, monitoring and mopping-up operations.

# Cricket: South Africa has qualified for the Super Six stage of the Under-19 World Cup in Namibia and Zimbabwe. This is despite suffering a 55-run loss against the West Indies in their final Pool D match. South Africa also lost their opening match to table-topping Afghanistan by 28 runs, with their sole victory being the 329-run win over Tanzania. South Africa will face defending champions Australia and Sri Lanka in the Super Six stage, where three out of the four teams in each pool have progressed.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-16-cents and the euro at 18-rand-96-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 88-thousand-987-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-929-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….