News 14:00

BULLETIN 3 February 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Madlanga commission’s evidence leader opposes a witness’s postponement application
# Ukraine’s capital comes under renewed Russian attacks
# And a survey finds the rand is undervalued despite recent gains

# Madlanga commission evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson has called for the dismissal of a postponement application by a witness represented by Hartley Ngoato. Chaskalson says the witness knew of the hearing date and received WhatsApp evidence 12-days prior, yet delayed action. He argues the latest application, tied to a High Court interdict, is an abuse of process. Chaskalson urges the commission to exhibit the messages:

# Solidarity has sent a letter of demand to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition regarding its handling of the Transformation Fund. Government is preparing to launch a revamped format, where companies will be able to earn 30 broad-based BEE points by contributing three-percent of net profit after tax to the fund. Solidarity’s Anton van der Bijl says taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being used:

Moving abroad:

# Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, its second largest city of Kharkiv and other centres early this morning. According to officials, the strikes triggered fires and dealt new blows to energy infrastructure, injuring four people. The attacks coincided with talk of a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure adopted by both Russia and Ukraine at the request of US president Donald Trump. Russia says the ceasefire ended on Sunday, while Ukraine says it was to continue for a week from January 30.

# Cricket: Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss the opening matches of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, as he continues to recover from hamstring and Achilles injuries. The 35-year-old will remain in Sydney in the meantime, with no timeframe given for his return. Sean Abbott had been added to Australia’s squad as a travelling reserve. Australia has a warm-up game against the Netherlands on Thursday before their opening match of the tournament against Ireland next Wednesday.

# And financial news: A Bloomberg News survey of investors and economists shows South Africa’s rand remains undervalued, with fair value estimated at about 16-rand to the dollar, with respondents placing fair value at around 15-rand-64-cents. The currency was trading near 16-rand this morning, up three-percent this year after strong 14-percent gains in 2025. Optimism is driven by reform progress, strong metals prices, and foreign investment. The Reserve Bank expects some weakening, warning the rand remains vulnerable to global market pressures and rapid price fluctuations in raw materials, including oil and gas.

The dollar currently trades at 16-rand-1-cent and the euro at 18-rand-87-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-396-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-915-dollars-42-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….