News 14:00

BULLETIN 27 March 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa warns that local government is the weakest link in South Africa’s governance
# Political parties push for the repatriation of foreign inmates to ease overcrowding in prisons
# And motorsport: Mercedes and McLaren set the pace in practice one of the Japanese Grand Prix

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says local government remains the weakest link in South Africa’s governance system, with many municipalities in crisis. Speaking during a Free State oversight visit, Ramaphosa stressed that effective, accountable leadership is key to improving service delivery and restoring public trust. Ramaphosa noted that approximately 63-percent of 257-municipalities are distressed or at risk, citing poor governance, underfunding, and weak revenue systems as major challenges facing local government:

# Several political parties, including the DA, Freedom Front Plus, and ActionSA, are calling for the deportation of convicted foreign nationals, in a bid to address South Africa’s overcrowded prisons. There are more than 26-thousand foreign nationals incarcerated in correctional facilities, costing taxpayers around eleven-million-rand a day. The country’s prison overcrowding rate is 57-percent. The political parties argue that repatriation could reduce expenses, relieve pressure on correctional facilities, and improve rehabilitation efforts.

# The South African Weather Service issued a yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms in Gauteng and Mpumalanga today. Residents can expect afternoon thundershowers, cooler temperatures, and partly cloudy mornings. SAWS forecaster Lehlohonolo Thobela says localised flooding, infrastructure damage, power disruptions, and hazardous driving conditions are likely. He advises caution on roads, vigilance in informal settlements, and preparedness for potential outages during the inclement weather:

# The International Atomic Energy Agency is warning that military strikes near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger a major radiological accident, with wide-reaching consequences. Strikes targeting the Iranian defence industrial base have been intensified this week. IAEA’s director general, Rafael Mariano Gross, has called for maximum restraint to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident. He has stressed the importance of observing the seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during a conflict.

# Motorsport: As expected, Mercedes set the pace in practice one of the Japanese Grand Prix. George Russell, who leads the drivers’ championship, pipped teammate Kimi Antonelli to the fastest time with McLaren proving their nearest challengers, as Lando Norris finished third. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fastest in practice 2, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Norris was fourth with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished over 0.7-seconds off the pace in fifth and sixth respectively.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-13-cents and the euro at 19-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-636-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-425-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 102-dollars-97-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….