News 14:00

BULLETIN 28 May 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA criticises Rise Mzansi’s election campaign tactics 
# Cosatu congratulates Eskom and municipalities for the improvement in Eskom’s energy availability factor
# And cricket: Jos Buttler misses the third T20 against Pakistan

# ActionSA has accused Rise Mzansi of launching paid SMS campaigns urging voters not to support them. The SMS says a vote for ActionSA is a vote for the DA. ActionSA says Rise Mzansi, while presenting itself as a new political force, is resorting to old tactics of negative campaigning. They argue that Rise Mzansi’s focus on attacking other parties rather than promoting its own platform, undermines its credibility. ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont encourages Rise Mzansi to engage in constructive political dialogue instead of negative attacks:

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission in Limpopo reports 96-thousand people have applied for home visits for special votes ahead of tomorrow’s general elections. Today is the final day for the casting of special votes. Provincial electoral official Nkaro Mateta highlights that the majority of these applications are in Thulamela and Vhembe. She also assures the issue of party agents being kept far from voting stations will be resolved.

# Cosatu has congratulated Eskom and municipalities and their employees for the impressive improvement in Eskom’s energy availability factor. It has for the first time in more than three years exceeded 70-percent. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says this significant improvement has seen the economy spared the effects of load-shedding for more than two months. He says this is the result of Eskom’s ramping up maintenance of its existing generation fleet and bringing on board new generation capacity:

# Cricket: England captain Jos Buttler won’t play in today’s third T20 against Pakistan in Cardiff, Wales. He is on paternity leave for the birth of his third child. Moeen Ali will lead the team, while Jonny Bairstow or Phil Salt will be the wicketkeeper. England won the second match after the first one was abandoned due to rain. The final encounter will be played on Thursday. The series is used as preparation for the T20 World Cup starting in the Caribbean and the US on Saturday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-39-cents and the euro at 20-rand-1-cent. One British pound costs 23-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-753-dollars-43-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-344-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The South African International Documentary Festival, Encounters 2024, has announced Mother City as its opening film. Directed by Miki Redelinghuys and Pearlie Joubert, the film delves into the Reclaim the City movement’s battle for urban spaces in Cape Town. Over six years, activists such as Nkosikhona Swartbooi have navigated a challenging terrain of political and property powers to advocate for fair housing. The festival, showcasing impactful local, African, and international films, will take place across venues in Cape Town and Johannesburg next month.

Stay tuned for more news………….