News 14:00

BULLETIN 27 October 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC will have the ballot papers ready by Friday after a court ruling
# Minister Macpherson cracks down on non-performing contractors
# And an actress is arrested for driving 198-kilometres-per hour on a Kwa-Zulu Natal highway

# The Electoral Commission aims to have all ballot papers ready by Friday ahead of next week’s local government elections. Chief electoral offical Sy Mamabolo told eNCA the reprinting of millions of ballots follows a Constitutional Court ruling in favour of the ANC. The party challenged the exclusion of its candidates whose lists were not submitted on time. Mamabolo says the IEC is racing to reprint ballot papers to ensure candidates appear on election day:

# Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson says government is tightening oversight of the construction industry to hold contractors accountable. He says 60 contractors have been removed from the National Register of Contractors since last month, compared with just one blacklisting between 2002 and 2024. Macpherson has also announced that a further 15 contractors will be removed this month following findings of misrepresentation. He says the measures aim to ensure accountability:

# Government urges vigilance as the El Niño weather pattern brings heat and below-normal rainfall between this month and December. The South African Weather Service has warned of above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall. Government advised citizens to limit outdoor activities to early morning or late afternoon, stay in the shade, wear wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses and light clothing, stay hydrated, and apply sunscreen. The Weather Service urges citizens to follow official alerts and disaster management authorities.

# Rugby: Newcastle Red Bulls’ forward Ollie Leatherbarrow could make his debut for Scotland in next month’s Nations Championship home fixtures. The 24-year-old was born in England, but qualifies for Scotland through his grandmother. Coach Gregor Townsend named a squad of 37 players. Scotland hosts the All Blacks on the seventh of November, followed by matches against the Wallabies and Japan. The new competition concludes with the finals at Twickenham in London a week later, based around the final hemisphere positions.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-69-cents and the euro at 18-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-490-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-994-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 116-dollars-42-sents a barrel.

# And finally: Actress Asavela Mngqithi has been arrested for allegedly driving at 198-kilometre-per hour in a 120-kilometre-hour zone on the N2 near Ellingham, Kwa-Zulu Natal. Provincial Department of Transport spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya says Mngqithi, known for the TV series Isibaya and Abomama, was driving a BMW X3. She is expected to appear in Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court tomorrow. Sibiya says 421 speeding charges were recorded over the weekend, with one-thousand-719 motorists charged for various offences:

Stay tuned for more news………….