News 14:00

BULLETIN 29 October 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South African Airways is under pressure to find a buyer as Treasury tightens its conditions
# Obama takes shots at the Trump administration following the ‘cheesecake factory’ joke
# And Olympics: Experts warn staging the Games in South Africa could cost taxpapers 500-billion-rand

# National Treasury has given South African Airways until February to find a strategic equity partner, warning no further state support will be available once its current one-billion-rand loan guarantee expires. Treasury says the airline has yet to draw on the guarantee and must identify non-core assets for sale to strengthen its finances. SAA says the search for a strategic partner is being led by its shareholder, while it engages potential lenders. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse blames political interference and poor leadership for the airline’s ongoing financial challenges.

# Government says the anticipated El Niño conditions serve as a reminder that South Africa’s ability to withstand drought depends not only on rainfall, but also on effective preparation and water management, and the conservation of available water. The South African Weather Service expects the pattern to influence weather conditions during the summer season with the risk of higher temperatures and below-normal rainfall. Government’s David Jacobs says the responsibility to secure reliable supplies cannot rest with government alone:

Meanwhile, deputy minister of Water and Sanitation Jack Bloom is calling on municipalities to prioritise pollution prevention and clean up contaminated rivers in line with the polluter-pays principle. He says proper maintenance, early warning systems and armed security are needed to prevent sewage spills polluting rivers in Rustenburg and Ventersdorp in North West. Bloom says stronger preventative measures and improved protection of wastewater infrastructure are necessary to reduce sewage spills and safeguard rivers and surrounding communities:

Moving abroad:

# Former US president Barack Obama has mocked president Donald Trump administration’s response to his joke comparing the White House’s renovations to “Saddam Hussein opening a cheesecake factory”. Obama criticised the gold decor changes Trump has made to the official residence since his return to office. Speaking at a Democratic Party rally in Georgia ahead of the midterm elections, Obama said the administration mobilised a government-wide response to the joke rather than addressing his criticism:

# Olympics: Experts have warned against South Africa bidding for the Games of 2036 or 2040. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee will today reveal detals of its participation in a continuous dialogue with the International Olympic Committee as a preferrend interested party. The Citizen reports the idea is to host the event in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban by using existing infrastructure. Experts say this could cost the country up to 500-billion-rand – most of it taxpayer money.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-62-cents and the euro at 18-rand-51-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-13-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-15-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-32-dollars-84-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 115-dollars-24-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….