News 14:00

BULLETIN 3 August 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Brown Mogotsi’s case is postponed to 20 August
# Parliament resumes with its third quarter programme
# And news from the Commonwealth Games: Ahmedabad is ready to host the 2030 Games

# The case against alleged political fixer Brown Mogotsi has been postponed in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court to 20 August for full disclosure of the docket. He faces charges including perjury, defeating the ends of justice and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition after he allegedly faked an assassination attempt on him. Ballistic reports have linked the firearm used in the incident to other serious crimes, including murder, but the weapon has not been recovered. State advocate Thami Mpekana says the witness list should remain confidential.

# Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces return from the constituency period this week as Parliament resumes its third-quarter programme. Lawmakers are expected to continue with committee meetings, oversight work, debates and legislative business after engaging communities across the country during the recess period. Parliament says the new term will focus on strengthening oversight, processing legislation and holding the executive accountable as both houses continue fulfilling their constitutional mandate.

# Eskom says the independent investigation into possible irregularities in the procurement of diesel fuel and storage contracts will now only be completed by the end of August. The legal analysis was expected to be completed by July 31st. Spokesperson Daphne Mokoena says further document analysis and interpretation, supplementary interviews and consideration of identified legal aspects of contract management are required. She says disciplinary action continues against the identified procurement officials:

Union federation SAFTU meanwhile rejects president Cyril Ramaphosa’s defence of Eskom’s unbundling and his claim that introducing competition into electricity generation will lower prices. He has endorsed the first phase report from the Eskom restructuring task team, which reinforces the plan to make South Africa’s transmission network fully independent of Eskom. SAFTU’s secretary-general, Zwelinzima Vavi, says Ramaphosa’s comparison with telecommunications is equally misleading:

# News from the Commonwealth Games: Ahmedabad in India is looking to build on the work done by Glasgow 2026, as it prepares to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Scotland hosted the Games for the fourth time after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew, bringing together over three-thousand athletes from 74 nations competing in 215 medal events. Gujarat’s deputy chief minister, Harsh Sanghavi, says they embrace the responsibility of staging the Centenary Games with gratitude:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-50-cents and the euro at 19-rand-1-cent. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-707-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-53-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….