News 15:00

BULLETIN 13 August 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Patrice Motsepe leads the theoretical ANC presidential race
# Ramaphosa stresses manufacturing remains critical to South Africa’s economic industrial future
# And rugby: Codie Taylor will captain the All Blacks against the Bulls on Saturday

# Patrice Motsepe has widened his lead in a theoretical race to become the next ANC president, according to a Social Research Foundation poll cited by News24. The African Rainbow Minerals chairperson is ahead of other potential contenders, including deputy president Paul Mashatile and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. The poll does not represent a formal leadership election, and the ANC has yet to announce candidates for next year’s national elective conference. Motsepe has previously denied having political ambitions, but his name continues to gain prominence in succession discussions.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the metals and engineering sector has shown extraordinary resilience despite mounting challenges. He was speaking at a presidential business breakfast of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. Ramaphosa points to weak domestic demand, logistics constraints, high electricity costs, infrastructure bottlenecks, rising import competition, fragile global steel demand and excess production capacity, warning delayed investment, squeezed margins and under-used factories threaten jobs:

# Union GIWUSA is calling on government to drastically increase readiness for climate emergencies, including heatwaves, severe floods, and storms expected in the coming months. The country experienced severe cold fronts, heavy snowfall, and freezing temperatures this week. GIWUSA president Mametlwe Sebei says scientists warn there is clear evidence of greater unpredictability in weather and climate events as climate change intensifies:

# Cape Town’s port is preparing for the upcoming peak fruit-export season after a difficult year that caused delays and disruptions. To improve operations, port workers from Durban and Gqeberha will be transferred to Cape Town during the busy summer months. Authorities also plan to divert some cargo to other ports to ease pressure. Transport minister Barbara Creecy says the measures are aimed at preventing a repeat of previous problems, when fruit rotted on the docks while ships waited offshore.

# Rugby: Codie Taylor will captain the All Blacks for the first time in Saturday’s tour match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. The team includes six players who featured in Tuesday’s 54-0 dribbing of the Sharks in Durban. The visitors describe the Bulls as a proud team playing at one of South Africa’s most imposing venues. They say the match provide the final challenge before the Tests series against the Springboks begins at Ellis Park in Johannesburg next Saturday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-13-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-563-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-390-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….