News 15:00

BULLETIN 30 July 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party accuses Ramaphosa of bypassing the Constitution over minister Mchunu’s special leave
# A disgraced former Limpopo MEC pleads guilty to corruption
# And cricket: England’s captain withdraws from the final Test against India

# The MK Party says president Cyril Ramaphosa acted outside the Constitution by placing Police minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave without following due process. The party argued before the Constitutional Court that there’s no constitutional provision allowing the president to place a minister on leave. The party’s legal counsel, Dali Mpofu, told the court the decision to appoint Wits professor Firoz Cachalia as acting minister has no constitutional basis and shows executive overreach:

# Former Limpopo Safety and Security MEC and disbarred senior advocate, Seth Nthai, has pleaded guilty to one count of corruption. Nthai admitted that he solicited a five-million-rand bribe from an Italian businessman while representing the South African government in a mining dispute in 2009 . His name was also removed from the roll of advocates in 2013. Nthai struck a plea deal with prosecutors, receiving a sentence of a 500-thousand-rand fine or two years in prison. The charges stem from a long-running case initiated in 2022.

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has called for each country to shape its own energy transition. Speaking at the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group meeting at Sun City, North West, Ramokgopa warned that renewables alone won’t solve global energy challenges. Ramokgopa called for support for Africa’s Agenda 2063 and grid upgrades, as 760-million people lack electricity. He called for tech-inclusive solutions like carbon capture to balance decarbonisation with energy security:

# The Western Cape Education Department says transfer applications for the 2026 school year open from 4 to 18 August. Spokesperson Bronagh Hammond says the process applies to learners in Grades 2 to 7 and 9 to 12. Applications can be submitted online or at the desired school or district office. She confirmed that full details and step-by-step guides are available on the department’s website:

# Cricket: England’s captain, Ben Stokes, had to withdraw from the fifth and final Test against India with a shoulder injury, and Ollie Pope will lead the team. Stokes has been in superb form in the series so far, taking five wickets and scoring 141 runs in the drawn fourth Test. Bowlers Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Liam Dawson were left out of the squad and were replaced by Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton. The fifth Test starts at the Oval in London tomorrow, with England leading the series 2-1.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 20-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-884-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-328-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-1-cent a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….