News 15:00

BULLETIN 31 July 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nkosana Makate is confident the Supreme Court of Appeal will back his 9.4-billion-rand “Please Call Me” claim
# Gauteng Education allocates 2.8-billion-rand to address overcrowding at schools
# And cricket: A former captain returns for Zimbabwe after serving a spot-fixing ban

# “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate says he’s confident the Supreme Court of Appeal will compel Vodacom to pay 9.4-billion-rand in compensation. Makate rejected Vodacom’s earlier offer of 47-million-rand. The Constitutional Court has now granted Vodacom leave to appeal and critisised the SCA for ignoring evidence and breaching the rule of law in its previous handling of the case. Makate says the appeal will lead to the next decision:

# The Gauteng Department of Education has allocated 2.8-billion-rand in the 2025/26 financial year toward school infrastructure to address the broader challenge of overcrowding. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says of this allocation, around 1.5-billion-rand is dedicated to the construction of new and replacement schools. He says 615-million-rand will support upgrades and additions, including mobile classrooms and self-build projects, and 166-million-rand is earmarked for refurbishment and rehabilitation:

# B20 Sustainable Food Systems Task Force chairperson, Debra Mallowah, has warned that the global food crisis is no longer hypothetical, but a harsh reality requiring urgent action. Speaking at a B20 South Africa virtual roundtable, she called the crisis a systemic failure, affecting all regions and income groups. Mallowah outlined four urgent priorities -food system reform, inclusive innovation, trade efficiency, and sustainable agriculture. She says the next five years will determine whether the world avoids deepening hunger, economic shocks, and environmental damage.

# Iran has described as malicious fresh US sanctions targeting a shipping empire controlled by the son of a top political adviser. The US Treasury Department imposed restrictions on more than 115 people, companies and ships accused of facilitating the sale of Iranian and Russian oil. These include a fleet allegedly operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, son of Ali Shamkhani who is a top political adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says the sanctions undermine the Iranian people’s economic development and welfare.

# Cricket: Former Zimbabwean captain Brendan Taylor could represent his country again at the age of 39 after being included in the squad for the second Test against New Zealand. This follows after he completed a three and a half-year ban for spot-fixing during a tour of India. He explained he used cocaine and was then blackmailed, but denied ever going through with any fixes. Taylor played 34 Tests for Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2021, scoring over two-thousand-300 runs. He also represented his country in one-day internationals and T20s.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-11-cents and the euro at 20-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-472-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-301-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….