News 15:00

BULLETIN 17 September 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Automobile Association welcomes the expected fuel price drop
# The Employment and Labour minister distances herself from a Facebook scammer soliciting funds
# And Golf: Christiaan Bezuidenhout is the only South African competing at next week’s Presidents Cup

# The Automobile Association is expecting a significant fuel price reduction to start the summer, based on unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund. Petrol, diesel, and illuminating paraffin are set to drop, with petrol prices decreasing by up to 1-rand-26-cents-per-litre. Spokesperson Eleanor Mavimbela attributes this to lower international product prices and the Rand’s strong performance against the US Dollar:

# Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, has warned the public about a Facebook scammer impersonating her to solicit funds. The scammer is using her identity to sell fake investments. The minister has reported the matter to the police, and an investigation into fraud and identity theft is currently underway. Meth assures the public that she would never ask for money and urges anyone who encounters suspicious activity or has been defrauded to report it to the police. 

# Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink says compared to last year this time, the metro has collected 500-million-rand more in revenue. Over the past few months, the metro has doubled its efforts to recover billions of rands owed to it, as it attempts to clean up its finances. Brink says significant progress has been made to balance the books:

# Union federation Saftu is intensifying its campaign for a total boycott of Israeli products, in response to the ongoing destruction in Gaza. The federation criticises tomorrow’s African Global Dialogue conference in Johannesburg for sanitizing the genocide and excluding Palestinian voices. In a media briefing, Saftu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, urged South Africans to avoid Israeli goods and services, echoing calls for global solidarity and economic pressure to hold Israel accountable for its military actions in Gaza:  

# Golf: Christiaan Bezuidenhout will be the only South African competing at next week’s Presidents Cup to be held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada. While no South African golfer automatically qualified for the International Team, team captain Mike Weir decided to call on the services of Bezuidenhout in his captain’s picks. The International Team will look to upset a strong American side that includes world number one and two, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. The event takes place from 24 to 29 September.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-64-cents and the euro at 19-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-57-dollars-10-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-574-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….