News 15:00

BULLETIN 9 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Manufacturing in South Africa shrinks again as production drops by 0.8-percent in March
# The PSA is concerned by more than 400 schools that are no longer offering maths as a subject
# And cricket: Shukri Conrad is appointed as the Proteas’ head coach in all formats

# Statistics South Africa says manufacturing production declined by 0.8-percent in March compared to the same month last year. The biggest declines came from rubber and plastic products, the petroleum and chemical sector, as well as electrical machinery. Stats SA’s Nicolai Claassen says food, beverages, and vehicle manufacturing are among the worst-affected sectors:

# The Public Servants Association has expressed concern about the recent revelation that 464 public schools across South Africa have dropped mathematics as a subject. These schools are in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the Western Cape. The association’s Claude Naiker urges the Department of Basic Education to prioritise the recruitment and retention of skilled mathematics teachers, including recalling such educators who are on retirement:

# International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola says the world is navigating a rapidly evolving geopolitical environment defined by rising global competition, economic volatility, and escalating geopolitical tensions. He was addressing the Gertrude Shope Women’s Mediation Network Solidarity Conference on Women, Peace and Security – Voices of Women within a Global Environment of Escalating Conflict in Pretoria. Lamola says the world currently faces more than 50 ongoing armed conflicts, spanning a wide range of regions and scales:

# US media are reporting that president Donald Trump’s administration plans to resettle the first group of white South Africans to the United States next week. The resettlement plan was first reported by US investigative outlet The Lever, which quoted a 30 April memo saying that the South Africans were scheduled to arrive within a few days. It says Washington was preparing to resettle up to a thousand Afrikaners this year, quoting a government source. National Public Radio and the New York Times said the group was scheduled to arrive on Monday, depending on logistics.

# Cricket: Shukri Conrad has been appointed as the Proteas men’s head coach in all three formats. He has led the Test side since January 2023 and will now also oversee the white-ball formats, starting with July’s T20 tri-series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand. His tenure extends through to the 2027 One-day World Cup, set to be hosted in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Cricket South Africa says this move is part of restructuring.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-17-cents and the euro at 20-rand-45-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-38-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-329-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….