News 15:00

BULLETIN 18 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi criticises the ad hoc committee’s pre-judgement conduct but praises its work ethic
# The DA requests answers after the judiciary fails to report on late judgments
# And rugby: Argentina hopes to bring the World Cup to South America in 2035

# KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has criticised some members of Parliament’s ad hoc committee for appearing to pre-judge matters instead of focusing on evidence. He testified on the final day of the probe into alleged political interference in the justice system. Mkhwanazi stressed the committee’s role isn’t to draw premature conclusions. But het commended Parliament’s dedication, saying the effort reflects positively on accountability and is likely welcomed:

# The DA has requested an explanation from the office of the Chief Justice for the judiciary’s failure to release statistics on late judgments. The last report released in October 2025 only dealt with late judgment statistics from the second term of last year. The DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach says if the statistics are released and point to judges being overburdened, the appointment of additional judges should be seriously considered:

# Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson announced the sale of one-thousand-600 state-owned buildings as part of government’s plan to streamline public assets and raise revenue. The properties include offices, warehouses, and under-utilised facilities. Macpherson says the process will be transparent, with priority given to public-private partnerships and local investors. He assured essential government services will not be affected and proceeds will support infrastructure and service delivery improvements.

# Rugby: Argentina hopes to bring the World Cup to South America for the first time in 2035. It is working with the unions of Brazil, Chile and Uruguay on potentially involving them in the tournament. World Rugby’s CEO, Alan Gilpin, will discuss the idea with the president of Argentina’s governing body, Gabriel Travaglini. Travaglini says they want to deliver a World Cup that reflects the passion and progress rugby has made in the country. Australia is hosting the tournament next year and the US in 2031.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-64-cents and the euro at 19-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-993-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-971-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The City of Tshwane has officially secured the bid to host the Gastronomy Africa 2026 conference. The event in August is anticipated to draw visitors from across the world. Mayoral committee member for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, Sarah Mabotsa, says the conference and expo are projected to inject an estimated 6.7-million-rand into the local economy. She adds it will also provide a significant boost to the local tourism sector:

Stay tuned for more news………….