News 15:00

BULLETIN 7 September 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Stuart Scharnick’s multiple addresses prove to be a challenge in his bail application
# The Afrika Mayibuye Movement vows to abolish the municipal tender system
# And cricket: A strong Australian squad is announced for the blockbuster three-Test tour of South Africa

# The Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng has questioned businessman and associate of suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, Stuart Scharnick, about the residential addresses listed in his affidavit. He is applying for bail after being charged with gun-related charges. The court says the provided addresses should indicate where a person actually resides. Scharnick, who represented himself, said he considers a property his residence even when not always present:

# The president of the Afrika Mayibuye Movement, Floyd Shivambu, says the party will abolish the tender system in municipalities, blaming it for widespread corruption and poor service delivery. Shivambu was speaking at the launch of the party’s local government election campaign in Midrand, Gauteng. He says political leaders often use tenders for self-enrichment at the expense of communities. He argues municipalities should build internal capacity to deliver services rather than outsourcing, to eliminate corruption. Shivambu urges the public to expose tender criminals and corrupt officials.

# The Western Cape Mobility Department welcomes a landmark peace agreement signed by taxi associations CATA and CODETA after weeks of deadly taxi violence. The truce follows fatal attacks linked to a dispute over the lucrative Somerset West route. Spokesperson Muneera Allie says the department expects all parties to honour their commitments. She warns that should any unlawful activity occur, the department will not hesitate to implement the necessary enforcement measures.

# ActionSA has exposed what it calls a governance failure at the Road Accident Fund, where over 29-million-rand was paid to 16 employees sitting at home on suspension, some since 2024. It amounts to an average of 1.82-million-rand per employee for no work performed. The party’s Alan Beesley says a parliamentary reply shows three employees have been suspended for over a year, while 37-thousand accident victims await payouts.

# Cricket: Australia has announced a strong 16-player squad for their three-match Test series in South Africa next month. Captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon will lead the bowling attack, while Steve Smith leads the batting line-up. Out-of-form batter Marnus Labuschagne has kept his place in the squad, with Cooper Connolly, Michael Neser and Matthew Kuhnemann also included. The series will mark the first time Australia’s Test side has returned to South Africa since the infamous 2018 ball-tampering saga. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-99-cents and the euro at 18-rand-58-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-404-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-390-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….