News 15:00

BULLETIN 27 February 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mango’s business rescue practitioner warns of liquidation amid a legal battle with minister Pravin Gordhan 
# The deputy president urges collective action to address the economic impact of construction mafias 
# And Motorsport: Fernando Alonso is ready to start the longest ever Formula One season

# Mango Airlines’ business rescue practitioner, Sipho Sono, warns the airline is at risk of being liquidated if Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan succeeds in his bid to halt its sale. News24 reports, Gordhan is seeking an urgent interdict to block the sale of the airline to an undisclosed investor, a process that has been ongoing for over 18 months. The minister has elevated the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Mango Airlines, a subsidiary of South African Airways, has been under business rescue since July 2021. 

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile has issued a rallying call for collective action to confront the severe economic impact caused by construction mafias. In his address at the national conference on the review of the integrated criminal justice system, Mashatile emphasised the urgent need to unite against criminal activities disrupting the construction sector. He says this is a crucial step in safeguarding the industry and bolstering economic growth:

# The Multi Party Charter for South Africa will tomorrow set out how it plans to end rolling blackouts and achieve energy security should it govern the country. The charter says South Africa’s energy crisis is the direct result of three decades of poor policy decisions, lack of planning, corruption and mismanagement of Eskom by the ruling ANC. ActionSA’s Sam Mgobozi says this is a crisis that must be solved immediately by an alternative government with the skill, political will and integrity to fix it.

# Motorsport: The longest ever Formula One season starts in Bahrain this weekend with the first of 24 races. There will be three world champions on the grid – Red Bull’s Dutch driver, Max Verstappen, will start as a hot favourite for a fourth consecutive world title. It will be Lewis Hamilton of Britain’s last season for Mercedes before moving to Ferrari. And 42-year old Spaniard Fernando Alonso will hope for another good season for Aston Martin, after finishing fourth last season:

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-16-cents and the euro at 20-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-31-cents and Bitcoin trades at 56-thousand-564-dollars-57-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-35-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-26-cents a barrel.

# And finally: On World NGO Day today, minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu says lack of skills, infrastructure, and institutional support hinder Non-Profit Organisations’ effectiveness. Therefore, building the capacity of NGOs and NPOs is essential to ensure sustainable and impactful initiatives. As of 15th February, the number of registered NPOs was 285-thousand-055 in the country. The department’s spokesperson, Lumka Oliphant says the limited funding and resources constrain the scope and scale of NGOs and NPOs initiatives:

Stay tuned for more news………….