News 15:00

BULLETIN 24 July 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Section 89 committee studies the court ruling in the impeachment process
# Zuma takes control of the MK Party’s finances
# And rugby: The Lions pick two Junior Boks for the Currie Cup clash with the Pumas

# The Section 89 impeachment committee is studying the Western Cape High Court’s judgment that temporarily halted its public hearings into president Cyril Ramaphosa’s impeachment process. Chairperson Makashule Gana says the interdict applies to the public hearings pending Ramaphosa’s review application. He says the committee will carefully assess the full judgment to determine which aspects of its work may continue while the court review process unfolds:

# Leader Jacob Zuma has taken direct control of the MK Party’s finances after revoking the signing powers of all bank account signatories, including senior party officials. The move follows allegations of financial mismanagement and missing funds. Zuma says he has appointed himself as accounting official to strengthen financial governance and accountability. He says the suspension of signing powers is temporary while new financial controls and authorised signatories are finalised.

# The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department has launched an investigation into its officials caught on video assaulting a motorist. The recorded dashcam footage shows officials pulling a driver over before one of them wrapped his hands around him and started choking him. JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla says they condemn any abuse of power, misconduct, or actions that undermine public trust:

# Statistics South Africa says retail trade sales increased by 2.3-percent in May compared with the same month last year, showing continued growth in consumer spending. The biggest increases came from other retailers, clothing and footwear stores, and general dealers. Stats SA’s Raquel Floris says over the three months to May, retail sales were two-percent higher than the same period last year, indicating continued steady growth in the retail sector:

# Rugby: Two of the Lions’ eight Junior Springboks will play in tomorrow’s Currie Cup match against the Pumas in Johannesburg, while the others are rested after clinching the Junior World Championship in Georgia. Mahle Sithole and Thando Biyelo were both included in the starting-15, on hooker and flank, respectively. Asad Moos was picked on the bench for his first match for the hosts after relocating from the Stormers. The Lions lost last weekend’s first-round match against the Cheetahs, while the Pumas lost to the Sharks.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-87-cents and the euro at 19-rand-21-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-48-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-994-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-60-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….