News 16:00

BULLETIN 9 July 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The KwaZulu-Natal’s police commissioner’s allegations are referred to three key parliamentary committees
# More than 12-thousand illegal firearms were destroyed today
# And rugby: Jasper and Cobus Wiese are set to become the 37th set of brothers to play for the Boks

# National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza has asked three parliamentary committees to urgently investigate allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, including claims of political interference by Police minister Senzo Mchunu. The committees on Police and Justice and Constitutional Development, and the joint standing committee on Intelligence have been asked to urgently consider the claims, which involve national security concerns. Didiza says it is not appropriate to hold a parliamentary debate on the matter at this stage, as the allegations remain unproven.

# National police commissioner, Fannie Masemola says a total of 12-thousand-499 illegal firearms that were collected across the country, have been destroyed in Gauteng today. Masemola was speaking at the firearm destruction at Cape Gate steel in Vanderbijlpark. He says Gauteng brought in the majority of firearms with five-thousand-and-99 followed by the Western Cape with two-thousand-333, and KwaZulu-Natal with one-thousand-574. He says one-thousand-432 firearms were from the Eastern Cape and 460 from the Free State:

# The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Trade Conditions Survey for May and June shows trade conditions have dipped into negative territory, reversing earlier improvements in March and April. While 51-percent of respondents said June conditions were better than a year ago, only 62-percent expect improvements over the next six months, down from 69-percent in May. Weak economic performance, high unemployment, and global uncertainty weigh heavily. Despite low inflation and some positive indicators like vehicle sales, trade sentiment remains cautious and uneven across sectors.

# The DA in the Western Cape says the growth of cruise tourism shows the impact of coordinated investment, infrastructure, and strategic promotion. The 2024/25 cruise tourism season contributed 1.32-billion-rand to the local economy and supported two-thousand jobs. There were a total of 83 ship calls, eleven of them inaugural visits, and passenger and crew numbers rose by 16-percent. The DA’s Noko Masipa says tourism is a priority sector in the province’s economic plan:

# Rugby: Jasper and Cobus Wiese are set to become the 37th set of brothers to represent South Africa if they share the field in Saturday’s second Test against Italy in Gqeberha. Loose forward Jasper, who already played 28 matches for the national side, was picked in the starting-15. Cobus, who plays lock or flanker for the Bulls, could make his Test debut from the bench. Before them, Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse played together for South Africa in last November’s Test against Wales.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-84-cents and the euro at 20-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-500-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-289-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….