News 16:00

BULLETIN 3 September 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says South Africa seeks to learn from Shenzhen’s digital and green economy successes 
# The Transport minister urges Transnet to ensure a freight logistics recovery
# And, rugby: Daan Human says the All Blacks’ scrum is one of the best in the game

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa aims to learn from Shenzhen’s rapid economic development and success in the digital and green economy. Speaking at a business roundtable in China, he highlighted how the city’s transformation into a global technology hub has inspired South Africa’s growth plans. Ramaphosa expressed interest in learning from Shenzhen’s success in infrastructure and skills development, particularly through green energy and digital advancements. He invited Shenzhen companies to invest in South Africa’s renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and electric vehicle sectors.

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy has called on Transnet’s board to intensify efforts to revitalise South Africa’s freight logistics sector. Speaking at Transnet’s annual general meeting, Creecy highlighted the need for an efficient rail network to drive inclusive growth. She says current recovery efforts, which stabilised freight capacity at 149-million tons in 2023, must be ramped up. Creecy calls for strategic agility, industry collaboration, and alignment with national economic priorities to achieve sustainable growth.

# The African Transformation Movement has requested the Department of Home Affairs to review and revocate the South African citizenship of the leader of the Cape Independence Movement and Referendum Party, Phil Craig. The ATM’s Zama Ntshona says Craig has been actively advocating for and promoting the independence of the Western Cape from the Republic of South Africa. He says this raises significant concerns regarding the potential fragmentation of South Africa. Ntshona believes this would undermine the country’s unity and diversity, lead to economic instability, and potentially create new social and political tensions.

# Employment and Labour minister, Nomakhosazana Meth, has issued an apology for the disruption of the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s online services. This follows after the High Court in Pretoria issued an interdict that halted the new service provider’s access to the UIF online portal. Meth has assured the public that service points will be expanded and operating hours extended to handle increased demand. The department’s Teboho Thejane says an investigation into the cause of the disruption is underway:

# Rugby: Springboks scrum coach Daan Human says the All Blacks’ scrum is one of the best in the game. The Boks dominated scrum-time against Australia in their first two Rugby Championship Tests, but was not as dominant against New Zealand at Ellis Park. South Africa did manage to get a couple of scrum penalties later in the game against the All Blacks, but Human says there is room for improvement in the Springbok pack:

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-96-cents and the euro at 19-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-175-dollars-57-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-496-dollars-40-cent a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….