News 16:00

BULLETIN 12 September 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Steenhuisen requests his chief of staff’s resignation
# Solidarity warns the BELA Bill could threaten the government of national unity
# And, rugby: The Stormers and Sharks’ coaches are not happy with the postponement of the URC’s first-round matches

# Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has asked Roman Cabanac to resign as his chief of staff following criticism over his appointment. Cabanac has been criticised for his provocative podcasting, which criticised the previous ANC-led government. He admitted his criticisms were sometimes insensitive but claims he has shifted his perspective. Steenhuisen says the controversy was overshadowing the department’s achievements and progress.

# Trade union Solidarity has pledged to take legal action if president Cyril Ramaphosa signs the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill into law tomorrow. The union, civil rights organisation AfriForum and other groups are prepared to go to court, asserting it threatens the government of national unity’s consensus and their interests. Solidarity’s chief executive, Dirk Hermann, accuses Ramaphosa of overstepping his mandate and calls on political partners to dispute the bill: 

# The South African Revenue Service has received 161-thousand-607 tax directive applications for the two-pot retirement system. This amounts to a total of 4.1-billion-rand. SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter explained that pension contributions are taxed upon withdrawal at the individual’s marginal tax rate. Fund administrators are expected to submit tax directives via eFiling, determining how much tax should be withheld. If a taxpayer owes SARS, the debt is added to the tax on the withdrawal, unless a payment arrangement exists. Deferred tax debts are also not immediately deducted.

# The City of Cape Town is anticipating record visitor numbers in the upcoming December holidays. Tourist arrivals to Cape Town by air recorded a 16-percent year-on-year increase between January and March this year. Mayoral committee member for Economic Growth, James Vos, says they want to connect Cape Town with more key source markets:

 # Rugby: The coaches of the Stormers and the Sharks aren’t impressed with the decision to move their United Rugby Championship opening round matches from this month to sometime next year. This was done to accommodate the final of the Currie Cup. John Dobson and John Plumtree say the Bulls also voted against the postponements, while only the Lions were in favour of the later dates. Plumtree says they now have the problem of how to plan their Springboks’ resting protocols.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-95-cents and the euro at 19-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-40-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-62-dollars-28-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-520-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….