News 16:00

BULLETIN 31 October 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A cross-party team is formed to address two clauses in the BELA Act
# OUTA says public-private partnerships is a concern without oversight as corruption-fighting budgets shrink
# And cricket: The Proteas beat Bangladesh by an innings and 273 runs to complete a 2-0 series victory

# A cross-party team has been formed to tackle concerns about two controversial clauses in the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. This decision was made during a meeting of the government of national unity’s clearing house mechanism. The team includes deputy Justice minister Andries Nel and the FF Plus’ Corné Mulder, GOOD Party’s Brett Herron, the DA’s Hellen Zille, and ANC’s Mdumiseni Ntuli. They have two weeks to resolve the issues and report back, focusing on a solution that benefits all citizens and prioritises cooperation over party political interests.

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse has urged government to increase funding for key anti-corruption bodies, such as the National Prosecuting Authority and the Special Investigating Unit. They warn a lack of oversight in public-private partnerships could lead to wasted taxpayer money and inefficiency. OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage criticised Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s medium-term budget policy statement for not prioritising the fight against corruption and financial misconduct:

# SA Canegrowers has expressed relief over government’s decision to freeze any increase in the health promotion levy, commonly known as the sugar tax. It says this freeze is crucial for safeguarding jobs in the agricultural sector, particularly in rural areas of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, where the sugar industry plays a vital role. The organisation’s chairperson, Higgins Mdluli, warns any tax hike would have further threatened employment stability, as the sugar tax has already caused significant job losses since it began.

# The DA is demanding a forensic audit of the Johannesburg Property Company’s finances after receiving reports from whistleblowers about serious allegations of misconduct by senior officials. Concerns include sexual harassment, staff victimisation, and the lack of salary payments to employees. The DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku claims these issues date back to 2020 and have not been adequately addressed by the City of Johannesburg’s administration:

# Cricket: South Africa annihilated Bangladesh in the second Test in Chattogram to win the series 2-0. The hosts were forced to follow on on the third morning after a first-innings deficit of 416 runs after the Proteas declared on 575 for six yesterday. The wickets again started falling almost immediately and the whole team was back in the pavillion for just 143, handing the Proteas victory with an innings and 273 runs. Keshav Maharaj took five wickets after Kagiso Rabada did the same in Bangladesh’s first innings.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-64-cents and the euro at 19-rand-19-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-165-dollars-11-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-781-dollars-31-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….