News 16:00

BULLETIN 28 July 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The arms export case against the government heads to court
# The Treasury will release 7.1-billion-rand to municipalities
# And soccer: Andrea Pirlo withdraws his candidature as Italy’s coach over ties to a Russian betting company

# The Southern Africa Litigation Centre says it has a strong legal case against the South African government over arms export permits granted to the United States. The organisation wants the High Court in Pretoria to suspend or overturn the permits, arguing South African-supplied weapons may breach domestic law and undermine international peace and security. The government is opposing the application. The centre says the case will now proceed to a full hearing, where the court will consider whether the permits comply with South Africa’s arms control laws.

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says National Treasury will begin releasing the remaining withheld local government equitable share transfers from Friday. The funds were withheld from 69 municipalities over failures to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act. Godongwana says the measure was introduced to improve financial accountability. He confirmed a total of 7.1-billion-rand will be paid to qualifying municipalities that have met financial compliance requirements:

# The Water Research Commission says South Africa’s National Water Action Plan can help resolve the country’s water crisis if it is properly implemented. Researcher Stanley Liphadzi says success depends on investment in municipal infrastructure, stronger governance, and improved technical capacity. He says ring-fencing water revenue for maintenance and upgrades could improve service delivery and attract investment. Liphadzi adds that reforms, accountability, and skilled professionals are essential to rehabilitate ageing infrastructure and ensure sustainable water services across the country.

# Western Cape MEC for Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, says the provincial government is transforming the way infrastructure is planned, financed and delivered, through stronger partnerships, greater transparency, and a shared vision for long-term growth. The provincial government will convene its inaugural Infrastructure ministerial roundtable in Cape Town on Thursday. Simmers says at the centre of discussions will be the Western Cape Infrastructure Framework 2050, the province’s long-term blueprint for infrastructure-led development:

# Soccer: Andrea Pirlo has withdrawn as candidate to become Italy’s next head coach because of his ties to a Russian betting company. He was regarded as absolute favourite to take over from Gennaro Gattuso, who left in April after the country could yet again not qualify for the World Cup. Pirlo is a global ambassador for Fonbet, which has sponsored several sporting events involving veterans of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Several politicians said anyone promoting Russia after the invasion of Ukraine should not hold a national position.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-78-cents and the euro at 19-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-386-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-30-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….