News 16:00

BULLETIN 31 January 4 pm

Good morning/Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF pledges a more unified party ready to serve South Africans
# The minister of Transport supports expert recommendations to fix air traffic delays
# And cricket: Virat Kohli disappoints an adoring crowd on his return to local cricket after 12 years

# EFF leader Julius Malema says the party remains unified as it seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable South Africans. Addressing over two-thousand-500 party members and elected leadership during the third National People’s Assembly at Nasrec, Johannesburg, Malema emphasised that the gathering aims to finalise resolutions from the party’s December conference. He reiterates opposition to white monopoly capital and emphasise on discipline, and service delivery:

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy has approved urgent reforms for Air Traffic and Navigation Services after an expert report flagged staff shortages and outdated systems. A committee of experts was appointed to investigate last year’s flight delays and discovered that the service faces unreliable communication and navigation systems. The department’s Collen Msibi says the committee recommended hiring more air traffic controllers, upgrading key systems, and improving management.

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed yet another successive clean audit report from the Auditor General’s office for the 2023/24 financial year. Hill-Lewis says some of the service delivery highlights in the report include a South African record of 9.4-billion-rand spent on infrastructure, and saving 348-million-rand through energy-efficient municipal operations:

Up north, Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya says the metro is changing the culture of governance by addressing the root causes of non-performance, as highlighted by the Auditor-General. The metro’s 2023/’24 audited annual report was tabled and adopted by the council this week. The mayor’s spokesperson, Zintle Mahlati, says the mayoral executive convened a meeting with the Tshwane Consequence Management Committee, which was established to provide oversight over financial, legal and human resources matters in the metro:

 # Cricket: Superstar Indian player Virat Kohli disappointed the adoring crowd in Delhi when he flopped with the bat on his return to the local game for the first time in 12 years. The governing body forced contracted players to get local experience after a dismal display in a recent Test series against Australia. Thousands of spectators cheered Kohli on when he walked out to bat, but his stay was short-lived, as he was bowled for six. Dejected fans also left as Kohli walked back to the pavilion.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-65-cents and the euro at 19-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-817-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-804-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-56-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….