News 16:00

BULLETIN 30 June 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Police confirm arrests for looting during the nationwide protests
# Statistics South Africa reports 80-thousand formal sector job losses in the first quarter of 2026
# And rugby: Rassie praises Cheslin after regarding him too small for Test rugby

# The Police Ministry says several arrests have been made following incidents of looting and attempted looting during today’s nationwide protests. While most demonstrations remained peaceful, police responded to isolated incidents of criminal activity and remain on high alert with increased deployments to protect businesses and critical infrastructure. Spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi warns anyone exploiting the protests to commit crimes will face the full force of the law:

Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town’s disaster coordinating team says a few incidents have been reported this morning. Spokesperson Charlotte Powell says units are on scene at a gathering in Bloekombos, a group on the Grand Parade, and an attempted shop looting in Gugulethu, where police and Metro Police intervened. She says major transport interchanges remain operational, while staff are deployed across the metro:

# Statistics South Africa says the formal non-agricultural sector lost 80-thousand jobs in the first three months of this year, reducing total employment to 10.5-million. The biggest job losses were in community services and trade, while manufacturing, mining and business services recorded small gains. Hundred-and-21-thousand formal jobs were lost compared with a year ago. Stats SA’s Matlapane Masupye says average monthly earnings increased slightly to about 30-thousand-rand:

# Mr Price cautions against deceptive comparison, while highlighting that its CEO earns around 800 times more than entry-level sales staff. Amendments to the Companies Act that took effect on the 22nd of last month, are forcing South African public and state-owned firms to openly share executive-to-worker salary ratios. The retailer says the figures do not reflect full remuneration structures, job complexity, or incentives across different roles. It argues such comparisons risk misrepresenting corporate pay practices and workforce dynamics.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus praised prolific try-scorer Cheslin Kolbe on the cusp of his 50th match for South Africa, although he admitted he and many others thought he was too small for Test rugby. The 1.71-metre Kolbe will wear the number 14 jersey in Saturday’s Nations Championship match against England at Ellis Park. He scored 151 points since making his debut for the Boks in 2018. Erasmus says Kolbe had been an integral part of the Bok set-up and always produced when the team needed him.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-39-cents and the euro at 18-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-800-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-17-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-45-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….