News 16:00

BULLETIN 16 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Tiger Brands commits 150-million-rand to a community trust in an exit deal with Western Cape farmers
# Tshwane plans to revive the Wonderboom Airport through public-private partnership
# And rugby: Eben Etzebeth is fit to face the Scarlets tomorrow night

# Tiger Brands has announced the sale of its Langeberg and Ashton Foods canned fruit business to a consortium that includes local fruit growers in the Western Cape. The move aims to protect over three-thousand jobs and ensure the business remains sustainable. As part of the deal, the company will invest 150-million-rand in a community trust to support the local Langeberg area. They will also spend 31-million-rand upgrading their environmental facilities. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected to conclude later this year.

# ActionSA has expressed frustration at president Cyril Ramaphosa’s continued indecisiveness regarding the suspension of Johannesburg Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Andrew Chauke. ActionSA’s spokesperson, Matthew George, says despite receiving a formal request from the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, as far back as August 2023, the president has yet to act decisively:

# The Tshwane Municipality has announced plans to revive the Wonderboom Airport through a public-private partnership. Despite years of financial losses, mayoral committee member for Finance, Eugene Modise, says the metro would not cut ties with the airport, citing its potential as a cargo hub. Part of Tshwane’s budget for the 2025/26 financial year, funds have been set aside to revitalise state-owned assets. Modise highlighted Wonderboom’s strategic location and capacity advantages:

 # Rugby: Eben Etzebeth has made a swift recovery and will play for the Sharks in tomorrow’s final United Rugby Championship league match against Scarlets in Durban. The Springbok lock hobbled off the field during last weekend’s victory over Ospreys, but it turned out to be just a leg knock. Emile van Heerden will join Etzebeth in the second row. Bok loosehead prop Ox Nché returns from illness, while Phepsi Buthelezi will wear the number eight jersey in place of Bok captain Siya Kolisi, who is rested.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-10-cents and the euro at 20-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-729-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-169-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

# And finally: SANParks has launched its vision 2040 strategy at the Africa Travel Indaba in Durban. The plan focuses on making conservation more inclusive and beneficial to local communities. Thirteen small tourism businesses were given a platform to promote their services. A key partnership was signed with Mpumalanga Parks, with more deals expected in other provinces. Vision 2040 aims to link nature conservation with tourism and community development.

Stay tuned for more news………….