News 16:00

BULLETIN 5 February 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa announces a focus on tackling illegal mining and infrastructure damage 
# The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre is activated after a widespread electricity outage
# And Soccer: President Ramaphosa wishes Bafana Bafana well in the Afcon semi-final against Nigeria

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a heightened focus on tackling illegal mining and addressing infrastructure damage within the mining sector. In his address at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, he revealed the establishment of a specialised police unit, working in collaboration with the defence force. According to Ramaphosa, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, through Mintek, has been actively sealing ownerless and derelict mines, with plans to close additional shafts in the coming years:

# The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre has been activated to address widespread electricity outages in the Central Karoo, Garden Route, and Overberg. Provincial MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, reported that the outage resulted from the collapse of seven Eskom powerline towers during a thunderstorm over the weekend. Affected areas include Central Karoo, Leeu-Gamka, Merweville, Laingsburg, Sutherland, Prince Albert, Ladysmith, Napier, and rural farming communities from Wolwengat to Pearly Beach.

# The president of the Construction Industries Federation, Nico Badenhorst, extended condolences to the family of the late Namibian president, Hage Geingob. Badenhorst praised Geingob for guiding Namibia through challenging economic periods while upholding peace in the nation. He urged for the late president’s commitment to democratic principles and realisation of economic opportunities during his tenure, to be honoured:

# Soccer: President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised Bafana Bafana, for their achievement in reaching the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations. Bafana secured their spot after defeating Cape Verde 2-1 in a penalty shootout following a goalless draw. This marks their first appearance in the semifinals of the competition in 24 years. Ramaphosa has wished the team well as they face Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the semifinals on Wednesday:

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-95-cents and the euro at 20-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 43-thousand-119-dollars-83-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-24-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Tripple Grammy winner, Killer Mike was detained by Los Angeles police shortly after last night’s awards ceremony at the Crypto.Com Arena. The rapper, whose real name is Michael Render, just won the coveted awards for best rap album for Michael, and best rap song and best performance for Scientists & Engineers. The 48-year-old artist had reportedly been detained for an altercation inside the venue, and was later booked on a misdemeanor charge. He was then released, but must appear in court later this month.

Stay tuned for more news………….