News 17:00

BULLETIN 7 June 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF opposes a government of national unity
# President Ramaphosa appoints Maropene Ramokgopa as acting minister of Sport
# And rugby: A former Irish international questions Leinster’s mental strength 

# The EFF says it rejects the forming of a government of national unity, criticising it for avoiding clear agendas to undo colonial and apartheid legacies. They oppose alliances with parties representing white interests, emphasising the EFF’s commitment to issues like land reform and free education. Briefing the media, deputy president Floyd Shivambu advocates for a decisive government to address the country’s challenges. Shivambu says the party is not entering coalitions out of desperation:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed minister Maropene Ramokgopa to serve as the acting minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture. Ramokgopa is currently serving as minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. She replaces Zizi Kodwa, who resigned this week after his court appearance on corruption charges. Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Ramokgopa will act in the portfolio until a permanent appointment is made under the new seventh administration:

# The South African Post Office’s business rescue practitioners have expedited the payment process for the first tranche of severance packages to retrenched employees. Instead of the previously agreed-upon end-of-June timeline, payments will begin next week. This initiative, which includes full payment of the Unemployment Insurance Fund and a dividend to the South African Revenue Service, aims to ease financial burdens on affected staff. Tranche two and three payments are scheduled for September and November, respectively.

# Rugby: Former Irish international Stephen Ferris believes the pressure will be on Leinster when they meet compatriots Ulster in the United Rugby Championship quarterfinals tomorrow. Leinster, with former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber as its senior coach, hasn’t won a trophy in the past three years and lost to Toulouse in the final of the Champions Cup last month. They have also lost twice to Ulster this season, and Ferris doubts whether they have the mental strength to win finals.

# The inancial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-85-cents and the euro at 20-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-307-dollars-9-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-325-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-82-cents a barrel.

# And finally: BroadReach Health Development says if South Africa is to end the spread of HIV in this lifetime, it must focus on closing the prevention and care gaps among infants and young people. Statistics from the United Nations show that adolescent girls and young women accounted for 77-percent of new infections among young people in sub-Saharan Africa in 2022. BroadReach Health Development’s Ziyanda Makaba says more needs to be done to get young people into clinics to be tested and onto antiretroviral drugs.

Stay tuned for more news………….