News 17:00

BULLETIN 13 November 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cabinet condemns the rising crime and supports efforts against illegal mining
# The Western Cape government celebrates a record in job growth amid economic challenges
# And entries have opened for the 98th edition of the Comrades Marathon

# Cabinet has strongly condemned the increasing crime rate and expressed full support for efforts to combat illegal mining. It also commended a successful police operation in North West which resulted in the arrest of over one-thousand illegal miners. Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says government is committed to tackling these issues with stronger law enforcement and stricter measures to curb illegal mining, which fuels the rise in criminal activity:

# The Western Cape government reports strong economic resilience, with the province’s economy outperforming national trends and boosting job creation and stability. According to Statistics SA’s latest quarterly labour force survey, 75-thousand jobs were created between July and September, reducing the province’s unemployment rate to a national low of 19.6-percent. Premier Alan Winde credits initiatives like the red tape reduction unit and booster fund for helping small businesses thrive:

# The Transport Education Training Authority has launched the Truck Road Safety initiative to help reduce road accidents. The campaign runs in Mpumalanga until next Wednesday to help improve road safety awareness during the festive period. The authority’s executive manager of corporate services, Kgatile Nkala, says the drive will be centred on educating truck drivers and the public.

# The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has sounded the alarm over counterfeit diabetes medication. There is a rise in particularly GLP-1 products like Ozempic, being sold through unauthorised channels. SAHPRA’s Madimetja Mashishi says these fake medications pose serious health risks as they lack quality checks. He urges the public to buy only registered products:

# Roadrunning: Entries have opened for next year’s 98th edition of the iconic Comrades Marathon in KwaZulu-Natal. The race will be a down-run over approximately 89 kilometres from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on the eighth of June. The organisers say the race traditionally attracts athletes from over 70 countries. Twenty-three-thousand participants will be allowed next year. The fee for South Africans are one-thousand-200-rand, for the rest of Africa two-thousand-rand, and for internationals four-thousand-500-rand. Entries close on the ninth of next month, or when the entry cap is reached.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-1-cent and the euro at 19-rand-14-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-919-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-608-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-32-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….