News 17:00

BULLETIN 13 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament refuses to probe minister Gayton McKenzie over alleged racial slurs
# Cricket: Corbin Bosch is given a demerit point after showing Ben Dwarshuis where the dugout was
# And the Eastern Cape’s Mountain Zebra National Park welcomes two male lions

# Parliament’s Ethics Committee will not investigate Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie over tweets containing the K-word, saying they pre-date his time as Member of Parliament. The African Transformation Movement lodged the complaint, but Parliament ruled it fell outside the Code of Conduct. The South African Human Rights Commission is still considering a separate complaint filed by ActionSA. McKenzie has denied being racist, calling the allegations a political campaign, but admitted past tweets were insensitive and expressed regret.

# Delegates at the African Union-AIP Water Investment Summit in Cape Town have been urged to prioritise water investment in climate and finance discussions. Delivering the keynote address, president Cyril Ramaphosa called for financing, tracking, and championing water initiatives. Ramaphosa also encouraged attendees to leave with concrete deals, partnerships, and a permanent global mechanism. He says matchmaking sessions should foster lasting collaborations to build a world where every drop counts:

# Trade, Industry and Competition minister Parks Tau has praised the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers Show in Gqeberha for highlighting South Africa’s automotive capabilities. Tau says a five-percent increase in local production could unlock 30-billion-rand in procurement, potentially drafting the 4.4-billion-rand US export market, and boost exports. He notes reforms to the Automotive Production Development Programme will drive growth, competitiveness, and transformation, while embracing decarbonisation, digitisation, and diversification:

# Cricket: Proteas allrounder Corbin Bosch was given one demerit point for a breach of the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct during yesterday’s second T20 against Australia in Darwin. He gestured towards the players’ dugout after dismissing Ben Dwarshuis, with the code describing the incident as using actions or gestures that could provoke an aggressive reaction from the batter. Bosch accepted the sanction, eliminating the need for a formal hearing. South Africa won the match by 53 runs to square the series.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-53-cents and the euro at 20-rand-51-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 120-thousand-736-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-356-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-73-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape has welcomed two male lions from Addo Elephant National Park. The lions, named Niklaas and Witwarm, were relocated to help maintain genetic diversity and a healthy predator-prey balance. They were introduced after the park’s long-time resident male, Nomad, was humanely euthanised due to age and safety concerns. SANParks spokesperson JP Louw says the move will support the long-term health of the lion population.

Stay tuned for more news………….