News 17:00

BULLETIN 16 April 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Eastern Cape must leverage its natural endowments into economic growth
# Remedial works intensify at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital as the fire anniversary is marked
# And Olympic Games: The cricket competition will take place in Pomona during the LA Games in 2028

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Eastern Cape must use its natural strengths to drive inclusive economic growth. Speaking at a high-level government meeting in Nelson Mandela Bay, he noted the province’s rich natural resources, long coastline, fertile land, and strong academic institutions. However, Ramaphosa warned that poor governance, weak infrastructure and corruption have prevented these assets from benefiting communities:

# Remedial work is in full swing at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital as the Gauteng Health Department marks four years since a fire damaged parts of the facility. The department has announced a planned shutdown of the medical gas supply today to allow for demolition work. The department’s spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, says patients dependent on medical gas will be placed on cylinders and emergency cases will be sent to nearby hospitals:

# The Public Servants Association welcomes Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson’s recommendation of lifestyle audits for the Independent Development Trust’s board members. The IDT is being investigated by the Hawks and PricewaterhouseCoopers over allegations of corruption concerning an 836-million-rand oxygen-plant project. PSA’s Claude Naiker says corruption and maladministration about procurement of services are major problems at many entities and departments, costing the country billions of rand annually:

# Olympic Games: A temporary stadium in Pomona will be utilised for the cricket competition during 2028’s Games in Los Angeles. The field in Fairground is about an hour’s drive from the athletes’ village in the Californian city. One of the reasons for the choice is the desire for the cricket players to stay with the other athletes. Fairground hosted the Los Angeles Country Fair since 1922, and is also a venue for concerts, sports and cultural events. Its existing grandstand, built in 1932, seats eight-thousand spectators.  

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-85-cents and the euro at 21-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-721-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-305-dollars-84-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The veteran South African actor Don Mlangeni-Nawa has died at the age of 65. His family confirmed his death this morning without disclosing the cause. Remembered as a loving father and powerful storyteller, Mlangeni-Nawa’s legacy lives on through his work including iconic roles in Isidingo, ‘Sgudi ‘Snaysi, and Hlala Kwabafileyo. The family has asked for privacy and will announce the memorial and funeral details soon.

Stay tuned for more news………….