News 17:00

BULLETIN 23 April 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC aligns over 23-thousand voting districts to new ward boundaries
# The GOOD Party urges the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates as inflation drops below the target
# And Sascoc, Netball SA and the Sports Department await formal charges before acting on Molokwane’s suspension

# The Electoral Commission has aligned over 23-thousand voting districts to new ward boundaries ahead of next year’s local government elections. This follows the completion of the first phase of the municipal demarcation process by the Demarcation Board. The commission says aligning voting districts with newly demarcated wards ensures accurate voter representation and efficient electoral planning. IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo urges voters to verify and update their registration details when the registration period opens:

# The GOOD Party says the drop in inflation to 2.7-percent last month, down from 3.2-percent in February, should prompt the South African Reserve Bank to ease the pressure on consumers. With inflation now below the three- to six-percent target range, the party urges the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to cut interest rates. GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron says many citizens are struggling with debt, and a possible 0.5-percent VAT hike will make things worse.

# The Public Servants Association is outraged by the continued negligence and inaction by the management of Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng. This is in the wake of a fire at the hospital’s accident and emergency unit on Saturday after a section of the building collapsed, followed by another fire this morning. PSA’s Claude Naiker says they have consistently raised concerns about the deteriorating infrastructure and unsafe working conditions at the hospital, warning that the facility was on the brink of total collapse:

# Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has urged Hamas to free all hostages, saying their captivity provided Israel with excuses to attack the territory. At least 18 people were killed across the Gaza Strip by Israeli strikes today, while Germany, France and Britain urge Israel to end its blockade on aid. Israel resumed its military campaign on 18 March. That brought an end to the ceasefire that had largely paused hostilities and resulted in the release of 33 hostages from Gaza and approximately one-thousand-800 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

# Netball: The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, Sports Department, and Netball SA say they’ll only act if Netball SA and Africa Netball president Cecilia Molokwane faces formal charges. Molokwane was suspended by World Netball over alleged maladministration. Deputy Sport minister, Peace Mabe, told Parliament that suspending Molokwane without due process is unfair. She says internal investigations must guide any further action:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-62-cents and the euro at 21-rand-24-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-120-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-303-dollars-94-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….