News 17:00

BULLETIN 16 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Steenhuisen applauds Finance minister Godongwana’s efforts on Budget 3.0
# AfriForum slams government for neglecting world heritage sites amid a call for new ones
# And cricket: Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders resume the IPL tomorrow after a one-week postponement

# DA leader John Steenhuisen has commended Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s efforts on the revised national budget, known as Budget 3.0. Speaking at the Nampo Harvest Day expo in the Free State, Steenhuisen described the presentation as wonderful while welcoming the progress made in the process. He emphasised the collaborative approach in crafting a credible budget aimed at fostering investor confidence and economic growth. The revised budget is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.

# Tiger Brands has announced the sale of its Langeberg and Ashton Foods canned fruit business to a consortium that includes local fruit growers in the Western Cape. The move aims to protect over three-thousand jobs and ensure the business remains sustainable. As part of the deal, the company will invest 150-million-rand in a community trust to support the local Langeberg area. They will also spend 31-million-rand upgrading their environmental facilities. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected to conclude later this year.

# AfriForum says government should prioritise the maintenance of existing World Heritage Sites before nominating new ones. This follows a call by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment for proposals to add more sites to the list. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal says sites like Robben Island in the Western Cape and Mapungubwe in Limpopo are falling apart due to poor maintenance, weak law enforcement, neglect and illegal activity:

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the MyCiTi south-east expansion is the biggest financial investment in public transport by any metro to date. Over six-billion-rand has been allocated in the current three-year budget cycle. Construction has already started along Imam Haron Road and Stanhope Bridge on the major MyCiTi route expansion from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain. Hill-Lewis says it’s exciting to see the major progress all along the new route:

# Cricket: Hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders will take to the field when the Indian Premier League resumes after a one-week postponement tomorrow. RCB is currently second on the log behind Gujarat Titans, with both teams needing only one victory to qualify for the playoffs. Gujarat plays Delhi Capitals tomorrow. The other teams still in the running for a play-off spot are Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, Delhi, KKR and Lucknow Super Giants. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings cannot qualify anymore.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-8-cents and the euro at 20-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 103-thousand-549-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-177-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-51-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….