News 17:00

BULLETIN 30 May 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ramokgopa announces the preferred bidders for the 9.5-billion-rand battery storage programme
# A US pastor and Trump ally denounces the ‘Kill the Boer’ chant
# And rugby, the Bulls pick Papier at scrumhalf for the URC quarter-final against Edinburgh

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has announced the preferred bidders for the third round of the battery energy storage independent power producer procurement programme. The 9.5-billion-rand initiative will deliver 616 megawatts of storage capacity in the Free State. Norwegian company Scatec ASA will build the Haru project, while South African firm Mulilo will handle the Bloemhoek, Erfdeel, Vanilla, and Retreat sites. Ramokgopa says these companies have committed to creating more than 850 local job opportunities:

# US pastor and ally to president Donald Trump, Mark Burns, has condemned the controversial ‘Kill the Boer’ chants, saying such rhetoric fuels racial division in South Africa. Burns told Newzroom Afrika that calls to seize land and chants targeting white farmers send dangerous messages and undermine efforts to build unity. He urged South Africans to reject hate speech and instead work towards economic transformation that benefits all citizens, warning that racial nationalism threatens social stability and investment:

# The International Air Transport Association, IATA, has reported total global air passenger traffic grew strongly in April, in year-on-year terms. Total demand increased by eight percent, with international demand up 10.8-perccent and domestic demand rising by 3.3-percent. The region which saw the strongest growth in total passenger traffic was Africa, at 14.2-percent. It was followed by the Middle East with 11.3-percent, Latin America by 10.9-percent, the Asia-Pacific 10.6-percent, Europe 8.3-percent and North America 1.6-percent.

# Rugby: Embrose Papier will start at scrumhalf for the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Edinburgh tomorrow at Loftus in Pretoria. Keagan Johannes starts at flyhalf with Willie le Roux at fullback. Captain Ruan Nortjé is in the number 7 jersey again. Canan Moodie will be on the right wing. Director of Rugby Jake White has included nine Springboks in his starting team with others like Akker van der Merwe and Marco van Staden on the bench. Kick-off is at 1:30pm.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-92-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-17-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-524-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-297-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Standard Bank and the GIBS Entrepreneurship Development Academy have launched applications for the 2025 Youth Forward Programme. The initiative comes as South Africa gears up for Youth Month. Standard Bank’s Naledzani Mosomane says the programme targets 50 black youth-owned businesses, offering tools for sustainable growth. She emphasised that with youth unemployment at 46.1-percent, the programme aims to empower entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35 through mentorship, training, and support:

Stay tuned for more news………….