News 17:00

BULLETIN 1 July 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa seeks an extension to finalise a US trade deal before the tariff hike takes effect
# Construction sector confidence drops despite short-term gains
# And cricket: The Proteas beat Zimbabwe by 328 runs in the first Test in Bulawayo

# South Africa has requested more time to negotiate a trade deal with the US before a 31-percent tariff hike takes effect on Wednesday next week. The tariff, paused for 90-days by president Donald Trump’s administration, threatens key exports like vehicles, steel, and citrus. In a statement, Trade minister Parks Tau says South Africa aims to limit tariffs to ten-percent and offered to buy liquefied natural gas from the US in exchange. Talks are ongoing, with officials urging industry to remain patient as negotiations continue.

# South African civil contractors have raised concerns about the construction sector’s outlook, with the FNB/Bureau for Economic Research Civil Confidence Index falling to 41 between April and June. This marks the third straight quarterly decline, despite improved profitability and activity. The index shows delays in tenders and a lack of major infrastructure projects are driving low sentiment. In addition, investment in fixed infrastructure has halved over the past decade, crippling the sector and forcing businesses into business rescue.

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says the recent arrests of former Transnet executives, including Bria olefe and Siyabonga Gama, signal real progress in holding those involved in state capture accountable. Yesterday, the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Gauteng granted Molefe, Gama, Anoj Singh, and Thamsanqa Jiyane 50-thousand-rand bail each over corruption allegations linked to Transnet’s 93-million-rand locomotive contracts. OUTA’s Rudie Heyneke says the arrests were long overdue:

# Cricket: The Proteas dealt Zimbabwe their worst-ever Test defeat when they beat them by 328 runs on the fourth day in Bulawayo. There were many heroes for South Africa, with player of the match, debutant Lhuan-dré Pretorius, and Corbin Bosch scoring centuries in the first innings and Wiaan Mulder another in the second. Bosch took five wickets in Zimbabwe’s second innings when Sean Williams contributed a fighting 137, and Mulder took four in the hosts’ first innings. The final Test starts on Sunday, also in Bulawayo.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-59-cents and the euro at 20-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-551-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-348-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-85-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Four University of Pretoria employees went the extra mile to help deserving students gain access to higher education, raising over 28-thousand-rand in donations by completing the Comrades Marathon. André Ganswindt, Bianca Frost, Josiah Mavundla, and Mfundo Nyitana each set a target of nine-thousand-rand in donations, amounting to 36-thousand-rand. Frost exceeded her donation target, single-handedly raising 11-thousand-rand:

Stay tuned for more news………….