News 17:00

BULLETIN 14 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South African animal welfare groups oppose live animal exports by sea
# Rugby: Aphelele Fassi gets a new role as reserve goal-kicker against the Wallabies on Saturday
# And legendary former Springbok flyhalf Dawie Snyman dies at 76

# Animal welfare organisations, including Humane World for Animals South Africa and Stop Live Export SA, are urging the public to oppose new government rules allowing live animals to be exported by sea for slaughter. They warn the practice causes extreme suffering and mostly benefits large commercial farmers rather than small-scale producers. Stop Live Export SA’s Michelle Taberer says the regulations lack proper welfare safeguards and could damage South Africa’s international reputation:

# The Referendum Party says the DA’s new economic plan is credible, but believes it won’t be implemented nationally while the ANC controls the government of national unity. The plan outlines a set of non-negotiable demands for reform, which will kickstart the economy and create jobs. These include removing job-killing policies and laws and fixing the energy sector. Referendum Party leader Phil Craig says the problem is not the plan itself, but the political reality of the country:

Meanwhile, the DA says the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, under minister Dean Macpherson’s leadership, is yielding the results of a focus on jobs, lower living costs, and ethical governance. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows the construction sector added 20-thousand jobs between April and July, and 55-thousand jobs over the past year. The DA’s Edwin Macrae Bath says the growth in construction jobs reflects the excellent work Macpherson is doing:

# Rugby: Springbok fullback Aphelele Fassi relishes the chance of adding goal-kicking to his arsenal in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies in Johannesburg. He will probably share the kicking duties with flyhalf Manie Libbok as the only other recognised kicker in the squad. Fassi says it’s an aspect of his game he had been working on for some time. He expects a physical encounter, but believes the Boks must just stick to their structures when they start defending their title at Ellis Park.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-63-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-395-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-345-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

# And we end with sad news: Former Springbok player and Western Province coach Dawie Snyman has passed away at the age of 76 years. According to News24, Snyman, who played ten tests for South Africa between 1972 and ’77, was diagnosed with leukemia last month. He is remembered for the 1976 All Blacks series victory and five straight Currie Cup titles with Western Province from 1982 to ’86. Rugby runs deep in his family, with his brother Jackie also a former Springbok and his nephew Dawie currently the Stormers’ assistant coach.

Stay tuned for more news………….