News 17:00

BULLETIN 28 August 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Eskom tariffs are set to rise 8.8-percent after Nersa admits its mistakes
# The Western Cape government confirms there will be no reduction in teaching posts next year
# And Commonwealth Games: The Indian government backs Ahmedabad as the host city in 2030

# Eskom’s electricity tariffs will rise by 8.8-percent over the next two financial years after the energy regulator, Nesa, identified errors in its earlier price determination. The increase, higher than the initially announced five-percent and six-percent respectively, follows an out-of-court settlement. Nersa says the adjustment allows the utility to recover an additional 54-billion-rand over two-years. No public consultation was held due to the legal process, but the phased rise is meant to balance Eskom’s revenue needs with consumer protection.

# Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier has confirmed that teaching posts will not be reduced for the next  academic year. The province will maintain 35-thousand-934 posts, and schools will receive their staff allocations tomorrow. Maynier says this decision follows consultations with teachers’ unions and school governing bodies and aims to maintain stability for learners despite fiscal uncertainty:

# Union Nehawu’s president, Mike Shingange, says they will not be forced into signing a collective agreement permitting retrenchments in the Public Service. He stressed the union’s mandate to unite, protect, and fight for workers. Shingange warns against disguising forced retrenchments as voluntary severance packages, adding that employees must not be coerced into leaving early. He cautions this could spark unrest in the Public Service:

# Commonwealth Games: The Indian government gave its backing for the country’s bid to host the Games in 2030, hoping it will benefit businesses and inspire a new generation of athletes. The western city of Ahmedabad was approved as host city, with most of the events planned for the Narendra Modi Stadium which houses 132-thousand spectators. New Delhi’s hosting of the Games in 2010 was marred by allegations of corruption and mismanagement, and government hopes to set the record straight in five years’ time.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-65-cents and the euro at 20-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 113-thousand-209-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-403-dollars-47-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Western Cape Department of Health urologist, Danelo du Plessis, successfully performed South Africa’s first robotic donor nephrectomy at Cape Town’s Tygerberg Hospital. He used the Da Vinci Xi Robotic system to remove a healthy kidney from a 45-year-old mother for her 24-year-old daughter. This is a major advancement in patient care and surgical innovation. Du Plessis confirmed the minimally invasive surgery reduced recovery time, with the donor being discharged the next day:

Stay tuned for more news………….