News 17:00

BULLETIN 4 February 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The retired Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal breaks down in tears at the Nkabinde inquiry
# Cosatu welcomes the national minimum wage increase
# And cricket: Shukri Conrad plots the T20 World Cup win after the Proteas secured the Test maze

# Retired KwaZulu-Natal Director of Public Prosecutions, Moipone Noko, broke down in tears while testifying at the Nkabinde inquiry in Pretoria. Noko told the enquiry she was forced to resign from the National Prosecuting Authority in 2021. The proceedings were briefly adjourned and will resume tomorrow. Noko rejected claims that she refused to cooperate and is expected to provide key insight into past prosecutorial decisions, including the withdrawal of charges against politically connected individuals:

# Union federation Cosatu has welcomed the rise in the national minimum wage rates for 2026 from 28-rand-79-cents to 30-rand-23-cents for each ordinary hour worked. This is effective from the 1st of March, and will benefit all workers, including vulnerable farm workers and domestic workers. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Matthew Parks, says they are pleased that their demand for a positive above inflation increase has been secured:

# EFF leader Julius Malema says the Speaker of Parliament, Thoko Didiza, is providing political protection to North West businessman Brown Mogotsi and private investigator Paul O’Sullivan. Speaking at a party press conference, Malema questioned the credibility of alleged threats preventing their appearance before Parliament, noting both have previously engaged with state processes without incident. He highlighted their close ties to high-profile politicians, suggesting Didiza’s refusal to issue subpoenas shields them from accountability:

# The International Atomic Energy Agency has revealed that African countries are pushing ahead with nuclear energy plans, targeting 15-gigawatts of capacity by 2035 at an estimated cost of 1.6-trillion-rand. Revealed during a Nuclear Business Platform webinar, the Agency and several African states revealed that more than 15 countries now have programmes underway as West Africa plans eight reactors by 2035. Ghana and Nigeria focus on small modular reactors, expected to boost skills, jobs and industrial growth across the continent.

# Cricket: Head coach Shukri Conrad is reportedly plotting South Africa’s first major white ball trophy after helping secure the Proteas the World Test Championship last year. The T20 World Cup starts in India and Sri Lanka on Saturday. Conrad realises the team needs stability after using 31 players in the 21 T20s since taking over. They only won eight of those. Conrad believes the core values and team spirit that clinched South Africa the Test maze will spill over into the T20 squad.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-93-cents and the euro at 18-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-988-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-32-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….