News 17:00

BULLETIN 12 March 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The NPA head prioritises crime prevention and the filling of top vacancies
# The DA slams Panyaza Lesufi over a pay-out to the CFO of the Gauteng Health Department
# And rugby: The Blitzbok forward David Brits says all the players on the field share the same goal

# National Prosecuting Authority head Andy Mothibi says addressing critical vacancies at senior levels is essential to strengthen capacity. Speaking to the media, Mothibi outlined his ongoing review of people, processes, and systems, as well as governance, risk management, and performance frameworks. He confirmed recommendations for top appointments will be made to president Cyril Ramaphosa, to enhance organisational efficiency and service delivery to ensure effective crime prosecution:

# The High Court in Pretoria has reserved judgment on the Information Regulator’s application for leave to appeal against the ruling allowing matric results to be published in the media. The court previously found using examination numbers protects learners’ privacy while serving the public interest. AfriForum’s Alana Bailey says the civil rights group hopes the long-running case, ongoing for over four years, can now be concluded:

# The DA has criticised Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi for failing to act over a settlement paid to former Gauteng Health chief financial officer Lerato Madyo. DA’s Jack Bloom says the premier admitted Madyo left with a financial settlement rather than resigning. Bloom questioned delays in the investigation and called for decisive action against corruption linked to alleged irregularities at Tembisa Hospital:

# Attacks on three more cargo vessels in the Gulf caused the price of Brent crude to jump by more than nine-percent today. The International Energy Agency announced earlier all 32 member countries had agreed to release a record amount of oil to tackle supply shortages and higher prices. Earlier today the IEA said production will take weeks and even months to return to pre-crisis levels, depending on the degree of field complexity and the timing for workers, equipment and resources to return to the region.

# Rugby: It might look less glamorous to the regular sevens fan, but Blitzbok forward David Brits confirmed it is just as rewarding to win the set piece battle leading to an amazing try, as it is to score the try itself. Brits, who is preparing with the team for this weekend’s World Sevens in New York, says he is happy to do the donkey work instead of being the race horse. The Blitzboks are hoping for a hat trick after securing back-to-back gold medals in Perth and Vancouver.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-61-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-16-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-229-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-173-dollars-94-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….