News 17:00

BULLETIN 12 March 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa calls for continued bilateral ties with Ghana
# The minister of Justice downplays the severity of the detective service crisis
# And rugby: Rassie Erasmus considers replacing Siya Kolisi as captain of the Boks 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed Ghana’s president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as they co-chair the second session of the South Africa-Ghana bi-national commission. The aim of the meeting is to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Ramaphosa says the relationship has grown significantly over the years, and the commission aims to further enhance the partnership. Ramaphosa also emphasises the need for collaboration and cooperation:

# The Freedom Front Plus warns of a severe crisis in the detective service, revealing over 1.8-million unresolved cases due to defective dossiers since 2018. This was revealed in a parliamentary question to Justice and Correctional Services minister, Ronald Lamola. According to the FF Plus, the loss of eight-thousand-400 detectives since 2016 and a lack of resources like vehicles are also hindering detective work. Party leader Pieter Groenewald says this crisis affects the overall criminal justice system, evident in its second-highest global murder rate:

# Eskom has announced stage 3 load-shedding started at 4 pm today until 5 am tomorrow morning due to the loss of three generating units, with a further three units delayed in returning to service. Following this, stage 2 load-shedding will be in place until 4 pm daily, switching back to stage 3 until further notice. Eskom says alternating patterns aim to manage power supply challenges.

# Rugby: The Springboks may get a new captain. Head coach Rassie Erasmus says although Siya Kolisi is playing excellent rugby for Racing 92 in France and will be considered for this year’s Tests, he will phase out some of the older players in the built-up to the next World Cup. Eighteen of the Boks who won last year’s Wold Cup in France are over 30, with Kolisi now 32. Erasmus says he prefers to have his captain playing in South Africa to allow for more interaction.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-68-cents and the euro at 20-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-269-dollars-34-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-163-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-5-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is set to make a comeback on 3 and 4 May at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, after a four-year hiatus. This year’s festival promises a balanced lineup of both young and seasoned performers, to attract a wide range of audiences with notable names including Zoë Modiga and Mandisi Dyantyis. The festival’s stages, previously named Kippies, Moses Molelekwa, and Rosies, will now be known as Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald, with the addition of an outdoor stage named Topaz.

Stay tuned for more news………….