News 17:00

BULLETIN 26 March 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes the UN Security Council’s resolution for a Gaza ceasefire 
# The IEC releases the candidate lists for inspection and objections 
# And rugby: The Stormers change their leadership structure after the Red Disa take-over 

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the adoption of Resolution 2728 by the United Nations Security Council, which demands an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the holy month of Ramadan. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the resolution is a significant step towards creating a firm foundation for a permanent ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations:

# The Independent Electoral Commission has published candidate lists for the upcoming elections, with 14-thousand-662 candidates nominated for 887 seats. Inspection of lists and objections is open until tomorrow. Forty-two candidates appear on multiple party lists, and one is both independent and party-nominated. The largest ballot, with 56 contestants, is for National Assembly compensatory seats. Gauteng will see the biggest regional ballot, with 40 parties and two independent candidates, while Limpopo has the most independent candidates at three. The final candidate list will be out on 10 April.

# The Information Regulator has expressed concern over the compliance of universities and government departments with personal information laws. The regulator briefed the media on the outcomes of high-profile investigations under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, and Protection of Personal Information Act. The regulator’s chairperson, Pansy Tlakula, says only a fraction of universities submitted their compliance reports as mandated by law, with deficiencies noted in designated information officials and the availability of manuals:

# The Quarterly Employment Statistics survey released by Statistics South Africa shows 98-thousand jobs were added in the formal non-agricultural sector for the whole of 2023. Jobs decreased by 194-thousand in the fourth quarter of last year. The community services industry saw the highest number of job losses, followed by the construction industry and the business services industry. Jobs were added in the trade, transport and electricity industries. Total gross earnings paid to employees increased by 5.8-percent from the third to the fourth quarter of last year.

# Rugby: The Stormers have changed their leadership structure, with coach John Dobson appointed as director of rugby, and Johan le Roux as CEO. The follows after the Red Disa Consortium recently secured the controlling stake in Western Province Rugby. Le Roux is a major roleplayer in the consortium. He will be assisted by experienced administrator Rob Wagner, who will help with operational aspects of the business for an interim period. Le Roux says the Stormers have the potential to be a global powerhouse.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-91-cents and the euro at 20-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-813-dollars-72-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-188-dollars-65-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….