News 17:00

BULLETIN 19 October 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Thabo Mbeki says a democratic transition required a delicate balance
# Prime Loans calls for lending reforms ahead of the medium-term budget statement
# And motorsport: Christian Horner makes an admission on the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

# Former president Thabo Mbeki says the six-year negotiations between the ANC and the apartheid government show how complex South Africa’s transition to democracy was. Mbeki was testifying before the Khampepe Commission examining delays in prosecuting apartheid-era crimes referred for prosecution by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Mbeki compared agreements reached during the transition to pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. He says changing one part could have affected the entire settlement:

# Credit provider Prime Loans urges the government to reform short-term lending rules to improve access to safe, regulated credit and protect financially vulnerable consumers from illegal lenders. The company says outdated pricing rules, which have not been substantially revised since 2015, are making it harder for lenders to serve higher-risk customers. Prime Loans’ Nita Morgan urges Finance minister Enoch Godongwana to prioritise lending reforms ahead of Wednesday’s medium-term budget policy statement:

# The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry says business confidence remained stronger than a year ago, despite ongoing economic uncertainty. Its business confidence index fell slightly by 0.8-points to 134.3-points last month but averaged 129.3-points in the first nine months of this year, compared with 119-points in the same period last year. SACCI CEO Alan Mukoki says increased tourist arrivals, new vehicle sales and retail sales supported confidence, while higher energy prices and uncertainty over oil prices remained concerns.

# Australian independent MP Helen Haines is in a critical condition after being struck by a vehicle outside her office in Wangaratta, in Victoria. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the incident appears to have been a deliberate act. A 43-year-old man has been arrested, and police found a knife inside the vehicle. A joint counter-terrorism team is assisting the investigation, but authorities have not established a motive or confirmed whether the suspect knew Haines. The 65-year-old MP has represented the electorate of Indi since 2019.

# Motorsport: Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admits he put pressure on then race director Michael Masi in 2021’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Masi was fired over his handling of a late safety car period, leading to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen overtaking Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to win his first world championship. Horner told the High Performance Podcast he urged Masi not to let the race finish under the safety car:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-43-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-556-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-164-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 109-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….