News 18:00

BULLETIN 23 April 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Gauteng IEC says the printing of ballots is already underway 
# The power supply to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital is restored
# And soccer: Arsenal is determined to stay in the Premiership title fight 

# Gauteng’s Provincial Electoral Official, Thabo Masemola, has confirmed the printing of ballots is already underway. The commission hosted a ceremony where political parties and independent candidates contesting in Gauteng signed the Electoral Code of Conduct. Masemola says preparations for the May 29 elections are at an advanced stage. He told candidates the delivery of electoral materials to the provincial warehouse has commenced and will be concluded within the reasonable timelines.

# Power supply has been restored to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital after a burnt feederboard at the Ridge substation caused an outage. The Gauteng Health Department confirms City Power’s team restored power this morning. The department’s Motalatale Modiba says the hospital had been running on backup generators since Sunday due to the outage affecting several areas of Johannesburg:

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile has embarked on a working visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates until Thursday. The visit aims to bolster bilateral relations, enhance economic ties and knowledge sharing, in telecommunications and digital economy sectors. Mashatile will also engage with the UAE’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Applications. The visit also aims to augment South Africa’s information and communications technology sector expertise for better public service delivery and governance through digital channels.

# Soccer: The three-way battle continues in the English Premier League. Arsenal is ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, with Manchester City one point behind them. But defending champions, City, has a game in hand. Arsenal is up next when they host London rivals Chelsea tonight. Manager Mikel Arteta says they are determined to stay in the fight:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-12-cents and the euro at 20-rand-46-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-79-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-961-dollars-75-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-325-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Water expert Anthony Turton has highlighted the critical role of fixing wastewater treatment plants in tackling the water crisis. He expressed concern over the fact that approximately 60-percent of daily sewage is discharged into rivers and dams untreated. Turton advocates for the utilisation of public-private partnerships as a viable solution. He stresses the urgent need to address wastewater management for the betterment of water quality and environmental health.

Stay tuned for more news………….