News 18:00

BULLETIN 19 August 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum welcomes a court ruling against NERSA’s municipal power tariff hikes
# The ANC launches a land invasion monitoring tool to prevent illegal land occupation in Gauteng
# And, rugby: The Springboks turn their attention to the All Blacks after annihilating the Wallabies in Australia

# AfriForum has welcomed the Gauteng High Court’s decision to block energy regulator NERSA’s appeal for municipal electricity tariff hikes. The court deemed the planned increases unlawful, rejecting NERSA’s application. AfriForum’s Morné Mostert emphasises the need for municipalities to submit cost-of-supply studies to justify tariff hikes. He says the court ordered that unauthorised rates be reverted pending submissions reviews:

# The ANC in Gauteng has introduced a new land invasion monitoring tool aimed at preventing illegal land occupations. This initiative aims to tackle land invasions by offering a structured method to monitor and address unauthorized land occupations promptly. Following the conclusion of the provincial executive committee lekgotla, ANC provincial secretary, Thembinkosi Nciza told the media that the tool reinforces the party’s commitment to maintaining order and protecting property rights: 

# One man has died and six passengers are missing after a luxury British yacht, the Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily during bad weather. There were 22 people on board. The captain of a nearby ship found 15 survivors, including a baby in a life raft, and alerted the coastguard. The 56-metre yacht was around 700 metres from the Porticello harbour when it sank. Among the missing are people from the UK, the US, and Canada. Divers and helicopters are searching the area where the yacht sank.

# Rugby: The Springboks now turn their attention to the All Blacks after annihilating the Wallabies in Australia, with the first of two Rugby Championship Tests between the two old foes taking place at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on the 31st. Andrew Brace of Ireland will referee the match, with a different referee in all of the Boks’ six encounters in the competition. The second Test against the All Blacks, in Cape Town on 7 September, will see England’s Matt Carley in charge.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-80-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-310-dollars-59-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-495-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

# And finally, a Sweepsouth report has revealed that despite a 14-percent pay increase, many South African domestic workers still earn below the National Minimum Wage. The survey of over five-thousand-600 workers shows average monthly earnings of three-thousand-349-rand for women and three-thousand-and-59-rand for men, both below the four-thousand-400 expected under the minimum wage. With rising living costs outpacing wage increases, many domestic workers face a monthly deficit of around 800-rand. Despite above-inflation pay hikes, 83-percent of domestic workers struggle to meet basic needs as primary breadwinners.

Stay tuned for more news………….