News 18:00

BULLETIN 8 January 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Nzimande maintains his innocence amidst kickback allegations raised by OUTA
# The ANC will announce coalitions approach by the end of January
# And, soccer: It is do or die for Man United in the FA Cup

# Higher Education, Science and Innovation minister Blade Nzimande as refuted claims of misuse of National Student Financial Aid Scheme funds for the South African Communist Party and personal gain. He dismissed the damning report and recordings by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, revealing allegations of fund mismanagement and corruption within NSFAS as malicious and baseless. Briefing the media, Nzimande maintained his innocence and called leaked recordings part of a plot against terminating service providers’ contracts:

# The ANC’s national executive committee plans to announce its continued coalition partnerships by the end of the month. Notable alliances include those with the EFF and the Patriotic Alliance. The ANC’s head of political education, David Makhura, says that a comprehensive report on the party’s co-governance approach will be finalised in January. These announcements coincide with the ANC’s 112th birthday celebration. Makhura emphasised the party’s commitment to ensuring the legality of coalition processes ahead of the general elections.

# Justice minister Ronald Lamola has revealed that the National Prosecuting Authority’s Aspirant Prosecutor Programme is at risk due to budget constraints. Lamola informed Parliament that around 300 law graduates produced by the programme annually may not be employed by the NPA this year. The initiative provides a 12-month training for graduates to become state prosecutors in lower courts. Lamola warns that prolonged budget cuts could severely impact the NPA, however, they are exploring alternative options to retain graduates under their current contracts.

# Soccer: Manchester United will start their FA Cup campaign at Wigan Athletic tonight after reaching the final of the competition last season. United have already been knocked out of the Champions League and the English League Cup, while struggling in eighth place in the Premiership. Manager Erik ten Hag stresses the importance of being prepared for what could be a hostile reception:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-71-cents and the euro at 20-rand-49-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-78-cents and Bitcoin trades at 44-thousand-943-dollars-72-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-18-dollars-69-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A recent study conducted by Stellenbosch University reveals a significant decline in the number of learners repeating grades ten and eleven in 2020. News24 reports, the decrease is attributed to the leniency in tests implemented to offset learning losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research indicates the relaxed assessments resulted in higher pass rates and a substantial reduction in school dropout rates. This leniency was introduced to address the challenges faced by learners who could not regularly attend classes due to pandemic-related disruptions.

Stay tuned for more news………….