News 18:00

BULLETIN 17 April 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Sarah Baartman Centre is among 32 projects fast-tracked by a new Public Works Department unit
# The DA demands answers as 5-million-rand is paid to suspended environmental staff
# And Soccer: Virgil van Dijk joins Mohamed Salah in extending his stay at Liverpool

# Public Works and Infrastructure minister, Dean Macpherson has announced a new Strategic and Special Delivery Unit to complete 32 stalled projects, including the Sarah Baartman Remembrance Centre, in Hankey, Eastern Cape. The unit will report progress fortnightly to ensure fast delivery. Macpherson says delays at the Centre are a national embarrassment. A new contractor is expected soon with project completion within 12 months:

# The DA in Gauteng has accused the Gauteng Department of Environmental Affairs of spending over five-million-rand on four suspended employees. The DA’s Jade Miller says the suspensions relate to misconduct, alleged assault, and misuse of resources. Miller says one worker has been suspended for over three years. She calls for urgent finalisation of disciplinary appeals, warning the delay risks environmental harm and public health:

# The Public Servants Association says the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is exaggerating misconduct cases to appear tough on discipline. The union claims minister Mmamoloko Kubayi’s statement on finalising 54 cases is misleading, as many were long delayed and part of a backlog. They argue claims of fraud and corruption are often unproven. The association’s Claude Naiker says they will review the legality of the dismissals and take legal action if necessary.

# The European Central Bank cut interest rates again today amid fears that US President Donald Trump’s stop-start tariff announcements could threaten growth across the eurozone. ECB policymakers decided to lower the benchmark deposit rate by a quarter basis point for the sixth time in a row, leaving it at 2.25-percent.

# Soccer: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has committed his future to the English Premier League club, signing a new two-year contract. The Dutch centre-back follows Mohamed Salah, ending months of speculation by extending his stay at Anfield. Van Dijk has been instrumental in Liverpool’s rise back to the top since arriving from Southampton in January 2018. He has made 314 appearances for the club and has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-77-cents and the euro at 21-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 84-thousand-113-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-309-dollars-31-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….