News 18:00

BULLETIN 29 January 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC declares 2026 the year of decisive action to fix local government
# RISE Mzansi says the new unit to probe claims from the Madlanga Commission must have security clearance
# And, SAFTU welcomes the move to extend full labour rights to South Africa’s creative workers

# The ANC says 2026 will be a decisive year to fix failing municipalities and improve service delivery. The party plans to focus on improving basic services such as water, electricity, roads and sanitation. Briefing the media on the outcomes of the national executive committee lekgotla, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says public confidence in democratic governance will be judged by visible improvements in communities and action against corruption at the local level:

# RISE Mzansi says members of the new special Investigative task team unit to probe claims from the Madlanga Commission must have security clearance. President Cyril Ramaphosa  has instructed the acting Police minister, Firoz Cachalia, and national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, to establish a unit to institute investigations against people identified by the Commission for investigation. RISE Mzansi Makashule Gana says none of the members should be people who have testified or will testify before the Commission or Parliament’s ad hoc Committee:

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions has welcomed the long-overdue decision by the Employment and Labour Department to extend full labour law protections to workers in the creative and performing arts sector. SAFTU’s Asive Dyani says for decades, actors, musicians, dancers, models, film and television crews and other cultural workers have been treated as independent contractors, a label deliberately used to deny them basic rights that every worker deserves:

#  Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer and China’s president Xi Jinping pledged to build an economic partnership with deals including a major investment by AstraZeneca they say would benefit both countries. On the key day of his four-day visit to China, Starmer spent around three hours with Xi at a formal summit and a lunch. Starmer is the latest Western leader to head to China as nations hedge against the unpredictability of US president Donald Trump. Today’s talks also included security issues, Russia’s war in Ukraine and human rights.

# Rugby: The four South African teams will battle it out in local derbies in round 11 of the United Rugby Championships on Saturday. The Lions take on the Bulls in Johannesburg at 2.30 pm and the Sharks welcome the Stormers in Durban at 5 in their second successive coastal derby. Last weekend the Cape Town-based team suffered a 30-19 homeground defeat at the hands of the Durbanites, causing them to slip to second place on the league table, and trailing Glasgow Warriors by three points.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-69-cents and the euro at 18-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-69-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-866-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-525-dollars-32-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….