News 18:00

BULLETIN 18 March 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The KZN Police Commissioner labels Senzo Mchunu as an enabler of criminality
# The ANC Youth League calls for structural reform of the country’s electricity pricing framework
# And, Cosatu welcomes Postbank securing its licence with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority

# KwaZulu-Natal Police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says Police minister Senzo Mchunu is not part of a syndicate but is acting as an assistant, condoning criminal activities to continue. Mkhwanazi emphasised that while the minister is not directly involved, his actions or inaction are facilitating the persistence of criminality, urging him to take responsibility and address the issues undermining law enforcement:

# The ANC Youth League has expressed concern at the latest electricity tariff determinations by the National Energy Regulator. Eskom will, as from next month, implement an average electricity tariff hike of 8.7-percent for the 2026/2027 financial year, following approval by Nersa. Municipal bulk purchases will implement their tariff increases, averaging 9.01-percent from July. The ANC Youth League’s Sindiswa Scheepers says an urgent structural reform of the country’s electricity pricing framework is needed:

# Union federation Cosatu says it is encouraged by the Postbank securing its long-sought licensing with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. This brings the bank one step closer to becoming a fully-fledged commercial bank. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says this achievement lays the foundation for a state bank geared towards ordinary consumers, in particular the poor and marginalised:

# The Mpumalanga Association of Student Accommodation has suspended services for University of Mpumalanga students following payment failures by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. The crisis, affecting about six-thousand students, stems from technical issues involving duplicate records. Services including water, electricity and Wi-Fi were halted, raising eviction fears. The Student Representative Council is engaging stakeholders to resolve the matter while ensuring students continue learning despite disruptions.

# Tennis: World number one, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, isn’t sure she will return to the Dubai Championships after the tournament director criticised her late withdrawal. Salah Tahlak also demanded tougher penalties on players withdrawing at the last minute. Sabalenka calls this ridiculous after citing a minor hip injury for her decision, while number three, Iga Swiatek of Poland, also withdrew. Sabalenka asked for tournament directors to rather protect players than just caring about sales.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-84-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-41-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-722-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-858-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 106-dollars-21-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….