ECR Newswatch @ 06H58

0:00A visit in Corp. of Governance, MEC to Les Isabes, Telesi has issued a stern warning to municipalities who failed to use allocated funds for service delivery. He's revealed around 863 million Rand was forfeited to the National Treasury in the previous financial year because municipalities didn't spend their grants on time. Telesi has flagged financial mismanagement, weak governance and service delivery as failures and municipalities across the province. The MEC was speaking during a local governance webinar yesterday. Telesi says communities must be empowered to hold local governments accountable and participate

1:08in budget processes. And the DA says all systems are in place to ensure a seamless elective congress in hounding this weekend. More than 2000 delegates are expected to attend the event at the Gallagher Confension Centre. It's where a new federal leader for the DA will be elected to replace John Steenhaeson. Cape Town Mayor Jordan Hill Lewis and city-being caucus leaders Boussisort-Journasse will go head to head for the position. Here's the DA's federal congress presiding officer Werner Horn. This congress is destined to be a reflection of both our growth electorally but also in respect of membership figures as well as the institutional maturity and integrity of the democratic alliance. From the delegate nomination and verification to every element has been carefully planned and successfully executed. And further afield US First Lady Melania Trump has strongly denied reports that she had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein files contain a 2002 email between her and the late six offenders accomplice Galein

2:12Maxwell. In rare remarks from the White House Trump said the email was nothing more than casual correspondence. The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000 at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings. Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me are completely false. And finally team South Africa has come out on top at the eighth African spelling bee competition which took place in Harare. The team finished first in the overall rankings followed by Nigeria in second place and home teams in Babway in third place. 13-year-old Ashton Singh secured second place in the junior division. Basic Education Minister Sivir Guajube has congratulated the team. Department spokesperson Terence Kala. The Department of Basic Education remains committed to promoting a culture of reading through programs and collaborations that extend beyond the classroom and inspire lifelong learning.

3:17Now the trophy presentation and the ceremony itself marked a celebration of continental success and a renewed call to action for all South Africans to contribute to building a reading nation and ultimately a winning nation. Durban and Meritzburg are high of 29 degrees today, Richard's Bay 30. For News Watch, I'm Tamash Akhanyi. And here's what's coming up in your sports defending champion Rory McElroy takes the lead in the opening round of the Masters Ashton Villa on the verge of Europa League semi-finals and Ponyana Ponyana on camp as they prepare themselves for this year's Wefton.