Jacaranda FM Newswatch @ 19H00

0:00Pretoria 26 degrees tomorrow at Jobog, 24 in Malakhleni, reaching a high of 22. At least 50 officials from the border management authority have been dismissed for their alleged involvement in corrupt activities. Government spokesperson William Balloy says the government maintains a zero tolerance stance on corruption, especially in key institutions, tasked with protecting the country's borders. The individual is above the law. Public servants are entrusted with saving the people of South Africa with integrity, professionalism, and accountability. Those who abuse public office for personal gain will face the full might of the law. In other news, the Independent Electoral Commission says the number of registered political parties for the upcoming local government elections stands at 508. The Commission briefed the media on its state of readiness and preparations for the polls

1:01in Pretoria today. I see Chief Electoral Officer Simon Balloy. Twenty new parties were registered in the period between October 2025 and February 2026. Another big story today economists say the growth of the gross domestic product by 0.4% between October and December last year is a sign of economic recovery. This quarterly increase was higher than expected, he has achieved economists at the Bureau for Economic Research, Lee Seta, I saw the shipper. The full year outcome was a bit softer than expected. We only saw 1.1% growth in 2025. So while that was more than doubled than the 0.5 recorded in 224, it was a little weaker than expected and that was largely due to revisions to historic data. And more news that's affecting your pocket. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources released the statement on the oil price as the war in the Middle East drags on.

2:01It says the government is in contact with the relevant companies and are closely monitoring the developments in the war. It also reads and I quote, the Department wishes to assure the public that there is currently no immediate risk of fuel shortages in South Africa. Then we head to Houghteng, MEC for Finance, there Le Bochang Mailez says the provincial treasury has completed the process of appointing a panel of debt collectors, the main responsibility will be to assist the provincial government's institutions in recovering outstanding debt. He delivered the province's budget today revealing that they expect total revenue collections to reach 8.2 billion rand in the next financial year. We will roll out the budget monitoring initiative in departments and entities which will ensure that approved budgets are seamlessly uploaded and aligned across our platforms, creating a single source of truth. And finally, outgunned by the United States, Iran's rulers have been lashing out on multiple

3:03fronts, but experts say what looks like a chaotic reaction is actually a time-tested strategy to outlast a stronger enemy in a fight to survive. Various analysts say they see a well-honed strategy for asymmetric warfare in Iran's retaliatory offensive. So what do they mean by that? Hit the jackaroundfm.com, click on news to find out more. That's around about the day's big news from myself and the rest of the team. Have a good evening.