Breakfast Edition: 11 November 2015

PARLIAMENTARY STRIKE: Parliament has taken recourse to an interdict dating back to 2010 to prevent striking staff from disrupting the work of the legislature. Briefing journalists on Tuesday evening on the ongoing strike by hundreds of support staff, secretary to Parliament Gengezi Mgidlana said the interdict, which prevents workers from picketing and protesting on the premises of the legislature, was still in effect five years later.

"We are basically at this point in time working very tirelessly within the institution and the South African security services in this regard - the police - in order to manage the situation and make sure that the actions that are taken, are taken within the confines of the law, the confines of the agreements that we have, the confines of the interdict," Mgidlana said. Tuesday marked the second day of a stoppage by hundreds of members of Nehawu over employment conditions.

DROUGHT DISCUSSED IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: When parliament did get underway, opposition parties lashed out at the government for not managing the drought situation and water in the country properly. The Agriculture minister, Senzeni Zokwana told the house that emergency funds have been made available to help farmers in need.  

FARMERS AFFECTED BY DROUGHT: Agriculture Economist, Johan Willemse says in a recent poll, 60% of wheat and grain farmers said they would have smaller crops, while livestock farmers say they will have to start slaughtering early and that the quality of meat would be affected because of the drought.  

CONSUMERS URGED TO USE WATER SPARINGLY: Several Metros in Gauteng are struggling to keep taps open. The City of Johannesburg is struggling to keep the water levels up in the reservoir providing Brixton and surrounding areas with water.  And in Ekhuruleni, water tankers are already being deployed in suburbs. The Ekhuruleni Metro's Themba Gadebe says in the absence of rain, saving water is the only answer.  

NEW PRESIDENTIAL JET WOULD BE IMPRACTICAL: The reported R4-billion price tag for a new Presidential jet is impractical, the government defence and security acquisition agency, Armscor, said on Tuesday.

"Remember that this (stage) is only a request for information (RFI). I don't know where the R4 billion comes from, because quite frankly we cannot afford it. We are looking at a whole variety of options," Armscor chief executive Kevin Wakeford told reporters in Pretoria. "We are seeking information so that we can establish the costs. Until we establish the costs … we are not going to do anything irresponsible. That I can guarantee you." He said affordability would determine the plane which would be acquired to complement the current VVIP jet, Inkwazi.

SENTENCING IN MIDO MACIA CASE STARTS: Sentencing proceedings for the eight former Daveyton policemen convicted of murdering Mozambican taxi driver, Mido Macia, by dragging him behind a police van, are set to start in the Pretoria High Court today. Their arrest and conviction followed the release of cell-phone video. As Silindelo Masikane reports, sentencing was supposed to begin in September, but the pre-sentencing reports were not ready. 

PINK DIAMOND SELLS FOR MILLIONS: A spectacular pink diamond, the largest of its kind to ever appear at an auction, sold for $28.5 million on Tuesday, narrowly beating auction house Christie's projection. An unidentified bidder snatched up the 16.08-carat rare gemstone, kicking off a week of auctions that could see another coloured diamond set a new world record. That stone, a 12.03-carat blue diamond described by experts as 'flawless', is being sold by rival auction house Sotheby's on Wednesday, and could fetch a record $55 million. The pink diamond, owned by an American family for the past 15 years, is the largest cushion-shaped stone classified in the elite "fancy vivid" category to ever come to auction. Christie's had listed the projected sale price between $23 and $28 million. 

KIDS SAY THE DARNEST THINGS: More and more people in the US are talking about a female president, but what do kids think of having a woman as president? Jimmy Kimmel decided to sit down with two boys and two girls to see how they feel about Hillary Clinton being president. 

FINANCIAL INDICATORS:

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