5 important things happening in South Africa today

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:

• Government blocks plans to build R15 billion opencast iron ore mine: The Indian steel and mining company, Jindal, was denied environmental authorization by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for a proposed opencast mine near Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. The potential impact of the mine on aquifers and water runoff to nearby farms, as well as the relocation of many households, raised concerns. [News24]

• Treasury threatens to withhold funding from Tshwane: The City of Tshwane is on the verge of forfeiting R630 million allocated to fund various capital grants to the National Treasury. This is due to the metro’s financial underperformance and noncompliance with the integrated urban development grants. [Business Day]

• ANC SG heads to Moscow for forum on combating Western ‘neocolonialism’: ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula is on his way to Moscow, Russia, after the ANC indicated that it would join political parties from the Global South this week to discuss forming an organisation to challenge the dominance of the West and ‘erode neocolonialism’. [Daily Maverick]

• Gauteng boosts CCTV capabilities: The Gauteng Government and camera provider, Vumacam, have announced a crime-busting partnership. Through it, the Gauteng government will have immediate access to a network of over 6,000 cameras in the province and more nationally. [eNCA]

• Markets: The South African rand weakened on Tuesday after disappointing local mining production figures, and U.S. inflation data pushed the dollar higher. On Wednesday (14 February), the rand was trading at R19.13 to the dollar, R24.10 to the pound, and R20.49 to the euro. Oil is trading at $82.65 a barrel. [Nasdeq]