5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• SIU describes National Lotteries Commission as a criminal enterprise: Head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), Andy Mothibi, accused the National Lotteries Commission of being a criminal enterprise and claimed that his three-year-long investigation revealed collusion worth at least R1.4 billion between lottery officials, former board members, lawyers, and non-profit organizations. [EWN]

• Treasury cracks down on Tshwane and Joburg: The National Treasury has cracked down on Tshwane and Johannesburg by notifying both municipalities of its intention to cut a combined R1.83 billion for grants over noncompliance and underperformance. This signals that the treasury is getting tough on errant municipalities ahead of 2024’s budget presentation. [Business Day]

• New Eskom CEO avails himself to NPA amid corruption allegations: Eskom’s current CEO is open to talking to the National Prosecuting Authority regarding allegations of corruption with engineering firm ABB at Kusile Power Station. The former acting Eskom boss sought to divert the blame from himself and claimed that the incumbent had the real authority over the deals. [News24]

• Ramaphosa to deliver response to SONA debate: President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his reply to the debate on his State of the Nation Address (SONA) today. This follows two days of fierce debate from opposition parties, who accused the president (among other things) of hypocrisy for not dealing with corruption allegations against cabinet ministers. [SABC]

• Markets: The South African rand firmed on Wednesday after the release of December retail sales figures, having weakened more than 1% against the dollar the day before. On Thursday (15 February), the rand was trading at R19.08 to the dollar, R23.92 to the pound, and R20.49 to the euro. Oil is trading at $81.21 a barrel. [Reuters]