5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• Report for Treasury slams Eskom management: A report prepared for the National Treasury by the German VGBE Energy says that Eskom’s “dysfunctional and overly complex” management system is the primary reason behind the poor performance of its coal-fired power stations. [BusinessDay]

• New CEO of PetroSA: Cabinet has confirmed the appointment of Xolile Sizani as the new CEO of PetroSA, the state-owned oil company. Since the departure of former CEO Pragasen Naidoo in September 2022, there have been multiple acting CEOs at PetroSA for over a year. [Moneyweb]

• Ekurhuleni council chaos: The ANC was involved in a physical altercation with the EFF in the Ekurhuleni council chambers prior to a vote of no confidence against the mayor, Sivuyile Ngodwana. The ANC seemed to be in favour of the vote. During the altercation, a video captured a councillor wearing EFF regalia taking the mayor’s phone. [News24]

• SAPS head office evacuated: The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) national head office in Pretoria, which was bought and supposedly renovated by SAPS eight years ago at a total cost of around R900 million, was declared unfit for human use and had to be evacuated immediately. [MyBroadband]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand firmed on Thursday as investors digested a mixed bag of data, including producer inflation and trade balance figures. On Friday (1 March), the rand was trading at R19.17 to the dollar, R24.21 to the pound, and R20.75 to the euro. Oil is trading at $82.19 a barrel. [Reuters]