Mantashe eyes private investors and government working to dump greylisting

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

• Mantashe wants private investors for Sapref refinery rebuild: The Department of Mineral & Petroleum Resources aims to expand the Sapref refinery in Durban, recently acquired by the Central Energy Fund for R1, to boost South Africa’s refining capacity. Minister Gwede Mantashe revealed plans to attract private investments for the development, addressing the country’s reliance on imported refined petroleum. Sapref, the largest refinery in South Africa with a daily capacity of 180,000 barrels, contributes about 35% to the country’s refining capabilities. [Business Day]

• Government working hard to dump greylisting: Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana has given Parliament another assurance the National Treasury is hard at work to have South Africa removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list by early 2025. “The department will continue with the implementation of a credible fiscal framework to meet the government’s revenue requirements and the promotion of a fair tax system. This will entail having a balanced, declining tax revenue with increasing government spending priorities.” [EWN]

• Ramaphosa’s opening address to Parliament: President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his opening of Parliament speech at the Cape Town City Hall at 19h00. Ramaphosa is expected to outline the key priorities of the seventh administration in an address, similar to the State of the Nation Address. The administration is set to operate differently, as it has entered the world of coalition politics. [SAnews]

• South African company embroiled in Zimbabwe corruption scandal: A Johannesburg printing firm and its agent are under investigation in Zimbabwe for inflating prices on election materials, including ballot papers and registration kits, involving a scandal of R570 million. Leaked documents reveal overcharging and payments to unknown officials, including charging R23 million for a server worth R90,000. [Daily Maverick]

• Markets: The rand dropped sharply on Wednesday, as investors dumped riskier assets globally because of worries over the state of the world economy and geopolitical risks. On Thursday (18 July), the rand was trading at R18.19 to the dollar, R23.64 to the pound, and R19.96 to the euro. Oil is trading at $85.44 a barrel. [Reuters]