R7 million paid to suspended employees and lifeline for Tongaat Hulett

 ·22 Jul 2024

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


  • Higher education department returns R580 million to Treasury: Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Dr Mimmy Gondwe said that the department returned a critical R580 million in unspent funds to the Treasury during former Minister Blade Nzimande’s tenure. This is enough to fund 9,071 “missing middle” student fees. Simultaneously, the department paid R7 million annually to 30 suspended employees. [News24]

  • Lifeline for Tongaat Hulett: Tongaat Hulett may avoid liquidation thanks to a proposed R8 billion capital injection aimed at settling all creditor claims, including 100% of unsecured creditors and a specified amount to the South African Sugar Association for outstanding levies. Additionally, current shareholders will retain 10% of the share capital, offering them a value four times greater than what the Vision Consortium proposed. [Moneyweb]

  • Tau to lead AGOA delegation: Minister Parks Tau will lead South Africa’s delegation to the 21st African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Washington DC, with participants from the government, private sector, civil society, and labour. The forum, under the theme “Beyond 2025: Reimagining AGOA for an Inclusive, Sustainable and Prosperous Tomorrow”, aims to strengthen US-Africa trade ties and will also seek to address concerns over a proposed piece of US legislation which seeks a complete review of SA-US relations. [SABC]

  • Big plans for Africa-wide motor sector: The initiative to establish a widespread motor industry in Africa is advancing, with notable investments in Egypt and Algeria and automotive-friendly policies across other countries. African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) CEO Dave Coffey aims for at least 27 African countries to join this sector, targeting a production of over 5 million vehicles annually. As of 2023, Africa produced 1.17 million of the 93.5 million vehicles globally, with significant contributions from South Africa and Morocco. [Business Day]

  • Markets: The rand weakened against the dollar on Friday, weighed down by risk-off sentiment as a worldwide cyber outage cut across sectors and worried investors. On Monday (22 July), the rand was trading at R18.24 to the dollar, R23.58 to the pound, and R19.88 to the euro. Oil is trading at $83.04 a barrel. [Reuters]
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