Electricity system still vulnerable and FIC lays blame on estate agents and lawyers

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

• Electricity system is still vulnerable says Ramaphosa: This week, South Africa celebrated 120 consecutive days without load shedding, but President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the electricity system remains fragile and doesn’t rule out future outages. Speaking during the 2024/25 Presidency Budget Vote, he highlighted the electricity crisis as a significant barrier to economic growth but noted efforts to address it through the National Energy Crisis Committee, established in 2022 and chaired by him. [SA news]

• FIC says ‘estate agents and lawyers standing in the way’ of SA exiting greylist: The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) is issuing fines to some legal practitioners, estate agents, and precious metal dealers for what they say is hindering South Africa’s efforts to be removed from an international financial watchdog’s grey list. According to the FIC’s compliance manager, Christopher Malan, institutions that do not submit reports risk being targeted for inspections or fines. [News24]

• Al Jama-ah changes tune, Joburg mayor will not resign: Al Jama-ah President Ganief Hendricks refuted claims from the ANC about Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda’s impending resignation in August, stating there are no such plans -despite saying yesterday that the party with the most votes should lead the city. This comes after the ANC told Business Day that Gwamanda would resign to make way for a new executive, which Hendricks denies. Gwamanda’s party, Al Jama-ah, holds three seats in the city council, which is governed by a coalition including the ANC, EFF, and Patriotic Alliance. [Business Day]

• GNU gives SA a honeymoon period to keep Agoa status: The creation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) has given South Africa a temporary advantage, helping it keep privileged access to US markets via the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). This benefit comes ahead of the Agoa Forum in Washington from July 24-26, as observed by both US and South African trade experts. However, South Africa’s relationship with the US and its continued Agoa benefits have been questioned by some US Congress members, primarily due to SA’s ties with Russia, China, and Iran and its stance against Israel. [Daily Maverick]

• Markets: The rand weakened on Tuesday as investors looked towards June inflation data due on Wednesday, coupled with markets watching for developments in the U.S. presidential race. On Wednesday (24 July), the rand was trading at R18.40 to the dollar, R23.75 to the pound, and R20 to the euro. Oil is trading at $81.21 a barrel. [Reuters]