South Africa’s social unrest threat, and the worst pension fund offenders

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

• Social unrest threat: The possibility of further unrest in Mozambique has been highlighted as an issue of national security as South African authorities remain on high alert. [EWN]

• Worst pension fund offenders: The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) again asked pension funds to furnish it with the names of employers that are not paying contributions to their employees’ pension funds – and promptly published the names. Private security and transport firms top list of worst pension fund offenders. [Moneyweb]

• Dry taps: Maintenance left large parts of Gauteng without water, causing widespread frustration among residents in areas like Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Lenasia, and parts of Johannesburg Central. With the maintenance completed, residents must now endure a waiting game as water restoration begins. However, large numbers are still reporting dry taps. [eNCA]

• Discovery will fight: A High Court ruling this week effectively quashes Discovery’s attempts to declare the RAF and its CEO to be in breach of an earlier court ruling, which ordered the state-run fund to pay the bills of accident victims already paid by their medical schemes. However, Discovery Health said it would appeal the ruling as RAF still refuses to repay medical-scheme claims. [News24]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand was steady on Wednesday following the Fed’s hawkish tone, emphasising inflation risks and cautious rate trajectories. On Thursday (19 December), the rand was trading at R18.28 to the dollar, R23.01 to the pound, and R18.98 to the euro. Oil is trading at $72.93 a barrel. [Reuters]