Reserve Bank heads to court, and DA disagrees with its own minister
·17 Jan 2025

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Reserve Bank wants Jooste’s data: The South African Reserve Bank has gone to court to obtain the data from phones and computers it seized during a raid of the late Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste’s estate two years ago. The Reserve Bank claims that Jooste consistently sought to delay the release of the data before his death last March. The central bank still does not have access to any electronic files, such as emails, spreadsheets and more. [News24]
- DA disagrees with Gwarube: The Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said that the 2024 matric pass rate was 87.3%, however, the Democratic Alliance, of which Gwarube is a member, said that the ‘real’ pass rate was 53.6%. The ‘real’ pass rate looks at the number of students who went from grade 1 to passing matric. BusinessTech’s own analysis showed that the ‘real’ pass rate was closer to 50%. [BusinessTech, News24]
- Hawks arrest matric result leaker: The Hawks have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with the leaking and sale of the 2024 matric results. The suspect was traced to a house in Hillcrest, in the north of Johannesburg. [eNCA]
- Remains of miners still to be identified: The remains of over 70 illegal miners in Stilfontein have not yet been identified after their deaths at a disused mine shaft. A total of 78 bodies were recovered from the Buffelsfontein gold mine during a government-led operation to dismantle an illicit mining network. This is part of Operation Vala Umgodi, which has retrieved over 1,900 illegal miners in Stilfontein since August, including 240 this week. [EWN]
- Markets: The rand was little changed on Thursday, a day after a key U.S. inflation report boosted hopes of a less restrictive Federal Reserve policy this year. On Friday (17 January), the rand was trading at R18.79 to the dollar, R23.04 to the pound, and R19.38 to the euro. Oil is trading at $81.85 a barrel. [Reuters]