Elon Musk’s BEE barrier, and authorities want lifestyle audits in Joburg

South African markets were muted ahead of the US Fed’s interest rate decision yesterday. The central reserve ultimately opted to skip a rate cut for the first time since July 2024.

The rand traded slightly weaker on Thursday ahead of South Africa’s own rate decision. Economists and analysts anticipate another 25 basis point cut, but given the Fed’s hold, that may be it for now.

The rand was trading at R18.54 to the dollar, R23.08 to the pound and R19.31 to the euro. Oil was trading lower at $76.56 a barrel.

Here are five other news stories making waves in South Africa today:

Musk‘s BEE barrier: Space X founder Elon Musk says that South Africa’s current BEE ownership rules are a major impediment to satellite operators like Starlink who want to launch services in the country. The Electronic Communications Act requires licence holders to be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups. Space X submitted comments to ICASA on a proposed new framework for licences.

Joburg lifestyle audits: Following the irregularities found in the City of Johannesburg audit, the Special Investigation Unit said that the supply chain management officials should undergo training and lifestyle audits to ensure the metro strictly complies with procurement policies. This follows an investigation into allegations of irregular procurement processes and awarding of tenders in the Joburg metro.  [Business Day]

War of words: South Africa has lost 13 soldiers in conflict with M23 rebels and Rwanda Defense Forces in the DRC. While President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that the South African troops were there on a peacekeeping mission, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that South Africa is part of the conflict, not the peacekeeping. This led to a late-night fight on social media. [News24]

Eskom’s viability risk: The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) has issued another qualified audit for power utility Eskom for the 2023/24 financial year, highlighting concerns about the group’s financial viability due to increasing municipal debt. [BusinessTech]

Barloworld takeover: Barloworld is set to be bought by a consortium of investors, Entsha and Saudi Arabian giant Zahid Group. An independent advised all its shareholders to vote in favour of the transaction, which will lead to the delisting and privatisation of the company. [Daily Investor]