South Africa’s credit rating ‘mistake’, and Eskom’s foreign threat to energy transition

South Africa’s rand remained stable amid market caution regarding US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and geopolitical policies.

The rand was trading at 18.3725 against the dollar, slightly below its previous close of 18.3750. The dollar was approximately 0.4% weaker against a basket of currencies.

According to central bank data released on Tuesday, South Africa’s composite leading business cycle indicator declined by 1.8% month-on-month in December.

Domestic-focused investors are awaiting the release of January’s consumer inflation figures on Wednesday, followed by producer inflation data for the same month on Thursday, which will provide insights into the health of South Africa’s economy.

On Wednesday (26 February), the rand strengthened slightly, trading at R18.43 to the dollar, R23.31 to the pound and R19.36 to the euro. Oil is trading lower at $73.17 a barrel.

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

South Africa’s credit rating ‘mistake’: Standard Bank Group chief executive officer Sim Tshabalala has criticised international credit rating agencies, claiming that South Africa’s credit rating is arguably four notches lower than it should be due to biases against the continent. [News24]

US threatens Eskom’s transition plans: Under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), several countries, such as the US, Germany, France, and the UK, have already committed more than $11.6 billion towards these efforts. However, electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa SA’s JET-IP funding might take a hit from the US administration’s stance on climate change and its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. [Business Day]

Ratepayers revolt: eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) plans to march on Saturday (1 March) to deliver its memorandum of demands to the municipality over severe water disruption. The ratepayers group has threatened to withhold funds from the city if action is not taken to fix the crisis. [Times Live]

Lesufi’s Gautrain fantasy: In his State of the Province Address (SOPA), Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced an investment of R120 billion to expand the Gautrain, aiming to create over 100,000 jobs and boost infrastructure development. However, experts have expressed scepticism, noting that the average annual budget over the past five years was around R149 billion, meaning Lesufi’s proposed investment would account for about 80% of recent budgets. [Daily Maverick]

Load shedding suspended: Eskom, the power utility, has announced that load shedding will be suspended on Wednesday (26 February) at 05h00. This comes after a rapid escalation from stage 3 to stage 6 load shedding over the weekend, which was caused by the loss of 10 units at key power stations.[BusinessTech]