Kieswetter talks tax hikes, and major problem for grants exposed

South Africa’s rand remained stable on Wednesday as markets anticipated upcoming U.S. gross domestic product data and an inflation report later this week.

The rand was trading at 18.39 against the U.S. dollar, unchanged from the previous session’s close.

The dollar experienced a slight increase of approximately 0.1% against a basket of other currencies.

Zain Vawda, a market analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA, highlighted that the South African rand remained subdued despite a rise in inflation, which aligned with the SARB’s recent concerns about inflationary risks.

On Thursday (27 February), the rand strengthened slightly, trading at R18.47 to the dollar, R23.37 to the pound and R19.33 to the euro. Oil is trading lower at $72.75 a barrel.

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

Vodacom job cuts: Vodacom South Africa is set to retrench a small number of employees due to changes in the operating environment. On February 26, 2025, the company announced its decision to restructure, impacting about 113 employees across various levels, including management. [MyBroadband]

Fraud risk exposed for grants: The Department of Social Development says there are “significant threats” of unauthorised access to the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) application system. This comes after vulnerabilities were exposed by two university students who illustrated how easy it is to use different identities to fraudulently apply for the R370 grant. [News24]

Food price warning: Recently, South Africans have seen some relief from food inflation. However, experts anticipate that prices will begin to rise again in the coming months. Anchor Capital economist Casey Sprake indicated that she expects food inflation to gradually increase in the next few months. [Daily investor]

No tax hikes: SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter has doubled down on his no-tax hikes stance. He told G20 finance ministers that raising tax revenue starts with bolstering collection capacity and not hiking taxes. “Every time there are consequences, so removing money from the economy means that you might stifle growth in economic development but also growth in the tax base, which ultimately is the goose that provides the eggs.” [Business Day]

Record rentals for South Africa: For the first time ever, PayProp’s latest rental index showed the average monthly rent in South Africa is now over R9,000—thanks to lower inflation and high demand. [BusinessTech]