Drought warning for South Africa’s richest city, and new ‘tax’ for Cape Town households

South Africa’s rand strengthened on Tuesday (8 April) as the country’s two largest political parties affirmed their commitment to the coalition government and expressed willingness to engage in further discussions to resolve a contentious budget dispute.

The rand was trading at 19.52 per dollar, a 0.7% increase for the day after experiencing a decline of approximately 2.7% on Monday.

However, amid the turbulent local political situation, the risk-sensitive rand has been affected by the global market instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals.

On Wednesday (9 April), the rand was trading at R19.76 to the dollar, R25.40 to the pound and R21.86 to the euro. Oil is trading lower at $60.39 a barrel.

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

Drought warning: Although Gauteng is not currently experiencing a drought, scientists warn that another multiyear dry spell, similar to the one experienced in 2015, could pose a serious threat to the water security of South Africa’s economic hub due to the major issues facing infrastructure and available water. [Business Day]

New ‘tax’ for Cape Town: The City of Cape Town’s plans to introduce a new cleaning tariff. This means the higher the volume of sewage being removed, the more consumers will pay. However, The South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) agrues that the new tariff constituted a tax, and that the municipality was not entitled to raise further taxes without the authorisation of the Finance Minister. [News24]

Bad news for interest rates: The Reserve Bank is likely to keep interest rates elevated until the global environment stabilises and inflation is sustainably lower in South Africa, with prices in some areas beginning to rise sharply. [Daily Investor]

Physical drivers licences need to end: South Africa should consider replacing physical driving licence cards and vehicle licence discs with permanent, digital-only permits that do not expire. This opinion comes from road safety expert and Driving.co.za managing director Rob Handfield-Jones, who believes that there is no longer a need for analogue documents in the licensing process. [MyBroadband]

SAPS upgrade: The police are digitising their docket management system to combat corruption. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu noted that dockets often go missing due to bribery, stating, “No amount of money will make dockets disappear.” He also announced plans to partner with the private sector to establish forensic labs in each province. [EWN]