Pain for Cape Town homeowners, and Ramaphosa responds to the Pope’s passing

South Africa’s rand strengthened before the long weekend, as investors awaited clarity on U.S. tariffs and looked for updates on the future of the coalition government amidst an ongoing budget standoff.

On Thursday, 17 April, the rand was trading at 18.78 against the U.S. dollar, approximately 0.3% stronger than its previous closing value.

Local investors are closely monitoring the developments regarding the budget disagreement between the two largest parties in the coalition government.

The impasse between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), remains centred around a proposed value-added tax increase planned for May 1.

ETM Analytics noted in a research report that South Africa’s domestic political developments are not occurring in isolation.

“On the contrary, if these issues remain unresolved, they may exacerbate an already uncertain international environment.”

On Tuesday, 22 April, the rand was trading at R18.67 to the dollar, R25.03 to the pound and R21.54 to the euro. Oil was trading slightly lower at $66.62 a barrel.

Here are five other important things happening in and affecting South Africa today:

Pain for homeowners in Cape Town: Cape Town is set to increase property tariffs significantly, with fixed charges for water, electricity, and sanitation now based on property values, along with a new city-wide cleaning tariff. An analysis shows many households could face tariff hikes exceeding 20%, with some nearing 30%. For homeowners with properties valued at around R4 million, this could mean an increase of nearly R11,200 per year. [News24]

Ramaphosa responds to Pope’s passing: President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed condolences to the Catholic community following the passing of Pope Francis, who died at 88 on Monday at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican. He described the late Pope as a spiritual leader dedicated to uniting humanity and promoting fundamental human values. [EWN]

Good news for inflation: Nedbank economists expect headline inflation to decrease to 3.1% year on year, down from 3.2% in January and February, mainly due to falling fuel prices. Petrol prices are projected to drop by 0.3% in March after a 3.8% increase in February. [Business Day]

Legality of Eskom requirements questioned: Energy expert Chris Yelland has questioned the legality of Eskom and some municipal power distributors’ requirement that ECSA-accredited personnel sign off on grid-tied solar power systems. [MyBroadband]

Godongwana not letting VAT slide: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the decision to introduce the VAT rate change ‘cannot be interdicted at this stage’. In his answering affidavit to an urgent application by the DA and the EFF, the minister said that he ever suggested he could revoke the implementation of the increase in the value-added tax (Vat) rate from 15% to 15.5%. [Moneyweb]