Cape town mayor takes Ramaphosa to court, and Capitec CEO argues unemployment rate is 10%

The rand strengthened on Monday as markets anticipated the results of trade talks between the US and China. 

The rand was trading at 17.71 against the dollar, which is about 0.2% stronger than Friday’s close, continuing last week’s upward trend. 

Analysts noted that the rand was also supported by high prices for precious metals such as platinum and gold. 

This week, key domestic economic data will be released, including April’s manufacturing output on Tuesday and April’s mining production on Thursday, 12 June. 

The lower house of parliament will aslo vote this week on the fiscal framework and revenue proposals, which are the first elements of the budget legislation that have been delayed due to months of political negotiations.

On Tuesday, 10 June, the rand was trading at R17.75 to the dollar, R24.03 to the pound and R20.24 to the euro. Oil was trading slightly lower at $67.22 a barrel.

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

Cape town mayor takes Ramaphosa to court: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has approached the Constitutional Court to declare the Public Procurement Bill unlawful, arguing that its passage was procedurally flawed. He claims it will hinder procurement processes and allow for interference in municipal operations. Notice of the application has been served to Parliament and President Cyril Ramaphosa. The act has been signed into law but is not yet enacted. [News24]

Unemployment rate is closer to 10%: Capitec CEO Gerrie Fourie believes South Africa’s true unemployment rate is closer to 10% when factoring in the informal sector, rather than the reported 32.9%. He points out that self-employed individuals are not counted, despite earning as much as R1,000 a day. [Business Day]

Major clampdown on governement ghost workers: The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration has called for public sector workers to report in person to verify they are not ghost employees. “A data audit alone is insufficient. We need physical verification audits for all government employees, supported by biometric identification. Every individual receiving a public salary must appear in person,” said committee chairperson Jan de Villiers. [Daily Maverick]

South Africa is R5 trillion behind: If South Africa’s economic growth had matched that of its peers over the past 15 years, the country would have added an extra R5 trillion to the fiscus. This additional revenue could have significantly helped in repaying debt and improving state-owned enterprises like Eskom and Transnet. [Daily Investor]

South Africans should say goodbye to physical bank cards: South African banks are encouraging customers to switch to virtual cards and tap-to-pay options in digital wallets for better security. Sabric’s annual crime report indicated a 9.1% increase in card fraud from 2022 to 2023, with losses rising from R414 million to R452 million. [MyBroadband]