190,500 South African driving licences cancelled, and end of an era for EskomSePush
The South African rand strengthened on Thursday as the government began selling dollar-denominated eurobonds for the first time since 2024, when it raised $3.5 billion.
The rand was trading at 16.9750 against the dollar, up approximately 0.4% from Wednesday’s close and reaching its best level in three weeks.
Deutsche Bank announced via a notice on the London Stock Exchange that the initial price guidance for both the 12-year and 30-year bonds falls within the range of 6.625% to 7.750%.
This contributed to the stronger rand, along with South Africa’s removal from the global financial crime watchdog’s “greylist,” a recent S&P credit rating upgrade, and robust commodity prices, which have all boosted investor confidence.
According to central bank data released earlier on Thursday, South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed to 0.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, down from 1.0% in the second quarter.
The deficit decreased to R57 billion, which was less than the forecast of R32 billion by Adam Phillips, a treasury specialist at Umkhulu Treasury.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top 40 index was down 0.3% as of the latest reporting.
On Friday, 5 December, the rand was trading at R17.06 to the dollar, R22.75 to the pound and R19.89 to the euro. Oil was trading slightly lower at $62.94 a barrel.
5 important things happening in South Africa today
190,000 driving licences cancelled: The Special Investigating Unit recovered R14.7 million from six provinces in a probe into eNaTIS transport fraud. Mpumalanga received the most, R9.5 million, including R7 million from Optimum Coal Mine. The investigation led to the cancellation of 190,503 fraudulent licences and 78 criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority. [News24]
End of an era for EskomSePush: EskomSePush (ESP) made key updates in 2025 to remain relevant in South Africa, as load-shedding has nearly become a thing of the past. With ESP Version 5, the app reorganised around actual suburbs instead of old load-shedding blocks. “Load-shedding still functions the same, but now your schedule, local chats, and outage reports are all based on the place you actually live and work,” Maritz said. [MyBroadband]
Trouble for parents in Gauteng: Many parents in Gauteng are still awaiting school placement confirmations for their children in 2026, causing uncertainty, according to DA’s Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Sergio Dos Santos. The Gauteng Department of Education reported on December 4 that out of 358,574 grade 1 and 8 applicants, 317,988 have been placed. [Newsday]
Cheapest Plug-in Hybrid launches: BYD has officially launched the new Sealion 5 in South Africa. The Sealion 5 is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV available in two specifications – the Comfort and Dynamic – with prices starting at R499,900. It is the first PHEV in South Africa to retail for under R500,000. [TopAuto]
Temu coming after Takealot: Capitec, South Africa’s largest bank by customer numbers, reports that spending at Shein during the first two days of Black Friday was two-and-a-half times higher than last year. Discovery Bank notes that Temu ranked third in popularity among its clients, following Checkers Sixty60 and Takealot. [News24]
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