Historic college collapsing for all to see, and lights out for South Africa’s capital
Following a strong rally thanks to rising gold and precious metal prices, the South African rand softened on Monday as investors booked profits.
After trading at around R16.65 for much of the Christmas break, the rand weakened to R16.70 against the dollar, down about 0.3% from its previous close.
The dollar was relatively flat against a basket of major currencies.
Precious metals pulled back on Monday, with silver retreating after breaching $80 per ounce earlier in the day and gold easing from close to record highs as investors booked profits and safe-haven demand cooled.
“Despite the short-term pullback, the broader outlook for both metals remains positive in a lower-rate global environment,” said Wichard Cilliers, head of market risk at TreasuryONE.
South Africa’s risk-sensitive currency is on course for gains of more than 12% against the dollar this year, bolstered by the nation’s improved fiscal performance and success in containing inflation, as well as soaring prices of precious metals such as gold and platinum, which are major exports.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top 40 index was last up 0.2% in early trade, with Aspen Pharmacare’s shares rising more than 20% after the pharmaceutical company announced plans to sell its major Asia Pacific assets, excluding China, for $1.6 billion.
Despite the slight setback, the rand is still poised for the biggest annual jump since 2009 as the dollar’s weakness, combined with political stability at home, bolstered the nation’s allure for investors.
The currency has strengthened 13% against the dollar this year.
Overseas investors bought a net R72.4 billion of local-currency bonds this year. That compares with net purchases of R15.6 billion in 2024.
Meanwhile, the dollar is headed for its worst decline in eight years.
On Tuesday, the rand was trading at R16.67 against the dollar, R22.51 against the pound and R19.62 against the euro.
Oil is trading at $61,47 a barrel, with gold at $4,364.63 an ounce.
5 important things happening in South Africa today
Nursing college collapse: When the Moroka Hospital College of Nursing opened in Thaba Nchu near Bloemfontein in September 1939, it was a cornerstone in training generations of South African nurses. Nearly a century later, the historic campus stands largely abandoned, its once-proud buildings deteriorating from years of neglect. Although some facilities on the premises remain in use, critics say they are insufficient to sustain effective training and operations. The provincial government has assured that it has been placed on its priority list for upgrading. [Newsday]
Lights out in Tshwane: Residents in the City of Tshwane have been left without power after yet another substation set on fire, making it the second in three days. Parts of the city have been suffering through persistent outages due to aged infrastructure, a lack of response from the city and now allegations of sabotage. The city has blamed the most recent outages on cable theft and vandalism, which is cold comfort to the tens of thousands of residents sitting without power. [News24]
R5 trillion hole: The government’s massive R5.3 trillion debt burden has made debt service costs one of the state’s biggest spending items. This crowds out spending on more productive sectors of the economy, such as health, education and the police. According to the National Treasury, South Africa’s government held R5.3 trillion in gross loan debt as of 2023/24. The costs related to servicing debt, which mainly include interest payments on borrowings, amounted to R356 billion, or just under 15% of total spending. [Daily Investor]
New international airport: South Africa’s new international airport in the Cape Winelands is expected to revitalise not only the region it is being built in, but also the books of the construction group building it. The City of Cape Town set a record infrastructure budget of roughly R12 billion for the 2024/25 financial year. A further R39.5 billion is earmarked over the medium term. The project is being developed by WBHO, one of the few remaining construction giants, in a sector that has been hit hard by economic trouble and liquidations. [Business Day]
Good sign for drivers: Vehicle-related crimes in South Africa have been trending downwards in recent years. This is according to SAPS crime data for the second quarter of 2025/26, which shows that when comparing the quarter’s numbers to the same period over previous years, fewer vehicle-related crimes are being processed by the police year-on-year. For example, there were 4,778 carjackings between July 2025 and September 2025, compared to 5,447 during the same period last year. However, while it is a good sign that most vehicle-related crime numbers are declining, they are still too high. 4,778 carjackings over a 3-month period translates to over 50 carjackings per day in South Africa. [TopAuto]
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