5 things you need to know in South Africa today
·19 Sep 2016
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- President Jacob Zuma has urged all South Africans to put a stop to all “negative utterances” and pull together to tell a more positive story about the country. The call comes on the tail of ratings agencies warning about a possible downgrade to junk status, due to political in-fighting. Zuma says the country should focus on narratives that inspire confidence and boost job creation and economic growth.
- Energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has ‘noted’ various reports criticising the country’s planned nuclear build, and a questionable R171 million management contract given to Zuma associate, Shantan Reddy. The minister said that the project will continue. However, she insisted that her department will be fully cooperating with National Treasury, as soon as the procurement process is concluded.
- Questions are being raised over a new R200 million deal with state arms group, Denel, where a company under investigation – Kwane Capital – is set to acquire 49% of Denel’s armoured vehicle subsidiary. Kwane Capital, formerly known as Laman Financial Services, is currently being investigated by the SIU at the request of president Zuma. It is unclear if Denel was simply not aware of the investigation, or chose to ignore it.
- Parliament’s finances have come under fire for containing errors related to its reporting on its performance and on public consultation. The Auditor General has called Parliament out for not following protocol in writing up the report, and said it was out of order. Opposition parties believe that Parliament’s Secretary, Gengezi Mgidlana, may be hiding unauthorised personal spending.
- South Africa’s rand weakened on Friday as the dollar firmed after data showing faster-than-expected growth in U.S. consumer inflation supported the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this year. On Monday the rand was trading at R14.13 to the dollar, R18.44 to the pound and R15.79 to the euro.
In global news: Asian shares advanced on Monday ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan this week, while oil prices bounced on talk of an OPEC deal on output and reports of fighting around Libyan oil ports.
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