Business

5 things you need to know in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·22 Nov 2016

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:

• An unreleased interview with Ajay Gupta has been made public by EWN, following the Gupta family’s PR firm, Bell Pottinger, holding it back for several months in bad faith. The interview was conducted in February 2016 when much of the context around the family was different – before they were heavily implicated in state capture on all fronts. EWN’s Stephen Grootes has published the story behind the interview, telling how Ajay Gupta blatantly lied.

• The national minimum wage debate is set to rage on for a while yet, with the EFF and now another worker union saying it is far too low. The EFF said the minimum wage needs to be no less than R4,500, while the Food and Allied Workers Union says it should be set at R5,700 per month. Treasury, meanwhile, has warned that any minimum above R3,000 could lead to over 700,000 job losses – joining many economists in their pessimism about the proposal.

• The ANC and ANC veterans have agreed to a ‘cease fire’ after a candid meeting between the two group on Monday. ANC stalwarts, who have been calling for president Jacob Zuma to step down for bringing the party into disrepute, welcomed the opportunity to engage with party leadership, and have recommended further consultation through a conference.

• National Treasury will be investigating a ‘spy unit’ reportedly being set up by SARS head Tom Moyane. According to BD Live, Treasury only learned of the unit from media reports, after the Sunday Times reported on it. However, Moyane told the paper that the unit – which will apparently investigate corruption – will be established in terms of the law, unlike the unit established by finance minister Pravin Gordhan, he said.

• South Africa’s rand rallied nearly 2 percent on Monday as the emerging market selloff triggered by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s unexpected victory continued to fade. On Tuesday, the rand was trading at R14.21 to the dollar, R17.76 to the pound and R15.11 to the euro.