5 important things happening in South Africa today
·5 Mar 2018
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- South Africa’s mobile operators have told Icasa to back off on data prices, saying the group is overstepping its authority by forcing the operators to make data valid for three years. The operators said that doing so would likely have the opposite effect – raising data prices – as long-term bundles are more expensive for the operators, so the cost would pass on to users.
- Arrest warrants have reportedly been ‘secretly’ issued for the other Gupta brothers, Atul and Rajesh, in relation to the Estina dairy project, which saw the family receive millions of rands that were meant to be for farmers in the Free State. The whereabouts of the Guptas is currently unknown.
- Tax experts expect that the South African sugar tax – introduced as a ‘health promotion tax’ – will be just the start of many other taxes that will fall under the same banner. National Treasury is expected to publish a document on how the use of taxes can encourage ‘healthy choices’, soon.
- Consumer foods group Tiger Brands has been hit hard by the discovery that South Africa’s listeriosis outbreak was because of one of their brands. The group has been forced to shut down operations at its Enterprise factory in Polokwane, while several perishable products from the Enterprise and Rainbow brands have been recalled and pulled off shelves.
- South African markets weakened on Friday as investors dropped riskier assets for safer investments on the back of the threat of a global trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plan on steel. On Monday the rand was at R11.99 to the dollar, R16.53 to the pound and R14.77 to the euro.
Loading ...