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5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·24 Jul 2018

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

• VBS Mutual Bank is fighting back against those who allegedly looted its coffers for R1.5 billion, with a court application to have the estate of the former CEO of its largest shareholder placed under provisional sequestration. The former CEO is said to have received millions of rands from VBS’ accounts. [News24]

• South African Airways is not looking for investment from international airlines, but is instead in talks for better commercial agreements. The loss-making airline has been in discussions with several big names in aviation, looking for a partnership that will ease its financial woes. [Bloomberg]

• Eskom says it is considering cutting staff and selling off assets after reporting a R2.3 billion loss for the latest financial year. Eskom attributed most of the loss to the Kusile and Medupi power stations, which have gone way over budget and missed deadlines for years. However, there was also R19.6 billion in irregular expenditure reported. [Reuters]

• Groups including Outa, the DA and several taxi associations, are planning ‘civil society action’ against the rising cost of petrol in South Africa. While said action is yet to be announced, workers and drivers have called for the roads to be shut down in protest. The presidency has promised that a plan would be made to combat the price hikes. [News24]

• South Africa’s rand fell around 1% against the dollar on Monday as struggling state-run power firm Eskom reported a R2.3 billion rand loss for the 2017/18 financial year. On Tuesday the rand was at R13.50 to the dollar, R17.67 to the pound and R15.77 to the euro.