Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·25 Oct 2018

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

• While analysts weren’t expecting much good news from the mid-term budget, the market was blindsided by the much bleaker picture painted by finance minister Tito Mboweni, of a South Africa being strangled by structural issues, with high levels of debt, low growth, and not enough money to deal with it. [Bloomberg]

• Finance minister Tito Mboweni has made it clear he is against the scrapping of e-tolls, saying that nothing comes for free, and motorists must pay up. Government has done several 180s on the issue, but according to Mboweni, it is now committed to the user-pays principle. [EWN]

• State investigators are convinced that international terrorist group ISIS is operating in Durban. Eleven men have been arrested for allegedly planting explosives around the city, and ISIS flags, propaganda manuals and bomb-making material were found during raids. [ENCA]

• While president Cyril Ramaphosa is set to kick off an investment summit today, seeking $100 billion to help give South Africa an economic boost – one investor believes the solution is much closer to home. Fund manager Darryn Faulds says SA businesses are sitting with R1 trillion in ‘idle’ cash, that, with the right incentives, are ripe for investment. [News24]

• South Africa’s rand fell more than 1% and bonds slid on Wednesday after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered a medium term budget with wider deficit estimates and lower growth forecasts. On Thursday the rand was at R14.58 to the dollar, R18.79 to the pound and R16.63 to the euro.