5 important things happening in South Africa today
·21 Jun 2019
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Eskom is set to receive another bailout with president Cyril Ramaphosa promising to give the failing power utility ‘a significant portion’ of the R230 billion it needs over the next decade to remain solvent. The announcement comes just four months after the National Treasury gave it a three-year, R69 billion bailout and will place severe pressure on the government’s already stretched finances. [Bloomberg]
- During his state of the nation address, Ramaphosa also spoke of his vision for a brand new South African smart city with bullet trains, high-tech, and robotics. Reacting to the comments, minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that a new smart city is ‘doable’ and should be built on the values of a democratic government. [IOL]
- The long-awaited policy decision on spectrum licensing is expected to be announced within the next month. It is hoped that the decision will drive down the price of data in the country and bring it in line with other countries. [MyBroadband]
- A small Western Cape town has struck a deal to develop its own wind farm which will help take it off Eskom’s grid. The agreement gives the wind company the right to bid on behalf of the community when the Department of Energy reopens bids in terms of the Independent Power Producer (IPP) Procurement Programme. [702]
- Analysts have warned that the potential of a credit rating downgrade is growing by the day, and that South Africa remains extremely sensitive to short-selling and the volatile global environment. On Friday, the rand was at R14.33 to the dollar, R18.21 to the pound and R16.18 to the euro.
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