5 important things happening in South Africa today
·3 Jul 2019
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- South Africa’s major metros are at risk of being crippled, now that the fragile and volatile voting agreement between the EFF and the DA is being scuppered. The EFF announced that it would not longer vote with the DA in metros like Tshwane and City of Joburg – and would abstain from voting in general. Following the 2016 local elections, the EFF became kingmaker, and booted the ANC out in favour of the DA. [Business Day]
- SARS is looking to pursue criminal charges against US consultancy Bain & Co, which it says developed a flawed operation system for the revenue service under Tom Moyane, which ultimately destroyed the group’s revenue collecting capabilities. New SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter says he is working hard to reverse the Bain & Co operating model, to return the service to its former glory. [Mail & Guardian]
- Municipalities are still counting the damage done by the looting of VBS bank, with the Auditor General noting that the losses are at least at R1.8 billion – affecting Limpopo and the North-West. He said that the losses are most likely to impact basic services like infrastructure, where projects now have to stand at the back of the queue to acquire funding. [EWN]
- DA leader Mmusi Maimane says he will engage with the City of Cape Town over its decision to issue homeless people with hefty fines for ‘blocking pathways’ around the city. The party received backlash after news of the fines made headlines, with many describing it as anti-poor and cruel, particularly in icy winter months. Maimane said that the fines do not reflect DA policy of values. [ENCA]
- South Africa’s rand firmed against the US dollar on Tuesday, helped by a weaker greenback as optimism about easing trade tensions between the United States and China faded. On Wednesday, the rand was at R14.11 to the dollar, R17.76 to the pound and R15.93 to the euro.
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