5 important things happening in South Africa today
·7 Feb 2020
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Government business and unions have reached an in-principle agreement to use the voluntary mobilisation of savings, such as pension money, to assist Eskom and invest in infrastructure. The agreement is expected to be announced during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address next week. [BusinessDay]
- German chancellor Angela Merkel has offered to help South Africa in making the switch from coal to renewable energy. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for generating a large amount of South Africa’s electricity. Germany, on the other hand, plans to scrap coal-fired stations by 2038. [Deutsche Welle]
- South Africa is on high alert after the Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal said it was testing two people for the Wuhan coronavirus. While the patients have been given the all-clear, there are concerns that it is only a matter of time before the country has its first case. [IOL]
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has given the go-ahead to set up special Sexual Offences Courts. It is hoped that the new courts will lead to more prosecutions and minimise secondary trauma for complainants. [News24]
- Local business confidence numbers and continuously strong data from the US weighed heavily on the rand on Thursday. On Friday the rand was at R14.91 to the dollar, R19.29 to the pound and R16.37 to the euro.
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