Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·11 Nov 2020

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

Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 infections have hit 51 million confirmed, with the death toll reaching 1,264,000. In South Africa, there have been 1,729 new cases, taking the total reported to 740,254. Deaths have reached 19,951 (a daily increase of 106), while recoveries have climbed to 683,194, leaving the country with a balance of 37,109 active cases.

• Licence pains: South Africa has a backlog of 320,000 driving licence, with demand growing by 90,000 each month. Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has laid the blame for the backlog at the feet of ‘corruption’, saying that he will consider the proposal to extend the validity of driver’s licences because of the current problems. The minister said he suspects that there are ‘dodgy’ things happening in back offices at testing centres. [MyBroadband]

• A real gas: The discovery of a second major gas find off the coast of South Africa has put the country on the global energy map, with even more discoveries expected in the future. Analysis by engineering group EPCM Holdings suggests that the gas finds are significant boost for energy production in the country, and that the underexplored offshore basins will likely lead to more discoveries. Experts say gas is vital for the transition from coal power to renewable energies, which is slowly taking place. [Moneyweb]

• Ace in the hole: ANC secretary general Ace Magashule is expected to hand himself over and appear in court this week, following the issuing of an arrest warrant for him. He is facing charges of fraud and corruption. While uncertainty clouds the process, and the SG says he will co-operate, political analysts say this could lead to a flare up of factionalism within the ANC, last seen when former president Jacob Zuma was ousted from the presidency. The arrest also puts the ANC’s ‘stand aside’ policy to the ultimate test. [Business Day]

• Farms up for grabs: Almost 6,000 people and entities have sent in applications to get access to some 900 farms that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has made available in government’s latest try at land redistribution. It is making available state-owned land that is underutilised or vacant, for the purposes of farming. According to the department, the farms in question were earmarked for the homelands project under apartheid, and have been sitting unused since 1994. [Daily Maverick]

• Markets: Monday’s ‘vaccine rally’ continued to run out of steam on Tuesday, with emerging markets all correcting following their significant gains earlier in the week. It’s a quiet day on the data calendar, coupled with the Veterans Day holiday in the US. The rand retreated off eight-month highs, starting the day at R15.56 to the dollar, R18.39 to the euro and R20.65 to the pound. Commentary by Peregrine Treasury Solutions. [XE]