Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·16 Mar 2021

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

Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 infections have hit 120.8 million confirmed, with the death toll reaching 2.67 million. In South Africa, there have been 613 new cases, taking the total reported to 1,530,033. Deaths have reached 51,421 (a daily increase of 95), while recoveries have climbed to 1,455,325, leaving the country with a balance of 23,287 active cases. The total number of vaccines administered is 147,753.

• Pay back the money: As of 31 January this year, municipalities owed Eskom R35.2 billion, which has been described by CEO Andre de Ruyter as an “unsustainable situation”. The power utility said that it was working with government to get the money back, moving into districts in arrears to help install prepaid metres, assist with collection, and implementing ‘load reduction’ in areas where the system is overloaded due to illegal connections. [EWN]

• Shut down: Student protests in South Africa continue, after the government dug in its position that there is simply no money to write of billions of rands’ worth of historic debt, and provide free education. Student leaders said they are not backing down from their demands, and have promised to render university districts ‘ungovernable’. Protests are expected to continue for the rest of the week, with students threatening to continue for the rest of the month until demands are met. [TimesLive]

• Defiance: The State Capture Commission wants Jacob Zuma to be found in contempt of court, and to face a sentence that is ‘appropriate’ for his act of public defiance. The commission told the court that Zuma’s refusal to abide by its ruling that he appear before it as a clear act of contempt, and said it “appears calculated to undermine public trust in the judiciary and the administration of justice as a whole”. 40 witnesses have implicated Zuma in wrongdoing around state capture. Zuma has refused to appear. [Daily Maverick]

• Under attack: The police or coming under literal attack from criminals and communities as they attempt to perform their duties. After reports of several police being killed in the line of duty over the past month, the latest is that police officers were assaulted by members of the community while trying to shut down illegal shebeens. Police minister Bheki Cele has told officers to defend themselves with ‘deadly force’. One person was killed by police during student protests this past week after being shot with rubber bullets. [News24]

• Markets: The rand continues its range-bound trading as it struggles to find momentum and any real direction. It’s a busy data day for the US with retail sales, production and inventory numbers due today. The local currency starts the day at R14.86 to the dollar, R16.62 to the euro and R20.60 to the pound. [Citadel Global]