Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·2 Mar 2022

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

Coronavirus: In South Africa, there have been 1,649 new cases of Covid-19, taking the total reported to 3,675,691. Deaths have reached 99,430 (+18), while recoveries have climbed to 3,551,039, leaving the country with a balance of 25,222 active cases and a recovery rate of 96,6%. A total of 31,652,555 vaccines have been administered.

• State Capture: The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has said that there is reason to believe that former president Jacob Zuma, the minister of mineral resources and energy Gwede Mantashe, and former minister Nomvula Mokonyane have a case to answer for corruption. The third instalment of the state capture report found that all three and the governing ANC allegedly benefitted financially from dealings with a security company in exchange for government tenders and favours. The report says that there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect that the former president was in breach of his obligations as president under the Constitution. Zuma rejected the report. [EWN] [BusinessDay]

• ISIS financial backers in SA: The United States has sanctioned four alleged ISIS facilitators based in South Africa. The members who allegedly back ISIS in Syria, Mozambique and Iraq have been linked to recruitment, robberies, kidnapping and extortion. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control said that ISIS members and associates are playing an increasingly central role in South Africa by facilitating fund transfers from the top of the ISIS hierarchy to branches across Africa. The US body imposed sanctions to block the alleged ISIS backers from doing business with the United States. [Daily Maverick]

• Name and shame: Eskom is naming and shaming some of its biggest defaulters, adding the City of Ekurhuleni to the list over a reported R544 million owed. The city said that it has not missed any of its arranged payments, but Eskom says it failed to honour an agreement to settle the debt fully. The city has now been slapped with hefty penalty fees on top of what it already owes. Eskom says it will be continuing its campaign to get its debtors to pay up, targetting other municipalities in Gauteng such as Emfuleni and the West Rand. Similar campaigns have been executed by some key municipalities in the province, with the City of Joburg and the City of Tshwane cutting off defaulters. [ENCA]

• SA families plead for relatives: People who have family members stuck in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine joined the Ukrainian Association of South Africa in a picket outside the offices of the department of international relations and co-operation in Pretoria and Cape Town on Tuesday. The groups protested against the South African governments’ failure to strongly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This follows the government’s attempts, earlier this week, to patch up relations with Russia following the minister of international relations calling for Russian withdrawal from Ukraine. South Africa’s official stance is to remain neutral and call for mediation. [TimesLive] [Daily Maverick]

• Markets: The South African rand steadied against the US dollar early on Tuesday, as markets paused for breath after tumbling in recent sessions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Currency markets shared a moment of calm since officials from Russia and Ukraine held an initial round of ceasefire talks overnight, four days after Russia invaded its neighbour. The rand is trading at R15.40/$, R17.12/€ and R20.50/£.