Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·11 Mar 2022

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

Coronavirus: In South Africa, there have been 25 new Covid-19 deaths, taking the total reported to 99,681. The country has 18,852 active cases and a recovery rate of 96.8%.

• SA-Russia mediation: President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he had been approached to play a mediation role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine due to relations with Russia through the BRICS alliance. Rampahosa spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and told him that the conflict requires resolution through negotiations and mediation. Ramaphosa said that Putin appreciated South Africa’s balanced approach. South Africa’s response to the war has faced global scrutiny, where the SA government abstained from a United Nations General Assembly vote condemning Russia’s actions. [EWN]

• Load shedding: Eskom says that it expects five generating units to return to operation by Monday afternoon, indicating that progress is being made in overcoming its latest power crisis. However, the recovery is not fast enough to pull the country back from stage 2 load shedding, which will be in effect over the entire weekend. On Thursday, Eskom delivered a slight reprieve to consumers, downgrading load shedding from stage 4 to stage 3 overnight. While some generating units have returned to service, others have been taken offline. Stage 2 load shedding continued until 05h00, Monday. [EWN]

• No more tenders: Government departments, state-owned entities (SOEs) and business formations have expressed concern over a National Treasury advisory that the issuing of new tenders – anything from mid-February – should be stalled. Treasury is seeking clarification on a Constitutional Court ruling against the apparent exclusion of white South Africans and their businesses. Treasury said the notice was ‘advice’, not a directive. As such, while some departments and entities have stalled procurement, others such as Eskom have continued ‘business as usual’. [News24]

• Chief Justice: President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of Raymond Zondo as South Africa’s new chief justice has been broadly welcomed, with analysts calling it a smart strategic move, given the focus and pressure the entire process has drawn. The opposition Democratic Alliance welcomed the appointment, lauding Zondo’s track record and reputation for leadership and integrity. Analysts said nominating the JSC-endorsed Mandisa Maya as deputy Chief Justice was also a sound strategic move. The EFF, whose leaders endorsed Maya and attempted to besmirch and smear other candidates – Zondo included – condemned Ramaphosa’s decision. [ENCA, Daily Maverick]

• Markets: Global oil prices bounced in volatile trading after falling more than 12%, after the United Arab Emirate backtracked on statements saying that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies might increase output to help plug the gap left by Russia. European Union leaders said that they would phase out buying Russian oil, gas, and coal to reduce their reliance on Russian sources of energy. The rand is currently trading at R15.09/$, R16.60/€ and R19.75/£. [Nasdaq]