Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·8 Apr 2022

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

• Abstained: South Africa has for the third time abstained from voting in a UN resolution on the Russian invasion of Ukraine – this time, to suspend Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council. The resolution was ultimately adopted with 93 countries in favour and 24 against. A total of 58 countries abstained. The ambassador of South Africa to the UN said that the resolution being considered would further divide and polarise the matter and the General Assembly without following due process. Dirco minister Naledi Pandor said the abstention does not indicate South Africa condoning Russia’s actions in Ukraine. [News24]

• Wastewater failure: Over R8 billion is needed to restore South Africa’s sewage and wastewater facilities to basic functionality, according to the 2022 Green Drop Report, which audited over 850 plants nationwide. It found that more than 60% of South Africa’s sewage and wastewater treatment plants have been officially classified as being “poor to critical”. The minister of water and sanitation said that the department would take action against municipalities and their managers. [Daily Maverick]

• Vaccine case: Health activists have launched legal action to compel the government to disclose details of the advice it sought on Covid-19 vaccines. The activists want to see how the government made key decisions on which jabs were to be administered and who got them first. The case has scrutinized the controversial decision to provide athletes for the Tokyo Olympic Games with vaccines before high-risk people. [BusinessLive]

• Data costs: South Africa’s biggest mobile network operator Vodacom has warned that the proposed amendment of bundle expiry rules could make data more expensive. Icasa recently published its Draft End-user and Subscriber Service Charter Amendment Regulations, stating that all data, voice, and SMS bundles only expire after six months. Under current pricing models, Vodacom said that it offers data with shorter expiry times at a much lower cost. The new legislation would force the operator and others to remove these packages. It said poorer households generally use these packages, so the new regulations would be detrimental. [MyBroadband]

• Markets: Emerging market currencies such as South Africa are expected to continue to struggle against a strengthening U.S. dollar. The U.S. Federal Reserve has delivered expected aggressive policy tightening, which central banks in emerging market economies have been bracing for by hiking benchmark interest rates. The rand is currently trading at R14.76/$, R16.03/€ and R19.29/£. [Nasdaq]