Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·25 May 2022

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

• South Africa vs Germany on Ukraine: President Cyril Ramaphosa and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz presented radically different views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in their meeting in Pretoria on Tuesday. Rampahosa said that the chancellor understood why countries like South Africa chose to abstain and insist that both countries are ‘belligerent entities’. He further criticised the sanctions that Germany, the EU and the US have imposed on Russia. [Daily Maverick]

• Debt crisis: The former head of the National Treasury’s budget office, Michael Sachs, has warned that South Africa is facing a debt crisis. He noted that an increase in debt servicing costs results in ‘crowding-out effects’ such as a high fiscal risk that raises interest rates for the government and average South Africans. He said that South Africa must cut spending and borrow less to ensure that the constraints on the country’s economic growth are lifted. [News24]

• Catch-up schools: Research shows how the pandemic amplified the problems within the education system affecting poor households the most. Even before Covid-19 regulations halted children from attending school, the South African education system was struggling to deliver the basics, with barely one in five children being able to read for meaning by the end of grade 4. As a result of the government’s decision to maintain school closures, pupils lost an estimated 155 school days in 2020 and 2021. [BusinessLive]

• Billions in Sanral bids: One of the bidders for South African National Road Agency (Sanral) adjudicated tenders valued at R17.47 billion cancelled last week is taking up legal action. The bidder, that did not want to be identified, said that the Sanral board is incorrect in its judgment and is out of touch. This follows the board insinuating that corruption is involved in the tenders. [Moneyweb]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand strengthened on Tuesday, despite fears of a slowdown in a global economic recovery, amid U.S. dollar weakness and rising prices of gold. Gold prices rose to their highest level in two weeks, benefiting from a fall in the dollar. The rand is currently trading at R15.68/$, R16.78/€ and R19.66/£. [Nasdaq]