Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·7 Nov 2022

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

• Electricity tariffs: A settlement reached by Eskom and energy regulator Nersa, related to a crucial element in determining the power supplier’s average tariffs, may cost consumers dearly when the regulator finalises what consumers will be paying for electricity in the next two financial years. The settlement is on the agenda of a Nersa electricity sub-committee meeting on Tuesday (8 November). It is expected to make a recommendation to the regulator about the 32% increase Eskom wants in April 2023 and a further 10% in 2024. [Moneyweb]

• Strike ready: Four unions will announce their next course of action in the deadlocked public wage talks on Monday (7 November). The unions received certificates of non-resolution, allowing them to canvas their members about going on strike. If they chose to strike, hundreds of thousands of public servants would join the PSA’s 235,000 members to make the industrial action an 800,000-strong affair. [News24]

• Plan for $8.5 billion climate-finance: An investment plan published Friday envisages 90% of the $8.5 billion (R152 billion) climate-finance deal being offered by wealthy nations to be used for decommissioning coal-fired power plants in tandem with developing renewable-energy generation, strengthening the transmission grid and modernising the electricity-distribution system. The rest will go toward the development of green hydrogen and electric-vehicle industries. [News24]

• Load shedding hits matrics: Basic Education officials said load shedding had affected almost 4,000 matric pupils since the start of the National Senior Certificate exams two weeks ago. Last week, 119 examination centres were affected by load shedding, which also blew 14 computers at a Gauteng school during a computer applications technology exam. Unfortunately, the department said, the 14 affected pupils will have to rewrite the exam after their work was destroyed. This problem comes just weeks after the department said they had prepared for the load shedding with a planned schedule meant to avoid these incidences. [EWN]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand and stocks closed at a high on Friday (4 November) after data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the U.S. economy generated 261,000 jobs in October, which was higher than an estimate of 200,000, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The Top-40 index closed 5.49% higher, while the broader all-share index ended up 4.93%. On Monday (7 November), the rand was trading at R17.96/$, R17.86/€ and R20.37/£. Brent crude is trading at $97.80 a barrel. [Nasdaq]