5 important things happening in South Africa today

·6 Jan 2023

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

Tshwane to lay criminal charges against former CFO: Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams says criminal charges will be laid against former CFO Umar Banda over the dire state of the city’s financial records. A leaked report from the Auditor General gives the City an adverse audit opinion, as it found numerous irregularities- including irregular expenditure accounting for R10.5 billion that is unaccounted for. [TimesLive]

Further E-toll questions: Civil action group Outa is raising questions over Gauteng’s e-toll debt and the R12 billion it is said to owe. Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage said that even if Gauteng accepts to pay toward 30% of the bonds, it should only cover 30% of the R21 billion borrowed for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project – around R6.3 billion – not the treasury’s estimate of R41 billion. [BusinessTech]

New Covid-19 outbreak unlikely: Health experts say that a new Covid-19 outbreak in South Africa is not likely, even as a serious outbreak of the virus hits China. According to the experts, the Chinese population has very low levels of immunity to the virus due to its intensive lockdowns – and a low vaccination rate worsens the situation. Meanwhile, South Africans have a high level of immunity from vaccination and prior infection. [News24]

ANC promises renewal: The ANC is determined to continue its stated renewal programme as it closes its 55th National Conference. The party’s conference declaration says it plans to show South Africans that it can be trusted to improve their lives. The main focus of the declaration is to become a modern, responsive, and well-resourced political formation. It aims to end load shedding, address state capture and corruption, and improve basic service delivery. [EWN]

Markets: On Thursday, the rand lost ground against the US dollar, dropping over 2% and pushing back over the R17.00/$ threshold. Data from US Federal Reserve suggested it would continue raising interest rates, negatively affecting most developing economies. However, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s all share went up 1.17%, while the Top 40 added 1.26%. On Friday (6 January), the rand was trading at R17.21/$, R18.10/€, and R20.49/£. Brent crude is trading at $79.29 a barrel. [BusinessDay]

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