Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·23 Jan 2023

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

• Halt the hike: President Cyril Ramaphosa has appealed to Eskom to halt or delay its planned 18.65% electricity price hike, saying that to hike prices while load shedding was at its worst would be unfair to citizens. The president said he asked Eskom to consider halting the hike because South Africans were under extreme financial pressure, and load shedding was damaging businesses and incomes. [News24]

• State of disaster: Farmers in the Northern Cape have appealed to president Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a state of disaster in the province, as they are facing severe adverse conditions. On top of load shedding that is tearing through productivity, workers also report harsh working conditions. Last week, seven workers died in the Northern Cape after an extreme heatwave – load shedding also impacted the water supply in the region. [TimesLive]

• Plans in place for University strike: The University of Cape Town (UCT) says it will do everything possible to prevent a strike by academic staff. Academic staff are planning a strike at the beginning of the academic year due to wage demands – its members want a 6% increase, while the institution is offering 3%. UCT that all university activities will go ahead as the executive committee attempts to resolve the issue. [EWN]

• Cabinet reshuffle: President Cyril Ramaphosa is anticipated to reshuffle his cabinet soon, with analysts expecting some significant changes. One big change is a speculated splitting of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy – which would see energy, along with Eskom, moving into its own portfolio once again. Analysts expect that current minister Gwede Mantashe – long seen as an impediment to progress in the energy sector – might be sidelined in the move. [Daily Maverick]

• Markets:  The South African rand strengthened on Friday as the country’s utility Eskom said it would reduce the length of rolling power cuts over the weekend. The power cuts are a major source of frustration with the governing African National Congress ahead of elections in 2024, when the party could lose its majority in parliament for the first time since the end of apartheid. On Monday (23 January), the rand was trading at R17.11/$, R18.63/€, and R21.25/£. Brent crude is trading at $87.31 a barrel. [Nasdaq]