Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·7 Feb 2023

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

• Unchain mining exploration: The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s Tseliso Maqubela says the government should finish the procurement process for a new mining cadastral system by the end of 2023. The new system should allow for greater mining exploration, as the department currently lacks an online cadastral system that would allow prospectors to see who owns which exploration right in a certain area. [BusinessDay]

• Billions recovered from corruption: Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola says a process is underway to create a new bill that will strengthen the independence and security of tenure of the incumbents in the Investigating Directorate. Lamola said that over R12 billion had been recovered in anti-corruption operations, with the anti-corruption task team recording 35 cases involving 180 accused between April and December last year. [News24]

• Old banknotes still legal: Pearl Kgalegi of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) says older banknotes without an image of Nelson Mandela are still legal tender. Some shopkeepers are reportedly refusing to accept the discontinued notes but they are legally obliged to accept them. However, R200 notes manufactured before 2005 are not accepted as legal tender as they were discontinued in 2010 to prevent counterfeiting. [702]

• Russian power play: Russia is reportedly planning to test-fire a hypersonic Zircon missile during a naval exercise between South Africa, China and Russia later this month. A Zircon missile is touted as being unstoppable, with NATO countries reportedly calling the weapon terrifying. South Africa will see the Zircon first-hand and will act as a guarantor to see if the missile works, becoming a key source to NATO. [Business Insider]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand weakened on Monday, as the US dollar jumped on expectations that the US Federal Reserve might pursue its inflation-fighting interest rate hikes for longer. In the absence of major local economic developments, the risk-sensitive rand often takes cues from global drivers. On Tuesday (7 February), the rand was trading at R17.62/$, R18.91/€, and R21.23/£. Brent crude is trading at $81.74 a barrel. [Nasdaq]