Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·21 Feb 2023

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

• Kusile corruption: The North Gauteng High Court has granted a preservation order to freeze multiple properties and vehicles purchased via a corrupt tender at the embattled Kusile power station. The SIU and NPA said the implicated company provided water trucking services for the station from 2009 to 2020. Preliminary investigations revealed that Eskom lost R400 million due to the corrupt tender. [News24]

• E-tolls will be gone soon:  Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says e-tolls will soon be scrapped. During the State of the Province address, Lesufi said that the national and provincial governments would soon agree on several matters, including when exactly e-tolls would be switched off, the methods for debt repayment, and what would happen to the funds collected from paying customers and non-paying customers. Outa’s Wayne Duvenage said that citizens who paid their e-tolls are unlikely to be refunded. [Daily Maverick]

• Army at power stations: Eskom says 48 people have been arrested for various criminal activities since the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was deployed to its power stations. Despite the SANDF not having the power to arrest these criminals, Eskom said that there had been a significant reduction in crime and that the utility was less vulnerable. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said that the higher echelons of the criminal syndicates still need to be targeted. [EWN]

• UCT VC drama: UCT chair Babalwa Ngonyama says the University council will soon meet regarding a possible suspension of vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng and report its decision later this week. A panel chaired by retired judged Lex Mpati is looking at a number of executive resignations and concerns about Phakeng’s management of senior staff. On 9 February, the university leadership body sought legal advice on whether suspension and a disciplinary hearing could run concurrently with the panel’s investigation. [BusinessDay]

• Markets: The South African rand weakened against the dollar on Monday, at the start of a week in which fiscal policy will be in focus, with the finance minister due to present this year’s budget. As well as presenting updated revenue, expenditure and economic growth forecasts, he is expected to outline a plan for the government to take on part of the debt of struggling state power utility Eskom. On Tuesday (21 February), the rand was trading at R18.13/$, R19.34/€, and R21.79/£. Brent crude is trading at $83.09 a barrel. [Nasdaq]