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5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·17 Mar 2023

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

• No power play: Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says law and order and good governance won’t be undermined just to ensure the power crisis is resolved in time for the 2024 election. Polling shows that the governing ANC is at risk of losing its majority in the elections next year, with the ongoing power crisis exerting severe political pressure. Ramokgopa said that the state of disaster regulations wouldn’t be abused and should only be used as a last resort if existing legislation prevents emergency procurement. [BusinessDay]

• Durban in the toilet: Engineers in the eThekwini Municipality warn the city’s sewer infrastructure faces a high risk of collapsing if maintenance is not done urgently. An internal audit of the city’s sanitation infrastructure said it had not invested enough capital in its ageing sewage infrastructure over recent years. Engineers said that the collapse of the city’s sewage infrastructure would result in environmental and public health disasters. [News24]

• Mabuza allegations: DA leader John Steenhuisen says former deputy president David Mabuza is the cabinet member involved in the alleged corruption at Eskom. Steenhuisen said that Mabuza was the senior ANC official former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter referred to in relation to contracts, hit squads and other crimes at the power utility. Mabuza’s former head of office, Thami Ngwenya, said that Steenhusinen’s allegations were “nonsense.” [TimesLive]

• Cape Town corruption: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says he will support a police investigation into fraud and corruption after a raid at the office of Human Settlements Mayco member Malusi Booi. Hill-Lewis noted that the investigation is in its early stages and that further details could not be disclosed. Booi has been suspended from the mayoral committee, with the Mayor appointing James Vos as acting Mayco member for human settlements. [EWN]

• Markets: The South African rand was steady in early trade on Thursday, after plummeting a day earlier when a US banking crisis spread to Europe and led to a sharp deterioration in global risk appetite. Recent data have pointed to ongoing weakness in Africa’s most industrialised economy, after a bigger-than-forecast fall in the fourth-quarter GDP. Severe power constraints continue to hurt businesses of all sizes. On Friday (17 March), the rand was trading at R18.34/$, R19.52/€, and R22.30/£. Brent crude is trading at $75.36 a barrel. [Nasdaq]