Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Luke Fraser

 ·6 Jun 2023

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

• Crime at Eskom: Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom’s procurement division has been infiltrated by organised crime with links to the KwaZulu-Natal construction mafia. Despite previously downplaying the issues of crime and corruption at the embattled power utility, Ramokgopa is now saying that crime is a big part of the problem facing South Africa’s energy crisis. [News24]

• Russia sale woes: Mondi, a JSE-listed packaging and paper company, says it has withdrawn from the sale of a paper mill in Russia to Augment Investments – an investment vehicle owned by a Russian billionaire – following failures to get approvals from the Russian regulatory bodies. The deal was first announced in August 2022, with the sale of the paper mill and two affiliated entities worth an estimated €1.5 billion (R30.97 billion). [Moneyweb]

• Child grant extension: The DA wants to increase the child support grant from R480 to R624 monthly, matching the poverty line. The party said that, based on the Department of Social Development’s findings, the current grant cannot protect children from hunger, malnutrition and stunting. The party said that the age limit on the child grant should be scrapped so that beneficiaries can keep receiving it until they complete high school. [Business Day]

• MP passes away: Chairperson of the portfolio committee on police Tina Joemat-Pettersson has died, with her cause of death not revealed by the ANC. At the time of her death, she was accused of bribery by the husband of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. During her time as the minister of energy, she was embroiled in a controversial attempt to acquire nuclear power in South Africa but was cleared by Parliament’s ethics committee in March. [EWN]

• Markets: The South African rand gained more than 1% against the dollar on Monday, boosted by Chinese PMI data that showed manufacturing and services activity picking up, according to DailyFX’s Warren Venketas. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, so positive news about the health of its economy tends to lift South African asset prices. On Tuesday (6 June), the rand was trading at R19.21/$, R20.62/€, and R23.94/£. Brent crude is trading at $76.43 a barrel. [Nasdaq]