South Africa blasts the United States, and new ambassador bringing trouble for the ANC
The South African rand continued to rise on Monday as investors assessed the implications of US military action in Venezuela, which escalated geopolitical tensions and increased safe-haven demand.
The unit started the new week where it ended the last, trading around R16.50 against the dollar; however, by Tuesday, it had moved to an even stronger position at R16.30/$.
The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend to face drug-trafficking charges, while President Donald Trump announced that he was putting Venezuela under temporary American control.
Trump said as part of the takeover, major US oil companies would move into Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years.
“So far, the ZAR has not responded negatively to this weekend’s news. The oil price has not moved significantly, given Venezuela’s substantial reduction in oil exports and production,” ETM Analytics said in a research note.
“If anything, it might slide further if investors believe that the US might oversee a revitalisation of Venezuela’s oil industry.”
South Africa, meanwhile, spoke at a United Nations Security Council session following the US’ military action, denouncing the move and calling for the upholding of international law.
Analysts have warned, however, that this could put South Africa even deeper in the United States’ bad books, heightening already damaging tensions between the two countries.
“Investors might want to price in some consequences of SA’s hardening stance against the US and what that might mean for relations with the US,” ETM said.
“But even on that front, there has been so much that has come from the existing breakdown of relations with the US that it is unclear whether there is much more for the US to do.”
On Tuesday, the rand is trading at R16.32 to the dollar, R22.12 to the pound and R19.16 to the euro. Oil is trading at $61.60 a barrel, and gold is at $4,467.84 an ounce.
5 important things happening in South Africa today
Heightened tensions: The tense relationship between South Africa and the United States is heading for another clash, with South Africa calling on the United Nations Security Council to take action against the United States for its military action in Venezuela. South Africa told the council that the action will deepen instability in South America and upset the global order and rule of law. South Africa said the US has blatantly violated the UN charter and should face consequences, or otherwise it is inviting global anarchy. Relations between the US and South Africa have deteriorated significantly over the past year. [News24]
Another blow: Adding to the breakdown of relations between South Africa and the United States is the appointment of Leo Brent Bozell III as the new US Ambassador to South Africa. Washington has become increasingly frustrated by South Africa’s inability to meaningfully address its demands in negotiations over a trade deal. Given Bozell’s right-wing pedigree, coupled with the conservative stance of the Trump administration, and the ANC-led coalition government’s left-leaning orientation, political friction is inevitable. [Daily Investor]
Water outages: Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, has warned Johannesburg residents that they may experience water outages of up to seven days due to upcoming maintenance. The project is scheduled to take place from 6 January at 04h00 to 8 January at 08h00. Still, the administration has warned that water may take up to seven days to return to normal as the system regularises. The 52-hour maintenance session will take place at the Eikenhof pump station. Morero said the maintenance is “critical to balance infrastructure” and necessary to ensure a long-term water supply. [Newsday]
EAF questions: Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati has criticised energy sector analyst Chris Yelland’s remarks about anomalies in the power utility’s plant outage data as “irresponsible”. Yelland recently compiled the full-year charts of weekly energy availability factor (EAF), maintenance, and breakdowns, which revealed a significant drop in outages in the last week of 2025. He said this was extremely atypical and out of line with all previous years. Eskom stated that improved reliability across the generation fleet enabled the company to reduce maintenance during the festive season without compromising system stability later in the year. [MyBroadband]
Back-to-school warning: The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Information and Cybersecurity Centre has issued a warning about an increase in phishing scams targeting families with children returning to school in South Africa. Historically, there has been a lack of spaces at schools and universities, and criminals are now taking advantage of this by setting up websites mimicking registration platforms. However, criminal campaigns also spam various aspects of the back-to-school drive, including fake stationery and uniform sites. There are also scams often posted on social media, requesting information and promising bursaries and scholarships. [MyBroadband]
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