Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·30 Jun 2017

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

• Gupta-linked finance firm Trillian Capital says it will provide a ‘comprehensive response’ to the report initiated by its former chair, Tokyo Sexwale, into claims of state capture. The report found that Trillian filtered millions of rands to the Gupta family – but could not complete the investigation because the company stonewalled access to data. The group says the report was wrong.

• The ANC will head into its national policy conference today divided, but president Jacob Zuma hopes that the party will emerge united. The conference kicks off today, but many analysts are expecting a battle of factions, with policy issues like land reform and economic transformation being used as tools to batter opponents. Party secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the ANC will use the conference to self-correct but Zuma will stay president.

• Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi has slammed South African media for painting the public healthcare system in a bad light, exacerbating the doubts surrounding the National Healthcare Insurance plan. Motsoaledi said that people don’t trust the NHI because they do not trust public healthcare, and it’s the media’s fault. The media does not try to inform the public, he said, it just wants to attack his department.

• The South African Editor’s Forum has condemned the intimidation and assault of Business Day and Rand Daily Mail senior editors by Black First Land First members. The BFLF targeted the journalists after columns were published about the Gupta family. The group vandalised one editor’s home, and physically assaulted another. Black First Land First has been linked to the Guptas, and have been accused of being a proxy body set up by the family and PR firm Bell Pottinger to draw attention away from their dodgy dealings.

• South Africa’s rand weakened on Thursday as better than expected growth in the U.S. wobbled emerging market currencies and as jitters set in ahead of the ruling party’s six-day policy conference starting Friday. On Friday the rand was trading at R12.99 to the dollar, R16.92 to the pound and R14.87 to the euro.