Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·4 Jul 2017

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

• The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors is investigating KPMG over its failure to identify alleged money laundering involved with the Gupta wedding, and if found guilty, the repercussions can be severe. In the worst-case scenario, the auditing firm faces having its practitioners registration revoked. other possible punishments include a warning or a fine – but these are determined only through a disciplinary hearing, if one is required.

• The campaign for ANC chair Baleka Mbete to take the reins as president of the party is gaining traction at the party’s policy conference, with a group of ANC cadres officially endorsing her for the position. Mbete has accepted the endorsement, but will only accept a nomination when that process officially opens up. There are now several other politicians vying for the presidency, beyond front-runners Cyril Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

• The Financial Services Board has found no evidence of insider trading linked to the removal of former finance minister Pravin Gordhan. It found that trades made in the days preceding Gordhan’s removal were part of normal business operations, and that investors who traded had no prior knowledge of the former minister’s removal. The findings were welcomed by the DA, who initiated the investigations.

• The International Criminal Court will rule whether or not South Africa flouted international laws by not arresting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2015, who is wanted for genocide in Darfur. The ICC will hand down judgement this Thursday. President Jacob Zuma, meanwhile, says that despite a court order blocking the move, it is still the ANC’s intention for SA to withdraw from the ICC.

• South Africa’s rand weakened on Monday, extending losses to a third straight session after comments by central bankers in developed economies suggested a shift towards policy tightening. On Tuesday the rand was trading at R13.21 to the dollar R17.11 to the pound and R15.03 to the euro.