5 important things happening in South Africa today

·6 Dec 2022

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

Ramaphosa hits back: President Cyril Ramaphosa has secured the political support of the majority of his party as the ANC national executive committee (NEC) resolved that its MPs should not support the adoption of the Section 89 panel report. Ramaphosa’s supporters relied on his challenge to the Constitutional Court, where he says the panel misunderstood its mandate to determine if “sufficient evidence exists”. This has led to the Phala Phala debate being postponed to December 13 for a physical sitting. [News24]

Deputy President in hot waters: The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has filed a criminal complaint against Deputy President David Mabuza with the NPA’s Investigating Directorate, accusing him of being involved in a R35 billion land claims scam. OUTA says he’s involved in crimes such as theft, fraud, perjury and intimidation dating back as far as 2002 until today. [Daily Maverick]

Municipalities are overspending: Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says that local governments are living beyond their means and are due to spend much more than their budgeted allocations. According to Treasury, the total aggregated budgeted revenue for 2022/2023 will be R529.7 billion, while total municipal expenditure for the year will be R557.4 billion. The main cost drivers are employee-related expenses, materials and bulk purchases. [BusinessLive]

28s gang infiltrates the SAPS: The Western Cape police ombudsman has handed over his report to the Premier, which supports findings that the 28s gang have infiltrated the South African Police Service (SAPS). Evidence shows the gang has penetrated both low-ranking and high-ranking police officers, including the sanctity of specialised units like the Anti-Gang Unit and Crime Intelligence, while breathing heavily on the necks of public prosecutors who guide the investigation of organised crime and institute criminal proceedings against its members. [eNCA]

Markets: South Africa’s rand and government bonds strengthened on Monday morning (5 December) as a meeting of the executive committee of the country’s governing party kicked off to decide the fate of President Cyril Ramaphosa. “We believe that the political landscape will probably remain turbulent in the final weeks of this year, weighing on investor sentiment towards South Africa and resulting in increased market volatility,” said analysts at Nedbank in a research note. On Tuesday (6 December), the rand was trading at R17.47/$, R18.32/€ and R21.28/£. Brent crude is trading at $83 a barrel. [Nasdaq]

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