Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·10 Feb 2023

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

• Electricity minister confusion: Experts say President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to create a minister of electricity to solve the energy crisis will only lead to further confusion, as three ministers will work with Eskom. The minister will be based in the presidency and will focus exclusively on the energy crisis by working with Eskom’s board, however, Eskom will still report to the minister of public enterprises, who will oversee the utility’s unbundling and the just energy transition program.  [News24]

• Water crisis solutions: Rampahosa says the Department of Water and Sanitation is investing in major infrastructure projects which will ensure greater water security. Speaking at the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Ramphosa said that various dam and irrigation infrastructure projects are in the pipeline and will help South Africans across the nation get access to water. Ramaphosa’s statements come after numerous metros have recently struggled to provide water, with load shedding exasperating the issue. [EWN]

• Tech infrastructure upgrade: Ramaphosa says government will migrate all remaining households to digital television signals and will switch off all analogue transmissions. He said that this will release valuable spectrum for the rollout of 5G mobile networks and will reduce the cost of data. This is in line with the government’s vision to have affordable, high-speed internet for all, limiting the digital divide. [SANews]

• Engen gets new owner: Engen is set to merge its African operation with those of UK-based Vivo Energy, creating one of the largest energy distribution companies in Africa. Vivo Energy is buying a 74% stake in Engen from Malaysia’s Petronas, and the deal will see all parts of the Engen brand – which was operated separately by Vivo energy and Petronas – recombined. The group will now have 3,900 service stations and 2 billion litres of storage across Africa. [BusinessDay]

• Markets: Momentum Investments reported a firm rand with little movement against the dollar following Ramaphosa’s address detailing a handful of broadly positive announcements. The success of those interventions relies heavily on government funding, meaning that eyes will be on the budget speech later this month to see how the government will implement the announced plans. On Friday (10 February), the rand was trading at R17.80/$, R19.09/€, and R21.53/£. Brent crude is trading at $84.33 a barrel. [Momentum]