Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·2 Mar 2023

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

• Concourt on Phala Phala: President Cyril Ramaphosa will not have a quick resolution to the issues surrounding Phala Phala after the Constitutional Court said that he did not make a sufficient case for it to rule exclusively on the report. The president said that the report had far-reaching consequences – including the potential removal of the President – which he argued was why only the constitutional court could rule on the matter. He will now have to approach the High Court to challenge the report. [News24]

• Durban looks at nuclear: eThekwini Municipal Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says the city wants to install a massive 940MW nuclear power station in the city as part of the public-private sector partnership plan to reduce the dependence on Eskom. However, details regarding the proposal remain limited. Kaunda also said that the city had short-term plans to build a new 400MW coal-fired power station, a 300MW gas-to-power plant and a 100MW solar plant. [Daily Maverick]

• Covid-19 test complaint: The Health Funders Association (HFA) – including Discovery, Momentum and others – lodges a complaint to the Competition Commission regarding the prices charged by Pathcare, Ampath and Lancet for Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in 2020 and 2021. If the complaint is successful, the HFA believes that it will claim back R1 billion previously paid by the 35 schemes involved in the complaint. [BusinessLive]

• Big win for Joburg’s schools: The Gauteng division of the High Court has stopped the City of Johannesburg’s efforts to reclassify property for education in its rate policy, which would have resulted in a major increase in the amounts payable for rates. The court not only set aside the council’s decision for the current financial year but also ordered that the applicable tariffs for property used for educational purposes may only increase by 4.85% in 2023/24. [Moneyweb]

• Markets: The South African rand gained on Wednesday after China’s manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace since April 2012, fuelling risk-on appetite globally. China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, so positive news about the health of its economy tends to lift South African asset prices. On Thursday (2 March), the rand was trading at R18.20/$, R19.38/€, and R21.84/£. Brent crude is trading at $84.42 a barrel. [Nasdaq]