5 important things happening in South Africa today

·13 Mar 2023

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

Intensifying strike: The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) says strikes will intensify this week. The union wants a 10% wage increase for the 2022/23 financial year, but the government has offered 4.7%. Health Minister Joe Phaahla previously said that four deaths could be directly attributed to the strike, however, Nehawu’s general secretary, Zola Saphetha said that the allegations were misplaced and that the government should shoulder the blame for the lives lost due to the strike. [EWN]

Surgery with torches: Surgeons at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape have to use their cellphone torches when operating on patients due to load shedding. Health Minister Joe Phaahla previously said that generators are not indented to drive the supply of electricity and are only supposed to be used for emergencies when the grid trips. Although certain hospital machinery, like ventilators, have backup batteries, the lights do not. [City Press]

Billions in overtime: The eThekwini Municipality is losing large amounts of cash, as five municipal departments spent R3.6 billion on overtime pay in five years. Even employees who did not qualify for overtime were paid – a contravention of South African labour law. According to the BCEA, workers may not work more than 10 hours of overtime in a week or more than 40 overtime hours in a month. The department of electricity was the worst offender, spending R1 billion in overtime pay over the five years. [News24]

Naspers cuts back on SA tech: Naspers is closing its R1.4 billion SA-focused technology investment fund, Foundry, as the group cuts down on operations. However, the group will continue to maintain investments in successful startups. Naspers will thus not have a dedicated team looking exclusively at SA startups and will instead align these efforts with its international approach. [BusinessDay]

Markets: The South African rand firmed early on Friday ahead of closely watched US jobs data that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve’s next steps for monetary policy. The rand hit a three-year low earlier in the week as gross domestic product data showed the economy had contracted more than expected, and S&P Global downgraded South Africa’s outlook to “stable” from “positive”. On Monday (13 March), the rand was trading at R18.21/$, R19.51/€, and R22.06/£. Brent crude is trading at $83.02 a barrel. [Nasdaq]

Must Read