Energy

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Luke Fraser

 ·19 Apr 2023

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

• Treasury firm on Eskom debt relief: Despite Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa suggesting that the government invest in Eskom, National Treasury says Eskom must use income from tariffs to fix power stations and that the power utility will not receive any financial support from the government to fix embattled power stations. Speaking to MPS, Treasury said that Eskom will also not be allowed to borrow over the next three years. In addition, it said that the over R250 billion debt relief will only be used to pay off debt. [News24]

• Jooste’s no-show: Despite disgruntled shareholders demanding justice, former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste did not attend a German court hearing regarding accounting fraud charges. German prosecutors have indicated that they will apply for an arrest warrant for Jooste, which they will likely receive. George Evans, accused with Jooste, did appear in court and was fined €30,000 and will not be prosecuted further. [Moneyweb]

• Former Tongaat CFO punished: Former Tongaat Hullet CFO Murray Munro has been given a R6 million fine and is barred from sitting on any board for ten years after JSE investigations found that he did not comply with listing requirements. The JSE said that Munro’s lack of compliance with JSE requirements resulted in Tongaat disseminating material misstatements in its consolidated financial statements from 2011 to 2018. [Business Day]

• Sudan chaos: The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) says the South African embassy in Khartoum, Sudan is non-operational due to violent clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army. Over 180 people have been killed, with thousands injured. One South African citizen said that water and electricity had been cut off and is calling on the government to get all South Africans out of Sudan if a ceasefire is declared. [EWN]

• Markets: The South African rand strengthened early on Tuesday, reflecting a weaker dollar on global markets, before the release of a local business confidence index. Today, the focus turns to the March consumer price index, which could affect whether the South African Reserve Bank hikes interest rates again in May. On Wednesday (19 April), the rand was trading at R18.18/$, R19.92/€, and R22.56/£. Brent crude is trading at $84.44 a barrel. [Nasdaq]