Finance

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·29 Jun 2017

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

• Anyone hoping that the ANC’s policy conference that kicks off tomorrow will be about plotting South Africa’s way forward will be left disappointed, analysts say, with the party’s internal fighting and politicking sure to win over as the main event. A power struggle between presidential hopefuls will be the headline attraction, with policies being thrown about to flex muscles and show the power of their respective blocs.

• Anglo Gold is expecting to axe a third of its workforce – around 8,500 people – as part of an effort to turn around unprofitable parts of its business. The Kopanang mine and the Savuka section of the TauTona mine are said to be the ones affected. The job losses will be a major blow to SA, where 58,000 jobs were lost in the past year, and unemployment has hit its highest levels in 14 years.

• MPs are not letting finance minister Malusi Gigaba off the hook for not pitching up to a  portfolio committee meeting investigating the naturalisation of the Gupta family, which was pushed through without following the appropriate processes. Gigaba, who approved the naturalisation, and current minister of home affairs Hlengiwe Mkhize skipped the meeting, where MPs wanted them to account for the situation.

• The High Court has ruled that while state schools are free to carry a religious ethos and observe religious events and dates, they cannot promote a particular religious ethos to the exclusion of other religions. The ruling came after a civil group took certain schools to court for forcing children to pray and observe religious events that they were not subscribed to. The court said it’s up to governing bodies to establish the rules around the issue – but state schools cannot exclude all religions and only promote one.

• South Africa’s rand and mining stocks strengthened on Wednesday as the dollar plunged on U.S. stimulus uncertainty, although AngloGold Ashanti fell more than 4 percent after saying it may retrench 8,500 workers. On Thursday, the rand was trading at R12.90 to the dollar, R16.71 to the pound and R14.70 to the euro.