5 things you need to know in South Africa today
·19 Aug 2016
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- The ANC Youth League says that the ANC needs to hold an early conference to elect new leadership in the party – and it wants younger members to be elected into senior positions. ANCYL leader Colin Maine said the party’s leadership needs to take responsibility for the poor outcome in the recent elections, and that the conference scheduled for 2017 should be brought forward, unchallenged.
- Team South Africa has earned another silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, with Sunette Viljoen winning silver in the women’s javelin throw. This brings our medal tally to nine – one away from the country’s target of 10 – with runner Caster Semenya still to race her final. Semenya is a favourite for gold in the ladies’ 800m.
- South Africa’s rand edged firmer on Thursday along with fellow emerging currencies as risk assets regained favour after minutes from the United States central bank dampened bets of an interest rate hike this year. On Friday, the rand was trading at R13.43 to the dollar, R15.22 to the pound and R17.65 to the euro.
- In global news, Asian stocks retreated on Friday and the dollar edged up from a near eight-week low after some Federal Reserve officials reiterated the case for raising interest rates in coming months. U.S. stocks ended up slightly on Thursday as Brent oil’s rise above $50 a barrel boosted energy shares.
- Brent crude oil prices dipped in early Asian trading hours on Friday, but remained near two-month highs with Brent still holding above $50 per barrel in a bull-run that has lifted the market by over 20 percent since early August. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $50.80 per barrel, down 9 cents from their last close.
In other news: The Parliamentary ad hoc committee has narrowed down its hunt for the next Public Protector to five names: Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai; Johannesburg High Court judge, Sharise Weiner; SSA analyst, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane; former prosecutor Bongani Majola; and Pensions Fund adjudicator, advocate Muvhango Lukhaimane.
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