Business

5 things you need to know in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·7 Sep 2016

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

• While South Africa’s GDP data is good news for the country, we should hold off celebrating for now, as other economic indicators show that we are still in big trouble. South Africa’s economy grew by 3.3% in Q2, representing 0.6% YoY growth. However, with high rates of unemployment and a ratings downgrade to junk on the cards, the full year picture still points to near-zero percent growth for 2016.

• ANC treasurer Zweli Mkhize has reaffirmed that the party and its leaders are firmly behind finance minister Pravin Gordhan, and that they had full trust in the country’s financial institutions. Mkhize was doing his part to plug holes left by top ANC officials who had been making ‘problematic’ statements about South Africa’s financial pillars. He said he could not stop such remarks, but that does not mean they are ANC policy.

• Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has told the ANC that if it cannot lead the country and his people, it should step aside and let him do it. The king said that the obvious rift in the party, and murders from within, showed that the party’s leaders were failures, and losses in the 2016 elections put the country’s capital (Tshwane) and economic hub (Joburg) ‘in the hands of whites’.

• National Assembly will meet on Wednesday to vote in Busisiwe Mkhwebane as the new Public Protector. However, her appointment will face some opposition by the DA, which claims that Mkhwebane was a spy for the State Security Agency – and has been for years. The DA said it had information showing discrepancies in Mkhwebane’s career history, showing she left a R1 million a year job at Home Affairs to take reduced pay at the SSA. Mkhwebane has denied the allegations.

• The rand enjoyed a big boost on Tuesday, buoyed by data that showed South Africa’s economy bounced back between April and June after a rocky first quarter. The stronger GDP data, coupled with recent data showing a trade surplus, provided a reprieve for the rand, buffeted by worries that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan could be charged by the Hawks. On Wednesday the rand was at R13.95 to the dollar, R18.68 to the pound and R15.70 to the Euro.

In global news: The dollar took a tumble and Asian stocks rose to one-year highs on Wednesday after surprisingly weak U.S. services sector activity put paid to already slim chances of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve as early as this month.