5 important things happening in South Africa today
·13 Mar 2017
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- The ANC wants the president to have more powers, so that he can be at the center of the country’s budget, capable of pushing various transformation goals. The presidency must be strengthened as the strategic center of power in the state with control over planning and policy, resource allocation and enforcement, the party said. Analyst have said that the president already has too much power.
- Corruption and ‘money politics’ is tearing the ANC apart, and is threatening the party’s dominant position ahead of the 2019 national elections, according to minister in the presidency, Jeff Radebe. Policy documents released on Sunday revealed that the party is fully aware that it is losing the trust of the people, and abuse, corruption and government failures need to be addressed to get it back.
- The ANC’s policy documents have made it clear that the party is rejecting president Jacob Zuma’s call for land redistribution without compensation in the country. The document proposes that the government should do away with paying “premium” prices when purchasing land for reform and proposes “just and equitable” compensation. The issue is expected to be a hot campaign topic ahead of the 2019 elections.
- President Jacob Zuma is laying bare divisions in the ANC by celebrating political moves in Nelson Mandela Bay that were openly and clearly opposed by ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe. It is speculated that political maneuvering in the region will ultimately support Zuma’s strategy for the future of the ANC – specifically the support for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as next president of the party.
- South Africa’s rand reversed recent losses on Friday, gaining as weaker than expected U.S. wages data dampened expectations of a spate of interest rate increases this year by the Federal Reserve. On Monday the rand is trading at R13.10 to the dollar, R15.97 to the pound and R14.02 to the euro.
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