Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·29 Mar 2017

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

• Pravin Gordhan is still South Africa’s finance minister, for now, but his future is still uncertain as a cabinet reshuffle is expected soon, where many suspect he will be removed from National Treasury. Investors have expressed concerns over South Africa’s political instability, while ratings agencies are keeping a close eye on how government has handled the past few days of turbulence.

• Another Gordhan opponent has taken a swipe this week, with SARS head Tom Moyane saying that those who push negative narratives against the revenue service are trying to sabotage the economy. Moyane was before Parliament to explain the low levels of tax collection in SA. The SARS chief was defensive, and said that those who pushed ‘unsubstantiated tales’ of incompetence and failure at SARS were doing more harm than good.

• While all eyes were on the court battle between Pravin Gordhan and the Gupta family on Tuesday, Western Cape premier Helen Zille faced the provincial legislature over her controversial tweets. The debate was called by the ANC, who want Zille recalled. However the DA in the province rallied behind Zille and her right to freedom of speech. Zille also picked out times when ANC members made controversial statements and nothing was done against them.

• Even more munitions have been found in a Randburg building, days after a massive weapons cache was discovered in the basement. The discovery has sparked terrorism fears, as a ‘suicide bomb vest’ was one of the items discovered among the many guns, bombs and grenades. The second haul was discovered as officers searched more storerooms in the building. The building’s previous owner is currently being tracked down.

• South Africa’s rand extended losses on Tuesday after President Jacob Zuma ordered Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to return early from an investor roadshow, sparking speculation of an imminent cabinet shake-up. On Wednesday the rand was trading at R13.05 to the dollar, R16.19 to the pound and R14.12 to the euro.