Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·31 May 2017

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

• Despite telling MPs that Eskom’s finances are glorious and it’s the best-run SOE, the power utility’s chair Ben Ngubane says load shedding could return, if Treasury does not give it the money it needs to sign off on coal contracts. The chairman has also remained defiant over the Brian Molefe issue and Gupta coal contracts, daring anyone to investigate him.

• Speaker of the national assembly, Baleka Mbete says that MPs should stop going to the courts to sort issues out, and should rather try to resolve them internally. Mbete said that court processes threaten the separation of powers by having the judiciary interfere. This despite the fact that Parliament has failed on several occasions to hold the executive to account, and allows the ANC to use its majority to shoot down any attempts by the opposition to do so.

• While South Africa’s creeping economy and political turmoil are a big turnoff for investors, there are some who believe that it actually makes the country a good buy. Investors at HSBC see certain segments in the SA market picking up, and believe that the threat of losing support in the 2019 elections will keep politicians in check. The overall economy is showing slow growth, but the financial sector and staple goods are still strong.

• Capetonians who use more water than allocated during the region’s water crisis face a price hike of close to 20%, the city has warned. Using between 600 and 3500 litres a month will draw a surcharge of between 6% and 10%, and those using over 3500 litres a month will be charged 19.25% more. Dam levels are below 20% and the region has been declared a disaster zone.

• South Africa’s rand extended losses against the US dollar early on Tuesday, hurt by lingering domestic political tensions and a stronger greenback. The currency started the week on the back foot after President Jacob Zuma survived another call from inside the ruling party for him to step down. On Tuesday, the currency was trading at R13.13 to the dollar, R16.80 to the pound and R14.66 to the euro.