5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• Moody’s will announce its decision on whether or not to junk South Africa this week, with a planned announcement some time before Friday. While many have been optimistic that president Cyril Ramaphosa has done enough to avert a downgrade, economists and investors are taking a cautious approach. The uncertainty before the announcement has sent the rand back over R12 to the dollar. [General]

• Will former president Jacob Zuma pay his own legal bills? That’s the hot topic following the NPA’s decision to proceed with fraud and corruption charges against him. There is reportedly a deal in place that the state will pay the bills, but Zuma will have to repay the amounts if he loses the case. Zuma’s family says that there is no money to repay the state in any outcome. [IOL]

• Questions have been raised about ‘tainted’ prosecutors who are part of the recycled case against the so-called SARS rogue unit, which has again turned up out of the blue. Former SARS execs have again been called to court on the same charge sheet that was unsuccessfully used against Pravin Gordhan. [Daily Maverick]

• As South Africa continued to deal with its listeriosis outbreak, concerns are being raised about the economic impact – particularly in the informal and township economies, where many of the favoured products have been recalled or are being avoided by the populace. [Bloomberg]

• South Africa’s rand weakened against the dollar on Friday as investors took a cautious tone towards the currency ahead of rating decision by Moody’s, while stocks ended the week lower as bourse heavyweight Naspers fell. On Monday the rand was at R12.01 to the dollar, R16.72 to the pound and R14.73 to the euro. [XE]