5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• President Cyril Ramaphosa has met with CEOs of the country’s state companies to have a frank discussion over their roles – and to hear their side. The message from the CEOs was that there is inadequate capitalisation, poor governance, outdated legislation and political interference, which is hindering their jobs. Both Eskom and SAA’s CEOs stepped down in recent weeks. [City Press]

• There is now an open battle between members of the ANC over comments made about the Reserve Bank, where party SG Ace Magashule has insisted that the central bank’s mandate will be changed. Finance minister Tito Mboweni has called his comments painful, and were intended to destabilise the markets. [Business Day]

• Parties represented in Parliament are considering forming a special oversight committee to keep tabs on the presidency. Court rulings during the time of Zuma had ordered Parliament to do its job as an oversight structure, but to date no such capability exists within the NA. Most parties, except the EFF, support the idea. [News24]

• South African taxpayers have pumped R55 billion into failed airline SAA. Most recently we footed the bill for a R3.5 billion bailout – while the group said it needed R16 billion more to turn the business around. Despite its failings, the government refuses to drop the group. [702]

• South Africa’s rand continued to weaken against the dollar on Wednesday, sliding to a fresh one-week low, weighed down by a squabble between the ruling ANC and government over the mandate of the central bank. On Thursday the rand was at R14.86 to the dollar R18.85 to the pound and R16.69 to the euro.