5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally stepped into the Reserve Bank battle between ANC leaders, saying the conflict is unhelpful, and clarifying that, while the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank is ANC policy, chasing that agenda right now is not prudent. The focus is now on building the economy, he said. [Reuters]

• South Africa needs to attract direct foreign investment of R12 billion every month to keep make ends meet, according to economist – simply because we as a nation consume far more than we produce. We don’t save and buy more than we sell – and that’s why the rand and the economy is constantly under pressure. [702]

• South Africa has dropped down the international competitiveness rankings, as unemployment, policy uncertainty, land reform and failure of state owned companies weighs down our ability to draw businesses. The country slipped to 56th in the ranking, with GDP per capita declining 1.3%. [CNBC Africa]

• The Public Protector has now taken to releasing YouTube videos to address the public directly, with the second such video being released this week, announcing that her investigation in President Cyril Ramaphosa over a R500,000 Bosasa donation is at an “advanced stage”. [Business Day]

• South Africa’s rand fell on Thursday to its lowest this year as a dispute within in the ruling ANC over the central bank weakened demand. On Friday the rand was at R15.03 to the dollar, R19.08 to the pound and R16.93 to the euro.