Finance

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·14 Jun 2019

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

• ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude says resigning former minister should be left in peace to do so, as they stand to lose a lot by remaining as MPs. All of the former ministers who were not reappointed to Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet have now resigned as MPs, with former labour minister Mildred Oliphant being the last one. The politicians stood to lose pensions and benefits had they remained. [TimesLive]

• The South African Reserve Bank’s forecasting model suggests there might be room for interest rate cuts in the next year or two, given how weak the economy is, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. The quarterly projection model currently prices in one 25 basis point cut by the first quarter of 2020, while forward-rate agreements foresee a more than 80% chance of a quarter-point cut next month. [Bloomberg]

• The budget for the State of the Nation Address on 20 June has been cut by almost 80%, now capped at R2 million from R9.2 million before. Parliament said it was working hard to cut costs as part of government’s plans to cut down unnecessary spending. About 1,200 guests are expected to attend the event. [City Press]

• A new report by Corruption Watch shows that a large number of South Africans surveyed say they have experienced abuse of power at the hands of the South African Police, and shared experiences of corruption with them. This includes bribery and dereliction of duty with SAP members they have been in contact with. [702]

• South Africa’s rand inched lower on Thursday, as investors assessed local political developments ahead of local inflation numbers next week and a decision on US interest rates. On Friday the rand was at R14.87 to the dollar, R18.85 to the pound and R16.76 to the euro.