Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·20 Sep 2019

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

• Finance minister Tito Mboweni’s 77-page economic plan has received over 700 submissions, and was subject to a special cabinet meeting on Thursday where it was the only topic being discussed. The document has been met with criticism from some within the ANC and in unions. Minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu said that if laws and policies need to be changed to remove blockages once the document and plan are finalised, government will move to do so. [TimesLive]

• The Road Traffic Infringement Agency is confident that the new Aarto Act, which includes the new driving demerit system, will change the behaviour of South African drivers, and bring down the extremely high number of road fatalities. It has also rubbished claims by critics that the act’s focus is on punitive measures, and thus revenue collection. The RTIA said that the aim is to identify problem drivers and rehabilitate them. [IOL]

• Cell C’s biggest shareholders say the mobile operator worthless, having impaired their investments in the group down to zero. Both Blue Label, which owns a 45% stake in Cell C, and Net 1, which owns 15%, impaired their investments this week, with the former announcing a 20% knock to its profits due to the massive debt problems at the operator. Blue Label spent R5.5 billion on Cell C, while Net 1 spent R2 billion for its stake. [Reuters]

• The EFF and its leaders are once again cropping up in investigations in the to billions looted from VBS – this time, its deputy leader Floyd Shivambu who is said to have received a luxury vehicle purchased from the proceeds of the looting.  The Hawks are currently investigating money laundering tied to the VBS looting. Records show Floyd paid R1.1 million cash for the vehicle, registered in his name until December last year. [M&G]

• South Africa’s rand was slightly weaker on Thursday after the central bank left its main interest rate on hold as expected. The South African Reserve Bank kept the repo rate at 6.5% in a unanimous decision on Thursday, in line with market expectations. South Africa’s inflation outlook has been relatively benign, and economic growth this year has been sluggish. On Friday the rand was at R14.76 to the dollar, R18.53 to the pound and R16.33 to the euro.