5 important things happening in South Africa today

·4 Oct 2019

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

Peter Moyo’s NMT Capital is trying to clear its name, after being dragged into the public battle between the axed CEO and Old Mutual. NMT says it is on track to pay back an IDC loan, which was brought into question by Old Mutual when it fired Moyo – twice. Moyo is fighting back against the company seeking his job back. He has already won a few court battles to that effect – however, Old Mutual has not backed down. [Business Day]

Time has run out fo the Gupta-linked Trillian, after the courts dismissed its bid to drop the requirement that it pay back the R600 million owed to Eskom for its part in a dodgy contract with consultancy McKinsey. ‘Last man standing’ and CEO Eric Wood can also now be joined to the matter in his personal capacity, the court ruled. Wood has denied any ties to the Gupta family, and insists the work done for Eskom was above board. [Daily Maverick]

South Africa’s courts are under extreme pressure, having to deal with thousands upon thousands of cases each month. The latest report in the country’s justice system found that there were more than 13,000 criminal cases and 145,000 civil cases in the past year. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said the courts were doing well, considering the scale – with 81% of all the criminal cases and 79% of the civil cases completed. [702]

A South African police station was raided by criminals, where officers were tied up and firearms were stolen from the station’s safe. A manhunt is underway to find the culprits. The incident took place in the Northern Cape, and comes a day after findings from Stats SA that crime levels in the country are far higher than reported by the SAPS, due to gross under-reporting by victims of crimes in the country. [TimesLive]

South Africa’s rand firmed on Thursday thanks to a weaker dollar, as investors fretted that weakness in the US manufacturing and service sectors could herald a slowdown in the world’s largest economy. On Friday, the rand was trading at R15.12 to the dollar, R18.66 to the pound and R16.60 to the euro.

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