Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·16 Mar 2020

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

Load shedding: No load shedding is expected on Monday, but the risk of load shedding during the week remains high. Generating capacity returned over the weekend, but demand is expected to ramp up during the week. [Eskom]

• State of disaster: In declaring a state of disaster over the coronavirus in South Africa, president Cyril Ramaphosa also announced that measures would be put in place to protect the economy. Experts say the impact of the virus on South Africa’s economy can be extremely damaging, as the country is already in a weak position. The longer the virus sticks around, and the state of disaster remains in place, the more companies and sectors will be impacted. [Mail & Guardian]

• Quarantine: Over 350 students at Wits will be going into self-quarantine after the university confirmed that one of the people with Covid-19 had been in their class. Wits has now cancelled all contact classes for the graduate entry medical class saying the curriculum will continue online. Following the declaration of a state of disaster by the president, Schools will close, while gatherings of 100 people or more are being prohibited. [EWN]

• Wuhan evacuation: The repatriation of 146 South Africans from Wuhan, China, has been successfully completed, with the SA citizens now under quarantine in Polokwane. However, not all South Africans who wanted to come home got the chance, with 4 passengers being turned away and left in Wuhan after showing elevated temperatures. They are now being monitored by Chinese authorities. [TimesLive]

• PIC troubles: The 1000-page report into the conduct of the PIC has further revealed several irregularities with the fund’s exposure to Steinhoff, revealing how Steinhoff’s BEE partner, Jayendra Naidoo, and former CEO Dan Matjila colluded when investing in the group. Steinhoff collapsed after accounting fraud was discovered, wiping billions from its market value. Naidoo still owes the PIC R11.6 billion and hasn’t serviced the loan since early 2019. [ENCA]

• Markets: Global stocks were again battered on Monday after emergency rate cuts in the USA and New Zealand, as well as other efforts around the world to curb the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The weaker dollar helped the rand recover slightly, however the market was still taking a beating, led by Sasol. On Monday the rand was at R16.31 to the dollar, R20.12 to the pound and R18.13 to the euro. [XE]

Global coronavirus update: 169,610 cases of infection around the world: 6,518 deaths, 77,776 recoveries, and 85,316 cases still active with 5,921 in serious or critical condition. 61 cases in South Africa.