Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·2 Sep 2021

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

Coronavirus: In South Africa, there have been 9,544 new cases of Covid-19, taking the total reported to 2,787,203. Deaths have reached 82,496 (+235), while recoveries have climbed to 2,560,605, leaving the country with a balance of 144,102 active cases. The total number of vaccines administered is 12,841,537 (+273,012).

• Misunderstood: Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu says her department’s green paper of social security and pension reform was misunderstood and misinterpreted and will be clarified and re-released later. This follows the paper being withdrawn after receiving furious public backlash because of proposals to pay 12% of salaries to a state-controlled fund and hike taxes to fund a basic income grant. The paper was criticised from all quarters, including National Treasury which said it was published without cabinet approval and was not official government policy. The move was also seen as an act of defiance on Zulu’s part, against president Cyril Ramaphosa. [Daily Maverick]

• Vaccines: The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) says that over 6.1 million South African are now fully vaccinated with either the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the double dose Pfizer jab. The Department of Health has set an ambitious target of vaccinating at least 70% – 90% of the adult population by December 2021 (between 28 million and 36 million people). The current rate of vaccination is ~280,000 jabs on weekdays, slowing to around ~25,000 on weekends. If these rates continue, ~23 million more people will be able to receive shots before Christmas. [EWN]

• Rigged: The SIU says that National Treasury tried to block the Digital Vibes contract at the Department of Health, but the rigged contract was helped by political pressure to make sure it went through. The department ultimately paid R141 million to the company, despite competing bids almost 50% cheaper. According to the SIU’s investigation, the bid evaluation committee awarded Digital Vibes a score of 100% for each evaluation criteria, despite the company having only one year of experience. The second bidder’s scores were also reportedly altered in the process to make it appear less qualified. [News24 – paywall]

• Debt rescue: The ANC is buckling under R200 million in debt – left with a financial hangover from the years Jacob Zuma was in charge. While Zuma was president, the party reportedly paid no taxes and did not contribute to unemployment benefits for staff. The party now sits with a tax bill of R100 million, outstanding provident fund contributions of R71 million, and two months of unpaid staff salaries. Analysts point out that the party blowing R2.6 billion in five years epitomises its run in the national government. [BusinessLive 1,2 – paywall]

• Markets: There have not been significant changes in the market, with the dollar remaining subdued as investors continue their tapering guessing game. The rand continues to make strides on the back of a weaker dollar, having made more than 3% gains against the greenback since last week. Economists say they continue to expect a little volatility as the tapering of bond purchases becomes real. On Thursday, the rand is trading at R14.41/$, R17.06/€ and R19.85/£.