Energy

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·8 Mar 2022

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

Coronavirus: In South Africa, there have been 62 new Covid-19 deaths, taking the total reported to 99,603. The country has 21,020 active cases and a recovery rate of 96.7%.

• R40 a litre: Economists say that claims that petrol prices in South Africa could double to R40 a litre as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war are unfounded. Emeritus professor of international law at Unisa, André Thomashausen, said at the weekend that a worst-case scenario for the country would see petrol prices double. However, Econometrix chief economist Azar Jammine countered this, saying that the price of oil would have to shoot to $400 a barrel for this to be conceivable. At current trends and projections, economists say petrol prices could reach R24 a litre in the near term. Anything beyond what the data shows is pure speculation, they said. [TimesLive]

• Driving instructor strikes: The past few weeks have seen protests at driving testing stations around Gauteng, with driving instructors prevented from making block bookings for students. This follows the introduction of a new online booking system by the government. The Chief executive officer of the Road Transport Management Corporation [RTMC] has refuted claims that the online registry system, Natis, is not functional. Despite the high backlog in driving license renewals, transport minister Fikile Mbalula said that an extension for drivers needing to renew their licenses was impossible. [EWN]

• Water infrastructure: As 40% of South Africa’s water is lost due to leaks, non-payment and other factors, the National Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has revealed plans to establish a national water infrastructure agency that aims to refurbish and expand the country’s critical water infrastructure. Mchunu said it would cost a fortune to source new water and protect existing resources. Still, they are planning to set up a National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency, which would be built around the state-owned Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority and have the duty to attract new investment by packaging major water infrastructure projects. [Daily Maverick]

• Second-term: ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has said that he will not comment on accepting nomination for a second term as leader of the party. This comes after the convener for the ANC’s Mpumalanga provincial task team, Mandla Ndlovu, called on Ramaphosa to accept a nomination for a second term as the ANC president. This follows recent political instability in Mpumalanga, resulting in provincial conferences being delayed and subsequently postponed by the ANC’s national working committee. [News24]

• Markets: Global oil and other commodity prices continue to soar. At the same time, shares tanked on Monday as the United States said it was willing to ban Russian oil imports, stoking investor fears over inflation and slowing economic growth. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, briefly hit its highest level since 2008 at $139 a barrel. The Russia-Ukraine conflict also saw Nickel prices increasing by 90%, gold breaking $2,000 an ounce and the cost of wheat, one of Ukraine’s biggest exports, reaching a 14-year high. The rand is currently trading at R15.34/$, R16.67/€ and R20.13/£. [Nasdaq]