Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·18 Mar 2022

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

Coronavirus: In South Africa, 62 new Covid-19 deaths have been reported, taking the total reported to 99,829. The country has 15,052 active cases and a recovery rate of 96.9%.

• Mandatory vaccinations: Business group BUSA says it is no longer waiting for a declaratory order to clarify mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations in the workplace. It sought to have the situation clarified late last year for businesses to know exactly where the law stands regarding their right to put vaccination policies in place. Busa noted that since its request was made, several CCMA cases have resulted in employees losing bids against their employers’ mandatory workplace vaccination policies. BUSA supported many employers in these cases. [ENCA]

• Eskom blunders: Despite the constant threat of load shedding, Eskom employees made a huge blunder at the group’s nuclear power station, Koeberg, which resulted in a loss of a unit that produced 970 MW. This came as another unit at the plant was unavailable for power generation after it was taken offline on 18 January for maintenance. Earlier this month, Eskom was forced to stop replacing a steam generator at Koeberg’s unit 2 due to its lack of preparation. This replacement was part of an R20 billion project to extend the plant’s life by another 20 years. [Moneyweb]

• Public protector plea: President Cyril Ramaphosa has given public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane ten days to explain why he should not remove her from her position. Earlier this week, Ramaphosa was informed in writing about the continuation of a parliamentary process considering the impeachment process for the public protector. A spokesperson for Mkhwebane said that she is not averse to being held to account and only seeks to ensure that the work of the office of the public protector is not unduly and unlawfully disrupted. [EWN]

• Ramaphosa blames NATO: President Cyril Ramaphosa has blamed NATO for the war in Ukraine and said he would resist calls to condemn Russia after comments about whether Ukraine or ‘the West’ would accept him as a mediator for the conflict. He said that the war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from its leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin shares this sentiment. [Moneyweb]

• Markets: The stock market took a breather on Friday after several days of sizeable gains, while commodities were set on edge by the lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Oil rose sharply over $100 per barrel overnight while China markets eased after one of the worst sessions in more than six years. The rand is currently trading at R14.95/$, R16.56/€ and R19.67£. [Nasdaq]