5 important things happening in South Africa today

·21 Apr 2022

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

Tighten your belts: South Africa’s consumer price inflation edged closer to the upper band of the Reserve Bank’s target range on Wednesday, leaving the bank wondering how to tame inflation without choking economic growth. StatsSA reported that the inflation rate accelerated to 5.9% in March, at the top end of the central bank’s target range of between 3% and 6%. Economists and analysts have warned that prices will likely increase even further in the coming months, with expectations that inflation will ultimately break through the band. [BusinessLive, ENCA, BusinessTech]

Back in business: South Africa’s busiest port in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is functioning after severe flooding suspended operations due to safety considerations. The managing executive for the Eastern Ports of KZN, Moshe Motlohi, said that ships have returned to coming and going as planned; however, a landslide has reduced entry to the port by truck and trains are still unable to reach the port. Motlohi noted that a backlog of over 8,000 containers that are imports supposed to come into the South African market is being addressed. [Moneyweb]

Ukraine relations: President Cyril Ramaphosa has held bilateral discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky said that he told Ramaphosa about Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression and discussed the looming global food crisis. This comes after the South African government’s stance on the war has been widely criticised as siding with the aggressor Russia. Ramaphosa has offered to mediate talks between Ukraine and Russia. [ENCA]

Dodgy defence deal: A ministerial task team report found no “malice” by any official involved in the South African Defense Force’s (SANDF) purchase of R215 million in immune system drugs from Cuba. The Auditor-general previously identified several shortcomings in the planning and procurement of the medicines. The recording of the first payment of more than R33 million has been found to have been initially recorded falsely as vocational training services, then corrected to relate to the drugs months later. The defence minister said that there would be action taken against falsification. [News24]

Market: The rand slipped on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as severe power cuts and floods highlighted economic constraints on South Africa. Financial intelligence service ETM Analytics said that the rand has been trading like a safe-haven currency in recent months, linked to the commodity cycle investors traded it as a proxy. The rand is currently trading at R15.08/$, R16.34/€ and R19.68/£. [Nasdaq]

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