Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·30 Aug 2022

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

• Home Affairs: Problems at home affairs continue to mount as people are now unable to get simple validation certificates from the offices, and systems have not been updated to reflect things like marital status. The department is blaming Covid-19 for the continued administration backlog. Marriage officers report problems logging marriages, while brides and grooms have had to postpone their nuptials due to the delays. [Daily Maverick]

• Rebuilding Parliament: Engineering experts say that the redevelopment and refurbishment of parliament in Cape Town will take a long time to complete – and will likely cost over R1 billion to do. The project carries a lot of security and IT costs with complicated systems. The building was gutted by fire at the start of the year after an arsonist broke into it and set it alight. The process of rebuilding parliament will commence once the project receives approval. [702]

• Walmart: US wholesale giant Walmart fully acquiring local trader Massmart appears to be a no-brainer, with the group already owning 51% of the local operation – and the stronger dollar versus the rand, making the acquisition a steal. When Walmart acquired its majority stake in Massmart in 2010, it came at R148 a share and cost the US giant $2.4 billion. The deal to purchase the rest is pegged at R62 a share and is valued at only $79 million. [Moneyweb]

• Transnet arrests: The arrests of alleged Transet looters Brian Molefe and Anoj Singh have invigorated South African authorities’ appetite for pursuing state capture targets, with more arrests expected to follow. Molefe and Singh, and two others, were arrested on charges of fraud and corruption relating to a multi-billion rand locomotive tender. The NPA says it is pursuing eight other high-profile cases related to state capture. [BusinessLive, ENCA]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand rose on Monday after the dollar retreated from its latest 20-year high, scaled after hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve. The Fed indicated it would raise rates as high as needed and keep them there “for some time” to bring down soaring inflation. Rising interest rates in the developed world make high-yielding, but riskier emerging market currencies such as the rand lose their appeal to investors. On Tuesday, the rand was R16.85/$, R16.85/€ and R19.72/£. Brent crude is trading at $104 a barrel. [Reuters]