5 important things happening in South Africa today

·20 Sep 2022

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

Load shedding damage: Johannesburg Water has warned customers that there is a risk of low pressure in some areas since Eskom introduced stage 6 load shedding this past weekend. It said pump stations are isolated during blackouts, and prolonged periods of no electricity are causing damage to infrastructure. Eskom reduced load shedding to stage 5 at midnight on Monday but has given no further guidance on when rolling blackouts will be eased further. [TimesLive]

Electricity prices: Energy regulator Nersa has joined civil action groups in arguing against a massive electricity price hike from Eskom in 2023. Eskom wants to hike prices by 32%, but after court-ordered payments and backlogs, the increase could be as high as 38%. Nersa, which is currently holding hearings over the application for the increase, said that end-users should not be held liable for Eskom’s inefficiencies and inability to produce electricity affordably. [BusinessLive]

Shutdown: Unions are attempting to mobilise workers once again to shut down the country in protest for better working conditions. Police union Popcru and public service union, Saftu, will take to the streets on Tuesday morning in Gauteng. Unions have made several attempts this year to mobilise their members to shut down the country in protest of the rising cost of living and the government’s failure to address the needs of the people, but the turnout was low. [EWN]

Three-way split: The ANC is facing a three-way split over the party’s next leader, with endorsements for the incumbent, Cyril Ramaphosa and KZN looking to either back Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma or Zweli Mkhize. 4,250 members will cast their vote for the leadership. Five provinces have already endorsed Ramaphosa, but KZN has the highest number of delegates voting. The remaining provinces are yet to announce their endorsements. [Daily Maverick]

Markets: The South African rand lost ground on Monday, bruised by a strong dollar and lengthy power cuts by state-owned utility Eskom. The dollar was up over 0.2% against a basket of currencies as investors braced for a large interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve this week. Financial markets have started to factor in more than a 75-basis-point hike in the US, which has negatively affected risk sentiment, causing the rand to weaken. On Tuesday, the rand was at R17.71/$, R17.74/€ and R20.24/£. Brent crude is trading at $92 a barrel. [Reuters]

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