Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·24 Aug 2023

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

Medicine shortage: Adcock Ingram said input shortages and protectionism could risk South Africa’s security of medicine supply. Over 50% of medicines – such as cough syrups, panado, and Myprodol – are produced overseas or use imported active ingredients. CEO Andy Hall noted that a main risk factor is the price of importing due to the weakness of the rand and has urged the government to give preference to local producers regarding medicine tenders. [News24]

Crime likely worse in SA: The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) does not believe police quarterly crime statistics accurately account for crime trends. It said several serious underlying issues and flaws in the data collection methodologies must be addressed, such as inaccurate data collated from each province and department, the underreporting of crimes, and variances in the interpretation and classification of crimes, which may have resulted in significant discrepancies. [Business Day]

SA’s ‘real’ unemployment rate: Entrepreneur and informal economy expert GG Alcock said South Africa’s real unemployment rate is 15% – significantly lower than official figures suggest. Stats SA recently revealed that South Africa’s unemployment rate was 32.6% in the second quarter of 2023. Alcock argues that the stats bureau’s definitions of unemployment do not account for the large numbers of income streams outside the definitions. He added that unemployment in South Africa should be defined as people who do not have a job or other form of income. [Daily Investor]

Surprise! Eskom needs more money: Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Eskom needed upwards of R200 billion to expand and strengthen the country’s constrained electricity grid. Ramokgopa made the hefty estimate while speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Sandton on Wednesday. He previously admitted that the power utility couldn’t finance electricity generation on the scale and speed at which it needed to be done. [EWN]

Markets: The South African rand extended gains to trade nearly 2% stronger against the US dollar on Wednesday after July inflation data came in lower than expected, and the greenback slipped. On Thursday (24 August), the rand was trading at R18.50/USD, R20.10/EUR and R23.54/GBP. Oil is trading at $83.15 a barrel. (Reuters)