5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• Johannesburg approves 20-year IPP plan: The City of Johannesburg has approved a 20-year plan with independent power producers (IPPs) aimed at reducing the effects of load-shedding on the city. City Power plans to cut the amount of energy it procures from Eskom by 5% in 2025. [BusinessDay]

• Budget cuts inhibit the hiring of doctors:  Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a press conference yesterday that the high number of unemployed medical graduates is a result of the increasing pressure on healthcare budgets. Currently, there are 645 unemployed junior doctors waiting to be placed after completing their community service in December. [BusinessTech]

• Mining Indaba kicks off: The 30th instalment of the annual Mining Indaba kicked off on Monday. President Cyril Ramaphosa was addressing the industry titans, saying that there needs to be a focus on ways to fast-track recovery in the mining sector, as an unstable electricity supply and a logistics crisis have piled pressure on the sector, leading to a drop in output. [EWN]

• Sodi slapped with over R400 million tax bill: A controversial businessman has been issued a R400 million tax bill from the South African Revenue Service (SARS). He was given 10 business days to respond to SARS’ demand. If a payment structure is not agreed to, SARS will seek an order from the high court to render his estate executable. [City Press]

• Markets: On Monday, the South African rand weakened as the US dollar continued its rise due to the US Federal Reserve’s potential continuation of inflation-fighting interest rate increases. On Tuesday (6 February), the rand was trading at R19.04 to the dollar, R23.92 to the pound, and R20.49 to the euro. Oil is trading at $78.21 a barrel. [Reuters]