5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• New finance minister Malusi Gigaba has delivered his first press conference, in which he promises ‘big changes’ at National Treasury, with particular focus on using the state’s R500 billion procurement pool to drive black business. Despite vehemently denying any links to the Gupta family, Gigaba is seen as being a part of their camp, with analysts noting that the new finance minister will complete president Zuma’s complete capture of the state.

• Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete says she will consider the call for a motion of no confidence in president Jacob Zuma following the shocking cabinet reshuffle last week – but she will first need to ‘consult’ over it. Zuma sparked outrage over the move to fire finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas. All previous no confidence votes against Zuma have failed.

• A Western Cape High Court ruling saying that using marijuana at home is now legal, carries a lot of caveats – and does not mean you can’t be arrested for possession and use. Legal experts warn that the ruling still needs to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court and has 2 years for Parliament to make the necessary changes. The ruling says that ‘private use’ is a defence that can be used, until the changes have been made.

• Helen Zille will face disciplinary action over controversial social media posts, DA leader Mmusi Maimane has said. The DA’s federal committee came to a ‘near unanimous’ decision on the matter, Maimane said, adding that it was not only based on the latest incident, but also on previous ones. Zille would not be suspended and would remain premier of the Western Cape during the process.

• South Africa’s rand recovered some ground on Friday as investors took profits after the currency fell sharply following President Jacob Zuma’s late night decision to remove finance minister Pravin Gordhan. On Monday the rand was trading at R13.41 to the dollar, R16.83 to the pound and R14.32 to the euro.