5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 infections have hit 66.8 million confirmed, with the death toll reaching 1,536,000. In South Africa, there have been 3,313 new cases, taking the total reported to 817,878. Deaths have reached 22,249 (a daily increase of 43).

• ANC NEC: President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken a hard line at the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting, stressing that all leaders are bound by party resolutions while the debate over whether the corruption-accused secretary-general, Ace Magashule, should step aside rages on. The president stressed that five legal opinions were sought on the “step-aside” resolution, suggesting that this was a sign of how much the organisation has declined since its Nasrec conference in 2017, saying that resolutions and decisions had to be implemented. ANC unity does not mean accommodating and condoning corruption, he said. [BusinessDay]

• Public Protector blow: The High Court declared unlawful and set aside the Public Protector, Mkhwebane’s report into the establishment of an investigative unit at the South African Revenue Service (Sars). Former deputy Sars commissioner Ivan Pillay and former Sars commissioner George Magashula had also submitted review applications to set aside the Public Protector’s report, and the remedial action ordered by the Public Protector (PP).  The court found that the Public Protector had failed in the exercise of her duties. The PP did not carry out a “fair and credible investigation and an open-minded consideration of the extensive body of evidence that was placed before her in order to confirm the truth”. [MoneyWeb]

• State Capture: Eskom board members had less than 24 hours to individually make a decision on the prepayment of coal procurement at R1.65 billion a year from Gupta-owned Optimum coal mine. Former head of legal and compliance at the power utility, whistle-blower Suzanne Daniels, made the revelation at the state capture inquiry on Monday. The comment left deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo stunned. [TimesLive]

• Toxic Engen: Residents in the Durban Basin area, near the Engen refinery, have said that the explosion was ‘no surprise’, given the company’s alleged history of ‘cutting costs’ on maintenance and the government’s carelessness in enforcing regulations. An environmentalist in the area said that he has been forced to watch his community be slowly “poisoned”, disregarded, cast aside or placated by massive industries, endorsed by the government. The explosion at the Engen refinery left seven people injured, according to authorities, although Engen said “no injuries were recorded”. KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs told Daily Maverick that Engen was “footing the bill for temporarily accommodating about six affected families”. [Daily Maverick]

• Markets: The rand held steady against the US dollar, ahead of local economic data. Statistics South Africa is scheduled to release its GDP numbers for the third quarter on Tuesday (8 December), with analysts hopeful that the data will point to signs of a strong rebound after the country’s coronavirus lockdown. Reaching as strong as R15.10/$ yesterday evening due to a weaker underlying greenback, the rand is now trading at the stronger end of its R15.15 to R15.23 recent trading range. The rand starts the day at R15.16 to the dollar, R18.36 to the euro and R20.24 to the pound. Commentary by Peregrine Treasury Solutions. [XE]