5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• PetroSA’s controversial choice: PetroSA has picked Equator Holdings, headed by controversial political figure Lawrence Mulaudzi, for funding offshore gas exploration and rebuilding gas infrastructure. Mulaudzi was mentioned 176 times in the Mpati Commission report on malfeasance at the Public Investment Corporation and accused of channeling money to ANC and EFF politicians. [amaBhungane]

• Ramaphosa to no longer have sole authority in appointing SOEs’ boards: The government yielded to public pressure and revised the National State Enterprises Bill. The initial version granted the president the sole authority to appoint board members of struggling state entities. However, the revised version now establishes an independent panel to determine the suitable candidates for the board positions. [City Press]

• Mozambique benefiting from Transnet woes:  Mozambique has approved an extended deal for DP World, Grindrod and other operators of its biggest port – including a $2 billion expansion that will seek to further draw cargoes away from South Africa’s ailing trade infrastructure. [Daily Investor]

• State Attorney launches legal action to recover millions from Zuma: The State Attorney and Presidency have launched legal action to force Jacob Zuma to repay R28,960,774 in taxpayer funds that were spent on his corruption trial defence. [News24]

• Markets: South Africa’s rand is still feeling the pinch as the U.S dollar hovers near a six-week high against major peers as investors cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve would be in no rush to cut interest rates in the face of a resilient U.S. economy. On Wednesday (24 January), the rand was trading at R19.06 to the dollar, R24.15 to the pound, and R20.66 to the euro. Oil is trading at $79.39 a barrel. [Reuters]