{"id":427146,"date":"2020-08-20T07:20:51","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T05:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=427146"},"modified":"2020-08-20T07:20:51","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T05:20:51","slug":"5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today-864","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/427146\/5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today-864\/","title":{"rendered":"5 important things happening in South Africa today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Coronavirus<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecdc.europa.eu\/en\/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases\">Global Covid-19<\/a> infections have hit 22.15 million confirmed, with the death toll reaching 781,000. In <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrZweliMkhize\/status\/1296183713362063361\/photo\/1\">South Africa<\/a>, there have been 3,916 new cases, taking the total reported to 596,060. Deaths have reached 12,423 (an increase of 159), while recoveries have climbed to 491,441, leaving the country with a balance of 92,196 active cases.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Load shedding<\/strong>: Strage 2 load shedding continues today, starting at 09h00 and continuing to 22h00.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Corruption investigation<\/strong>: South Africa&#8217;s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says it is probing 658 cases of possible corruption related to government procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) worth more than R5 billion. In an update on its investigation, the SIU noted that it is probing contracts in all nine provincial governments, and in six national departments. Gauteng still stands out with the biggest probe, covering R2.2 billion in contracts. The Eastern Cape &#8216;medical scooters&#8217; are also under investigation, it said. [<a href=\"https:\/\/select.timeslive.co.za\/news\/2020-08-20-the-vile-load-siu-sheds-light-on-r5bn-ppe-corruption-probes\/\">TimesLive<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Passing the peak<\/strong>: Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says South Africa is moving away from the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the latest numbers showing a growing recovery rate, which is now at 82.4% of total cases. In some provinces, the recoveries are over 90%, he said. Mkhize said that the country is approaching 600,000 confirmed cases, with the actual number being far higher, but deaths are reasonably lower than many other countries. All this points to positive signs for South Africa. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.enca.com\/news\/mkhize-sa-passing-covid-19-peak\">ENCA<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pension access<\/strong>: The ANC plans to have a formal proposal around plans to change regulation 28 formulated by mid-September. The changes, if adopted by government, will allow easier access to pension funds, which are currently restricted and limited in how they can invest in different projects or institutions. The alterations sought by the ANC, would allow pension funds to more easily invest in infrastructure projects, which the party is pinning the country&#8217;s economic hopes on. Critics say it will also open pensions up to abuse. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/news\/economy\/ancs-proposals-to-change-reg-28-ready-by-mid-september\/\">Moneyweb<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crime does pay<\/strong>: Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede &#8211;\u00a0 who was recalled by the ANC after being arrested and charged with corruption involving millions of rands &#8211; has re-entered governance in the province, with the ANC appointing her to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. Gumede&#8217;s appointment has been widely criticised, given the criminal charges she faces. However, the ANC says she is innocent until proven guilty. Gumede is accused of being linked tender fraud to the value of R400 million. [<a href=\"https:\/\/ewn.co.za\/2020\/08\/20\/anc-in-kzn-not-ruling-out-possibility-of-gumede-being-elected-as-cogta-chair\">EWN<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Markets<\/strong>: South Africa\u2019s rand edged higher on Wednesday, extending the previous session\u2019s gains on dollar weakness and optimism over a further easing of the country\u2019s coronavirus lockdown. The dollar took advantage of s coy Fed, clawing back lost ground against other major currencies. The rand starts the day at R17.30 to the dollar, R20.48 to the euro and R22.65 to the pound, remaining within the larger range while seeking momentum to move another leg stronger. Commentary by Peregrine Treasury Solutions. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xe.com\/currencyconverter\/convert\/?Amount=1&amp;From=USD&amp;To=ZAR\">XE<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SIU is now probing R5 billion in possible looting; Mkhize says South Africa is passing the peak of Covid infection; ANC pushes hard for pension access &#8211; while also reappointing corruption-accused former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede to the provincial legislature. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-427146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":427160,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427146\/revisions\/427160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}