{"id":833507,"date":"2025-07-30T07:42:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=833507"},"modified":"2025-07-30T07:42:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:42:36","slug":"what-south-africa-has-offered-the-us-and-blow-to-bee-requirements-for-estate-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/833507\/what-south-africa-has-offered-the-us-and-blow-to-bee-requirements-for-estate-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"What South Africa has offered the US,  and blow to BEE requirements for estate agents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The South African rand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-african-rand-extends-losses-traders-await-outcomes-rate-meeting-us-tariffs-2025-07-29\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">weakened<\/a> on Tuesday as investors focused on the upcoming monetary policy meeting and developments regarding tariff negotiations, particularly the potential 30% levy on the country\u2019s exports to the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rand was trading at 17.95 against the dollar, approximately 0.5% weaker than it closed on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Analysts noted that the risk-sensitive currency is likely to remain vulnerable, especially since there have been no updates on negotiations for a trade deal with the US, and the 1 August deadline is approaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is set to announce its interest rate decision tomorrow, 31 July, with economists polled by Reuters anticipating another cut of 25 basis points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Wednesday, 30 July, the rand was trading at R17.87 to the dollar, R23.85 to the pound and R20.64 to the euro. Oil was trading slightly lower at $69.96 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are five other important things happening in and affecting South Africa today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>South Africa&#8217;s proposed trade deal:<\/strong>\u00a0South Africa is awaiting feedback from the US on a proposed trade deal involving nearly R60 billion in local investments in sectors like mining and recycling. If no progress occurs, a 30% tariff on South African exports will take effect on Friday. The proposals include a 10-year liquefied natural gas import deal, US poultry and blueberry imports, and exemptions on certain tariffs. The deal also involves a commitment from South African firms to invest $3.3 billion (R59 billion) into US industries. [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news24.com\/business\/economy\/tariffs-sa-offers-us-r60bn-in-private-investment-but-no-deal-in-sight-20250729-1076\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">News24<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Blow to BEE rules for estate agents:<\/strong>\u00a0Lobby group Sakeliga has made significant progress in its legal challenge against the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) regarding the denial of fidelity fund certificates to non-BEE-compliant businesses. The government has withdrawn its opposition to Sakeliga&#8217;s case, which argues that the rules are an attempt to force compliance and could harm businesses. [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/blow-for-state-over-bee-requirement-for-estate-agents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Moneyweb<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Driving licence warning:<\/strong> The Department of Transport has warned South Africans that the backlog in processing driving licences is not a valid excuse for not having a licence on hand. Drivers must always carry their driving licences, or they risk being fined. Those affected by the backlog are also required to provide valid proof of their situation. [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/833384\/driving-licence-warning-for-south-africa-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BusinessTech<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Transnet pays one company R940 million for not doing its job:<\/strong>\u00a0Transnet paid Kumba Iron Ore R942 in penalties for logistics underperformance in the miner\u2019s 2025 interim results. Kumba Iron Ore is the largest iron ore producer in Africa and is majority-owned by the mining giant, Anglo American. [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyinvestor.com\/mining\/95843\/transnet-paid-one-company-r940-million-for-poor-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Investor<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Eskom is punishing solar users:<\/strong>\u00a0Eskom has not announced new charges for solar power users but is implementing tactics that penalise them, such as strict registration criteria and high fixed charges for those using less Eskom power. The fixed charge increases are only partially in effect. [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/energy\/604360-important-information-about-hidden-fees-for-people-with-solar-panels-in-south-africa.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MyBroadband<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Wednesday, 30 July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":830784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-833507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5-things","tag-5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833507","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":833508,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833507\/revisions\/833508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}