{"id":836464,"date":"2025-09-01T07:51:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T05:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=836464"},"modified":"2025-09-01T07:51:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T05:51:04","slug":"another-r500-milllion-in-pension-savings-down-the-drain-and-controversial-law-change-on-the-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/836464\/another-r500-milllion-in-pension-savings-down-the-drain-and-controversial-law-change-on-the-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Another R500 milllion in pension savings down the drain, and controversial law change on the cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African rand showed<\/a> little movement on Friday in response to a key U.S. inflation report and mixed domestic economic data. The rand traded at 17.67 against the dollar, remaining close to Thursday’s closing value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dollar was largely unchanged against a basket of currencies after the world’s largest economy reported an increase in the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This development reinforced expectations of an interest rate cut next month. Domestically, central bank data indicated that South Africa’s M3 money supply growth slowed to 6.75% in July, down from 7.27% in June. In contrast, credit growth increased to 5.8%, up from 4.98%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the South African Revenue Service reported a better-than-expected trade surplus of R20.29 billion (approximately $1.16 billion) for July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, National Treasury data revealed a budget deficit of 150.85 billion rand for the same month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, 1 September, the rand was trading at R17.71 to the dollar, R23.91 to the pound and R20.66 to the euro. Oil was trading slightly lower at $68.24 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five other important things happening in and affecting South Africa today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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R500 million in pensions down the drain:\u00a0<\/strong>The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has awarded a five-year biometrics contract worth R521 million to the LCS Identifii Consortium. However, LCS Technologies, which represented the consortium, is unregistered and in the process of deregistration, with no directors listed. [News24<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Controversial law change on the cards:<\/strong> The Western Cape High Court is hearing arguments on whether to decriminalise sex work, following a case by the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) claiming its criminalisation is unconstitutional. While awaiting a decision, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has paused the prosecution of sex workers. [EWN<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New BEE laws head to constitutional court:<\/strong> As the government\u2019s new employment equity target regulations are about to take effect on 1 September, the National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA) and Business lobby group Sakeliga are appealing to the Constitutional Court to stop them. [Newsday<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AMSA to cut jobs<\/strong>: ArcelorMittal SA (AMSA) announced to employees on Friday that efforts to save its long steel business have failed, leading to the loss of 3,500 jobs. CEO Kobus Verster stated in a memo that the long steel operations will be wound down by the end of September. [Business Day<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Criminal syndicates cutting the lights:<\/strong>\u00a0City Power has warned that organised crime is stealing and vandalising electrical infrastructure in Johannesburg, with repair costs reaching R1.2 million per unit. From March to mid-August 2025, 28 cases were reported, with areas going without power for days. [MyBroadband<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in South Africa today, Monday, 1 September 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":826181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-836464","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\/836464","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=836464"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836467,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836464\/revisions\/836467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}