{"id":851613,"date":"2026-02-20T08:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=851613"},"modified":"2026-02-20T08:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:02:14","slug":"r7-billion-hole-for-one-of-south-africas-major-cities-and-good-news-on-the-table-for-people-with-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/851613\/r7-billion-hole-for-one-of-south-africas-major-cities-and-good-news-on-the-table-for-people-with-solar-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"R7 billion hole for one of South Africa’s major cities, and good news on the table for people with solar panels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand weakened against a stronger dollar on Thursday as investors awaited key US inflation data that could impact the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand was trading at 16.1550 against the dollar, approximately 0.6% lower than Wednesday’s close, having been more than 1% weaker earlier in the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dollar rose 0.3% against a basket of currencies as traders anticipated the December Personal Consumption Expenditures report, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, scheduled for release on Friday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a risk-sensitive currency, the rand often responds to global economic drivers, including US policy decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday’s minutes from the Federal Reserve revealed that policymakers were largely in agreement about keeping interest rates steady, but opinions differed on their future actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some members expressed readiness for rate hikes if inflation remains high, while others favoured additional cuts if inflation decreases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, markets expect the Fed to implement its first interest rate cut of the year in June. Meanwhile, gold, a significant export for South Africa, remained stable on Thursday as investors closely monitored rising tensions between the US and Iran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top 40 index fell by 0.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Friday, 20 February, the rand is trading at R16.17 to the dollar, R21.73 to the pound, and R19.00 to the euro. Gold is currently valued at $5,006.81 per ounce, while oil prices have risen to $72.09 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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R7 billion needed to fix Joburg’s water crisis: <\/strong>To eliminate the water crisis in the City of Johannesburg, an investment of approximately R7 billion is required to repair around 2,600 km of infrastructure, Mayor Dada Morero stated this week. [Mail&Guardian<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free solar registration potentially extended:<\/strong> Eskom Direct customers with rooftop solar systems under 100 kW are exempt from SSEG registration fees until March 31, 2026. This incentive is expected to save households about R10,000, including the cost of a bidirectional meter. Eskom plans to extend the free registration deadline. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Analysts forecast future VAT increase: <\/strong>South African households are not expected to see a VAT increase in the 2026 Budget Speech, though analysts predict it may happen in the future. The 2025 National Budget faced delays after the initial proposal in February to raise the VAT rate by two percentage points to 17%. A revised budget in March reduced the increase to one percentage point over two years, but the plan was halted by a court order and political negotiations.[BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Salary increase for Tshwane staff:<\/strong> The City of Tshwane has agreed with the municipal unions, Samwu and Imatu, to implement a 3.5% salary increase for their members starting 1 March. This increase, owed since 2021, will cost the city R1.088 billion after negotiations reduced the original backpay of R1.5 billion. Payments will be made in instalments, with the final one scheduled for February 2029. [Moneyweb<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gunshots in the home of Robert Mugabe’s sons:<\/strong> A Hyde Park security guard revealed that the recent shooting at the home of late Robert Mugabe’s sons, which left a gardener injured, is not the first instance of gunfire at the mansion. The guard, who wishes to remain anonymous, heard gunshots there several months ago. Local residents reported hearing gunshots frequently, though they couldn’t confirm if they came from the same house. [TimesLive<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Friday, 20 February 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":850525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-851613","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\/851613","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\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851613"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851628,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851613\/revisions\/851628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}