{"id":857785,"date":"2026-04-21T08:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=857785"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:04:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T06:04:06","slug":"new-laws-coming-about-property-rights-in-south-africa-and-an-important-bridge-collapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/857785\/new-laws-coming-about-property-rights-in-south-africa-and-an-important-bridge-collapses\/","title":{"rendered":"New laws coming about property rights in South Africa, and important bridge collapses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The rand and government bonds began the week on a negative note, as market participants awaited the release of domestic inflation data.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was compounded by reports of renewed closures in the Strait of Hormuz, which led to a rise in oil prices and dampened appetite for risk assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, the rand traded at 16.3325 against the dollar, down 0.2% from its previous close.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Statistics South Africa is scheduled to release March inflation data on Wednesday, with analysts anticipating a slight increase to 3.1% year-on-year, up from 3.0% in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Economists predict that the modest rise in inflation will primarily result from higher fuel prices, while food inflation is expected to ease.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a net fuel importer, South Africa is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in global energy prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the onset of the conflict involving the US and Israel at the end of February, followed by Iran&#8217;s retaliatory actions throughout the Gulf, the rand has been influenced by global market sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Analysts suggest that a significant increase in South African inflation is more likely to be reflected in April&#8217;s Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures, indicating that March&#8217;s data will probably have little impact on the rand&#8217;s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, the South African Reserve Bank will release a Monetary Policy Review document on Tuesday, which may provide insights into its interest rate decisions for the year ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of Tuesday, 21 April, the rand is trading at R16.35 to the dollar, R22.10 to the pound, and R19.26 to the euro. Gold is currently valued at $4,788.05 per ounce, while oil prices have risen to $94.15 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-857797\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/R531.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>New laws coming about property rights:\u00a0<\/strong>The government wants to amend the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act to strengthen property rights against land and property grabs. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessday.co.za\/news\/2026-04-21-state-wants-jail-terms-r2m-fines-for-inciting-land-invasions\/\">BusinessDay<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important bridge collapses:<\/strong>\u00a0Visitors to Kruger National Park are warned of access disruptions due to a bridge washout on the R531 near the Wits Rural Facility. This has made Parks Orpen Gate inaccessable, which is a notable concern for tourism organisations in the area. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.enca.com\/news\/bridge-collapse-disrupts-access-kruger-national-park\">ENCA<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Apple CEO steps down:<\/strong> Tim Cook will transition leadership of hardware to hardware chief John Ternus later this year, concluding a 15-year tenure that transformed Apple into a $4 trillion company across sectors including watches, streaming, and financial services. [<a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/business\/642228-apple-ceo-stepping-down.html\">MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>City Power&#8217;s new solar process called out<\/strong>:<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>Outa called out City Power&#8217;s new six-step process, stating that it adds avoidable costs, delays, and administrative burdens due to required approvals and inspections before and after installation. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeslive.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/2026-04-20-outa-calls-for-end-to-burdensome-solar-approval-process-by-city-power\/\">TimesLive<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sanral in hot water:<\/strong>&nbsp;The South African National Roads Agency&nbsp;(Sanral) has been criticised by a high court for delays and non-compliance, leading to a punitive costs order. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/sanral-severely-criticised-in-high-court-judgment\/\">Moneyweb<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Tuesday, 21 April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":857799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-857785","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\/857785","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=857785"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":857801,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857785\/revisions\/857801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}