{"id":865354,"date":"2026-07-03T07:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=865354"},"modified":"2026-07-03T08:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T06:25:41","slug":"r75000-fine-for-households-with-prepaid-electricity-meters-and-state-company-pays-average-employee-r1-7-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/865354\/r75000-fine-for-households-with-prepaid-electricity-meters-and-state-company-pays-average-employee-r1-7-million\/","title":{"rendered":"R75,000 fine for households with prepaid electricity meters, and state company pays average employee R1.7 million"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand strengthened on Thursday as the dollar declined after US jobs growth fell short of expectations. Oil prices also decreased as easing concerns over supply disruptions followed progress in US-Iran talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand traded at 16.24 against the dollar, marking a 1.0% increase from its previous close. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was down about 0.6% after US nonfarm payrolls rose by only 57,000 in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This figure was well below economists’ expectations of a 110,000 increase; however, the unemployment rate decreased to 4.2% from 4.3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oil prices dropped nearly 2% after Qatar announced that Iran and the US had made progress in discussions concerning the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no major domestic data releases, the rand, like other emerging market currencies, tends to be influenced by global factors, including U.S. economic reports and geopolitical developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index rose about 1.5%. Additionally, South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was slightly firmer, with the yield falling by 1 basis point to 8.26%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, 3 July 2026, the rand was trading at R16.21 to the dollar, R21.66 to the pound, and R18.55 to the euro. Gold is trading lower at $4,176.14 an ounce, while oil prices were at $72.25 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prepaid electricity meter users hit with fines:<\/strong>\u00a0The Freedom Front Plus in Tshwane says it is receiving a growing number of complaints about residents being fined up to R75,000 on false allegations of tampering with their prepaid meters. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

State company pays big salaries:<\/strong> The average employee at the Industrial and Development Corporation (IDC) received a total remuneration package of R1.7 million in the 2025 financial year. Revealed in the entity\u2019s 2025 integrated annual report, this figure includes salaries, bonuses, and any other benefits paid to employees. [Daily Investor<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Steenhuisen under fire:<\/strong>\u00a0ActionSA has criticised Ramaphosa\u2019s recent cabinet reshuffle, calling for former Agricultural Minister John Steenhuisen to be dismissed instead of demoted. [Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

BBC taking DStv customers:<\/strong>\u00a0The BBC’s viewership has surged by over 50% since 2020, due to the reduction of available television channels on MultiChoice’s DStv. [Business Day<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Pension problem in South Africa:<\/strong> The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has released a list of over 16,000 employers with unpaid pension contributions, a figure that has tripled in three years. These employers have violated section 13A of the Pension Funds Act, with total arrears estimated at R8.33 billion, impacting around 590,000 retirement fund members. [BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in and affecting South Africa on Friday, 3 July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":855221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-865354","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\/865354","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=865354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":865355,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865354\/revisions\/865355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}