{"id":877533,"date":"2026-09-30T07:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T05:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=877533"},"modified":"2026-09-30T07:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T05:24:18","slug":"top-south-african-exec-calls-for-targeted-united-states-sanctions-on-politicians-and-mtn-in-hot-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/877533\/top-south-african-exec-calls-for-targeted-united-states-sanctions-on-politicians-and-mtn-in-hot-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Top South African exec calls for targeted United States sanctions on politicians, and MTN in hot water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The rand remained stable on Tuesday as investors assessed the impact of lower oil prices, higher gold prices, and recent domestic economic data on the health of Africa&#8217;s largest economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rand was trading at 16.4050 against the dollar, showing little change from its previous close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil prices declined as investors focused on signs of a recovery in crude exports from the Middle East, amid ongoing concerns about supply disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African Reserve Bank reported that the country experienced foreign direct investment inflows of R49.8 billion ($3.04 billion) in the second quarter of 2026, up from R20.3 billion in the previous quarter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, South Africa&#8217;s formal-sector employment, excluding agriculture, fell by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter to 10.425 million individuals in the second quarter of 2026, according to the statistics agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index rose by 0.4%. South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2035 government bond strengthened, with yields decreasing by 8 basis points to 8.835%. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-african-rand-extends-losses-before-local-economic-releases-2026-09-29\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reuters<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Wednesday, 30 September 2026, the rand was trading at R16.40 to the dollar, R21.69 to the pound, and R18.58 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,179.43, while oil prices were at $103.02 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/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\/MTN-sign.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MTN-sign-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-856801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MTN-sign-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MTN-sign-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MTN-sign-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MTN-sign-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MTN-sign.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Targeted United States sanctions on politicians:<\/strong>\u00a0Former Sibanye Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman has urged the United States to apply targeted sanctions against specific government officials and individuals.\u00a0These officials, Froneman argued, continue to promote policies that are unsupported by the majority of South Africans and that damage the local economy.\u00a0[<a href=\"https:\/\/dailyinvestor.com\/business\/157612\/top-businessman-calls-for-targeted-united-states-sanctions-on-south-african-government-officials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Investor<\/a>] <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MTN in hot water:<\/strong>\u00a0MTN has notified shareholders that two of its Anti-Terrorism Act cases in the Eastern District of New York will proceed to discovery. [<a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/business\/669833-mtn-faces-possible-trial-in-the-united-states-over-allegations-it-aided-terrorist-groups.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ramaphosa announces 90-day plan:<\/strong>\u00a0President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a four-point plan in response to the spate of killings and violence against women in the country. It includes a \u2018safety audit\u2019 in municipalities and a clampdown on liquor outlets and consumption. [<a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/877524\/ramaphosa-announces-90-day-plan-to-fix-streetlights-cut-alcohol-and-increase-policing-as-violence-rocks-south-africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Woman stole R1 million from her employer:<\/strong>\u00a0a 30-year-old woman was sentenced to six years and six months\u2019 direct imprisonment for fraud and money laundering. She was an employee of Nashua Kathu, where she changed her employer\u2019s banking details to her personal account number. [<a href=\"https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/south-africa\/28123\/30-year-old-woman-stole-r1-million-from-her-employer-by-changing-the-banking-details-to-her-personal-account-number\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>US throws lifeline to South Africa&#8217;s sugar producers:<\/strong> The United States has increased South Africa&#8217;s raw cane sugar quota by 6.3% for the upcoming fiscal year. The increase offers an additional sales opportunity for an industry facing declining domestic sales and earnings pressure. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessday.co.za\/economy\/2026-09-30-us-boosts-south-africa-sugar-quota-as-local-sales-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Business Day<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are five important things happening in and affecting South Africa on Wednesday, 30 September 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":830784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2105167022036328707","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2221402478680151","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18111017705608052","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-877533","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\/877533","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=877533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":877537,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877533\/revisions\/877537"}],"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=877533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}