{"id":878129,"date":"2026-10-04T07:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=878129"},"modified":"2026-10-04T07:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:43:13","slug":"top-anc-minister-in-deep-trouble-and-hackers-hit-south-african-companies-for-r5-million-each","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/878129\/top-anc-minister-in-deep-trouble-and-hackers-hit-south-african-companies-for-r5-million-each\/","title":{"rendered":"Top ANC minister in deep trouble, and hackers hit South African companies for R5 million each"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand weakened by nearly 2% last week, primarily due to a stronger dollar and rising global bond yields, as investors are reducing their exposure to riskier assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was influenced by higher US Treasury yields, which continue to weigh on emerging market assets. On Thursday, the rand dropped approximately 1.5% despite supportive domestic data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This included lower-than-expected producer inflation, a trade surplus that exceeded forecasts, and a survey indicating an improvement in manufacturing sentiment after three months of contraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts noted that higher US bond yields pose a challenge for emerging and frontier markets, as they tend to attract capital away from riskier investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This puts pressure on local currencies. They also warned that a prolonged selloff in bonds could trigger a deeper correction in global equity markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand has depreciated for four consecutive weeks and is on track for its sharpest decline during this period, while the dollar is poised for a third consecutive weekly gain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investor attention is likely to focus on the US payrolls report scheduled for later in the day, with expectations that job growth may have slowed in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETM Analytics mentioned that a strong jobs report could ease market concerns and support the rand. [Reuters<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, 4 October 2026, the rand was trading at R16.66 to the dollar, R22.02 to the pound, and R18.71 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,140.80, while oil prices were at $102.30 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Top ANC minister in deep trouble: <\/strong>A forensic report has recommended former police minister Bheki Cele be criminally prosecuted for allegedly receiving unlawful benefits, including luxury penthouse stays and cash, from Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala’s companies. [TimesLive<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hackers hit South African companies for R5 million each:\u00a0<\/strong>The median South African ransom payment in 2026 was R5.01 million, while the average demand was R7 million. However, the average cost of recovering from a ransomware attack in South Africa was R17.73 million, excluding ransom payments. [Daily Investor<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dirty diesel warning:<\/strong> South African motorists are being warned of a rise in adulterated fuel as the country heads towards record-high diesel prices at the pumps. [BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eskom employee sentenced to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment:<\/strong>\u00a0A former Eskom employee, Cinderella Thabisile Muropane, was sentenced to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment over a R1.8 million fraudulent invoice scheme. [Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Financial pressure is forcing customers to change their shopping habits<\/strong>:\u00a0South African households are shopping more often but buying fewer items, focusing on selective grocery spending. The FMCG market reached R422 billion in June 2026, growing 2.3% in value and 1.3% in volume. Overall consumption remained flat. [Business Day<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in and affecting South Africa on Sunday, 4 October 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":878130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2106621356125127143","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2225893238231075","_sma_instagram_post_id":"17874888147634676","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-878129","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\/878129","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=878129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878132,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878129\/revisions\/878132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}