{"id":878620,"date":"2026-10-07T07:35:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T05:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=878620"},"modified":"2026-10-07T07:35:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T05:35:44","slug":"nationwide-strikes-to-hit-south-africa-this-week-and-government-wants-r300-million-for-international-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/878620\/nationwide-strikes-to-hit-south-africa-this-week-and-government-wants-r300-million-for-international-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Nationwide strikes to hit South Africa this week, and government wants R300 million for international properties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African rand remained steady early on Tuesday, despite a stronger US dollar, even as declines in gold and platinum prices weighed on South Africa’s export earnings and terms of trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand traded at 16.6325 against the dollar, showing little change from its previous close of 16.6497.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, edged up due to reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold and platinum, which are key exports for South Africa, also declined on Tuesday, further pressured by a stronger dollar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETM Analytics cautioned that as an economy, South Africa remains vulnerable to further shocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the full effects of these challenges can sometimes be obscured by lower foreign participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should not be mistaken for an indication that South Africa is on the right track,” the analysts stated in a report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early trading, South Africa’s benchmark government bond maturing in 2035 strengthened, with its yield down 3.5 basis points to 8.85%. [Reuters<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, 7 October 2026, the rand was trading at R16.58 to the dollar, R21.97 to the pound, and R18.63 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,137.40, while oil prices were at $101.60 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nationwide strikes to hit South Africa:\u00a0<\/strong>Labour federation Cosatu warned that it will commence nationwide strikes on Wednesday, 8 October, to highlight the plight of workers as part of efforts to mark World Day for Decent Work, with demonstrations planned for Johannesburg, Tshwane, North West, and the Western Cape. [Business Day<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

R300 million for international properties:\u00a0<\/strong>The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) stated that it requires over R300 million annually to maintain its foreign mission buildings, with at least 30% of its overseas properties reported to be in poor condition. [EWN<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

One department spent R2.4 billion on chartered flights:<\/strong>\u00a0The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, would not provide details about R2.4 billion spent on chartered flights. [Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

More Gautrains for R15 billion:<\/strong>\u00a0France\u2019s Alstom will build eight upgraded Gautrain trains at its facility in Ekurhuleni. It is a member of the Sihamba Sonke Mobility (SSM) consortium that will oversee the rail network for the next 15 years. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Criminals targeting petrol stations in South Africa<\/strong>:\u00a0Security experts warn South Africans that forecourts remain prime hotspots for opportunistic criminals who exploit moments of distraction.\u00a0[BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in and affecting South Africa on Wednesday, 7 October 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":787661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2107706515230470510","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2229028367917562","_sma_instagram_post_id":"17909468502557018","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-878620","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\/878620","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=878620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878627,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878620\/revisions\/878627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}