News in South Africa 22nd December: 1. Lights on over festive season: “We will have a festive season with the lights on,” Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Thursday. The country has about 27 700 megawatts available and demand is averaging just more than 24 000 megawatts, Ramokgopa said during a briefing. That’s why we’re […]
News in South Africa 21st December: 1. Festive road fiasco: South Africa’s roads are hazardous, more so over the festive season when dangers multiply with more motorists reported to be driving under the influence. In one week alone, the Western Cape recorded a more than 300% increase in drunken driving arrests, with other provinces echoing […]
News in South Africa 20th December: 1. 20 Durban beaches open: As thousands of holidaymakers are expected to descend on Durban shores for the festive season, eThekwini Municipality Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has assured visitors and residents that the city’s beaches are safe for swimming. Kaunda gave his assurance as he officially reopened the iconic uMhlanga […]
News in South Africa 18th December: 1. Meat is back on the menu: Despite food price inflation remaining well outside the Reserve Bank’s headline inflation target range of 3%-6%, meat prices in South Africa are continuing their downward trend. This is according to the latest food inflation brief from the Bureau for Food and Agricultural […]
News in South Africa 12th December: 1. NHI means more tax and less benefits: The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill last week got the nod from the National Council of Provinces and has now been plonked in the lap of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Other than expropriation without compensation, few statutory artefacts have elicited such exasperation from those […]
News in South Africa 11th December: 1. South Africa’s 2023 in review: With 2023 coming to a close, Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busiswe Mavuso has looked at the progress South Africa has made during the year and the setbacks. The good Despite a record year of load shedding, there has been progress in the […]
News in South Africa 5th December: 1. Load shedding causing mass unemployment: Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said over 800,000 South Africans stand to lose their jobs due to load-shedding. The Minister recently spoke to Eskom employees at Medupi Power Station, which recently experienced several breakdowns that plunged the company into elevated load-shedding levels. “When Medupi coughs, […]
News in South Africa 28th November: 1. Over 1000 businesses closed in 2023: Data from Stats SA shows that 136 businesses closed their doors in October. According to Stats SA, the 120 businesses closed down voluntarily, while 16 did so on a compulsory basis. This means that over 1,376 businesses have been liquidated since the […]
News in South Africa 20th November: 1. SARB interest rate announcement: The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be meeting this week for the last time in 2023, with the bank’s next decision on interest rates in the country expected on Thursday (23 November). For the last two meetings, the MPC […]
News in South Africa 27th October: 1. Warning signs for inflation: Producer price inflation (PPI) has grown, spelling bad news for South African consumers at the tills. According to Stats SA, September’s headline PPI increased from 4.3% in August to 5.1% in September – slightly worse than the Bloomberg consensus of 5.0%. The main contributors […]
