News in South Africa 21st July: 1. Financial stress climbing: A survey of more than 35 000 people has revealed that 55% spend more than 40% of their take-home pay on debt repayments, while 37% say more than half their available income goes straight to servicing debt. Nearly 80% of respondents say that they “experience […]
News in South Africa 20th July: 1. Division over interest rate hikes: Economists are divided over whether South Africa’s central bank will pause interest-rate increases on Thursday, or extend its longest phase of monetary tightening since 2006. Deteriorating inflation expectations, currency risks and enhancements to the South African Reserve Bank’s quarterly projection model, used to […]
News in South Africa 26th May: 1. Rand plunged to new record low: The rand crashed to a new record low overnight, reaching R19.8279/$ on Thursday night. The currency has now lost almost 26% of its value over the past year. In the past two weeks alone, since the US accusation that Russia received arms […]
News in South Africa 6th February: 1. Eskom – state of disaster: The call by the ANC for a state of disaster to be declared over the energy crisis has alarmed many across society. Organised business was also surprised by the announcement, given that only a few months ago the president said a state of disaster […]
News in South Africa 5th January: 1. Informal traders gain permits: The City of Johannesburg has made it easier for informal traders to get trading permits through an online registration and application platform. The city said that the digital application system would enable a trader or anyone wishing to become a trader in the region […]
News in South Africa 12th December: 1. Stage 7 load shedding already here: As power utility Eskom spent much of last week avoiding the dreaded stage 7 load shedding threshold, economists at the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) said it has already technically been crossed. “At a point last week, Eskom was technically ‘shedding’ at […]
News in South Africa 6th September: 1. Cost of living crisis: The South African government is debating the merits of introducing another relief package for citizens hard-hit by the recent economic turmoil in the country. The country is facing a cost of living crisis, which has already led to unrest and protest action. Cabinet began […]
News in South Africa 11th January: 1. Schooling in 2022 discussed: Representatives of SA’s five teacher unions will be meeting Wits University vaccinology professor Shabir Madhi on Friday to get an update on the Covid-19 pandemic and the implications for schooling. This comes as schools in inland provinces — Gauteng, the Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga […]
News in South Africa 24th November: 1. Liquor traders plead for no alcohol ban: Liquor traders are pleading with the government not to act hastily in dealing with the fourth COVID-19 wave. They fear the imposition of further alcohol bans will hurt players in the sector. Having been slammed with several outright bans on alcohol […]
News in South Africa 14th October: 1. Mid-term budget policy statement postponement: The letter requesting a week’s delay of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) from Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise arrived after hours on Tuesday evening. Analysts say this is a worrying sign of the grim financial reality the […]
