News in South Africa 22nd January: 1. High interest rates crushing households: Economist and independent analyst Dr Roelof Botha said the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) high interest rates have created a “self-inflicted pandemic” in the country as households struggle to get by. Botha’s comments were made in light of the Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index for […]
News in South Africa 17th January: 1. Social unrest warning: South Africa is becoming increasingly fragile as it loses key social cohesion functions, risking increased violence, dissatisfaction and social unrest. This is the view of Wits governance expert Professor Alex van den Heever, who told SABC News that South Africa is showing an increase in fragility. His […]
News in South Africa 31st August: 1. Rand falls after record budget deficit: The rand dropped, underperforming most emerging-market peers, and yields on South African local-currency bonds rose after data showed the government ran a record budget deficit in July. The rand weakened as much as 0.8% against the dollar after National Treasury figures showed […]
News in South Africa 23rd May: 1. Critical nursing shortage: South Africa is facing a critical shortage of nurses as private hospitals are restricted from training more of caregivers, according to the country’s largest private healthcare network. Although most South African hospitals have their own nursing colleges, only designated universities can issue professional nursing qualifications. […]
News in South Africa 8th May: 1. Close call for recession in SA: Economists say South Africa may have escaped a technical recession in the first quarter of the year, but the extreme volatility in the economic data being put out makes it difficult to call. Economists from the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) and […]
News in South Africa 11th January: 1. Stage 6 returns: Eskom has announced that load-shedding will move to stage 6 at 21:00 on Tuesday, 10 January 2023. It will continue until 05:00 on Wednesday, after which load-shedding will drop to stage 4 until 16:00. “Stage 6 nightly load-shedding will then be implemented at 16:00–05:00 until […]
News in South Africa 23rd August: 1. Eskom gears up for renewables: Eskom is working with the South African Renewable Technology Centre (SARETEC) to upskill its workers and adapt to the shift to renewable energy, moving away from coal power stations. On Monday (22 August), the national power utility signed a memorandum of agreement with […]
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 25th November: 1. Covid infections spiking: South Africa has reported a continued increase in Covid-19 cases over the last week, raising concerns of a possible fourth wave of infections. On Wednesday (24 November), 1,275 new cases were reported – the highest daily increase since the start of October. A total of […]
News in South Africa 25th October: 1. New lockdown level 1 regulations: The government has gazetted updated regulations for South Africa’s adjusted level 1 lockdown, including changes for schools and transport. The changes include the relaxation of restrictions for air travel and updated regulations around school gatherings, sports, and extra-curricular activities. The changes are outlined […]
