Author: newsnote correspondent
Immediately following his election as mayor of Ditsobotla municipality in the North West, the mayor resigned. Elizabeth Lethoko’s resignation was fully supported by the Patriotic Alliance in a statement. She wrote, in her letter to the ANC’s Fikile Jakene, “As you well know, following the conclusion of all items on the council agenda, a surprise matter was tabled – the appointment of the administrator as municipal manager.” The ANC – your party – failed to bring up this important issue with me or Gayton McKenzie, the PA’s president, who was present throughout the day at the Ditsobotla council.” It was…
The South African rand is “treading water”, says Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop, stuck between more positive global conditions and little in the way of progress on the domestic front. On Tuesday morning (10 January), the local unit held its ground just above R17.00 to the dollar, not making any significant gains or losses in the markets. The currency is stronger than the R17.50 readings last week but still weaker than the R16.80 reading at the start of the year. This stasis is being driven by two competing forces: a softer dollar as market risk aversion pulls back somewhat from…
By Felipe Tirado Brazil’s state institutions, including the recently installed government of Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, have reacted swiftly in the wake of the riots in Brasilia last weekend. Hundreds of rioters have already been arrested and the state governor of the federal district has been suspended for his sluggish and ineffective response. Thousands of supporters of the ousted right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro, invaded the Plaza of the Three Powers – the heart of government in the country’s capital – on Sunday January 8. They swarmed into the presidential Planalto palace as well as the national congress and…
By Dr Bomikazi Zeka and Abdul Latif Alhassan When it comes to teaching young children about the world, parents may feel that some topics – like politics and religion – are too tough to broach. Money is another. Parents may not feel like they know how to approach the subject, or worry that they don’t set a good financial example for their kids. But money talk shouldn’t be avoided. Talking about it is the first stepping stone towards financial knowledge and, ultimately, to financial independence. Holding off the conversations for too long can leave your children in the lurch later…
South African households are under pressure, say economists at Nedbank, with the country’s economy starting off 2023 on the back foot. Sifting through data published for the last month of 2022, the banking group noted a downturn in economic activity, while data from the South African Reserve Bank pointed to continued stress for households. While November’s inflation numbers were encouraging – easing to 7.4% from 7.6% in October – food prices remain extremely high, rising at a double-digit pace. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin shows that real personal disposable income (PDI) declined by 0.2% qoq in Q3 2022, Nedbank…
The Department of Employment and Labour has warned businesses that the deadline for employment equity reporting is looming, as it prepares for new transformation laws to come into effect in the country this year. The department said that designated employers need to submit their annual 2022 employment equity (EE) reports by 15 January 2023 at midnight. Failure to do so could see businesses face fines and other penalties, it said. The submission of annual equity plans is prescribed in accordance with the Employment Equity Act of 1998. Employers are expected to submit their EE report in terms of the Employment…
The Department of Health is reported to have called on South Africans to start wearing their masks again and to continue getting vaccinated and receiving booster shots, after the first case of what is said to be a highly transmissible Covid-19 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant was detected in South Africa recently. The Department said it is consulting with scientists to make a determination of what is reported to be a highly transmissible variant also found in the United States of America in recent weeks. There is no reported increase in the number of hospital admissions or deaths in South Africa while…
The main driver behind the lower projected prices is a huge drop in the international product prices for petroleum, which are guided by global oil movements. This is being supported by a stronger rand versus the US dollar. Global oil prices have dropped below $80 a barrel so far in January, ending last week over 8% lower. The drop in prices was largely driven by market sentiment around demand, with analysts holding a dim outlook for demand coming from industrious nations like China – while supply concerns eased. According to Bloomberg analysts, however, the trend may be shifting. China has…
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has said the alleged poisoning incident “will be thoroughly investigated” and anyone responsible will be charged. Gordhan said an intense battle was taking place “between those who want South Africa to thrive and those who want to corruptly enrich themselves”. Andre de Ruyter resigned on December 14 after failing to solve the crisis in Eskom that has led to record power cuts in the country. After taking office in January 2020, de Ruyter led a company-wide clampdown on corruption and organised criminal behaviour, including sabotage of infrastructure, within Eskom. “Eskom cannot comment further on the poisoning…
This was confirmed on Friday in a tweet by Professor Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University and the KZN Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He said teams looking for new variants and subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus had found XBB.1.5 in South Africa. Scientists found the subvariant in one of 97 samples tested. The sample was taken on 27 December 2022. Dean of Wits University’s Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Shabir Madhi questioned the value of publicising this on social media. “It is unclear what value…