The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on Friday expressed concerns that only the Western Cape had received funding, from the submission made for five provinces. A National Disaster Management Centre team briefed the committee on disaster readiness and the Centre's response capabilities for the summer season. The committee said it plans to invite Cogta departments to brief them, next week, on the disaster funding allocation to provinces. This after...

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago's repeated emphasis of uncertainty is expected to translate, at most, into only a handful of additional interest-rate cuts next year. The central bank, which lowered its policy benchmark by 25 basis points Thursday to 7.75%, said its model showed rates easing further, stabilising a bit above 7%, but emphasised that the projection was a broad policy guide. "Decisions will be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis, with no forward guidance...

African National Congress (ANC) veteran Mathews Phosa has warned that the party risks losing significant electoral support unless it takes decisive action against corruption and holds accountable those implicated in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. He predicts that without meaningful self-correction, the ANC could secure as little as 26% to 29% of the vote in the next national election. Phosa was speaking exclusively with Polity about his latest book 'Witness to Power',...

Government on Thursday said the significant easing of consumer price inflation (CPI) provided relief for households and businesses by lowering transport and input costs, helping to support overall economic activity, however, it called for collaboration as it acknowledged persistent challenges. Government welcomed the latest data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), which showed a sharp decline in CPI to 2.8% in October 2024, down from 3.8% recorded in September 2024. Acting government...

South Africa's central bank opted for another small cut to its main interest rate on Thursday, stressing the global economic backdrop was tough and the outlook highly uncertain despite domestic inflation falling below its target. The decision to lower the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.75% was unanimous, with the Monetary Policy Committee not discussing a larger 50 bps cut, South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters. The majority of economists in a Reuters...

South Africa's National Disaster Management Centre has declared foodborne illnesses a national disaster, in response to countrywide sicknesses and deaths, particularly of children, in recent weeks. The declaration was made under the Disaster Management Act, No. 57 of 2002. On Thursday, Ministers in multidisciplinary teams responsible for the national response to foodborne illnesses held a media briefing in Pretoria, to outline government's plan to manage foodborne diseases. Justice Minister...

Government on Wednesday appealed to members of the public to not disturb the registration of spaza shops and other small and medium-sized business enterprises by blocking certain shop owners from participating in the process. It said while the process of registration of spaza shops, as one of the measures to mitigate the current outbreak of foodborne illnesses and illicit trade, had steadily commenced in various parts of the country, government was concerned about isolated incidents of...

The African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday refuted what it termed "misleading narratives", suggesting that the registration and regulation of all spaza shops favoured foreign nationals. Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of spaza shops implicated in food-borne illnesses that had claimed the lives of 22 children in recent weeks, and called for all spaza shops and food handling facilities to be registered with municipalities within 21 days. He said any shop not...

South Africa's annual inflation rate slowed sharply to 2.8% in October, data showed on Wednesday, setting the stage for another interest rate cut by the central bank this week. Statistics South Africa said falling fuel prices were the primary driver of the slowdown in the headline rate from 3.8% in September. October's reading is the lowest inflation has been since June 2020, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Independent economist Elize Kruger said fuel and food price developments...

The South African rand fell on Tuesday as investors pulled out of riskier assets after President Vladimir Putin updated Russia's nuclear doctrine amid escalating tensions with the United States over Ukraine. At 1056 GMT, the rand traded at 18.0825 against the US dollar, about 0.8% weaker than its previous close. The currency had lost more than 1% against the greenback earlier in the day. Putin on Tuesday approved an updated nuclear doctrine, with the aim of making potential enemies understand...

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday that should the African National Congress (ANC) succeed in pushing through to Parliament the National State Enterprises Bill, this will allow a return of the capture of State-owned companies through a singular holding company that controls them all. DA spokesperson on planning, monitoring & evaluation Darren Bergman said his party would continue pushing against the Bill, pointing out that South Africa's circumstances and history demanded a...

State-owned power utility Eskom is once again urging all prepaid electricity customers to update their meters immediately to avoid an unexpected loss of electricity after the deadline of November 24. It is critical that all customers, including those who have not bought electricity in the past six months or more, buy electricity tokens from authorised vendors by November 24 to prevent the meter from becoming inoperable, losing power and incurring replacement costs, says Eskom Distribution...

South Africa's rand gained on Monday, as markets welcomed rating agency S&P's decision to raise the country's credit rating outlook. At 0747 GMT, the rand traded at 18.12 against the dollar, 0.52% stronger than its previous close. S&P revised South Africa's outlook to "positive" from "stable" on Friday, citing plans for accelerated economic reforms by the new coalition government and a pickup in private investments. "The credit outlook boost may incentivise continued reforms and...

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on Monday called on Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and People with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga and her deputy Mmapaseka Steve Letsike to find a long-term holistic approach in curbing gender-based violence (GBV), and to also implement interventions that address psychological and social behavioural factors. The HSRC released and handed over its first South African National Gender-Based Violence Study 2022 to Chikunga, who promised that...

President Cyril Ramaphosa described the Stilfontein mine as a "crime scene", on Monday, as he called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff at the disused mine shaft, where illegal miners are holed up. The South African Police Service and government departments have been trying, for over a month, to surface the illegal miners from the abandoned North West gold mine. While more than 1 000 miners have since surfaced and been arrested, it is believed that there are still hundreds of illegal...

The South African Reserve Bank will cut its repo rate next week as slowing inflation continues to make way for a series of cuts through the middle of next year, spurring growth to almost 2%, a Reuters poll suggested on Friday. All but two of 22 economists surveyed in the past week said the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) would cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.75% at its November 21 meeting. Two expected a 50bps cut. The repo rate is expected to fall again by 50bps in either one move...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a new Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) as part of the seventh administration's ambition for inclusive, sustainable economic growth and job creation The Council will provide critical economic advice and support in crafting policies that respond to domestic and global economic challenges. The PEAC is an independent, non-statutory body that brings together a diverse group of local and international experts from various sectors, including...

Desperate family members of illegal miners believed to number in the hundreds waited outside a disused mine shaft in South Africa on Friday in the hope of their loved ones emerging from the hole in the ground. The miners are in a standoff with police, who have blocked their supplies of food and water and are trying to force them out to arrest them for illegally entering the abandoned mine in search of leftover gold - a common problem in South Africa. More than 1 000 illegal miners have...

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has submitted the first batch of over 200 000 signatures, on its petition against Eskom's proposed 40% price hike, to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), describing it as a powerful call from South Africans for urgent action on the ongoing energy crisis. The DA protested outside Nersa's offices in Pretoria, on Thursday. Party spokesperson on energy and electricity Kevin Mileham explained that the petition signalled the "frustration and fatigue"...

South African police were in a standoff on Thursday with hundreds of illegal miners believed to be underground in a disused shaft, a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to "smoke them out". Police have been trying for weeks to empty the abandoned gold mine in the North West province as part of a crackdown on illegal mining, which has plagued South Africa for decades through small-time pilfering and organised criminal networks. More than 1 000 illegal miners resurfaced...

South Africa will be unable to shed its "junk" credit rating for years to come, credit analysts said, despite investor optimism over the economic trajectory since the formation of a coalition government this year. S&P Global is scheduled to review the sovereign rating of Africa's most industrialised economy on Friday, though the agency has its long-term foreign currency rating three notches into sub-investment grade at 'BB-', with a stable outlook. Eight months of uninterrupted power...

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber noted on Wednesday that the digital transformation of the border environment is an important priority for the Government of National Unity (GNU) to be able to grow the economy and create jobs. Schreiber was speaking during the inaugural Border Management Conference, where he said the Border Management Authority (BMA) was set to play a fundamental role in the digital transformation of the entire Home Affairs environment. He said a deliberate focus on...

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan was arrested on Wednesday over allegations he used the organisation's money for his own purposes. Jordaan, a leading figure in bringing the 2010 World Cup to South Africa, had tried to get a court to halt his imminent arrest on Tuesday. The case has been adjourned to December 5. Jordaan, who was granted bail for R20 000, denies any wrongdoing. The arrest stems from a raid by police on the SAFA offices in March. A police...

Following the tragic deaths of children and several hospitalisations in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State, President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on the interventions government is undertaking to deal with food poisoning. The Department of Health has activated the National Institute of Communicable Diseases to trace and examine the source of the poisoning of foodstuffs and make recommendations. The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional...