5 important things happening in South Africa today

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:

• Deployment: President Cyril Ramaphosa has contradicted the findings of the state capture commission, saying that the ANC deploying cadres to positions within the state is not improper or unconstitutional. The state capture commission found that deployment was directly responsible for many instances of state capture and could be used to abuse power. Ramaphosa said it was only speculation that the ANC deployed those involved with state capture and that deployment was essential for executing the party’s transformation goals. [News24]

• Threatened: Power utility Eskom has stopped servicing some areas of the country due to its workforce coming under constant attack. The group reported that 14 teams have been attacked so far this year in Gauteng – mostly Soweto – with no arrests being made. Staff are called out to fix faults and are subsequently threatened with violence by angry community members. Sometimes workers are subject to common criminality, having their possessions stolen, and other times they are attacked because of load shedding. [Daily Maverick]

• Flight cost: The Department of Defence has rejected reports that president Cyril Ramaphosa flew to the Democratic Republic of Congo on a chartered SAA flight for R2.6 million – it says the flight cost less than R1.6 million. The president had to take the SAA flight because his plane, Inkwazi, is currently out of service. The SAA flight was chartered for 14 people to travel to Kinshasa, with 55 people on the return flight. [ENCA]

• ANC failures: The ANC government’s failures are increasingly leading to South Africans taking matters into their own hands, whether in energy, infrastructure or health. The failures have led to a host of tech-driven solutions by communities and entrepreneurs to either resolve or at least keep abreast of what is happening – or not happening – in the country. Apps like Pothole Patrol and EskomSePush have helped stave off frustration, while others like Panda work to address mental health issues in the country. [Moneyweb]

• Markets: The South African rand came under pressure last week. Disappointing economic data from major economies reinforced global recession fears, while the local under-performance in the mining and manufacturing industries through to the end of June cemented expectations that South Africa’s economic activity will shrink in the second quarter and drag down overall 2022 growth amid intensifying load shedding, adverse weather conditions, and higher production costs. On Monday, the rand was at R17.02/$, R17.08/€ and R20.14/£. Brent crude is trading at $95 a barrel. [Citadel Global]