5 important things that happen in South Africa today

Here is what is happening in South Africa today and influencing it:

Coronavirus: A total of 46,948 tests were performed in the past 24 hours, with 9,860 new cases reported, representing a positivity rate of 21%. Another 45 Covid-19-related deaths have been reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 92,112. So far, 28.23 million vaccinations have been carried out.

ANC Celebrations: The African National Congress prepares for its 110th anniversary celebrations in Limpopo on Saturday, with the ruling party expected to address some of its key political plans for the coming year. However, the early celebrations got off to a bad start on Thursday after President Cyril Ramaphosa was dragged away from a lecture given by the ANC Women’s League by security and Covid-19 concerns. [News24]

WEATHER: There are increasing demands for prosecution against some current and former South African Airways (SAA) employees cited in the first part of the State Arrest Commission report. The commission singled out former chairman Dudu Myeni as one of those responsible for the airline’s costly demise, but the South African Cabin Crew Association says many more people are responsible for the corruption and maladministration of the airline. [EWN]

petrol price: Experts warn that gasoline prices in South Africa are likely to remain high for the remainder of 2022, despite a welcome drop in January. A look at historical prices published by the South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) shows that gasoline was at between R14.16 and R14.86 per liter a year ago – a 32% difference from its current level. [Moneyweb]

houses of Parliament: Parliament is considering a number of alternative venues for the State of the Union address and annual budget address after a fire severely damaged its buildings in Cape Town. Now that the fire has been extinguished, the Hawks have started their investigations to investigate how the fire was originating. [eNCA]

Markets: The South African rand rose on Thursday, aided by bets that the central bank will hike rates earlier this year. On Friday the rand was trading at R15.73 / $, R17.78 / € and R21.31 / £. [Reuters]

Comments are closed.