5 important things happening in South Africa today

May 9, 2023

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Army questioned: Energy expert Lungile Mashele says deploying the South African National Defence Force at Eskom’s power plants is futile. Mashele questioned whether the decision to deploy the army was at the request of the Eskom board or just a political stunt from President Cyril Ramaphosa. More SANDF members were deployed at Eskom’s power plants on Saturday, but Mashele doubts that the government assessed if the previous deployment in March was successful in deterring crime. [Mail and Guardian]

Coal’s climate conundrum: Two of South Africa’s biggest coal producers, Thungela and Exxaro, are declining to table proposed climate lobbying resolutions. The resolutions request that the companies report to shareholders regarding their lobbying and policy engagement with the aims of the Paris Agreement. Emma Schuster, climate risk analyst at Just Share, said that fossil fuel companies directly influence the government’s climate policy and have delayed the implementation of climate-related regulation in South Africa. [News24]

Greylisting silver lining: Fundi Tshazibana, a deputy Reserve Bank governor, says the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) recent decision to put South Africa on its greylist will likely not have an immediate effect on the country’s credit rating. The FATF greylisted South Africa due to legal defects in tackling illicit financial flows and terrorism. Tshazibana said that the greylisting of South Africa only becomes a problem if it misses its deadlines to address the issues, as this shows a lack of seriousness. [Bloomberg]

Grid collapse example: With numerous experts warning of a total grid collapse in South Africa, South Africans can now observe what one would look like after Botswana’s nationwide grid collapsed on Monday evening. The grid collapse also affected the transmission power line that exports 60 MW into South Africa. The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) said that load shedding had been implemented as the Morupule power plants – which provide most of the nation’s electricity – are being brought back online. [News24]

Markets: South Africa’s rand firmed and stocks rose on Monday, with the dollar slightly weaker on bets that US interest rates have peaked. Analysts said they expected the rand would mainly respond to global drivers this week, with the domestic data calendar relatively light. The most likely local catalysts are expected on Thursday, with the release of March mining and manufacturing production numbers. On Tuesday (9 May), the rand was trading at R18.33/$, R20.15/€, and R23.12/£. Brent crude is trading at $76.64 a barrel.[Nasdaq]

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