5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

• SARS under pressure: The South African Revenue Service (SARS) offers payment arrangements to indebted taxpayers in a last-ditch attempt to fill the growing fiscal pothole. South Africa’s economy is only expected to grow by around 0.3% in 2023. However, SARS’ target for revenue collection growth is between 4% and 6%. So far, SARS has achieved revenue collection growth of only 2.6% due to declining corporate income taxes and increased VAT refunds. [Daily Investor]

• Eskom chair resigns: Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan has announced that Makwena will resign as Chairperson and non-executive director at the end of October. Mteto Nyati will be appointed as the interim Chairperson of the board, with Makwena using the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition. [BusinessTech]

• Egg rations not enough: SA’s embattled poultry sector is fast-tracking the importation of liquid and powdered eggs as it looks to mitigate bird-flu shortages ahead of the festive season. Egg shortages are hitting SA supermarkets, with some retailers restricting the amount customers can buy at any one time. The industry also plans to reduce exports to help with supply, while there are also hopes that the outbreak may now be contained. [News24]

• Cash-in-transit crisis: There have been 249 cash-in-transit robberies since January, a 30% increase compared to last year, while another incident occurred on the N12 in Joburg on Saturday. Fidelity CEO Wahl Bartmann noted it took the SAPS over 30 minutes to respond to the heist, adding that there is no government support to help fight this crisis. Bartmann is now calling on the army to step in. [eNCA]

• Markets: The rand was weaker in early trade on Monday as violence in the Middle East stoked risk aversion in global markets, while the domestic focus is on the release of the national census due out today. Local investors will be looking at the data for clues on the state of South Africa’s economy post-pandemic and the country’s struggle with high unemployment. On Tuesday (10 October), the rand was trading at R19.36/$, R20.44/€, and R23.66/£. Brent crude is trading at $87.69 a barrel. [Nasdaq]