5 important things happening in South Africa today

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

SARS headache: SARS deputy commissioner Johnstone Makhubu says tax revenue from the mining sector alone was down R22 billion in June this year, while load shedding is expected to have a R60 billion negative effect on tax collections. Makhubu added that SARS has also seen a sharp increase of around 14% in value-added tax (VAT) refunds. This is mainly due to an increase in imports and the effect of higher inflation on input costs. [Moneyweb]

Power cuts worse under Ramokgopa: Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and other politicians regularly tell South Africans that Eskom is doing well in fighting load-shedding, but official data tells a different story. The year-on-year load-shedding severity has increased since Ramokgopa was appointed as electricity minister. The average year-on-year load-shedding stage increased from 1.94 in 2022 to 2.64 in 2023 under Ramokgopa’s leadership. [Daily Investor]

Concern of major public job cuts: President Cyril Ramaphosa has called an urgent but long overdue meeting with organised labour for Tuesday, as the possibility of a further wage freeze, job cuts, and more cuts to government services hang over the country. Labour federations are appalled at the proposals, including the prospects of reducing the headcount in the public service by offering more attractive voluntary severance packages with a target of cutting 200,000 jobs. [News24]

Mkhwebane impeachment to go to court: Parliament’s resolution to remove Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane from office will likely end up in the courts. Mkhwebane also stands to forfeit a loss-of-office gratuity that runs into millions of rand. The EFF, which voted against the section 194 committee’s recommendation that Mkhwebane be removed for incompetence and misconduct, indicated that it reserves its right to challenge the matter legally. The party has also called on others, including Mkhwebane herself, to join such legal action. [TimesLive]

Markets: The South African rand extended gains against a weaker dollar on Monday as encouraging economic data from China aided some emerging market currencies. The rand traded at R18.88 against the dollar, 1.35% stronger than its previous close. On Tuesday (12 September), the rand was trading at R18.91/USD, R20.30/EUR and R23.66/GBP. Oil is trading at $91 a barrel. [Reuters]