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Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Mantashe denies responsibility: Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa, says he is not to blame for load shedding – despite his department not adding a single megawatt to the grid since his tenure began in 2018. He adds that supporters of opposition parties want higher stages of load-shedding to continue as it gives those parties power. He reiterated that higher stages of load shedding agitate for the overthrow of the state – similar comments made last month saw Andre De Ruyter resign as Eskom CEO.[News24]
- Clarity over impossible maths question: As the matric markets are released today, Umalusi clarified how Maths paper two was marked after students could not answer a question. Umalusi chairperson Professor Yunus Ballim said the question – worth seven marks – was ultimately not included in the marks, meaning that students were marked out 143 and had their marks converted to a mark of 150. An independent three-person panel found that the error crept into the paper in the final stage of moderation. [News24]
- Doctor accused of R420 million fraud: FNB and Sasol have accused a medical doctor of defrauding them of R420 million via a cross-border syndicate. FNB allegedly gave a company linked to the doctor ‘fraudulent guarantees’ worth R420 million to buy large volumes of petroleum from Sasol, the energy company said it did not receive payment. The doctor is currently fighting for bail in a separate R7 million case. [Mail and Guardian]
- DA challenges ANC appointments in Court: The DA is set to challenge the ANC’s cadre deployment policy in the North Gauteng High Court, with the opposition party saying the current energy crisis is an indictment of the policy’s failure – as civil service staff are not hired based on merit or skill. The official opposition wants the policy declared unconstitutional by the court, making the policy invalid. The Zondo Commission of Inquiry previously found that the policy to fuel state capture. [EWN]
- Markets: – The South African rand weakened on Wednesday after domestic inflation figures came in line with expectations, sparking hopes of smaller rate hikes. The country’s headline consumer inflation slowed to 7.2% year-on-year in December from 7.4% in November, in line with analysts’ forecasts, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. On Thursday (19 January), the rand was trading at R17.20/$, R18.51/€, and R21.14/£. Brent crude is trading at $83.84 a barrel. [Nasdaq]