Five Trending News Topics in South Africa

As South Africans, we have experienced enough in just two years that could fill an entire decade of the news cycle. There is so much happening that keeping track of every breaking news story that has affected us this year alone can be an exhausting affair.

To help keep our readers informed, we've taken a look at five of the biggest stories that may impact 2022 going forward.

The State of Disaster

Also known as a state of emergency, the South African government was forced to impose restrictions on social gatherings and movements in March of 2020 due to
Sars-Cov-2. Because of this, there has been a whole host of adverse issues that have affected all of us financially and emotionally.

But where do we stand now? With vaccine rollouts way beyond schedule, when will we start to see some semblance of normality? According to the Dean of the University of Witwatersrand's Faculty of Health Sciences, Shabir Madhi, there is absolutely no reason for us to continue the state of disaster.

"The country has effectively lifted all restrictions beyond the mask mandate and should now focus their efforts on strengthening the economy," he said. Madhi also added that the National Coronavirus Command Council needs a comprehensive oversight strategy. The deputy director-general of the health department, Nicholas Crisp, insists that the state of disaster mandate is still required to keep key restrictions in place, IE mask mandates. 

Daily coronavirus cases saw the highest ever spike on December 15th 2021 with over 26 000 reported cases due to the Omicron variant. This number has seen a sharp decline with daily averages dropping to 2k to 3k by mid-February.

Subsidising the Taxi-Fund

Although this recent move has seen widespread criticism through various channels, Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, reports that the government will be going ahead with plans to subsidise the Taxi-Fund with a stimulus of R1.1billion.

According to the minister and other groups, the taxi industry is a vital part of the South African transport sector and should receive adequate funding to maintain and upgrade existing infrastructure. He further went on to state that the taxi operators throughout South Africa have been severely impacted due to Covid19.

Many taxi operators work on a day to day basis with tight hand-to-mouth income margins and pressure to fulfil quotas and have been promised financial aid for more than two years. This subsidy will see a stimulus check provided to licenced operators to the value of R5000 each. 

Shell and the Wild Coast

Environmental activists and residents may have cause to celebrate after the Makhanda High Court ruled that seismic exploration along the Wild Coast by Dutch oil giant Shell would cause irreparable harm to the ecology of the region.

This emergency interdict was issued because local leaders were not consulted about the move alongside further reports that Shell did not go through the proper channels of seeking authorisation through the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), ruling their move to be unlawful.

However, in strict contrast to this, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, insists that there is no cause for his department to review this decision.
This is due to his assertion that gas and oil exploration activities will not have adverse effects on the environment.

The minister expressed that the project was being "oppressed" by environmental concerns of "low significance."

SAAMBR (South African Association for Marine Biological Research) tends to disagree. "Internationally, seismic surveys have been demonstrated to have negative impacts on a range of marine organisms, from smaller creatures which live in sediments or as plankton to larger animals such as fish and marine mammals."

Lindiwe Sisulu and the Constitution

After writing a scathing piece criticising the ANC, the constitution, and black judges in South Africa. Tourism Minister and longtime party stalwart, Lindiwe Sisulu, has come under heavy fire. 

The South African government's response was to distance itself from the minister. Expressing aggravation towards her "reckless" tirade suggesting they do nothing but keep people in poverty.

Her piece went on to express that the constitution itself has given rise to a deluge of inequality and does not do enough to address questions around economic reconciliation and transformation. While she defended her right to Freedom of Speech in a recent Sunday Times interview, her opinion piece has been widely lambasted for focusing her ire on the constitution and not the government she's been a part of for over 20 years.

According to a statement from the presidency, her piece "grossly misrepresents"
the constitution and does little more than undermine the rule of law.

The Market trends

On the uptick, the South African market share closed in 2021 with its highest market share since 2009 (Read our previous article about it here). Beyond that, the Rand managed to strengthen against the dollar after US Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, suggested that their economy had struggled to gather momentum after the pandemic.

A little known fact is that the rand is closely tracked to global factors and is particularly sensitive to US monetary policies.

Taking a look at the manufacturing sector, figures as of the end of January shows output falling by 0.7% following a forecasted slump of 8.5% after major metalworking unions organised a strike in October last year. 

As of mid-February, the rand has settled at an average of R15.55 to a dollar, R17.77 to a euro, and R21.02 to a pound.

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