Cape Times 2023-06-22

The country’s consumer price index for the month of May has slowed to 6.3% from 6.8% in April IN THE MIDST of all the doom and gloom facing the South African economy, a small ray of hope was revealed yesterday when the consumer price index (CPI) for May slowed to 6.3% from 6.8% in April, which economists said pointed to flat interest rates for the remainder of this year. This is the lowest reading since April 2022 when the rate was 5.9%. At a time for consumers battling the cost of living crisis in the country, with high interest rates, see-sawing fuel prices month on month and the economy being hit hard by Eskom’s load shedding, the reprieve will be welcomed. StatsSA said that the CPI increased by 0.2% month-on-month…

TRADE union the Solidarity Movement yesterday accused Anglo American’s iron ore producer Kumba Iron Ore of negotiating wage agreement in bad faith, saying the talks have derailed. It said that salary negotiations between itself, and the mining unions National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and Kumba were giving rise to a dispute. Despite this, Kumba Iron Ore said: “While negotiations with Solidarity, NUM, and Amcu are ongoing, we have made good progress, and we’re committed to reaching an amicable agreement in the best interests of our colleagues and company”. The group said last year it had proactively adjusted wages upwards to respond to higher-than-expected inflation and the rising cost of living and it had again built this flexibility into its…

MOODY’S Investor Service yesterday cast a dim eye on South Africa’s electricity crisis and, though acknowledging current efforts in improving efficiency, was pessimistic of stability on the grid in the short term as funding, mismanagement and lack of technical skills were still prevalent. In an report on South Africa's electricity market titled “Load shedding will continue as the system remains under severe pressure”, Moody’s said assuming that the planned growth in new capacity and Eskom’s efforts to improve operations materialise, the levels and intensity of load shedding should start to reduce next year. Joanna Fic, the senior vice-president at Moody’s EMEA Infrastructure Finance team, said: “Still, there are risks to execution.” Moody noted Eskom’s poor operational performance was reflected in the deteriorating energy availability factor (EAF), which in the financial…

THE REDUCTION in food inflation was sorely needed by cash-strapped South African consumers who continue to contend with various economic challenges. This is according to Thabile Nkunjana, the agricultural economist for Agro-Food Chains in the Markets and Economic Research Division of the National Agricultural Marketing Council (Namc) after Statistics South Africa’s consumer price inflation data showed that the annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages was 11.8%, lower than April’s print of 13.9%. The price index for this category increased by 0.3% between April and May, the lowest monthly reading since November 2021 (0.1%). Nkunjana said the improvement in food inflation in South Africa was due to improving market conditions. “When compared to the previous month, a ton of white maize averaged R3 587, down 4.5%, a ton of…

THE SA BRICS Business Council is looking for South Africa’s best up-and-coming tech gurus to represent the country in the (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) BRICS Future Skills Challenge. This year’s future skills Olympics will help solve problems that BRICS face around energy, water and health. Joanne Brink, the founder of TechWays and project lead at BRICS Future Skills, said in a statement yesterday that the benefits of participating in the BRICS Future Skills Challenge extended beyond recognition as one of SA’s top tech minds. “If you are selected, you will receive training and exposure to real-world case studies. You’ll receive a certificate, international experience to add to your CV and an opportunity to benchmark your skills at a global level. “Those who perform well in the…

MAURITIUS-BASED AfrAsia Bank, which has an office in Johannesburg, has been granted a Financial Services Provider Category 1 Intermediary & Advisory licence, which should enable it to grow its representation over time to all major metropolitan areas in South Africa. This was according to Raveen Ramaklan, the head of structuring at AfrAsia Bank, who was interviewed yesterday. Ramaklan has more than 25 years of experience in treasury-related activities across institutions such as Citi- bank, Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank and Rand Merchant Bank. AfrAsia Bank offers offshore investing and expanded financial services solutions to high-net-worth individuals and corporates looking to diversify into the international financial centre of Mauritius. The bank has had a representative office in Johannesburg since 2010 and has, until now, only been offering basic financial services such…