Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Zimbabwe is going to the polls in its first election since authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year. A number of international election observer say that Zimbabwe has made progress toward holding a credible election, but significant concerns remain – including state media bias toward the ruling party and problems with the layout of ballot papers. [News24]
- The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) 2019 application process – which was due to open on Wednesday – is on hold ‘until further notice’. In a statement released on Sunday, NSFAS responded to a report by City Press that the Minister of Higher Education, Naledi Pandor, instructed them not to proceed with 2019 applications until they get their house in order. [eNCA]
- Gautrain users have been urged to use alternative transport as its employees embark on a wage strike on Monday. In a notice sent out, the company said that only the Centurion, Sandton and Park stations will be operating. [IOL]
- South Africa’s top 50 wealthiest directors are worth a collective R323 billion – roughly the same as the 2017 gross domestic product of Mozambique and Namibia combined. Top spot was awarded to Ivan Glasenberg because of his 8.3% stake in Glencore, the controversial global mining and commodities group he co-founded. [City Press]
- Strong US GDP growth numbers had little effect on local markets as the rand remained on the front foot on Friday afternoon, while the euro weakened marginally on the news. On Monday the rand traded at R13.20 to the dollar, R17.30 to the pound and R15.39 to the euro.
BusinessTech
