Cape Town - A roundup of Monday's top economic and finance reads on Fin24.
OVERVIEW: Cabinet task team, ANC delegation asked Standard Bank to keep Gupta accounts open
The State Capture Inquiry on Monday focused on the closure of Gupta accounts by some of the country's biggest banks. The hearings have ended for Monday and will again continue on Tuesday.
After Standard bank closed Gupta-linked accounts in 2016 over fears it may become mixed up in possible money laundering or corrupt transactions, it was called to three meetings. These were meetings with Oakbay leadership, with top ANC officials, and with an inter-ministerial committee of Cabinet chaired by then Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane.
Four Eskom power plants have less than 10 days' coal
Four Eskom power plants have fewer than 10 days of coal, with the power utility planning on trucking and railing supplies from a facility in the Limpopo province to the stations in Mpumalanga that’s about 400 kilometers away.
The constraints at the plants in Mpumalanga are mainly because the company that supplies them is under business rescue, Khulu Phasiwe, a spokesperson for Eskom told SAFm radio Monday. The plants are supplied by mines owned by Tegeta Exploration and Resources, a company linked the Gupta family.
Ramaphosa gives taste of plan to kickstart economy
President Cyril Ramaphosa shared parts of a package of reforms to kickstart an economy that’s in recession with business and labour leaders last week.
The measures, already adopted by the Cabinet, will “secure confidence in sectors affected by regulatory uncertainty” and cover mining, telecommunications, tourism and transport, the presidency said in a emailed statement Sunday. It will “reprioritise government spending, within the existing fiscal framework, toward activities that will stimulate economic activity,” it said.
What fuel's vicious cycle means for South Africa
South Africa finds itself caught in an almost perfect storm on two major interconnected issues – a substantially weaker currency and the considerably more expensive price of oil. And both sides of this equation are problematic, as they both feed off each other in a vicious cycle.
As a net importer of fuel, South Africa is facing immense pressure. Massive petrol hikes affect every consumer, business and the broader trade linkages across the country's economy, writes Daniel Silke.
Three-year wage deal reached at AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] has concluded a wage agreement with three major unions, The Minerals Council said on Monday.
The agreement is with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), UASA (formerly the United Association of SA) and Solidarity, and covers wages and conditions of service for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021.
The employees will receive increases to their basic wage of R700 in year one, R800 in year two and R900 in year three. Miners, artisans and officials will receive increases of 5.5% for each year of the agreement.
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