While protests for free education are ongoing from students in universities across South Africa, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) celebrated its 25th anniversary by introducing a new application model which promises to make applying for financial aid easy and efficient.  NSFAS has funded over 1.7 million students since its inception, at a total of R59 billion.
The new student centred model, myNSFAS system will allow students to apply only once for financial aid instead of re-applying every year. They will also be able to apply directly at NSFAS instead of applying in universities and TVET colleges.
“The myNSFAS account gives your access to your personal profile as a student or as an applicant. It allows you to complete the application form online, attach supporting documents and submit within 10-15 minutes,” says Msulwa Daca, CEO of NSFAS.
Daca believes that this new model with get rid of fraudulent behaviour from applicants compared to previous years and that all funds will reach their intended beneficiaries .The centralised application started on 1st of August 2016 and to date there have been 195 668 applications from students. With matric exams underway, applications are slow.
“We are also concerned that the number of applicants received from Grade 12 learners is very minimal. Most of the applications we have received are from university students. This is a concern because the reason for the early opening of applications is to be able to assess all applications early and communicate with the applicants before January 2017,” says Daca.
With most universities having been shut down due to fees protests, Daca fears this might have a negative effect in registration process for 2017, possibly resulting in historic debt for students  and calls to all students to sign their loan agreement forms.
 “We call upon all teachers and parents at home to remind the Grade 12 learners to submit their applications before the 30th of November 2016,” says Daca. ﻿

New financial aid application model for students

South Africa and Burundi&#8217;s decision to quit the International Criminal Court (ICC) and an attack by Gambia against its supposed &#8216;Caucasian&#8217; justice are likely to embolden other African states to leave the world&#8217;s only permanent war crimes tribunal.
Although criticising the Hague-based institution for perceived anti-African bias has long been a favourite pastime for many African leaders, in most cases it amounted to pandering to a domestic audience without much real intent.
That has now changed, with the precedent established of local politics justifying actual withdrawal.
With South Africa &#8211; a continental heavyweight and key backer of the ICC in the late 1990s &#8211; making clear it could no longer tolerate the court&#8217;s denial of immunity to sitting leaders, the departure gates have been flung open.
All eyes are now on Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the ICC&#8217;s chief tormentor who made history in 2013 by becoming the first sitting head of state to appear before the court, on charges of crimes against humanity.
The case relating to Kenyatta&#8217;s alleged role in post-election violence in 2008 in which at least 1,200 people died collapsed in 2014 for lack of evidence.
But in January this year, with charges still hanging over his deputy, William Ruto, Kenyatta took to the floor at the African Union (AU) to call for a &#8220;roadmap for withdrawal&#8221; for Africa&#8217;s 34 ICC members.
Supporting South Africa&#8217;s subsequent stance, Kenyatta took aim in particular at Article 27 of the ICC&#8217;s 1998 Rome Statute which affirms the &#8220;irrelevance of official capacity&#8221; &#8211; in other words, nobody, no matter how powerful, is above the law.
Kenyatta, who faces another election next year, then played the global security card, saying this compromised Kenya&#8217;s ability to fight Islamist militancy, a genuine concern in the wake of a major attack in 2013 on Nairobi&#8217;s Westgate mall.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve had to contend with the ICC pursuing weak, politicised cases. This has become a huge distraction from our duty serve our people and this continent fully. That is not what Kenya signed up for when we joined the ICC,&#8221; he said.
 
&#8220;USELESS PEOPLE&#8221;
Kenya&#8217;s parliament has passed two resolutions since 2010 calling for withdrawal, but government spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the cabinet was still deciding &#8211; in the wake of South Africa&#8217;s move &#8211; whether to go ahead.
&#8220;It is accurate to say that a decision of the executive is pending,&#8221; he said.
Neighbouring Uganda, whose President Yoweri Museveni labelled the ICC &#8220;a bunch of useless people&#8221; at his inauguration in July, is already shaping up for a fresh push at the next AU summit in January for an African exodus.
&#8220;The ICC deserves what&#8217;s happening to it now,&#8221; junior foreign affairs minister Okello Oryem said.
&#8220;Our argument has always been that there&#8217;s a need for the whole of Africa to withdraw from the ICC. We hope that matter will come up at the next AU summit and then we&#8217;ll be able to pronounce ourselves.&#8221;
 
RUNNING FOR COVER?
Most worrying for the ICC, which has been fighting to counter the allegations of anti-African bias and &#8216;neo-colonialism&#8217;, is that local or regional politics stood behind the three recent decisions to pull out.
Although Gambia, which derided the ICC as the &#8216;Infamous Caucasian Court&#8217;, does not yet appear to have sent its formal divorce papers, President Yahya Jammeh, who has been accused of serial rights abuses since seizing power in a 1994 coup, is unlikely to back off ahead of an election in December.
While also citing ICC neo-colonialism, Burundi&#8217;s move followed the ICC&#8217;s opening of an initial probe into the rape, torture and murder of hundreds of people during an 18-month political crisis.
South Africa&#8217;s decision can be traced back to visit a year ago by Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir when Pretoria flouted its obligations to arrest him under an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes.
It even violated a domestic court order in allowing Bashir to leave, a clear demonstration of the shift in Pretoria&#8217;s foreign policy under President Jacob Zuma from the international idealism of Nelson Mandela to plain African realism.
The ICC admits it is rattled but is determined to keep going, and in particular to counter the allegations of anti-African bias.
&#8220;We must remain strong,&#8221; chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian, told reporters in The Hague this week. &#8220;This is a challenge we see now. We will see it more. It is not going to go away.&#8221;
To date, all but one of the court&#8217;s 10 investigations have been in Africa and its five convicted suspects are from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Mali.
However, it argues that many of these cases were brought by African governments themselves, not outsiders, and that it has 10 preliminary investigations into alleged atrocities elsewhere in the world, including in Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, the Palestinian Territories and Ukraine.
&#8220;Even if half the African countries leave, it would be very unfortunate and damaging to the concept of international justice but it won&#8217;t shut the court down,&#8221; one ICC official, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.
&#8220;This was bound to happen when dictators – for the most part that&#8217;s what they are – decide to run for cover.&#8221;
 
(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols, Edmund Blair, Elias Biryabarema, Thomas Escritt and Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Giles Elgood)﻿

ICC's toughest trial: Africa vs. 'Infamous Caucasian Court'

The retail price of petrol in South Africa will rise by 3.6 percent from Nov. 2, while the price of wholesale diesel will go up by 5.9 percent, the energy department said on Friday.
The price of 93 octane petrol will rise by 45 cents to 12.79 and 95 octane by 45 cents to 13.05 rand per litre in the commercial hub of Gauteng province, while diesel will go up by 63 cents to 11.35 rand per litre, the department said in a statement.
 
(Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia)﻿
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S.A's petrol price to rise by 3.6 percent next week

South African President Jacob Zuma has asked a court to postpone a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, when his application to delay the release of a report over allegations of political influence by his wealthy friends was due to be heard.
Presidency spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said Zuma&#8217;s lawyers wrote to the court on Thursday saying he wanted the investigation to be re-opened so that he could question witnesses himself and give evidence.
Brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, who are close friends of Zuma and run businesses ranging from media to mining, are the subject of the report by the then Public Protector on allegations that they influenced the appointment of ministers.
Zuma has denied granting them undue influence and they have denied seeking it.
The release of the report by the Public Protector, a constitutionally mandated anti-graft official, was suspended on Oct. 14 by Zuma&#8217;s application to the High Court.
Since then, the new Public Protector, who took office on Oct. 17, has said the investigation had been completed by Oct. 14.
Ngqulunga said when Zuma had filed his original application it was not made clear the investigation had finished.
&#8220;If it is final, then it changes the ball game a little. So the president now wants the investigation to be re-opened, so that he can answer any questions and make his own representations, before it is finalised,&#8221; he said.
Ngqulunga said the decision on whether to delay the hearing had not yet been made by the court.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance party said it would challenge Zuma&#8217;s request for a postponement, to avoid South Africans being subjected to &#8220;President Zuma’s political games and 11th hour interventions&#8221;.
 
(Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Alison Williams)﻿

S.A's Zuma asks court to postpone Gupta report hearing

PPI inflation fell to 6.6% y/y in September from 7.2% y/y in August. The diesel price fell by 48c/litre in September, but in October a 23c/litre hike occurred. For November a 63c/litre hike is currently building on the higher oil price. We continue to expect the oil price to average around US$45/bbl this year.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19244015/investec_graph_1_27oct2016_598x318.jpg" width="598" height="318" alt="Investec Graph 1_27Oct 2016"/>﻿
The good news is that planting for a number of crops is likely to increase substantially next year on higher expected rainfalls, which should moderate food price inflation, and so help to reduce CPI and PPI inflation. Lower inflation prints, particularly consistently tending (and expected to tend towards) towards 5.0%, will likely end the upward interest rate cycle in SA.
Agbiz says “the data shows an expected 15% year-on-year (y/y) increase in summer crops hectares, from 3.27 million hectares in 2015/16 production season to 3.75 million hectares in 2016/17 season.” “Maize, soybeans and groundnuts are set to show a recovery.”
Agbiz adds “yellow and white maize plantings could increase by 43% y/y and 8% y/y to 1.46 million and 1.01 million hectares, respectively. The expected significant jump in white maize area is largely on the back of favourable market prices, relative to yellow maize prices. Groundnuts area could increase by 48% y/y to 33 500 hectares, owing to favourable market prices and expected improvement in weather conditions.”
“Also worth noting is that South Africa’s third wheat production estimate was revised up 2% from the previous estimate to 1.73 million tons, owing to expected higher yields on the back of favourable weather conditions. Moreover, this is 20% higher than the previous season’s crop of 1.44 million tons.” 
﻿<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19244022/investec_graph_2_27oct2016_598x330.jpg" width="598" height="330" alt="Investec Graph 2_27Oct 2016"/>﻿
 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="/media/19244029/investec_graph_3_27oct2016_597x348.jpg" width="597" height="348" alt="Investec Graph 3_27Oct 2016"/>﻿

PPI – inflation falls, 2017 should see subsidence of food price inflation

South Africa&#8217;s fiscal consolidation is largely on track, albeit at a slower pace and also hampered by uncertainty over structural reforms, ratings agency Moody&#8217;s said on Thursday. 
&#8220;Key fiscal risks to the budget delivery and hence to South Africa&#8217;s credit quality include lower than projected growth, emerging wage pressures, and rapidly rising contingent liabilities related to financially weakened state-owned enterprises,&#8221; Zuzana Brixiova, VP-Senior Analyst, Moody’s said in a statement.
Brixiova also said spending pressures were also likely to rise in the run-up t the 2019 elections.
 
(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by James Macharia)﻿

S.A's fiscal consolidation mostly on track – Moody's

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; African states unhappy with the International Criminal Court(ICC) should work to reform it from within rather than pulling out, Botswanan foreign minister Pelomoni Venson-Moitoi, a candidate to become the next African Union (AU) chief, said.
With the AU increasingly divided over the ICC, South Africa announced last week that it planned to quit, but Venson-Moitoi said she believed an African war crimes court could be beefed up to work alongside its Hague-based counterpart.
Although South Africa argued that the ICC&#8217;s Rome Statutes were at odds with its laws granting leaders diplomatic immunity, other African countries see the tribunal purely as an instrument of colonial justice that unfairly targets the continent.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t see why we should be pulling out. The good thing is that a few more members now, within the AU, agree that pulling out is not the solution. We should be working towards fixing,&#8221; she told Reuters in an interview, without elaborating.
After she spoke, Gambia said late on Tuesday it too was withdrawing from the ICC, calling it &#8220;an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans&#8221;.
Venson-Moitoi&#8217;s main rival for the AU chair is Kenyan foreign minister Amina Mohamed. Kenya has also been leaning towards ICC withdrawal since charges were brought against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, over links to post-election bloodshed in 2008 in which at least 1,200 people were killed.
The cases against both collapsed for lack of evidence.
The AU is likely to choose its successor to South Africa&#8217;s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at its annual summit in January.
Should she prevail, Venson-Moitoi said she would try to get the Tanzanian-based African Court on Human and Peoples&#8217; Rights, which unlike the ICC currently grants immunity to sitting leaders, to &#8220;work together&#8221; with the Hague tribunal.
 
CLEAN ELECTIONS
The outspoken 65-year-old also advocated more robust and rigorous AU monitoring of regional elections as an antidote to the controversy, disputes and violence that habitually follow polls in many African countries.
&#8220;I&#8217;m quite aware of what it takes to run a fair election, to avoid abuse, to avoid conflict,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You must manage the whole process so that when the number comes out at the end, it confirms a clean process.&#8221;
In its 50 years since independence, Botswana has built a reputation as a stable, peaceful and prosperous democracy with a no-nonsense political leadership.
Last month, President Ian Khama caused fury in neighbouring Zimbabwe when he told Reuters that his 92-year-old counterpart, Robert Mugabe, was too old to remain in office.
Venson-Moitoi reaffirmed the sovereignty of member states but said she would be demanding answers personally from leaders whose internal problems spilled into neighbouring states, as has happened this year with refugees fleeing violence in Burundi.
&#8220;I&#8217;m a hands-on person. I would get on the next plane and go there. That&#8217;s how I work. If it means going there and talking to the refugees, I&#8217;d go there and talk to them myself,&#8221; she said.
Such comments are likely to ruffle feathers in the AU, where interfering in a member nation&#8217;s internal affairs remains a big taboo, but Venson-Moitoi said a dose of honesty and plain-speaking would do her, and the continent, no harm.
&#8220;That&#8217;s what Africa needs. There is nothing wrong with being outspoken &#8211; if you are outspoken for the right reasons. If you are outspoken in the interests of Africa, I don&#8217;t see anything wrong with that.&#8221;
 
(editing by David Stamp)﻿
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Botwana FinMin urges: Stay and fix the ICC

The government of Gambia said on Tuesday it was withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, accusing the world body of ignoring the &#8220;war crimes&#8221; of Western nations and seeking only to prosecute Africans.
The decision by the tiny West African nation, whose president, Yahya Jammeh, has called on the court to investigate African migrant deaths on the Mediterranean, comes just days after South Africa said it was quitting The Hague-based tribunal.
&#8220;This action is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called the International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans,&#8221; Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television.
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The ICC was not immediately available for comment. But coming so soon after South Africa&#8217;s announcement, Gambia&#8217;s move added to pressure on the world&#8217;s first permanent war crimes court.
The ICC has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where all but one of its 10 investigations have been based.
Burundi has already said it plans to leave and Kenya&#8217;s parliament is considering following suit.
The statement from Gambia, whose citizens make up a disproportionately high proportion of the African migrant flow to Europe, said it had sought to bring the European Union before the ICC over the deaths of migrants but received no response.
&#8220;There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,&#8221; it said.
The ICC&#8217;s current chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is Gambian and was as an adviser to Jammeh in the early years of his rule after he seized power in a coup in 1994. She later served as justice minister.
It is not the first time Jammeh has pulled his country &#8211; a popular beach destination for European tourists &#8211; out of an international institution.
In 2013, he withdrew Gambia from the Commonwealth, the 54-member grouping including Britain and most of its former colonies, branding it a &#8220;neo-colonial institution&#8221;.
Rights groups accuse Jammeh of cracking down on political opponents as he eyes a December election, where he will seek his fifth term after he scrapped term limits.﻿

Gambia also to withdrawal from International Criminal Court

South Africa&#8217;s central bank has set the bar very high for ending a policy tightening cycle that has seen it raise lending rates by 200 basis points since early 2014, governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Thursday.
The bank sees consumer inflation, currently at 6.1 percent, averaging 6.4 percent in 2016, outside of its target range of 3-6 percent.﻿

S.Africa's cbank governor says bar set high for future rate cuts

For the first time Johannesburg is hosting the South Africa-Italy Summit. This is the third Summit since its inception, and both previous Summit&#8217;s were held in Cape Town. At the opening, Gauteng Premier David Makhura expressed his delight that Gauteng will remain the host over the next three years.
Done in partnership with European House – Ambrosseti, the 2016 South Africa-Italy Summit is a platform for government and business leaders to explore business opportunities, develop mutual partnerships and strengthen trade and investment between Italy, South Africa and the SADC region. 
Makhura told the audience that most of the 60 000 South Africans of Italian descent live in Gauteng. &#8220;On a daily basis they are working to strengthen our deep historic bonds of friendship and solidarity. They promote our country and our province, and are building greater understanding between our countries. They are also involved in community development projects, including in our townships,&#8221; he continued.
Gauteng&#8217;s exports to Italy in 2015 amounted to R8.1 billion, which included products such as iron and steel, vegetables, machinery and mineral products. Imports from Italy to Gauteng amounted to R 19.1 billion, including products such as vehicles, aircraft and vessels, chemicals, plastics and rubber as well as machinery.
&#8220;We seek to reverse and correct this trade imbalance through the agreement we are signing today with Emilia Romagna,&#8221; the Premier said on Tuesday.
He explained that between 2006 and 2014, the Gauteng economy saw more than nine Foreign Direct Investment projects, worth more than 157 million Euros, from Italy. These created 1 300 jobs.
Key South African companies mainly based in Gauteng, that have invested in Italy include Sasol, SAB Miller, Investec, Barloworld and Dimension Data.
&#8220;We are of the view that there is a huge potential to increase economic activities between Italy and South Africa through intensifying trade and investment between major regions and cities of our two countries,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;For example, Italy possesses the know-how, products and personnel that can help strengthen our re-industrialisation initiatives. Gauteng can also benefit from the strength of Italy’s small and medium-sized firms that drive manufacturing in that country.&#8221;
&#8220;The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Gauteng Provincial Government and Emilia Romagna Regional Government is a major step in intensifying economic diplomacy and strengthening cultural relations. The economies of the two regions are highly compatible as industrial and knowledge hubs of our two countries,&#8221; he said.﻿

Gauteng Premier welcomes 2016 South Africa-Italy Summit

The general tone of responses to the heavy-handed and clearly intimidatory delivery of a criminal summons to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has either been outright condemnation of a political witch-hunt, or some sentiment that at least Mr Gordhan would now have the opportunity to clear his name in a court. But Mr Gordhan ever appearing in a real trial is not part of the plan.
Several institutions and political structures, including the presidency and the ruling African National Congress (ANC), have made the point that no-one was above the law and that Mr Gordhan would now have his day in court, but all have avoided the seven hundred elephants in the room – the 700 fraud, corruption and sundry charges still hanging over the head of President Jacob Zuma.
Ironically, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) – the very organisation that inexplicitly dropped all charges against Mr Zuma several years ago and is fighting attempts to have them reinstated – was among those ignoring the herd of elephants while pontificating that no-one was above the law.
Its credibility already in tatters, the NPA has become a political blunt instrument in the hands of factions rather than a legitimate independent authority, and that is one of the real tragedies of this saga.
As for the suggestion that now Mr Gordhan and his co-accused – the former South African Revenue Services (SARS) commissioner Oupa Magashula and the former deputy SARS commissioner Ivan Pillay – would have the opportunity to clear their names in a court of law, that is not part of the plan.
The prospects of this farce ever getting to trial is remote and not part of the strategy to force Mr Gordhan out of office, either by removing or suspending him, or to make his life so miserable and fearful that he decides to call it quits. There will be no trial – this saga ends one way or another long before the first court appearances on November 2 actually morphs into a full-blown hearing.
There is considerable legal opinion that these fraud charges and the “rouge unit” charges that are still pending are so thin they could not hold up a tea-bag, let alone hold up in court.
Responses to Tuesday’s announcement by NPA boss Shaun Abrahams, who managed to keep a straight face throughout even as he ignored the seven hundred elephants in the cramped room, was largely predictable and followed traditional lines.
Those ignoring the rampaging elephants demanding to be heard included the ANC who said that Mr Gordhan must fully co-operate with the NPA in order to bring the matter to finality as soon as possible, “This investigation and related, untested and mischievous ‘conspiracy theories’ has had a detrimental effect on the South African economy and we trust that today’s announcement will move us a step closer to uncovering the truth from facts and bring this matter to finality,” the ANC said.
The presidency agreed, as apparently did Mr Zuma himself, though the statement issued from Cape Town while Mr Zuma was in Kenya did not make it clear whether it was a presidency statement or a statement from the president. There is a difference.
While media reports claimed that Mr Zuma was standing by Mr Gordhan, the actual statement is less clear and confuses words attributed to the president with the views of the presidency speaking on his behalf.
“Our society is anchored on the rule of law as well as fair and just judicial processes,” Mr Zuma is quoted as saying. “In this regard, Minister Gordhan is innocent until and unless proven otherwise by a court of law. This is a fundamental pillar of our constitutional democracy and the rule of law. The president has reaffirmed his support for the minister and added that the decision by the NPA came at the most sensitive time for the country when Minister Gordhan was successfully leading initiatives towards economic revival, bringing together business, government and labour in efforts to reignite growth so that jobs can be saved and created,” the presidency said. It is unclear which bits are the actual words of the president and which are being spoken on his behalf, but in any event, this is lukewarm at best and no hint that Mr Zuma is going to withdraw his legal opposition to the challenge to reinstate charges against him.
The Black Business Council (BBC) was quoted by media as stating there was “no political interference” during the investigation leading up to the summons issued to Mr Gordhan. The BBC said it viewed these developments in a “serious light”. “We respect the rule of law and furthermore expect the Chapter 9 institutions that regulate and ensure that nobody is above the law,” the organisation stated, also ignoring the obvious parallels to Mr Zuma’s outstanding and unresolved legal issues.
Others were less impressed
The National Treasury said that “[i]t is most unfortunate that the Hawks have, once again, chosen to initiate legal proceedings at a moment that appears calculated to maximise the damage inflicted on the economic well-being of South Africans and essential processes of government”.
The Council for the Advancement for the South African Constitution (Casac) said that the summons would have “serious negative repercussions”. The organisation, chaired by Sipho Pityana, said the developments raised questions about the integrity of key institutions of democratic governance. The organisation believes that political interests are at the centre of this, especially given the timing of the announcement. “The circumstances around the investigation of these matters, the timing of questioning and the leaks to the media, all call into question the good faith and independence of the investigative authority, the Hawks, as well as that of the NPA,” said executive secretary, Lawson Naidoo.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) was deeply concerned about both the timing and the decision to charge Mr Gordhan and two former senior SARS employees with fraud. “Our country is experiencing a period of profound upheaval. With another rating agency review ongoing, the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) weeks away, serious social protest and violence occurring at our universities, and a number of contentious disputes between state institutions playing out in public, this decision could not have come at a worse time.”
Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said the NPA decision was “most unfortunate”. Busa President Jabu Mabuza said “while nobody is above the law, we remain deeply concerned about what appears to be the emergence of a pattern which sees serious allegations made against Minister Gordhan made very close to important dates and developments.” 
There is majority political opinion that the fraud charges directed against Mr Gordhan and his former colleagues at SARS have no legal merit and are part of a deliberate overtly political plan to force the finance minister out of office as he is perceived to stand in the way of the dominant patronage/ tenderpreneur factions in the ruling party and government.
On the other hand, there is minority opinion that there was no political interference in this saga that has been ongoing for several months now. A disturbing aspect in the political dimension is that the consequences of this action have been ignored, not merely underestimated or miscalculated, but deliberately ignored.
There is substantial legal opinion that the charges have no prospect of success and appear to be unfounded and based on little, if any, real evidence. The organisations and political factions that backed the NPA and suggested (correctly) that no-one was above the law ignored the massed ranks of elephants in the room related to the outstanding and unresolved legal issues around Mr Zuma. Apart from the very real damage these development could inflict on South Africa’s economy and finances, the NPA and the Hawks now face a pivotal credibility and legitimacy tests likely to undermine a crucial Chapter Nine institution and weaken our democracy.
Finally, there is no prospect that this saga is ever going to end in a full-blown hearing – that is not on the agenda – it either forces Mr Gordhan out of office or it does not, but either way, there will be no trial and no day in court for Mr Gordhan and his co-accused. There is no legal basis for such a development and it is a political bridge too far. ﻿

South Africa – Gordhan and the seven hundred elephants in the room

The Africa head of ratings agency Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s said on Thursday the current situation in South Africa was &#8220;not business as usual,&#8221; citing &#8220;political turmoil and tension&#8221; as worrying signs ahead of a ratings decision on Dec. 2.
Addressing the Thomson Reuters Africa summit in Cape Town, Konrad Reuss also said S&amp;P would be closely looking at South Africa&#8217;s economic growth trajectory and fiscal targets.
Reuss was speaking two days after the national prosecuting authority said it planned to charge Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan for fraud, a ploy widely seen as an attempt by President Jacob Zuma to take control of the Treasury by removing the respected technocrat.
&#8220;This is not about political noise. We have political turmoil, political tension that can undermine structural reforms,&#8221; Reuss said.
He also said that any attempts to undermine South African state institutions would be negative for the rating.
S&amp;P rates South Africa at BBB-, the lowest investment grade rating one notch above junk, and it maintained that rating in June while keeping its outlook negative, citing slow economic growth and political concerns.
 
(Reporting by Ed Stoddard and Ed Cropley; Editing by James Macharia and Hugh Lawson)﻿
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S&P: South Africa "is not business as usual"

South Africa&#8217;s President Jacob Zuma has instructed his justice and crime prevention ministries to deal with the violence during student protests over tuition fees at universities, a cabinet spokesman said on Thursday.
At least six universities&#8217; classes have been disrupted and some suspended as police and private security companies have tried to quell student dissatisfaction at a fee increase announced by government earlier this month.
&#8220;President Jacob Zuma has instructed the justice crime prevention and security cluster to deal with the mayhem that is destroying our institutions of higher learning,&#8221; Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe told a post-cabinet media briefing.
In a separate statement Zuma&#8217;s office rejected rumours on social media that the nation&#8217;s cabinet has been reshuffled.

South Africa's Zuma asks for university 'mayhem' to be dealt with

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A merger between South African company PayGate and the East African Direct Pay Online Group will create a pan-African online payment processor that will provide local business owners with a single point of contact to accept online payments in 24 African countries – from Cameroon to Mauritius.
This vision to build a pan-African payment processor will be supported by a significant investment in DPO of more than R100m by Apis Partners , which is focused on financial services in the growth markets of Africa and Asia.
PayGate was founded in 1999 and has more than 15 years of experience in providing payment processing and merchant services throughout Southern Africa. The company enables quick, secure online payments through a wide variety of payment solutions in South Africa and beyond, and supports a large array of digital payment methods.
It has expanded aggressively into the rest of Africa. Similar to the DPO Group, PayGate holds PCI DSS Level 1 Certification, the highest security certification in the payment cards industry.
The combination of 3G Direct Pay and PayGate under the Direct Pay Online Group will provide a single contact point for merchants looking to accept online payments across the continent. Merchants will have access to 60+ DPO Group employees across the continent to provide bespoke development solutions and customer support in their local language; a single integration that offers their customers the broadest suite of payment options in Africa and world-class security and fraud prevention.
Speaking on the merger, Peter Harvey, the Managing Director of PayGate said, “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the DPO Group in building the market-leading payments processor in Africa. The merger is a landmark transaction for PayGate and a reward for our dedication to building the best-in-class platform and maintaining excellent customer service for our merchants. This is also an incredible opportunity to support our clients’ expansion across the African continent through additional on-the-ground coverage across the Group’s countries of operation.”
“The PayGate team has grown a fantastic business, centred on providing the best online payments processing solution to its merchants,” said Eran Feinstein, the DPO Group CEO.  “This merger allows the DPO Group to build a pan-African payments platform with a presence across eight countries and processing ability in a further 24 countries. Together, the Group will accelerate the growth of online payments in Africa, as we seek to empower every person and organization to have the option to pay and be paid online anywhere, anytime, and by any mode of payment.”
Offer Gat, the DPO Group Chairman added that “the merger with PayGate enables the DPO Group to offer a wider range of products and services across the whole of East and Southern Africa, and provides the Group with a strong foothold in the large South African e-commerce market. The Group will be in a better position to serve the growing number of African and global multinationals looking to serve consumers anywhere on the African continent.”
Following the transaction, Peter Harvey will continue to lead the DPO Group’s activities in the South Africa Common Monetary Area, and will work closely with Eran Feinstein to grow the Group’s business in its current markets and in new regions over the coming years.﻿
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Merger creates pan-African online merchant access across 24 countries

I have previously referred to the South African economy as just muddling along – we aren’t shooting the lights out, but we haven’t sunk into the depths of a recession. But wouldn’t it be awesome if we could break out of our no-growth shackles? We can. And it’s not far-fetched either.
There are essentially two issues that the ratings agencies are looking at when reaching a sovereign rating decision on South Africa, namely: economic performance by getting our house in order and the context and structure within which the economy is functioning, which is to say keeping our house in order.
Economic performance dismal
There can be little debate about the sluggishness of the South African economy, with growth of a modest 1.3% in 2015. Add to that our other economic woes of unemployment running at 26.6% (an outrageous figure even at the narrow official rate), inflation having exceeded the 3%-6% target range for seven of the past eight months, and ongoing twin deficits with the current account deficit running at 3.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2016 and the budget deficit expected to come in at 3.2 for the 2016/17 fiscal year.
All this points to an economy in a really poor state, and to get off the rating agencies’ watch list, it is critical that the sluggish growth rate is lifted. On this score, a lot of airtime has been given to the importance of avoiding recession. However, whereas the textbook definition regards recession as occurring when growth falls into negative territory, the ratings agencies more correctly regard recession as occurring when economic growth falls below population growth. In this vein, and allowing for a margin of safety, to ensure steadily rising prosperity, a country needs to achieve economic growth that is at least 1% above its population growth.
To assess the underlying trend, we look back seven years and forward over three years to arrive at a 10-year average of what was achieved and what is possible. South Africa’s average economic growth over the past seven years has been 1.7% p.a. although it has varied widely within this – from a decline of 1.4% in 2009 to growth of 3.0% in 2010. Looking forward, if we take growth of 0.5% in 2016, 1.2% in 2017 and 2.1% in 2018 as our forecasts, we arrive at an average of 1.6% for the 10 years.
In absolute terms, 1.6% is extremely sluggish growth, but when compared to South Africa’s population growth rate of 1.7%, on a per capita basis, we are going backwards – and have done so for five of the past ten years. As an aside, there is some good news in this, in that our population growth rate has risen every year since 2003 when it was 1.2%. While this is a clear reflection of success in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it means that the economy will need to grow ever faster to see rising prosperity. Put simply, the 10-year average growth rate of 1.6% is well below the required rate of 2.7% to sustain prosperity and stay off the ratings agencies’ radar screens.
There is a silver lining to the seemingly dark cloud: the recent weak growth experienced in South Africa has been a function, overwhelmingly, of exogenous or once-off factors. Depressed commodity prices, the drought of 2015/2016 and the self-inflicted electricity deficit, which injected uncertainty into the mining and manufacturing sectors, have hampered the economy. But they are all in the process of abating: commodity prices are perking up, the drought is working its way out and the power deficit is becoming a surplus as demand management continues and the renewable energy independent power producers (REIPPs) start to feature.
With these three effects reversing, we are on the cusp of a reversal in economic growth fortunes: the South African economy could see growth of 2%, or modestly more, in the next 18 months. However, each of these items can only deliver a once-off benefit to the country. Once the reversal is factored in, the economy will revert to its structural growth path, which is somewhere between 2% and 3%. This may keep the rating agencies at bay, but it would still leave South Africa extremely vulnerable and any shocks would take us out of forgiveness territory.
If we require economic growth of 2.7% (1.7% population growth plus 1%) to stay off the rating agencies’ radar screens, what can be done to achieve it? There are two critical ingredients missing in the South African economy and resolving these will lead to the growth that we need.
First, South Africa sits with a very depressed savings rate, which translates into an equally poor investment rate. The current savings-investment rate of 15% corresponds with 2% economic growth. By contrast, a savings-investment rate of 30% is needed to achieve the touted “miracle” growth rate of 5.4% per year.
By doubling the savings rate of the country, we would be able to significantly boost growth. But the investments need to be in productive capacity and fixed capital. Not only is the growth this generates sustainable, but it is inclusive too.
Second, we need to create jobs, which means the development and support of small and medium sized enterprises. As much as large businesses can drive economic growth, it is only mid- and small-sized firms that are able to establish and sustain job creation on the scale the country desperately needs.
If we get these two elements right, the rating agencies will go from being on our backs to backing us. It will completely change the narrative around South Africa and return us to the “darling” status we enjoyed in the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.
But our institutional fabric is already robust 
Alongside economic growth, a second component that the rating agencies have pushed to the fore is the country’s institutional fabric: aspects and attributes such as the stature and stability of the National Treasury; the effectiveness of the SA Reserve Bank; and the efficiency and strength of the South African Revenue Service. In the last six months important evidence has emerged that has underlined the country’s institutional strength – the Constitutional Court has handed down a ruling to hold the President to account; civil liberties, such as a media freedom, have been upheld; and ground-breaking municipal elections were held in a truly democratic context.
All this underscores the robust nature of South Africa’s institutional fabric. It has given us a stay of execution in the face of poor economic performance, revolving door Ministers of Finance and a potential onslaught on the Treasury which, together, probably justify a rating downgrade.
To change South Africa’s outlook, we need to build on our institutional framework, ensuring that it cannot be compromised and, at the same time, use that strength to push towards the economic performance that we require of population growth plus 1%.
And the good news is that this miracle is within our reach. We need to stop talking, stop self-inflicting economic wounds and get on with the business of building. In the absence of this, we can expect more of the same in the form of listless growth and a ratings downgrade and, with that, rising unemployment, falling per capita incomes and growing aggravation of ingrained socio-economic ailments. ﻿
 
A member of the Peregrine Group, Citadel Investment Services Proprietary Limited is licensed as a financial services provider in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002.
Kindly note that this article does not constitute financial advice. All information and opinions provided are of a general nature and are not intended to address the circumstances of any individual.﻿

From Muddling to Miracle: The path to maintaining SA’s credit rating

Uber Technologies starts its UberEats food-delivery service in South Africa on Thursday before expanding in the rest of the country and into the continent, it said on Wednesday.
It will begin delivering meals in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa&#8217;s largest city, before moving across the Gauteng province and to Cape Town in 2017, Uber Operations and Logistics Manager Dave Kitley told reporters.
Uber is making an aggressive global drive into takeaway meal deliveries, gearing up with a big staff recruitment campaign to enter at least 22 more countries. UberEats already operates in six countries and will launch in Amsterdam on Thursday.
Uber launched its ride-hailing service in South Africa in 2013 and since then the service has grown to over 4,000 drivers in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
&#8220;Johannesburg was the first city in Africa to have Uber launch and based on the success of launching in Africa as well as the characteristics of Jo&#8217;burg and where we are right now in terms of our maturity it is really about testing the product and being the first city in Africa,&#8221; Kitley said.
Kitley said Uber would look to expand UberEats into Africa &#8220;as quickly as we can, but right now no imminent plans for that&#8221;.
 
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Susan Thomas)﻿

Johannesburg first in S.A to experience Uber food delivery

South African telecoms giant MTN on Wednesday denied an allegation that it had illegally repatriated $13.92 billion from Nigeria, saying the claim was without merit.
Lawmakers in the upper house of Nigeria&#8217;s parliament agreed on Tuesday to investigate the allegation that MTN, Africa&#8217;s biggest telecoms company, illegally transferred the money out of the West African country.
&#8220;The allegations made against MTN are completely unfounded and without any merit,&#8221; MTN Nigeria chief executive Ferdi Moolman said in brief statement.
The allegation threatens to raise tensions between Nigeria and MTN just three months after the South African firm agreed to pay a reduced fine of 330 billion naira in a settlement with Abuja over unregistered SIM cards.
MTN is the largest mobile phone operator in Nigeria, which accounts for around one third of the company&#8217;s revenues. The company had threatened to pull out of Nigeria during the dispute over unregistered SIM cards.
MTN shares fell more than 3 percent on Tuesday.﻿

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Merger creates pan-African online merchant access across 24 countries

From Muddling to Miracle: The path to maintaining SA’s credit rating

Johannesburg first in S.A to experience Uber food delivery

MTN denies illegal transfer of $14 billion from Nigeria

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South Africa

New financial aid application model for students

ICC's toughest trial: Africa vs. 'Infamous Caucasian Court'

S.A's petrol price to rise by 3.6 percent next week

S.A's Zuma asks court to postpone Gupta report hearing

PPI – inflation falls, 2017 should see subsidence of food price inflation

S.A's fiscal consolidation mostly on track – Moody's

Botwana FinMin urges: Stay and fix the ICC

Gambia also to withdrawal from International Criminal Court

S.Africa's cbank governor says bar set high for future rate cuts

Gauteng Premier welcomes 2016 South Africa-Italy Summit

South Africa – Gordhan and the seven hundred elephants in the room

S&P: South Africa "is not business as usual"

South Africa's Zuma asks for university 'mayhem' to be dealt with

Merger creates pan-African online merchant access across 24 countries

From Muddling to Miracle: The path to maintaining SA’s credit rating

Johannesburg first in S.A to experience Uber food delivery

MTN denies illegal transfer of $14 billion from Nigeria

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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