Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- Farmer relief: Agriculture minister Thoko Didiza says a R2.5 billion “agro-energy fund” will be created by the land bank, allowing farmers to apply for funding in alternative energy sources. The fund said that farmers will be able to receive grant funding between R500,000 and R1.5 million depending on the scale of their farm’s operations. Didiza said that the fund will focus on energy-intensive agricultural activities, such as irrigation, exhaustive agricultural production systems and cold-chain logistics activities. [Business Day]
- Bitcoin scam relief: The SA Revenue Service (SARS) and the liquidators of Mirror Trading International (MTI) – a collapsed bitcoin Ponzi scheme – have reached a settlement for under R300 million, despite the tax collector initially asking for R900 million. This could be positive news for global investors and creditors scammed out of $1.7 billion (R30 billion), as the smaller settlement will give them a larger pool to recover their losses. [Business Day]
- Steinhoff major sale: Steinhoff International will sell Mattress Firm to American company Tempur Sealy next year in a cash and stock deal worth $4 billion (over R74 billion). Steinhoff bought Mattress Firm for $3.8 billion (R70 billion) in 2016 during its acquisition spree. Steinhoff has sold shares in many of its units in an attempt to pay down its debt since an accounting scandal hit the company in 2017. The sale to Tempur Sealy is the first since Steinhoff tried to avoid bankruptcy. [Bloomberg]
- Gauteng coalition chaos: Despite the ANC and EFF teaming up to overthrow the DA in several metros in Gauteng over the last few months, coalitions between the two parties could soon collapse due to differing views on governance. In Ekurhuleni, where the two parties agreed to install AIC’s Sivuyile Ngodwana as Mayor, the EFF has accused the ANC of corruption, while the ANC has accused the EFF of using municipal resources for political campaigning. [News24]
- Markets: The South African rand and stocks fell on Tuesday as the dollar edged up ahead of closely watched US inflation data due this week. Investors are keenly focused on US consumer inflation data after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said last week that policy decisions will be “driven by incoming data,” while signalling a likely pause in the rate hiking cycle. On Wednesday (10 May), the rand was trading at R18.63/$, R20.44/€, and R23.51/£. Brent crude is trading at $76.94 a barrel. [Nasdaq]
