Economics and Finance SA

South Africans could pay more for electricity if Eskom has its way. South Africa’s average electricity price is R2.558 per kWh according to some sources. To put it into context, an energy-efficient refrigerators use about 300-400 kilowatt-hours per year. It means you would need R1 000 to have fridge switched on for a full year. A typical family will pay R200 more per year if Eskom is allowed a 20% increase in tariffs. This is on a fridge alone..

This misconception isn’t helped by the fact that many people believe that formal savings products aren’t meant for them, but are for wealthy individuals who have a high level of financial literacy

The failure by many people to understand these differences has led to a widespread misconception that when they put their money into a savings account, they effectively lose control over it. This is obviously not the case.

South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) has increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to 4%, which brings the prime lending rate of banks to 7.5%. This means that you will pay 0.025% more on your debt. Simply you’ll be paying R7,50 for every 1 Rand you borrow.

You will be paying 2,5 cent more for every 1 Rand. The problem is that you’ll be paying R125 extra if you owe R500 000 on your car or home loan. It could be R1 500 per year on a simple calculation.

Parliament building, was on fire and the true costs still to be determined. South Africa got a glimpse of the state capture report with damning revelations. Of particular was Dudu Myeni, the chair under whose watch SAA was laid. The report further named Tom Moyane, The destruction of the country’s tax agency. Bain was central to the conspiracy and not an innocent consultancy that saw its work abused by Sars insiders.

The unethical behavior in the report names KMPG, McKinsey, SAP and the banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Baroda. It is odd that  BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso seems to be singing from Bain’s hymn sheet.  Has Bain and Co been involved in other state institutions Athol Williams asks! The commission is questioning Nedbank’s role regarding interest rate swap products worth R3.5bn bought by Acsa.

Parliament building, was on fire and the true costs still to be determined. South Africa got a glimpse of the state capture report with damning revelations. Of particular was Dudu Myeni, the chair under whose watch SAA was laid. The report further named Tom Moyane, The destruction of the country’s tax agency. Bain was central to the conspiracy and not an innocent consultancy that saw its work abused by Sars insiders.

The unethical behavior in the report names KMPG, McKinsey, SAP and the banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Baroda. It is odd that  BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso seems to be singing from Bain’s hymn sheet.  Has Bain and Co been involved in other state institutions Athol Williams asks! The commission is questioning Nedbank’s role regarding interest rate swap products worth R3.5bn bought by Acsa.

South Africans could see a drop in fuel partly due to Rand and Dollar exchange. At 5.50pm on Monday the rand had gained 0.6% to R15.8957/$, 1.28% to R17.9512/€ and 1.11% to R21.3727/£. The euro fell 0.64% to $1.1292.

The siphoning off of money from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to fund The New Age newspaper was a typical example of the “calculated strategy” by the Gupta family to appropriate public funds, this according to ensorl@businesslive.co.za 

Zondo takes particular aim at Moyane and his involvement — alongside Zuma — in what he calls the “dismantling” of the tax authority. Management consultancy Bain & Company SA met Zuma and Moyane before they were appointed as third-party consultants to Sars,

South Africa has experienced excess death of 286 k(2021), 201k (2020) and 85k (2019). Excess deaths are number of death more than normal. One can infer that these are COVID19 related deaths. It could be that we have normalize over the coming years, as COVID19 settles into its fate as an endemic disease, like u or the common cold, life in most of the world is likely to return to normal—at least, the post- pandemic normal. Behind this prospect lie

Few observers understood just how little legitimacy the USSR system possessed. It was eaten away on the inside by the rot of corruption. It disintegrated along the ethnic boundaries of its 15 republics.

It was ultimately elite defection that brought it down — that, and its lack of overall legitimacy. Gorbachev’s economic reforms ruined the ruble and left the centre without funds. His political-constitutional reforms triggered mutinies across the Soviet Union

Putin has learned a lot of lessons. First and foremost, Russia’s macroeconomic policy is much more conservative, inflation is under control, there are large reserves, a balanced budget and no external debt. Second, with all the domination of the state and ad hoc price regulations, Russia is still a market economy and is much more efficient and resilient than the Soviet one. 

Nigeria is the largest economy of Africa @ $423B followed by Egypt @ $364b and SA @ $301.9B. China’s Xi Jingping, 68, likely to secure a third term.