Johannesburg residents can’t catch a break with rising electricity costs and fixed fees causing immense strain on the average person’s purse strings. Before you’ve even bought your electricity for the month, you’ll have to fork out a total of R825 for a network charge and capacity charge. When you compare the average monthly spend of R1000 for electricity with SA’s other major metros it’s clear to see that Joburg residents are getting barely any power at all for their money.
Those fees are tacked onto post-paid residential customers while prepaid customers still have the best deal as the city has tried to introduce fixed monthly fees for prepaid customers but so far it hasn’t actually been implemented.
Meanwhile, Eskom is pushing for a price increase of 20.5% to take effect from April 2022 while the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) tables show price hikes of as much as 40% depending on how outstanding debts are going to be recouped.
Our paychecks are all in for an unsolicited diet.
Next month’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) and post-SONA debate will take place at the Cape Town City Hall but following that, parliamentary sessions will move back to the parliament precinct. Sittings will be held in the Good Hope Chamber, which managed to emerge unscathed following the fire that broke out earlier in the month.
There have been increased calls to use the Parliament Fire as an opportunity to move Parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria permanently but so far, those calls have been resisted and no such plan is being considered at this stage. MPs have cited rising living costs and travel between their homes and Cape Town as a major issue for many years now as they have to maintain a second residence when parliament is in session.
The man accused of starting the Parliament Fire, Zandile Mafe, was charged with terrorism on Tuesday adding to his robbery and arson charges. The defence lawyer, Dali Mpofu, said Mafe was “taken for mental observation on January 3” and subsequently diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The State wants Mafe to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see whether he is fit to stand trial while Mpofu said Mafe will go on a hunger strike should he be held in custody any longer.
The fight over spectrum gained another heavyweight as Vodacom entered the ring to tag team with MTN in a court battle with Telkom, who want to block the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa) long-awaited auction of spectrum from going ahead.
The two mobile behemoths will likely strengthen Icasa’s hand in their bid to hold the auction, which is due to take place in March. Icasa has been locked in constant legal battles with Telkom since December 2020 when the auction was originally scheduled to take place. Telkom asserts that the criterion for the auction is unfair and that they will be at a disadvantage.
Vodacom has said the release of spectrum – last allocated to mobile operators 14 years ago – will allow for affordable data and the rollout of 5G technology. MTN says that while the Invitation to Apply for spectrum isn’t perfect, it believes Icasa has struck the right balance.
Here’s hoping we finally get some cheaper data soon and much needed 5G coverage to launch us into the future.
The rand is currently trading at R15.51/$ with some volatility expected in the currency markets this afternoon when the US CPI data is released. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell address Congress yesterday where he promised to take action to prevent high inflation in the US.
“He confirmed that the Fed would hike interest rates, taper their asset-buying program, and reduce the balance sheet, but he did not specify the time frames, saying it could take several meetings,” comments forex trading house TreasuryONE.
On the commodity front, prices rallied yesterday with gold up 1.16% at $1,821, platinum up 3.4% at $972, and palladium up 0.5% at $1,921. The metals opened flat in the Far East markets this morning while Brent is trading at $83.66 a barrel this morning.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
SA Express liquidation hearing postponed once again – Fin24
Tongaat Hulett institutes R450m claim against former executives – Daily Maverick
Taxi operators stand to get about R5,000 from government’s Covid-19 relief fund – EWN
Global Business
Ethiopian Airlines is profitable as cargo demand booms, CEO says – SABC
Warren Buffett’s champion stock picker dies. Billionaire ranked Louis Simpson among best investors – Business Insider
Facebook will require Covid-19 vaccine boosters for all in-person employees – Business Insider
Markets
Dollar swoons as Powell soothes policy fears; CPI test looms – SABC/Reuters
Tech leads equities’ rebound as Powell sticks to script – Reuters
Asian markets rally with Wall St as Powell eases inflation fears – AFP
Opinion/In-depth
How fast will the ANC fall, part three: The party’s cars tell a turbo-charged story – Daily Maverick
Sustainability: An overused term, but so very vital for investment – Daily Maverick
World Bank Cuts Global Growth Forecast on Virus Flare-Ups – Bloomberg
Video
Why some emerging markets outperform others – AusBiz
SA Parliament fire suspect charged with terrorism; National Assembly to return to Parliament – eNCA
David Shapiro on the value vs growth argument for 2022 – BizNews
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
