It has happened. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to act has caught up to him. The official opposition, the Democratic Alliance’s John Steenhuisen has not minced his words when he tabled a vote of no confidence in Ramaphosa’s cabinet on day one of the parliamentary debate on the State of the Nation Address Ramaphosa delivered on 10 February. The EFF’s Julius Malema and African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyolwethu Zungula were also on the bandwagon, with Malema calling for the head of the “worst president to have ever occurred to black people”.
“Accountability is something you [Ramaphosa] only talk about because doing something would be firing some of your cabinet and upsetting your comrades,” Steenhuisen said in Cape Town City Hall, the temporary precinct of Parliament.
Calling Ramaphosa a president of talk and no action, Steenhuisen said the vote of no confidence will relieve Ramaphosa of the burden to fire incompetent ministers.
Malema lamented that “what began as a so-called ‘new dawn’ has become massive unemployment, increased violence against women and children, collapsing hospitals and the greatest threats against the security of the state in post-democratic South Africa” under Ramaphosa.
The attack comes in the wake of the State Capture commission reports, the July unrest report, and Ramaphosa putting the party before the people on too many occasions.
While united in their view that his cabinet is incompetent and that he is centralising power in the Presidency, Ramaphosa’s economic direction has divided the opposition, with Malema particularly outspoken against privatisation.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa was putting out another fire on the use of public funds for ANC campaigning or other party purposes, saying that his knowledge of such allegations comes from information that is in the public domain.
The attack on Ramaphosa and his cabinet is not over. The SONA debate will continue today and Ramaphosa will have a chance to respond on Wednesday, so stay tuned to the series.
In the markets, the dollar continues to trade on the front foot on the back of the Russian invasion fears and hawkish comments on interest rates from Fed officials, but the rand remains surprisingly resilient. “Most emerging market currencies are trading sideways, with the exceptions being a weak Russian ruble and a surprisingly strong rand. The rand closed firmer at R15.12 last night after opening at R15.20 yesterday morning. The local currency is currently trading a touch firmer at R15.09 but has been as strong as R15.06 earlier this morning. From a technical perspective, the rand held below the R15.25 level yesterday, which brings the R14.86 target into play in the short term,” says TreasuryONE.
On the commodity front, gold’s safe-haven status saw the price climb to a $1,870 close last night, while platinum ended unchanged and palladium was stronger. This morning, gold is trading even stronger at $1,878, while platinum is flat at $1,028, and palladium a touch weaker at $2,350. Oil is still trading near seven-year highs on supply concerns due to an expected Russian invasion of Ukraine. Brent is currently at $95.83 a barrel and WTI at $94.70.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting news:
SA Business
South Africa is a top pick for choosy emerging market investors – Fin24
How Nedbank was a bedfellow with Gupta-linked Regiments Capital – Daily Maverick
Fuel prices may continue to rise despite easing of consumer price inflation – SABC News
Global Business
Elon Musk gave 5 million Tesla shares to charity after teasing possible donation to fight world hunger – MarketWatch
Trump Organization’s accountants cut ties, calling years of filings unreliable – The Guardian
Roblox: The children’s game with a sex problem – BBC News
Markets
Sarcasm in Ukraine roils markets swinging between war, peace – Bloomberg
Gold up, near 3-month high as Ukraine worries drive flight to safety – Investing.com
Oil declines as investors weigh up Ukraine crisis, global demand – Bloomberg
Opinion/In-depth
Province of disaster: Confessions, chaos and spin — responses to the shocking number of Covid-19 deaths – Daily Maverick
Sea’s $16 billion wipeout portends trouble beyond India shutout – Bloomberg
The culture of non-payment in a dysfunctional state – Daily Maverick
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