Every day hundreds of millions of people are denied their right to be human as a result of poverty and the unavailability of basic necessities such as food, jobs, water, shelter, education, healthcare and a healthy environment, the late, former president Nelson Mandela said almost a quarter-century ago. Never has this been more true for our corruption-plagued, young democracy as the number of grant recipients outnumbering individual taxpayers underscores our extreme levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment.
A case in point where scores of people are denied their right to be human is the sad state of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Almost 10 months after a fire gutted the public healthcare facility, 30% of the 1,088-bed hospital remains closed, including the critical casualty ward, the specialist psychiatric ward and the cardiothoracic ICU, at a great cost to life and health, reports the Daily Maverick. The news outlet writes “the failure to reopen CMJAH… is a lesson in what happens when prima facie evidence of corruption is ignored… and when dishonest officials are allowed to continue their work in proximity of multibillion-rand contacts”.
It is these ills that should keep our country’s leaders up at night. For President Cyril Ramaphosa it is the intricately linked state of the economy and record-high unemployment that are keeping him awake. On tackling corruption and bringing the perpetrators of State Capture to book, Ramaphosa said the government is engaging with the United Arab Emirates through the National Prosecuting Authority to cooperate on the possibility of extraditing individuals at the centre of State Capture. Once the full State Capture Inquiry report is released, the government would look at various outcomes to improve the management of entities and the ability of the state to exercise oversight, he told a press briefing after his response on the State of The Nation Address (SONA) debate. What does this even mean?
Maybe it’s time for Ramaphosa to revisit a Madiba speech to learn how to deal with the scourge of corruption.
In the markets, the rand traded on the front foot as the overall tone of Federal Reserve’s FOMC minutes released yesterday was less hawkish than the market expected. It showed the US central bank was ready to hike rates and shrink its balance sheet, but not as drastic as anticipated. “The dollar subsequently gave back some ground, but reports of some shots being fired on the Russian-Ukraine border saw the dollar firm once more,” comments TreasuryONE.
The rand is quoted just above the R15.00-mark against the US dollar this morning, and a sustained break of this level could see further strength to the 200-day moving average at R14.90 levels, says the forex trading house.
“Trading could, however, be choppy as the situation between Russia and Ukraine develops.”
The rand was last changing hands at R15.03/$.
On the commodity front, precious metals all strengthened last night after the FOMC minutes, and this morning we have gold and palladium gaining further, while platinum is flat, notes TreasuryONE. Gold is currently quoted at $1,873, platinum at $1,059 and palladium at $2,315.
The oil price has eased after reports that France and Iran are close to a nuclear deal, but the unstable Eastern European situation keeps the price buoyant. Brent is currently trading at $93.90.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Blue diamond found in Gauteng could fetch R720m at Hong Kong auction – Fin24
After accumulating R7.9bn in irregular and fruitless spending, SANDF promises to clean house – Daily Maverick
Nedbank to shut Iqbal Survé-linked AEEI’s banking facilities next month – Fin24
Global Business
World spends $1.8tn a year on subsidies that harm environment, study finds – The Guardian
Elon Musk said Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger once told an entire table at lunch ‘all the ways Tesla would fail’ – Business Insider
JPMorgan opens a bank branch in the metaverse (but it’s not what you think it’s for) – Forbes
Markets
Gold up, close to eight-month high, over Fed minutes – Investing.com
Most Asian markets up as traders eye Ukraine, Fed eases rate fears – AFP
Oil down, France and Iran inch towards nuclear deal – Investing.com
Opinion/In-depth
From self-centeredness to selfishness to self-harm — the ANC’s route to ultimate loss through corruption and insularity – Daily Maverick
Sean Peche slams Naspers/Prosus management, a voice for South African savers – Biznews
AU-EU summit: what stands in the way of a deeper relationship – The Conversation
Video
JSE 25-bagger in 18 months: CEO Kobus Verster shares back story to Arcelor Mittal’s turnaround – Biznews
Zuma Corruption Trial | Discussion | Where to now for Zuma? – eNCA
Athol, Erin & Appel: How undue legal privilege shielded Bain – Biznews
Image: GCIS
