It was Black Monday for the ANC as it came up against the combined force of ActionSA and the EFF which pushed the SA ruling party out of power in Johannesburg. The Joburg mayorship for the first time ever went to a woman, the DA’s Dr Mpho Phalatse. And the party managed this feat despite having no coalition agreement. It however did refuse to back ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba for mayor because “he might repeat behaving as if he was the EFF’s mayor”. Mashaba, who was the mayor of Johannesburg from August 2016 to November 2019 when he was a DA member, was hailed a “king-maker” after getting 16.2% of the vote in ActionSA’s maiden election.
Mashaba made it clear in a tweet that politics is a strategic game of power where promises aren’t taken lightly.
He said in a statement ActionSA has made a commitment to all South Africans that, where we contest, we will unseat the ANC in these elections. Seems other parties were on the same page, with even the EFF surprisingly siding with other opposition parties to kick the ANC to the curb.
Back to Phalatse, a doctor with a specialisation in public health, has her plate full from the onset with a manifesto of critical items that need fixing, including critical water leaks and potholes, and reducing electricity outages. But the biggest quick win she wants to implement is a R20bn investment in the city’s road network (on the current budget of R1.6bn a year). Let’s hope she can score the smaller, quick wins and instill confidence in disillusioned South Africans.
In a dramatic turn of events in Nelson Mandela Bay – somewhere between collapsing late-night talks and the absence of a DA councillor – the ANC by a single vote managed to elect Eugené Johnson as mayor for the metro.
Next coalition stop. Tshwane. Will the EFF surprise again?
In the markets, the rand crashed out to a strong dollar, with the local unit heading for R15.90 as the combination of a stronger greenback and weaker commodity prices leaves it vulnerable. “It is hard to bet against the trend [of a strong dollar and emerging market weakness], and even if the market feels stretched at the moment, taking a look at other EM currencies, it seems that there is little to stop the train at the moment,” comments TreasuryONE.
“With the expectation of lower growth and productivity from further lockdown hitting the market, we have seen metals under pressure,” says the forex trading house. Gold is back at just above $1,800, platinum barely above $1,010 and palladium is back under $2,000, last trading at $1,981/oz. Brent Crude is still below the $80-mark, trading at $79.23 a barrel.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
What to expect from South Africa’s next Covid-19 wave and lockdown restrictions: health minister – BusinessTech
Barloworld wants to sell its Avis stake next, following takeover deals of its logistics businesses – Fin24
‘Uncooperative’ KZN police commissioner took paternity leave during unrest, says former defence minister – Daily Maverick
Global Business
Powell ‘right person’ to lead Fed, fight inflation: Biden – AFP
Black Friday: Nine out of 10 deals are the same price or cheaper earlier in the year, investigation says – Sky News
Asia’s richest man looks to Walton family playbook on succession – Bloomberg
Markets
Asian markets mixed, dollar rises again as Fed’s Powell gets nod – AFP
Alibaba slides toward record low while investors bet on JD.com – Bloomberg
Apple posts longest rally since July as tech broadly falls – Bloomberg
Opinion/In-depth
South Africa faces a slowly worsening chronic fiscal crisis – The Conversation
The dirty business of apartheid-era dinosaurs: Inside an Eskom coal-fired power plant – Daily Maverick
Evicted villagers pay the price for MotoGP’s Indonesia return – AFP
Video
The rand is in uncharted territory – TreasuryOne’s Andre Cilliers on the rand’s recent shock – Biznews
El Salvador plans ‘Bitcoin City’ – Reuters
Fury over Shell search for oil and gas – eNCA
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