Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Matthew Parks

latest news & developments
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. (GCIS)

Godongwana holds better budget cards but economic recovery remains inadequate

Labour federations Cosatu and the South African Federation of Trade Unions have led calls for a budget that addresses massive unemployment and weak growth

Bitter impact: Tongaat Hulett’s liquidation will have a devastating ripple effect throughout not just KwaZulu-Natal but the entire country too,
filtering right down to the consumer. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Tongaat Hulett collapse looms

Vision, the lead secured lender to the troubled sugar giant, said it was committed to saving the company and jobs despite the business rescue process failing

Political: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a decision aimed
at unity rather than imprisoning thousands of white people. Photo: File

National Dialogue: South Africa’s elusive search for a social compact

Critics wondered whether the convention would follow through with local ward talks and implement recommendations

President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)

Ramaphosa’s cabinet deliberations will not be quick or painless

The Democratic Alliance says the president must stick to the letter of the coalition pact and divide cabinet posts among parties in line with the number of seats in parliament

March past: A Cosatu demonstration in Johannesburg last year. Photo: Papi Morake/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Government of national unity: Political shift tests Cosatu’s influence

The labour movement helped end apartheid and usher in Mandela’s coalition government. Its currently diminished position is cause for anxiety as the ANC forges new political…

DA leader John Steenhuisen. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)

Minimum wage stance won’t get DA a raise

The party’s belief that the base pay should be phased out could scupper its coalition prospects

March past: A Cosatu demonstration in Johannesburg last year. Photo: Papi Morake/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Cosatu: Agoa must support Africa’s industrialisation

Beneficiation growth, decent work, penalties for companies that violate labour laws and ensuring multinational companies pay taxes in Africa are among the issues unions will raise

Employees pack customers’ goods at a Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa, (Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Pick n Pay: How labour has fared in Ackerman’s empire

The retail giant was known for his role in opposing apartheid-era labour restrictions. But as economic conditions became tough, so did Pick n Pay

Dondo Mogajane, director general of the South African National Treasury, Enoch Godongwana, South Africa’s finance minister, David Masondo, South Africa’s deputy finance minister, and Edward Kieswetter, commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), (left to right), make their way to the budget presentation in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. South Africa cut corporate taxes and set more ambitious targets for reducing debt, after a surge in commodity prices led to higher-than-expected tax income. (Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Government stares down public wage conundrum

Workers are in the throes of a cost of living crisis, which could force the government to fold on its hard line against more spending

After 14 years of blackouts, the president has promised to expedite load-shedding’s finale. This is as the social compact to fix Eskom has seemingly stalled. (Photo by TADEU ANDRE / AFP)

Eskom compact: The plan to end the energy crisis has ‘dragged on’

After 14 years of blackouts, the president has promised to expedite load-shedding’s finale

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng faces its toughest question ahead of the 2024 election. (Delwyn Verasamy)

Will business come to the table for Cyril to meet his 100-day promise?

Disagreements over a basic income grant, labour law reform and how to save the economy mean consensus is still far off. But trade-offs – and political shifts – will eventually…

Not working: Residents of a Hillbrow building observe the country’s lockdown in March. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI/AFP via Getty Images)

Business isn’t bad – if you’re big

Large corporates have thrived during the pandemic to the detriment of the workforce

Balancing act: South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has aimed to keep inflation anchored to 4.5%. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

As Reserve Bank eyes inflation, jobs suffer

The central bank has been criticised for hiking interest rates to the detriment of employment

Economists widely expect the South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee to once again hold the interest rate at 8.25% when it concludes its meeting on Thursday.

‘A cruel slap’: Reserve Bank weighs inflation risks as the economy struggles

Critics have said the repo rate hike will jeopardise already sluggish economic growth, but others say the gradual increase will have little effect

Lesetja Kganyago, governor of South Africa’s central bank. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hawkish Reserve Bank sees South Africa edge towards a rates hike

Analysts say the Reserve Bank could start tightening monetary policy as early as next month