Update as at 16h30 SAST
Warning of Another Repo Rate Hike Next Month
Economists have warned consumers to brace for yet another hike in the repo rate when the reserve bank's monetary policy committee meets next month, Eyewitness News reports. The warning comes despite a drop in headline inflation for January, which now sits at 6.9%.
Struggle Veteran Peter Jones Dies
Peter Jones, who was the last person to see Steve Biko alive when they were arrested by apartheid police in 1977, has died after suffering a stroke, reports IOL. Jones and Biko were leaders of the Black People's Convention (BPC). Jones was arrested along with Biko as they were traveling to Cape Town in August 1977. Both were tortured and interrogated by apartheid security police. Biko would later die in prison. TimesLive reports that in his testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Jones said they had been taken to an isolated room at police offices in Gqeberha (then Port Elizabeth). His clothes were removed and he was forced to sit in the centre of a room on a steel chair to which his left hand was bound. He was interrogated about activities related to his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement and why he was with Biko at the time of his arrest.
Power Cuts to Continue for Remainder of 2023
Outgoing Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has said that the country's rolling power cuts are here to stay, at least for the remainder of the year, reports EWN. De Ruyter said that the state of the country's electricity grid was still unstable. "These issues should be resolved by the end of calendar 2023 and if that's the case, and it certainly looks like it is doable, then the outlook from 2024 onwards is going to be better. Will load shedding then be definitively a thing of the past? I think not," said De Ruyter. The country has been experiencing uninterrupted stages of load shedding since December 2022. De Ruyter, who resigned in mid-December, will remain in office until March.
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Man Rescued from Letaba River After Four-Day Ordeal
Rescue teams in Limpopo have saved a man who had been stuck in the middle of the Letaba River in Tzaneen, Limpopo, for four long days without water or food, reports eNCA. The Letaba River has been in flood due to heavy rains that hit the province and other parts of the country. Limpopo provincial Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs Minister, Basikopo Makamu, said that "due to the constant heavy rainfall, it was impossible for him to make his way back to the riverbank. But on Wednesday afternoon, he was finally rescued and airlifted by helicopter. He was taken to a stand-by ambulance and received medical attention. He kept sending signals to the rescue team that he was okay."
