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South Africa's Reserve Bank (SARB) will raise interest rates to 4% on January 27 as it continues its hiking cycle amid a pick up in consumer price inflation, a Reuters poll found on Wednesday.

Eighteen of 23 economists polled from January 12 to 18 said the central bank would add 25 basis points (bps) to the repo rate next week, taking it to 4%, while five said it would leave rates on hold.

"The spike in consumer inflation to just below the ceiling of the SARB's inflation target in the context of tightening of global monetary policy supports front-loading of the South African rate hiking cycle," said Elna Moolman of Standard Bank.

"South Africa's inflation remains reasonably benign given the persistently weak economy, but inflation is edging higher and the SARB's interest rate normalisation process will continue," Moolman added.

Inflation (CPI) was expected to average 4.8% this year, slow to 4.5% next year and 4.4% the following year, the poll showed. The bank tries to keep inflation within a range of 3%-6%.

All five economists that expected the central bank to pause on Jan. 27 predicted rates to rise in March. The bank hiked rates in November to 3.75%.

One of those, Barclays' Michael Kafe, said his view remained the next hike would be in March as core CPI begins to track higher on recovering rental and insurance costs, with another 25 bps hike in September as a recovery in GDP growth provides enough comfort to remove excessive stimulus.

Poll medians showed hikes of 25 bps in every quarter from now until the second quarter of next year to 5.25%. The central bank was expected to pause for the rest of 2023.

Two-year US Treasury yields rose above 1% for the first time since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday as traders positioned for the possibility of a hawkish surprise from the Federal Reserve that could end with four rate hikes this year.

A hawkish Fed has the potential to attract capital flows away from emerging markets like South Africa.

Economic growth was expected to keep a steady path of 2.0% over the next three years.

The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) informed road users on Wednesday that the provisions under the Administrative Adjudication of the Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act are still enforceable until the Constitutional Court makes a judgment on the expected appeal.

Last week, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which challenged the constitutional validity of the Aarto and the Aarto Amendment Act.

Outa wanted the High Court to declare both the main Act and the Amendment Act unconstitutional.

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula has vowed to appeal the Pretoria High Court judgment and the RTIA board have also decided to join the Minister’s appeal.

The RTIA explained that Aarto is a national road safety intervention designed to change the behaviour of road users to curb the high number of fatalities that occur on the country’s roads.

RTIA estimated that about 14 000 road users die on national roads each year because of traffic law violations committed by infringers.

Mbalula said Aarto provided an adjudication system for infringements of road rules as determined by the National Road Traffic Act.

“Therefore, Aarto implementation continues until the judgment on the constitutionality of the Aarto Act has been subjected to all due legal review processes,” RTIA said and reminded road users to take advantage of the Aarto elective options to resolve any Aarto fines.

South Africa's annual consumer price inflation hit 5.9% in December 2021 - the highest annual rate since March 2017, when it increased by 6.1%.

The inflation rate climbed from 5.5% in November.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5.5% in the year to December, while transport prices jumped by a whopping 16.8%, fuelled by rising petrol and diesel prices.

Last year, the price of 95 unleaded petrol rose from below R15 in inland regions at the start of 2021 to above R20/litre by December.

Diesel rose from R13 to almost R18/litre.

The average annual consumer price inflation for 2021 was 4.5%, compared to the average rate of 3.3% in 2020.

The disgraced local unit of US management consultancy Bain and Company has voluntarily quit Business Leadership SA (BLSA) over the work it did for the SA Revenue Service (SARS) at the height of State capture.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bain South Africa said its membership of the business lobby group should not "distract from the important work BLSA does on behalf of the business community for the good of South Africa".

"We accept that through various lapses in leadership and governance, Bain South Africa became an unwitting participant in a process that inflicted serious damage on the South African Revenue Service, for which we apologise."

Bain was previously suspended as a BLSA member in September 2018. It re-admitted in April last year after the company repaid the tax agency the R164-million it earned from work it did at SARS, plus interest. At the time it also took other steps, including new risk protocols and a leadership changes.

'Unwitting participant'

The State Capture Inquiry's first report, released this month, was scathing in its assessment of Bain's consultancy work for SARS. The inquiry's chair, and acting Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, wants law enforcement agencies to investigate how contracts were awarded to the firm.

On Tuesday, Bain reiterated it is confident it did not "wilfully or knowingly support state capture at SARS or elsewhere".

"We have noted the findings of Part I of the Zondo Commission’s report. Bain is supportive of the Zondo Commission and its work, as well as its important role in helping to end the damaging effects of corruption in South Africa. We are, however, disappointed that Part I of the commission’s report mischaracterises Bain’s role at SARS," it said.

In addition to denying that it willfully supported State capture, the management consultancy said the report relied too heavily on the account of a single individual.

"The individual was not a Bain employee at the time of the SARS work, which ran from 2015 to 2017. He rejoined the firm in 2019 after having left in 2010."

The inquiry found that Bain knew about the appointment of former commissioner Tom Moyane before it was announced, and that Bain's former managing partner, Vittorio Massone, had frequent meetings with ex president Jacob Zuma.

The inquiry found that Bain and Moyane did "detailed planning" for a proposed restructuring at the tax agency "before they even stepped foot into SARS". This restructuring damaged SARS and lead to the resignations of a number of senior officials and the dismantling of key units.

A BLSA spokesperson said the group would be releasing a statement on Tuesday.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has vowed to appeal the court ruling that dismissed the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act as invalid and unconstitutional.

Last week, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of OUTA, which challenged the constitutional validity of the AARTO and the AARTO Amendment Act.

OUTA wanted the high court to declare both the main act and the amendment act unconstitutional.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Mbalula said AARTO provided an adjudication system for infringements of road rules as determined by the National Road Traffic Act.

"AARTO is the final piece of the puzzle in implementing a new road traffic management system by the democratic state. The importance of AARTO in driving behaviour change of motorists and providing disincentives for unbecoming conduct cannot be overemphasised.

"It is for these reasons that we have decided to appeal the ruling of the Pretoria High Court declaring the AARTO Act unconstitutional and invalid.

"As we continue to use legislative instruments to strengthen the road traffic regulatory framework, Parliament is currently seized with the proposed amendments to the National Road Traffic Act, to reduce the permissible alcohol limit for motorists," said Mbalula.

Mbalula believed AARTO was an important element in the government's efforts to stop the scourge of road fatalities.

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the Department of Basic Education should publish the matric results on media platforms.

The National Senior Certificate results will be released on Thursday.

Judge Anthony Millar ruled in favour of AfriForum on Tuesday morning.

The organisation took the department to court after the latter announced they would no longer be publishing results on public platforms, saying doing so would violate the Protection of Personal Information Act.

AfriForum, Maroela Media and Anle Spies - a pupil from the Gereformeerde Skool Dirk Postma in Pretoria but is currently in Gqerberha until 28 January - brought the case against the department. In her founding affidavit, Spies said she wants to study agriculture at the University of Free State.

“I am awaiting publication of the results of the matric examination, and I am, like all my fellow students, desperate to receive my results as soon as possible,” she said.

She said the release of the results was a week before she has to go to university for orientation. She said this was dependent on her getting her results and sending them to the university.

“I can just imagine that a huge number of the more than one million matriculants who wrote the matric exams last year are in a similar position than me in that they had moved or relocated to addresses far away from the schools that they attended when they sat for the matric exams.”

Spies said she wanted the results to be published without the pupils’ names, just exam numbers. She said publishing the results would not be going against POPIA because only she knows her examination number.

She argued that the department’s sudden decision not to publish the results was a failure to balance the right to privacy with the right to information, freedom of expression - including the right to a free press and media.

Spies said she was unaware of a formal consultation process between the department and media house about the decision.

In her papers, Susan Lombaard, Maroela Media chief executive officer, said the platform had published the results for the last six years. Lombaard said the decision not to publish the results had an impact on the pupils, bursary funds, higher education institutions and others that market their work around the publication of the results.

“They are now not only deprived from the opportunity to advertise their services to a focused market, but media institutions are also deprived of the opportunity to earn income from the advertising campaigns,” she said.

Millar ordered that the department publish the results “as was the practice in previous years, concurrently with making available the results to the schools that had been attended by the learners.”

In his ruling, Millar said while the education department has set up an online platform for pupils to check their results, it was not enough.

“Not everyone has access to those resources, particularly those from more modest backgrounds and a single newspaper can be shared amongst many people in order to check their results,” he said.

Millar said the publication of the results should not include the pupils’ names and surnames.

After the court hearing, AfriForum’s Willie Spies said: “We are glad that we were able to convince the judge and that the order was eventually granted. The results will be published, and as the judge made it clear in interpreting the order, it will have to be made available to the media houses. Which means newspapers will be able to publish and online platforms will be able to publish as used to be in the past.”

Basic education department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said they would abide by the ruling.

“This means that the department will make available the results to stakeholders who requested access.”

Anti-apartheid activist and former human rights commissioner Max Coleman has died.

His family released a statement on Monday morning confirming his death.

A statement from the family read, "We regret to inform you that Dr Max Coleman passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, 16 January 2022, aged 95. He is mourned and will be forever missed by his loving wife, Audrey, sons Brian, Neil, Keith and Colin, their partners and children."

"There will be a private funeral service followed by a public memorial to celebrate his life. Details will be announced in due course."

Coleman and his wife started the Detainees Parents Support Committee in 1981 after the apartheid regime detained their own sons for anti-apartheid activities. The committee helped detainees with food, clothes and legal representation, and supported their parents.

In November, President Cyril Ramaphosa awarded the Colemans the Order of Luthuli.

In a statement after receiving the award, the Colemans said the freedoms South Africans fought for were not the freedoms enjoyed today.

"Instead, unemployment, poverty, racism, inequality and violence are alive and well. The freedoms Nelson Mandela and the ANC so bravely fought for, the vision of egalitarian, non-racial democracy, is today but a flickering glimmer of the light that shone brightly on 27 April 1994," read the statement.

"State capture and thuggery have corrupted not only the state, but the minds and soul of the ANC. They have attempted to steal the freedom, vision and hopes of the nation. They cannot be allowed to succeed.

"The ANC must rid itself of corrupt elements, the democratic state must be restored to its historic duty to put South Africans first. To awaken the spirit of 'ubuntu', to reimagine the Mandela-led movement for non-racialism, inclusion and democracy."

Former public protector Thuli Madonsela also reacted to the news of Coleman's death on Twitter.

She tweeted, "Sad to note the passing of yet another selfless contributor to our political liberation. Heartfelt condolences to the Coleman family. Do find solace in, among others, his recent recognition through a National Order award. May the soul of Max Coleman rest in peace."

Responsibility for the State Security Agency will now be handed over to Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, following the dissolution of the Ministry of State Security.

Political responsibility for the State Security Agency will now reside with the Presidency and State Security Deputy Minister Zizi Kodwa will retain his role as Deputy.

Ayanda Dlodlo headed the State Security Agency department before she was returned to the Department of Public Service and Administration.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is urging South Africans to protect the country’s Constitution, democracy and electoral processes as his government starts off 2022 battling a range of controversies.

Earlier this year, a fire gutted the National Assembly building, followed by the release of the eagerly awaited Zondo Commission report, which made findings against top African National Congress members, State companies and government officials. And more recently, Ramaphosa’s own Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, wrote a controversial opinion piece that criticised the Constitution and judiciary.

He noted that while the Parliamentary building was damaged beyond use, Parliament continued its work. He said this was a reminder that democratic institutions were not defined by buildings.

Ramaphosa stressed the need to defend against efforts to destabilise the country’s democracy; efforts such as corruption in State-owned enterprises or attacks on the independence and integrity of the country’s judiciary.

He said the findings and recommendations in the Zondo Commission report would assist in rebuilding key institutions that were compromised with criminal intent and assist in holding those responsible to account.

“We must ensure that we use them to safeguard these institutions into the future so that they may never be captured again,” said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa called on citizens to draw strength and encouragement from the country’s deep dedication to its democracy and its common desire to build a nation that is united, free and equal.

The bail hearing of alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe will be heard on an urgent basis on Saturday.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed a notice of motion for an urgent bail application had been filed in the Western Cape High Court.

"The NPA can confirm that it has received a notice of motion for an urgent application for bail at the high court for Zandile Christmas Mafe at 11:00 on Saturday," he said.

It comes after Mafe was admitted to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital on Thursday to start his 30-day mental observation, after a bed was secured for him.

The State argued earlier this week for Mafe to be referred to the psychiatric hospital for mental observation following a diagnosis and recommendation by district surgeon Zelda van Tonder that Mafe suffered from paranoid schizophrenia – a diagnosis made just before his first court appearance earlier this month.

Mafe's senior legal counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, opposed the State's application, informing the court that Mafe would go on a hunger strike.

Mpofu argued that there was nothing wrong with Mafe.

Magistrate Zamekile Mbalo agreed with the State and postponed the matter to 11 February.

A new charge of the Contravention of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, a Schedule 6 offence, was added to the charge sheet this week, with the State abandoning the count related to damage to essential infrastructure.

Mafe also faces arson and theft charges.