Polity.org.za Audio Articles

South Africa inflation falls to 3.3% y/y in August

South African inflation unexpectedly slowed in August thanks to softer fuel and food prices, with some analysts saying the central bank might now decide to cut interest rates on Thursday.

Headline consumer inflation fell to 3.3% year-on-year from 3.5% in July, lower than the 3.6% forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

The consensus before Wednesday's inflation data was that the central bank would maintain its repo rate at 7% on Thursday as it seeks to steer inflation to 3%, the new, lower level it said it would aim for at its last policy meeting.

But some analysts said the downside surprise, coupled with falling bond yields and a stronger rand, opened the door to another cut.

"This (inflation) release is something of a game changer. Suddenly, the September meeting is looking very live," said Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered.

Capital Economics said in a research note that it was expecting a 25 basis point interest rate cut on Thursday, and that a flagging economy was another reason to ease monetary policy.

Other analysts said they were sticking to their prediction for no change in rates.

"The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) may want to see if there are any price shocks still in the pipeline from tariffs," said Zain Vawda, market analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.

President Donald Trump imposed a 30% tariff on South African exports to the US last month, the highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa.

While the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has said the impact from the tariffs on growth and inflation could be modest, that view is yet to be borne out in official data.

The SARB has cut its key rate at three of its four policy meetings this year in an easing cycle that started in September 2024.

Trump's trade envoy to meet with Parks Tau

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau are expected to meet on Thursday in a bid to resolve an impasse over tariffs, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The parties will meet while a South African delegation visits New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since President Donald Trump's inauguration in January, with the American leader falsely accusing the nation of conducting a genocide against White people.

South Africa's trade-negotiation team has submitted a revised proposal to the Trump administration, in an effort to reach a deal and lower the 30% tariff levied on some exports from the continent's biggest economy. But the US hasn't responded to the nation's trade overtures, which included making it easier for US companies to sell chicken meat and pork in South Africa as well as a pledge to buy liquefied natural gas from the US, the African nation's government has said.

The US trade office didn't respond to an emailed request sent outside of normal office hours. A spokesperson for South Africa's trade department said talks with the US are "advancing," but declined to share details.

Trump claims South Africa's government is presiding over a genocide of White Afrikaans farmers and has offered members of that community refugee status. He has also criticised South Africa's Black economic empowerment laws meant to undo Apartheid-era discrimination. In May, the US president berated South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in an oval office meeting.

The US is South Africa's second-biggest trade partner after China, and the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are expected to decimate South African exports of cars and agricultural products including oranges and wine to the US.

In 2024, the countries' two-way trade totalled $21.6-billion, with South Africa benefiting from a $7.7-billion surplus, International Monetary Fund data shows.

Meanwhile, Leo Brent Bozell III, Trump's nominee as US ambassador to South Africa, is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, said Marc Dillard, deputy chief of the US mission in South Africa. His appointment still needs to be approved by the US Congress.

Despite the proposed talks, the chasm between the two nations remain.

Trump has in the past accused South Africa of unfair trade with the US, slashed aid to the country, expelled its ambassador and criticised South Africa's international court case against Israel.

The US president said he won't attend the G-20 summit being hosted by South Africa, sending Vice President JD Vance instead.

S Africa, allies raise concerns of violence against Sumud Flotilla

Sixteen countries have issued a joint statement, warning against violence directed at Global Sumud Flotilla, following recent reports of drone strikes targeting the civil society initiative.

The Foreign Affairs Ministers of Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and Türkiye all expressed security concerns, following last week's drone attack, the second on a flotilla vessel.

The attacks, in Tunisian airspace, came as Israel escalates its aggression in Palestine, with latest reports of a ground invasion by the Israeli army, that has resulted in casualties.

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, incited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The flotilla is delivering urgent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and attempting to raise awareness of the need to stop the war.

"Both objectives, peace and humanitarian aid delivery, together with the respect of international law, including humanitarian law, are shared by our governments. We therefore call on everyone to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the Flotilla, to respect international law and international humanitarian law," the joint statement from the 16 countries read.

It promised accountability for any attacks against the flotilla, any violation of international law and human rights, and for any illegal detentions.

Solidarity declares formal dispute with govt over retrenchments

Trade union Solidarity has declared a formal dispute with government, calling on other trade unions, employers and community organisations to do the same.

This follows Solidarity's letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa underscoring the crisis relating to retrenchments and proposing action.

ArcelorMittal South Africa is winding down its Long Steel operations, directly affecting 3 500 workers in Newcastle and Vereeniging, and potentially threatening over 100 000 downstream jobs.

Solidarity said it expected this number to increase drastically within the next three months.

"…however, the President did not respond to the letter. Solidarity also previously wrote to the Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau, warning of the coming crisis. A proposed trade framework was also sent to President Ramaphosa, and once again, there was no response to the letter," said Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann.

In the automotive sector, almost 500 Ford employees in Pretoria and Gqeberha face retrenchment, while Goodyear's closure of its 78-year-old tyre plant in Kariega will impact around 900 direct jobs and thousands more in the supply chain.

Hermann pointed out that National Economic Development and Labour Council rules stipulate that there must be formal mediation between the parties.

"We experience the government as one that deals recklessly with people's work. We trust that the dispute will put greater pressure on the government and that other role players will also enter dispute with the government. South Africa must stand up for people's jobs and for our country," he stated.

Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said the reasons provided in retrenchment notices and discussions with employers included poor infrastructure such as railways and ports, unpredictable power supply and electricity prices, poor policy and the government's inability to conclude a favourable trade agreement with the US government.

Meanwhile, Solidarity highlighted that several role players in the US government had agreed to talk to the trade union about its framework for a trade agreement.

Representatives of Solidarity are leaving for the US this week to mitigate the consequences of the harsh trade tariffs and to help facilitate a trade agreement.

ActionSA to file complaint against Treasury with Public Protector

ActionSA said on Tuesday it will submit a complaint against National Treasury to Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka, alleging systemic maladministration and failure to implement Special Investigating Unit (SIU) consequence-management recommendations.

This follows a Presidency briefing to Parliament, which the party said revealed failure of consequence management as the country pushes back against corruption.

"Of 467 individuals and companies recommended by the SIU to be added to National Treasury's Restricted Suppliers Register, only one has been listed," said ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley.

The Presidency's tracking showed 1 278 disciplinary recommendations emanating from SIU investigations, yet only 44 dismissals have resulted.

"That means the system routinely allows implicated suppliers and officials to escape accountability and continue doing business with the State," he said.

The party wants Treasury to explain why SIU referrals have not translated into listings or systemic corrective measures, and Beesley said it would look at parliamentary remedies to compel Ministers, accounting officers and the Presidency to account publicly and to take corrective action.

"The procurement reforms discussed in government explicitly considered empowering Treasury to act where accounting officers fail to act, but that power was not retained in the final Act, creating an enforcement gap that Treasury must now address," he said.

ActionSA accused President Cyril Ramaphosa and his executive of "failure in government".

"While President Cyril Ramaphosa has recently admonished ANC councillors for dereliction of duty, it is his Presidency and his executive that are responsible for this spectacular failure.

"If the executive will not act, independent institutions must. ActionSA will not allow SIU recommendations - which exist precisely to protect the public purse - to be shelved while dishonest suppliers continue winning contracts," he stated.

MKP calls for suspension of Madlanga Commission pending court hearing

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has called on judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga to suspend the start of the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday, until the Pretoria High Court passes judgment on the legality of the commission.

The commission was established in July, following explosive allegations of corruption, political interference, and malfeasance, with KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi specifically accusing Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of unilaterally disbanding the Political Killings Task Team and redirecting 121 active investigation dockets to the office of National Deputy Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, where they have allegedly been neutralised.

Mchunu and Sibiya have since been placed on leave by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In July, MKP president Jacob Zuma and the party legally challenged Ramaphosa's decision to place Mchunu on a leave of absence and said Firoz Cachalia's subsequent appointment as Acting Minister was illegal.

The party rejected what it termed the "reckless and unlawful" decision of the Madlanga Commission to commence hearings on Wednesday, when the case is set to be heard in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday.

MKP national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said this "rushed and irregular" mid-week commencement is not a coincidence.

"…it is a calculated manoeuvre designed to pre-empt, undermine, and possibly frustrate the court challenge brought by the MK Party and president Zuma in his personal capacity. Such contemptuous conduct towards the courts further illustrates the desperation of Cyril Ramaphosa and his compromised administration to sanitise illegality through speed and subterfuge," he stated.

The commission was due to begin its work on September 1.

The party further challenged the legality of Madlanga's appointment to head the commission, as a sitting judge, to investigate allegations that directly implicate members of the judiciary in corruption, gangsterism and criminal syndicates.

Ndhlela said this was a conflict of interest that tainted the commission's legitimacy, independence, or public confidence in it.

"Its findings are pre-tainted and will amount to nothing more than an expensive political smokescreen. Equally unlawful is the purported appointment of Firoz Cachalia as 'Acting Minister of Police', an unconstitutional usurpation of executive authority compounded by Ramaphosa's arbitrary side-lining of Minister Senzo Mchunu under the guise of a 'leave of absence'," he highlighted.

Ndhlela accused Ramaphosa of ignoring the recommendations of the Zondo Commission, with concerns of the same fate for the Madlanga Commission, which he said would be a waste of taxpayer money.

"What South Africans are left with then, is nothing more than a costly political theatre designed to shield Ramaphosa and his faction from accountability," he said, criticising the establishment of the commission, noting the Parliamentary ad hoc committee that was already undertaking an investigation.

POLITICAL PLOY

Meanwhile, last month, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EEF) urged Madlanga to relinquish his role in what it termed a "disgrace and fake process", which it warned would taint his legacy in the legal profession.

This after the commission of inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system announced that it was unable to begin its work owing to failure by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to procure the necessary infrastructure, despite having made commitments that it would be able to do so.

The EFF claimed that Madlanga was being used as a "pawn" in a process that it believed was a "political ploy" to quickly "ease crime anxieties".

It said the commission was a "pretense at action".

The EFF said it was not surprised by the announcement of the delays to the commencement, saying this formed part of a "deliberate attempt to stifle acco...

South Africa's longer-term inflation expectations drop to record low

South Africa's longer-term inflation expectations fell to their lowest level on record, a quarterly survey showed on Monday, after the central bank said it would aim for a lower inflation level.

Analysts, business people and trade unions now expect annual inflation to average 4.2% over the next five years, down from 4.4% in the second quarter survey. Inflation stood at 3.5% in July, the latest month for which data is available.

"These downward revisions were made against the backdrop of the SA Reserve Bank's announcement of a change to the preferred inflation target at the end of July, just before the survey period," the Bureau for Economic Research, which conducts the survey, said in a report.

The central bank, which commissions the survey, has been pushing for a formal change to its current inflation target range of 3% to 6%.

At its last interest rate announcement it said it would start aiming for 3% inflation, rather than the middle of its target band, despite the finance minister not yet signing off on any official change to its target.

Short-term inflation expectations were also revised down in the third-quarter survey, with forecasts for 2025 and 2026 averaging 3.8% and 4.2%, respectively, compared to 3.9% and 4.3% previously.

The South African Reserve Bank's next interest rate announcement is scheduled for September 18.

The majority of economists polled by Reuters expect the country's main lending rate to remain unchanged, given a modest uptick in inflation in July and possible further rise in August.

Some analysts think the bank's stated preference for 3% inflation will also encourage it to maintain its repo rate after cuts in May and July.

National Dialogue: Ramaphosa tells South Africans to hold govt accountable

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged citizens to hold government accountable and to engage constructively with public institutions.

In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa wrote that the country's public service faces significant challenges, highlighting the importance of the planned National Dialogue in addressing these challenges.

He acknowledged that the country's public service faced challenges in skills gaps, outdated systems and processes, inconsistent service delivery and corruption.

"…in many parts of the State, the values of Batho Pele - putting people first - have been eroded," he said.

He promised government interventions to strengthen the professional foundations of public service by attracting the right skills, implementing rigorous performance management and creating career pathways that reward merit and excellence.

"Through the National School of Government, we are investing in training and development.

"As we work to build a more professional, accountable and capable public service, we need to bring the public service closer to the people they serve. We must challenge the idea that public servants are providers and citizens are mere beneficiaries of goods and services," he stated.

Ramaphosa pointed out that the National Dialogue, launched in August, provided an opportunity to change the relationship between public servants and the public.

Over the next few months, South Africans will be meeting as communities across the country, discussing the issues that most concern them, to create a vision to take the country forward.

"These challenges may include anything from electricity cuts to overcrowded schools, a lack of water provision to poorly maintained roads, or an increase in violent crime or drug use," Ramaphosa said.

These conversations will culminate in a National Convention next year, which will finalise a social compact that outlines clear actions and responsibilities for all sectors of society.

Ramaphosa explained that through the National Dialogue process, each community was encouraged to work with all relevant stakeholders - ward councillors, municipal officials, civic bodies, community organisations and provincial and national departments - on a common plan to address these challenges.

"By working together in an integrated way, drawing together resources from within and outside the State, these stakeholders can find ways to solve local problems. Public servants have a vital role to play in working towards solutions alongside and in cooperation with communities," he said.

Ramaphosa pointed out that this approach was closely aligned with the District Development Model, which was about bringing government closer to the people and ensuring that local needs informed service delivery priorities.

"It is about building a public service that listens to citizens, adapts to their needs and continuously improves its services. Such a public service requires the active participation of citizens as partners in development, growth and transformation," he said.

ANC welcomes withdrawal of proposal that would have seen student debt listed with credit bureaus

The African National Congress (ANC) has welcomed the withdrawal of the much-debated draft National Credit Act amendment regulations, calling on the private sector to contribute to the employment of young people and to facilitate their entrance into the labour market.

Earlier this month, the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) urged the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) to withdraw its proposals to amend the National Credit Act, calling on government to rather pursue policies that expand access, write off historic student debt, and ensure financial inclusion.

The amendment regulations listed educational institutions as originators of credit information, meaning educational debt would appear on credit reports.

There was overwhelming public response to the proposal, with more than 20 000 submissions, the vast majority of which were opposed to the proposed regulations.

The ANCYL called the proposal "anti-poor" and "anti-youth", and argued that it would make the chance of falling into the debt trap for young people more likely, particularly for those from working-class and black communities.

Last month, the dtic called for input on the proposed amendments to the National Credit Regulations, which it said aimed to strengthen the way credit providers, credit bureaus, and consumers interact in the financial environment.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said students should not be blacklisted for a debt owing to an educational institution.

She said the withdrawal of the regulations indicated the power of dialogue and the potency of the voices of the people.

"In our commemorative statement of the 6th September 2025 on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the South African Students Congress, as an organisation we made it categorically clear that the regulations did not reflect the policy of the African National Congress as the regulations constituted a flagrant violation of access to higher education and the role of higher education in employment creation, based on the principle of 'Opening the Doors of Learning and Culture' as advocated by the Freedom Charter," she added.

ActionSA wants IEC investigation into ANC over allegations of unlawful election tactics

ActionSA says it is liaising with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to lodge a formal dispute against the African National Congress (ANC) for alleged electoral irregularities.

ActionSA want the IEC to investigate allegations that the ANC had transported non-residents to vote in the Ward 130 by-election in Soweto, earlier this week, as well as claims that the party offered voters money for electoral support.

"This conduct is nothing less than the theft of democracy. It denies residents the right to freely choose their councillor and exposes a governing party so desperate to cling to power that it will cheat communities out of their voice," the party said.

Now, the party is heading into the October 15 by-elections in wards 29 and 7, in Johannesburg and the North West, respectively, with "heightened vigilance".

"…ActionSA remains concerned that, in an effort to stem their declining support, established political parties have resorted to unlawful tactics as witnessed during the Ward 130 by-election in Soweto. Such actions not only undermine the credibility of the process and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the outcome but, more critically, silence the genuine voice and aspirations of residents," the party said.

It assured that it was ready to head into the October by-election to challenge "failed" established political parties.

Polity has reached out to the ANC for comment and will update the story once received.