Cape Town - A roundup of Friday's must-read financial and economic news.
ANC top committee to meet on Sunday
The African National Congress will hold a two-day meeting of its top body starting on Sunday, party spokesperson Pule Mabe said.
The meeting of the national executive committee will be held against the backdrop of growing speculation that newly elected President Cyril Ramaphosa is planning Cabinet changes, and several provincial leadership disputes in the party.
The NEC is holding its first meeting since Jacob Zuma resigned as president on February 14 under pressure from the party. Mabe confirmed the meeting by text message.
Among Ramaphosa’s most pressing priorities are to select a deputy president, a post he’d occupied since May 2014, and reshuffle the Zuma-appointed Cabinet. Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on Wednesday announced plans to raise VAT and curb spending in a bid to stabilise debt and prevent a third junk credit rating.
Public Protector finds Brown 'inadvertently' misled Parliament about Eskom-Trillian
The Public Protector has found that Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown misled the National Assembly when she denied there were engagements between power utility Eskom and the Gupta-linked company Trillian Capital Partners.
This is according to a report issued by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to the Democratic Alliance.
“Minister Brown inadvertently misled Parliament in her assertion that there were no other contracts of engagement concluded between Eskom and Trillian," states the report.
The report relates to the minister’s written reply to a parliamentary question from December 2016 about whether Eskom had paid money to Trillian.
Now for Ramaphosa's real test - a new Cabinet, says analyst
President Cyril Ramaphosa now needs to act on appointing a new Cabinet. For the last week, he has acted as a virtual "lone ranger" in shifting sentiment and projecting an image of renewal.
But at the same time, his lone voice is undermined by a number of Cabinet ministers who not only have performed poorly, but at best presided over their extended portfolios while malfeasance has occurred, economic political analyst Daniel Silke told Fin24 on Friday.
He said that these ministers have, either by errors of omission or commission, been complicit in the degradation of the state and simultaneous institutional damage.
INFOGRAPHIC: #Budget2018 at a glance
Have a look at Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba's budget in a single infographic.
Women have the balls to take over the reins at Treasury
Clockwise from top left: Executive director and deputy CEO of MMI Holdings Mary Vilakazi, ABSA Group CEO Maria Ramos, Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor, former CEO of Shanduka Group Phuti Mahanyele, economist Thabi Leoka, former Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus. (Pictures: File, Gallo Images)
When President Cyril Ramaphosa eventually gets around to his Cabinet reshuffle, he should seriously consider appointing a woman as finance minister, writes Fin24 journalist Lameez Omarjee.
As the briefing in Parliament ahead of the Budget Speech on Wednesday concluded, Treasury director general Dondo Mogajane gave the assurance that the integrity of the work done at Treasury continues, regardless of who is the finance minister. Right next to him, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago - who also served as director general between 2005 and 2011 - nodded in agreement.
Looking at the panel of five men who are responsible for vital policies which affect the lives of millions, I considered the transformation in leadership over the past 24 years of democracy. I was disappointed because there were no women on that panel in 2018.
In a post-budget dinner with colleagues, which also involved discussions about the perils of using Tinder, we agreed that it was high time to unmatch with Gigaba and swipe right on Moyane. Someone called for Kganyago’s return to Treasury, this time as minister. Not one person proposed a woman to take the lead.
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