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- South Africa should aim to re-prioritise its budget to offset the cost of relief measures for businesses and individuals affected by deadly riots and accelerate reforms to foster inclusive economic growth. This is according to the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative for the country, Max Alier, who said, “This is a tragedy, but at the same time we can’t lose sight of the fiscal realities.” At least 330 people died and thousands of businesses in the commercial hub of Gauteng and the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province were looted or burned down in unrest that erupted on July 10. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday unveiled a series of measures aimed at helping those affected by the violence, including reinstating a monthly grant payment of R350 until the end of March and a R400 million state contribution to a humanitarian relief fund. He also announced support for uninsured businesses and other tax incentives, without specifying the cost of the package.
- An investigation into the social media campaign to incite violence and fuel the attempted insurrection this month has uncovered 12 Twitter accounts that were central to driving the unrest. Activity on these accounts point to a clear alignment with the so-called ‘radical economic transformation’ faction of the ANC, and exhibited deep social media know-how in running campaigns to push the message of freeing Jacob Zuma, calling for a shutdown in South Africa, and spreading misinformation.
- South Africa’s largest pharmaceutical company Aspen Pharmacare will release the first batch of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines on Monday. The local manufacturer of the vaccines said they will be released from its Gqeberha manufacturing site in the Eastern Cape and will be made available through the African Union’s African Vaccination Acquisition Task Team platform. Aspen is manufacturing 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for African countries, at the more than R3 billion sterile manufacturing facility. South Africa has placed an initial order for 30 million doses. Earlier this year President Cyril Ramaphosa said the doses will later be increased to 400 million.
