- South Africa began administering its first coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, dispensing Johnson & Johnson shots to health workers and top politicians just hours after they arrived in the country from Belgium, reports Bloomberg. President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize were among those to be inoculated at a hospital in the Cape Town suburb of Khayelitsha. Their inclusion among the first group of people to be vaccinated was aimed at reassuring the public that they are safe, after surveys showed widespread hesitancy about receiving them. “This is really a milestone for our country,” Ramaphosa said after receiving his shot. “We are going to be rolling out this vaccine throughout our country. I think it is going to be flawless.” The government had previously faced criticism from scientists and labor unions for being slow off the mark to procure vaccines, after it lagged 79 countries in beginning their rollout. The country has secured enough doses for all those that need them, according to Mkhize. The process of vaccinating two-thirds of the population of 60 million in order to achieve herd immunity is expected to take 12 to 18 months, said Stavros Nicolaou, head of the health-work unit at lobbying group Business for South Africa.
- South Africa’s High Court has ruled that Eskom can recover R10bn ($681m) from consumers, enabling the state power utility to raise electricity tariffs by 16%. The ruling comes after Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa reached an agreement on the matter, the regulator said in an emailed statement Tuesday. It comes as Nersa appeals a ruling in July 2020 that enables Eskom to boost revenue by R69bn over the next three years.
- The only effective way for Eskom to get paid by municipalities which owe it billions is for it to completely take over the management of their electricity supply, billing, and payments.This was revealed in a recent interview with Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter. MyBroadband.co.za reports that in South Africa, municipalities have an exclusive right to supply electricity to businesses and households within their boundaries. But, many municipalities have collapsed and are unable to provide a stable electricity supply or pay their Eskom bills. Non-paying municipalities owe Eskom R36bn.
- Rising energy prices are fuelling inflation expectations in South Africa, prompting traders to bet that rate increases are on the cards this year even as the economy remains in the doldrums. Brent crude oil, which determines South African gasoline prices, climbed to the highest since May 2019 on Wednesday. Together with an expected increase in electricity tariffs, that’s pushed breakeven rates – seen as a gauge of bond traders’ outlook for price rises – to the highest since April 2020.
- The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Arabia plans to increase oil output in the coming months, reversing a recent big production cut, say advisers to the kingdom, a sign of growing confidence over an oil-price recovery. The world’s largest oil exporter surprised oil markets last month when it said it would unilaterally slash 1 million barrels a day of crude production in February and March in an effort to raise prices. But the kingdom plans to announce a reversal of those cuts when a coalition of oil producers meets next month, the advisers said, in light of the recent recovery in prices. The output rise won’t kick in until April, given the Saudis have already committed to stick to cuts through March.
- A look at JSE stocks: South Africa’s biggest food producer Tiger Brands said on Wednesday it expected headline earnings from continuing operations in the six months to March 31 to rise as much as 20%, a bounce back after a decline reported in its full-year results. The owner of popular brands Jungle Oats and Tastic rice said headline earnings per share (HEPS), the main profit measure in South Africa, is expected to be between 10% and 20% higher in the period, the firm’s first half, compared with 611 cents reported in the same period last year.
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