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Eskom has warned that electricity supply could be affected if wage talks reached a deadlock as workersâ unions demand up to 15 percent in salary increase, a threat that would knock the struggling economy and dent investor confidence. Photographer: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
Eskom wage talks could threaten electricity supply and knock economy
By Siphelele Dludla
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JOHANNESBURG - ESKOM has warned that electricity supply could be affected if wage talks reached a deadlock as workersâ unions demand up to 15 percent in salary increase, a threat that would knock the struggling economy and dent investor confidence.
The power utility on Friday urged all parties to put the countryâs best interests first as wage talks with recognised labour unions were set to commence yesterday and end on June 3.
âFragile economy canât afford more strikesâ - analysts
By Siphelele Dludla
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THE LOOMING strike season over the impasse in the public sector wage negotiations could have the potential to derail South Africaâs expected economic recovery this year.
This week, analysts warned that strikes could override the gains made since the easing of lockdown restrictions and the vaccination rollout.
NFB Private Wealth Management managing director Andrew Duvenage said the strike season, with wage negotiations in full swing, could be the biggest risk to investor confidence and into this year s fragile economic recovery. The year was bringing other complexities that could be far worse than previous years.
Generic image: Photo: Micheile Henderson
NATIONAL NEWS - “There is little evidence from President Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation Address [Sona] or Minister Tito Mboweni’s 2021 Budget Speech the government is willing to move away from its prevailing ideology in order to implement the necessary structural reforms which would put the economy on a growth trajectory,” says Andrew Duvenage, managing director of NFB Private Wealth Management.
He believes that without these reforms, South Africa is headed for a sovereign debt crisis within the next four or five years. He thinks it will be a bitter pill to swallow should the ruling ANC need to approach the IMF with cap in hand.
5 charts showing what to look out for in Mboweni’s budget
Bloomberg24 February 2021
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South African finance minister Tito Mboweni is expected to outline steps to revive an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic while halting a deterioration in public finances in Wednesday’s budget.
These charts show what to look out for as he presents the fiscal framework for the next three years.
The minister will probably detail plans to pay for Covid-19 vaccines. While the Treasury estimates it could cost as much as R24 billion ($1.6 billion) to immunize 40 million people, or around two-thirds of South Africa’s population, it’s unlikely to bear all the costs.