February 23, 2024.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lynne Davies.

Making headlines:

DA readying to file contempt of court action against ANC

Treasury backs Central Bank inflation target review

And, IMF sees progress on Egypt loan programme amid Gaza pressures

DA readying to file contempt of court action against ANC

The Democratic Alliance announced on Friday that it will be launching a contempt of court application against the African National Congress to obtain copies of the emails and WhatsApps relevant to the period when President Cyril Ramaphosa served as chairperson of the ANC’s cadre deployment committee, between 2013 and 2018.

The party announced additional and follow-up action it will be taking as part of its ongoing campaign against ANC cadre deployment corruption.

The DA is of the view that the ANC failed to comply with the court order as it had extensively redacted the documents despite not being entitled to do so by the court order.

The DA said the ANC also failed to provide a list of all decisions taken by the cadre deployment committee, as ordered by the court and “impermissibly” restricted communication disseminated during the year 2020.

The DA will seek an urgent contempt of court ruling that includes prison time aimed specifically at ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who the DA said acted on behalf of the ANC in this matter.

Treasury backs Central Bank inflation target review

National Treasury said there’s a case to be made for the central bank’s inflation target to be reviewed to improve competitiveness and given the adverse impact price growth has on the poor.

The central bank, whose current target band is 3% to 6% with a preference for inflation to be anchored at the midpoint, has advocated for it to be lowered for several years. The South African Reserve Bank Governor has repeatedly said that a single-point inflation target of 3% would be in line with South Africa’s peers and allow for lower interest rates, while making price growth less of a concern in the everyday lives of South Africans.

While Treasury said the central bank has been able to achieve its goal of price stability and anchoring inflation expectations, it questioned its current definition of the target given price growth differentials compared to its peers and trading partners.

In its macroeconomic policy review it said technical work on the appropriate level of an inflation target for South Africa’s current economic context, both global and domestic, and what form such a target should take — point or range — should continue. Any possible future decision must be based on evidence and communicated in a transparent manner.

IMF sees progress on Egypt loan programme amid Gaza pressures

Talks with Egypt to boost its International Monetary Fund loan programme are making excellent progress, the IMF said adding that Egypt needs a "very comprehensive support package" to deal with economic challenges, including pressures from the war in Gaza.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a news briefing that IMF staff and Egyptian authorities agreed on the main elements of programme changes under combined first and second reviews of Egypt's existing $3-billion loan, and "authorities have expressed a strong commitment" to them.

She declined to discuss details of the Egypt package as the negotiations are continuing.

The IMF later clarified in a statement that the comprehensive policy package would "support the economic reform programme" in Egypt.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA