November 22, 2023.

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

Making headlines: 

Shock inflation increase makes for a tough interest rate decision this week

Parliamentary justice committee recommends that Hlophe and Motata be removed

And, Crime costs South Africa 10% of GDP each year, World Bank says

Shock inflation increase makes for a tough interest rate decision this week

Annual consumer price inflation climbed to 5.9% in October from 5.4% in September, edging closer to the outside of the SA Reserve Bank’s targeted band of 3% to 6%, marking a third consecutive increase. The figure was higher than economists expected.

South African headline inflation jolts the market by printing much higher than the consensus had expected in October. Although fuel price pressures were widely anticipated, no-one had forecast a spike back in year-on-year headline inflation, almost to the upper end of the Sarb’s inflation target.

The main contributors to the increase were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose 8.7% year-on-year, housing and utilities, transport, and miscellaneous goods and services. 

CPI is now at its highest level since May this year and will be one of the factors the Monetary Policy Committee meeting will have to consider as it makes its final decision on interest rates on Thursday afternoon.

Parliamentary justice committee recommends that Hlophe and Motata be removed

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services will recommend to the National Assembly that retired Judge Nkola Motata and suspended Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe  be removed from the Bench.

The African National Congress and Democratic Alliance agreed that both judges, who have been found guilty of gross misconduct by the Judicial Service Commission, should be removed, but Economic Freedom Fighters MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who was found guilty of misconduct by Parliament, opposed their removal.

Motata, who was convicted of drunk driving and falsely accusing the person whose wall he crashed into of racism, was found guilty of gross misconduct by the JSC after a protracted and litigious process.

In his case, Mkhwebane said, "Where is Ubuntu? To deal with Africans like this is not proper."

The rest of the committee was not swayed.

Crime costs South Africa 10% of GDP each year, World Bank says

Rampant crime in South Africa is costing the country at least 10% of its gross domestic product annually and exacerbating already stark income inequality, a World Bank study found.

One in five households are affected by crime each year, while companies are contending with high security costs, the lender’s researchers wrote in the Safety First: The Economic Cost of Crime in South Africa report. Informal businesses, which are seen as key to reviving the moribund economy and creating jobs, are particularly exposed to the crime scourge and most can’t afford to take preventative action.

On average 76 people are murdered in South Africa each day, data released by the police last week show, and attacks on tourists have made international headlines.

The World’s Bank’s calculation of the toll crime takes on the economy “combines transfer, protection and opportunity costs, all of which reduce the country’s growth potential through the misallocation and inefficient use of resources,” the report said. It found South Africa’s growth potential could increase by about one percentage point if businesses could invest part of what they spend on security in productive ventures.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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