🇿🇦Week of October 5

South Africa's Road Accident Fund faces a R43-billion claims load that its board chair says the fund is unlikely to overcome. The funding gap has prompted proposals for new revenue measures, including a mandatory tax on anyone renewing their car licence discs.12

A new mandatory tax would apply to anyone renewing their car licence discs in South Africa, according to BusinessTech. A separate proposal would raise the petrol tax by 33%, as reported by TopAuto.co.za.13

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) opposes a plan to slash the fuel levy for the RAF, eNCA reported. Daily Maverick argued that South Africa should not waste the Road Accident Fund crisis, framing the moment as an opportunity for reform.45

South Africa's Home Affairs department has rebuked what it calls a disinformation campaign over a Constitutional Court ruling on asylum seekers, rejecting claims that the ruling legalises foreign nationals in the country. An Inter-Ministerial Committee met after the ruling, and the department pushed back publicly on the interpretation circulating around it.1234

The dispute centres on a directive allowing undocumented foreigners to apply for asylum, which TimesLIVE put to readers in a poll. BusinessTech reported concerns about 'the floodgates opening' to South Africa as the ruling's practical effect was debated.25

A Home Affairs official warned that the new asylum rules will overwhelm the department, according to EWN. The warning came a day after the department rejected characterisations of the ruling as legalising foreign nationals.146

Cosatu staged nationwide protests on Wednesday over decent jobs, retrenchments, wages and the cost of living. The demonstrations were timed to mark International Day of Decent Work. Saftu joined the call, urging workers to participate in a national shutdown against rising living costs.12345

Labour unions also protested planned retrenchments at GrandWest. The protests targeted job losses and retrenchments alongside wage demands.62

Exporters braced for impact as the nationwide Cosatu protest loomed. The strike action was expected to disrupt export operations.7

South Africa is facing its single biggest petrol price increase on record, with the fuel price set to rise in November. Petrol has already crossed the R30 mark, prompting calls for immediate government relief.12

The increase follows a surge in South Africa's fuel import bill to its highest level since 1994. Six reasons are cited for the price rise taking effect on Wednesday.34

Rising fuel costs are compounding pressure on households, with South Africans getting poorer as taxes, rising costs and private services leave far less to spend.5

South Africa's electricity supply now exceeds demand, Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said, marking a reversal from the country's recent power crisis. He described curtailment as an 'albatross' and backed selling surplus power to Zambia.123

Ramokgopa said South Africa will prioritise battery storage and gas-to-power projects, and warned that without urgent investment in these areas the country could face a potential power crisis.45