Capitec Bank System Glitches: South Africa’s Largest retail bank, Capitec, reported Nationwide disruption of their banking services including physical card transactions. The Bank’s statement said that they were working at resolving the issue and apologized to customers for any inconvenience. Down detector (https://downdetector.co.za/status/capitec/) indicates that online banking, mobile banking and ATM services are all currently down.
Kenyan Court Stops Police Ban: Reports of further planed protests in Kenya, was apparently the motivation for the Kenyan Police to issue a ban on all protests in Nairobi, and surrounding areas “until further notice”. This was met by resistance, with online groups outraged at the Police Order. On Thursday the Kenyan High Court temporarily suspended the order, pending the outcome of a suit filed by a civil rights organisation on Thursday. The core legal will be if the police have any legal right to issue such bans. Many businesses were reported closed in anticipation of further protests that failed to take off. There is a large police presence in the capital but so far there have been no reports of any protests
Transnet Gets Capital Boost: The African Development Bank announced a $1 billion loan to South Africa’s state-owned rail and ports company, Transnet. The loan, to be repaid over a period of 25 years, was underwritten by the South African Government. This will be the first part of a planned $8 billion infrastructure and up-grade plan for the ailing rail and Ports facilities infrastructure. The deterioration in South Africa is a major barrier to GDP growth and investment and has strangled the efficiency of its export market, particularly its mineral and natural resources. Transnet is one of several state-owned companies to have come under scrutiny for corruption and mismanagement. In a statement released by the bank, Transnet Group chief executive Michelle Phillips said the loan would make “a significant contribution to Transnet’s capital investment plan to stabilize and improve the rail network and to contribute to the broader South African economy.”
Netflix Dominates Emmy Nominations: the 76th Emmy nominations were announced yesterday with Netflix dominating the field with 107 nominations with FX the big mover in the rankings with 93 nominations, including nominations for major categories such as Best Series, Best Directing and Best Actor and was up from only 37 in 2023. The nominations saw HBO slipping down to third place with only 91 nominations, down from 127 last in 2023. The 76th Primetime Emmy awards ceremony is scheduled for the 15th September.
Reserve Bank Leaves Rates Unchanged: Yesterday (18 July 2024) the South African Reserve Ban and Monetary Policy Committee, made a decision to leave the current Interest repo rate unchanged at 8,25%.
The Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Lesetja Kganyago, indicated that inflation in most economies has yet to stabilize in line with inflation targets and this informed their decision not to cut the rate yet.