For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa says there is a long way to go to instil ethics in public service; Health Committee chairperson says low positivity rate bodes well for SA; And, Rand falling prey to global worries fuels South Africa inflation

Ramaphosa says there is a long way to go to instil ethics in public service

As government increases its efforts to prevent corruption in the public service, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that there was still a long way to go to instil a culture of ethics in the public service.

It was recently revealed that about 17 000 public servants had applied for and received the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant meant for South Africans who are struggling financially owing to the pandemic.

Ramaphosa said the “wilful intent” to steal public funds is “unforgivable” and promised that government was increasing its efforts against wrongdoing in the public service.

He referenced the recently launched Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit which will undertake disciplinary action in cases of misconduct in the public service and refer cases to government’s Anti-Corruption Task Team.

He said the unit will monitor the conduct of lifestyle audits of public service employees.

Health Committee chairperson says low positivity rate bodes well for SA

Health Portfolio Committee chairperson Dr Kenneth Jacobs has said that the low percent Covid-19 positivity rate indicates that the level of coronavirus transmission relative to the amount of testing is low.

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases reported that South Africa had exited the third wave, according to the current definition.

The NICD reported 967 new Covid-19 cases in the country, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to more than 2.89-million, which represents a 5% positivity rate.

Jacobs said the 5% positivity rate for Covid-19 infection boded well for the lives and livelihoods of South Africans.

And, Rand falling prey to global worries fuels South Africa inflation

The rand is taking a bigger hit than most of its emerging-market peers as an energy crisis and Chinese growth concerns batter the South African currency and worsens the country’s inflation outlook.

The currency declined for a second day on Monday to its weakest level in more than a month as oil prices soared, while traders fretted over China’s growth hurdles and how that would affect prices of the raw materials that account for close to half of South Africa’s exports.

The weaker currency, along with crude-oil prices at the highest in more than two years, pushed breakeven rates, which reflect bond investors’ expectations of price rises, to levels last seen in June 2019.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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