April 24, 2019.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sashnee Moodley.

 

Making headlines:

Reserve Bank will likely keep interest rates steady at next meeting

Political parties square up in southern Cape

And, Free State ANC list judgment to be heard

 

Reserve Bank will likely keep interest rates steady at next meeting

Interest rates are likely to remain unchanged at next month's meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank, believes Momentum Investments economist Sanisha Packirisamy.

The Committee will begin its three-day meeting on May 21 and the Reserve Bank governor is expected to make the repo rate announcement on the afternoon of May 23.

Packirisamy said the positive downward trajectory in inflation expectations, alongside weaker-than-expected growth, has likely lowered the pressure on the central bank to maintain a tightening bias. At the same time, the hurdle to interest rate cuts remains high.

 

Political parties square up in southern Cape

The southern Cape region is set to be one of the most hotly contested areas in the May 8 election, with perennial heavyweights the ANC and the DA slugging it out for bragging rights in towns.

However, the African Independent Congress is vowing to weaken the ANC as it seeks to grow the party across the colourline in the region.

The AIC is focusing on the Coloured community, which the party says has been marginalised under ANC rule.

 

Free State ANC list judgment to be heard

Three disgruntled ANC members, who filed an urgent application with the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to have the provincial list nullified, will hear whether the court believes their application is urgent or not.

The applicants argued against the party's lists in court on Tuesday, saying the provincial list process had been flawed.

The applicants say they turned to the courts after the party had failed to address their concerns.

 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter[@PolityZA]