South Africa: Today’s latest news and headlines, Wednesday 8 January

For all the latest news in South Africa – from sports to politics and everything in between – be sure to check out all major headlines on Wednesday 8 January.

After the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) released its results on Tuesday, the Department of Basic Education, which held a media briefing to discuss the overall results of the 2019 matric exams, is set to make individual outcomes public this morning. To “accommodate the release of matric results”, Eskom has announced that it will be load shedding during the early hours of Wednesday morning. In sports news, a determined Proteas outfit was overpowered by England at Newlands, settling the score ahead of their final encounter.

Today’s latest news in South Africa, Wednesday 8 January

NSC matric exam results released

After the release of IEB results on Tuesday, relating primarily to private institutions, the Department of Basic Education together is set to release individual marks of learners who completed to NSC examinations. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga briefed the media on the overall outcomes of the NSC examinations on Tuesday evening, reporting notable findings, including:

• An overall pass rate of 81.3%
• Top performing province: Free State

Motshekga added that UMALUSI declared the results credible and that no system irregularities hindered the examination process or the counting thereof.

If you’re part of the matric class of 2019, here’s how you can access your results today.

Eskom implements early morning load shedding

Load shedding made a troubling return this morning, after ceasing for the first few days of the week – but it’s Eskom’s reasoning for the rotational cuts which has South Africans caught between frustration and befuddlement.

On Tuesday afternoon, during a press briefing on the overall outcomes of the NSC examinations, Eskom revealed that it would implement load shedding on Wednesday morning, between 01:00 and 06:00, for the sake of matriculants wanting to access their results. Eskom went on to add that the ‘delay’ in load shedding was to ensure the ‘safety of matriculants’.

The announcement was met with hysteria, with the public lambasting Eskom for ‘running out of tangible excuses’ and ‘using load shedding as a means to blackmail consumers’.

Sport nationalisation bill comes under heavy fire

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for an extension on the comment time for a controversial amendment bill that could see the country’s sports “nationalised”.

The department of sports, arts and culture wants all sporting bodies – including clubs – to fall under the control of the minister.

“The DA believes that, especially due to the controversial nature of this bill, 30 days for comment is a ridiculously short period of time, especially as it falls within the holiday period,” said the party’s deputy shadow minister for sports, arts and culture, Veronica van Dyk, on Tuesday.

She said that the DA wrote to sports minister Nathi Mthethwa and the chairperson of the sport portfolio committee, Beauty Ndlulane, on January 4, seeking “clarity” on deadline submissions. (Source: ANA)

US-Iran tensions set to harm SA economy

South Africa’s already troubled economy is likely to be in for a volatile ride as global tensions rise in the wake of the standoff  between the US and Iran, and concerns that tit-for-tat retaliation in the coming months could even lead to all-out war.

A volatile rand, see-sawing stock market and rising oil price are all potential economic consequences of the US killing of senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani on Friday 3 January.

On the positive side, though, gold and palladium prices are rising as a result of the tensions and should be a boost for the beleaguered South African mining sector.

Like all emerging markets, the local economy is subject to significant fluctuations as a result of international events ranging from armed conflict to trade wars, terrorism and Brexit. In South Africa, this can be particularly pronounced because our economy is seen as a proxy for emerging markets in general.

England level series with thrilling win in second Test

Three late wickets from Ben Stokes helped England overcome a heroic South Africa fightback to draw level at 1-1 in the four-Test series in Cape Town on Tuesday.

South Africa began the fourth innings on day four needing to bat the best part of five sessions to maintain their series lead, and dragged the game deep into the final session before England finally broke down their resistance. (Source: ANA)

Latest weather forecast, Wednesday 8 January

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