Malcolm Libera

The Free State stands out as the most distressed and worst-performing province in South Africa. This is according to the latest Auditor General (AG)’s 2024-25 Consolidated General Report, which noted that the province is plagued by severe governance, compliance, and financial failures. The report found that local government across South Africa continues to struggle. “Limited progress has been achieved, and the state of local government remains concerning,” said AG Tsakani Maluleke.

The rand weakened over the past week due to flare-ups in the Middle East, as it remains volatile and susceptible to global market trends. Asian emerging markets showed gains across the board, benefiting from reduced expectations of US Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, which have put pressure on the dollar. Like other risk-sensitive emerging market currencies, the rand has been affected by global market sentiment, particularly since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

South African bank accounts are under attack as fraudsters abandon traditional hacking attempts and instead increasingly target customers, manipulating them into willingly sending them money. This is according to fraud prevention specialist BioCatch, which found that South African banks are facing mounting pressure from increasingly sophisticated scams. The survey revealed that 85% of South African banking leaders had seen an increase in fraud attempts against their institutions.