Hits & Misses

IMF predicts higher growth and Eskom turns over a new leaf

THE IMF gave South Africa a vote of confidence, revising its growth projections, but also warned that progress would be slow unless structural reforms were implemented. The IMF expects economic growth to strengthen to 1.5% in 2018 and to 1.7% in 2019. These estimates come after it slashed growth forecasts for both 2018 and 2019 to less than 1% in January.

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a team of business and finance experts to scour the globe for $100-billion (R1.2-trillion) in investment to boost the ailing economy. The team of economic envoys includes former finance minister Trevor Manuel as well as former Standard Bank CEO Jacko Maree.

SOUTH Africa’s inflation rate fell to a seven-year low in March, moving further below the midpoint of the Reserve Bank’s target range. Inflation slowed to 3.8% from a year earlier compared with 4% in February, Stats SA said.

SOUTH Africa’s auditorgeneral terminated its contract with KPMG’s local unit after the accounting firm became engulfed in a series of scandals. The decision marks the most significant blow yet to the embattled audit company, which is introducing a range of reforms in an effort to stem the outflow of business in South Africa.

ESKOM’S irregular expenditure was expected to spike for the year to end-March 2018 as legacy contracts worked their way through the system, acting chief financial officer Calib Cassim said in a presentation to parliament’s public enterprises committee.

FACEBOOK told South Africa’s information regulator that almost

100 000 people in the country were affected by its data leak. Facebook initially estimated that the personal information of 59 777 of its users in South Africa had been wrongfully shared with Cambridge Analytica.