Sisulu Pushes Back On Ramaphosa Pressure, RET Faction Still Undecided on Key Candidate

LOCAL NEWS

• Tourism Minister Sisulu says she has no intention of apologizing for remarks made against the judiciary, going directly against Ramaphosa’s statement saying she had retracted her comments and apologized.
  • This is seen to be more evidence of her pushing to the RET’s top candidate in the upcoming elective conference (Dec). However, she is against tough competition from Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and former HealthMin Zweli Mkhize – who is being favoured due to his access to the ANC Top Six.
  • The RET faction is yet to decide on its candidate
• Inside ANC sources say Ramaphosa and his inner circle are pushing for the elective conference to be held in Cape Town, to distance delegates from “external factors to convince them”.
  • They also note that the appointment of Gungubele as state security head is to boost Ramaphosa’s intelligence capacity ahead of the elective conference
• Eskom says its electricity is cheap vs other countries, as it pushes for a 20.5%+ increase to tariffs in 2022. It presented comparisons at hearings on Thursday, showing that electricity prices in SA are lower than in many regions, including South and North America, Europe, and North Africa.
  • Critics pushed back on the comparisons, however, arguing that electricity is actually delivered there, while other presentations highlighted the massive mismanagement of funds by Eskom locally
• NinetyOne says SAGBs are a good buy, despite the worsening interest rate outlook.
  • Says SARB hikes will preserve the yield advantage in SAGBs in the face of Fed hikes. Says inflation has likely peaked at 5.9% y/y in Dec