For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.    

Making headlines: South African consumer mood slumps on tax hike, fraying US ties; SAIIA says SA must redefine foreign policy role amid shifting global dynamics; And, Congo lab testing confirms deadly disease outbreak was malaria

South African consumer mood slumps on tax hike, fraying US ties

South African consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in almost two years, as worries about higher taxes and the country’s deteriorating relations with the US weighed on sentiment.

A quarterly index measuring consumer sentiment slumped to -20 in the three months through March from -6 in the previous quarter, First National Bank said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. That’s the lowest level since the second quarter of 2023.

The Johannesburg-based lender said the prospect of significantly higher taxes — either via value-added tax hikes or further bracket creep on the personal income tax front — likely alarmed many consumers.

FNB added that the souring of diplomatic relations between South Africa and the US and the corrosive knock-on effects of the trade wars triggered by US President Donald Trump likely also contributed to the extraordinary deterioration in sentiment.

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on March 19 proposed raising the VAT rate by a full percentage point to 16% by mid-2026 — in two half-point steps — and won’t adjust personal income-tax brackets for inflation in a bid to boost revenue.

SAIIA says SA must redefine foreign policy role amid shifting global dynamics

South African Institute of International Affairs national council member Kuseni Dlamini pointed out that amid immediate crises facing South Africa, it is imperative and even urgent that South Africa redefine its foreign policy role within an increasingly transactional and fragmented shifting global order.

Dlamini was speaking in Johannesburg, during a webinar hosted by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and SAIIA focussed on South Africa’s diplomacy, where he noted that the symposium took place amid geopolitical tensions characterised by rising conflicts, looming trade wars that threaten to disrupt global trade, and weakened multilateralism.

He said that these rapid changes added uncertainty for global governments and presented challenges for South Africa’s diplomatic positioning, particularly as it held the G20 presidency.

Dlamini highlighted that among the many challenges that characterised the geopolitical landscape South Africa faced strained relations with the US, the country it was scheduled to hand over the G20 Presidency to in December. 

Meanwhile, Dirco Deputy Minister Alvin Botes said for many, the uncertainty of the present moment was unsettling, adding that the “retreat and erosion” of multilateralism, the resurgence of unilateralism, the conflicts across continents, and the political and economic fractures that divided the world had created an atmosphere of instability and unpredictability.

And, Congo lab testing confirms deadly disease outbreak was malaria

Testing has confirmed that an initially unidentified illness that killed more than 50 people in north-west Democratic Republic of Congo was malaria, the country's National Public Health Institute said.

At least 943 people fell sick and 52 died in Equateur province at the start of the year, with symptoms ranging from fever and fatigue to vomiting and weight loss.

Health officials said in February that the condition was suspected to be either malaria or food poisoning.

Lab testing on samples has now confirmed that it was malaria, INSP coordinator Christian Ngandu said by telephone.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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