For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: ANC says DA’s employment equity case a direct assault on SA’s transformation journey; South African households recover slightly after rates cuts; And, Kenya's economy grew 5.1% year-on-year in Q4

ANC says DA’s employment equity case a direct assault on SA’s transformation journey

The African National Congress has condemned the Democratic Alliance’s constitutional challenge against the Employment Equity Amendment Act, describing it as an attempt to undermine the Act and a direct assault on the foundation of South Africa’s transformation journey.

The DA is arguing in court today against what it believes is the introduction of rigid national race quotas in the workplace.

The DA took Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth to court over Section 15A of the Act’s alleged violation of Section 9 of the Constitution, which it says represents a “radical and harmful” departure from previous employment equity law.

Last week, DA spokesperson on Employment and Labour Michael Bagraim said the quotas would “destroy jobs, undermine the economy, and violate the constitutional rights of all South Africans”.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the DA was taking “regressive action” which she said was an affront to the Constitution and undermined the sacrifices made by those who fought against apartheid.

South African households recover slightly after rates cuts

The latest Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index has improved, for the third consecutive quarter, following a series of repo rate cuts between September 2024 and January 2025.

While the three 25 basis points cuts have led to a modest improvement in the financial positions of South Africa’s households, citizens are “not out of the woods yet”, the fourth quarter of 2024 report has found.

Economist Dr Roelof Botha, who compiles the index on behalf of Altron FinTech, pointed out that the increase in the index during the fourth quarter of 2024 reflected the seasonal influence of year-end bonuses, as well as temporary jobs created during the summer holiday season.

In addition, withdrawals from pension funds and other investments related to the two-pot system, which started in the third quarter of 2024, artificially inflated the performance of the index, an effect that is likely to become more subdued during 2025 and that is detrimental to the financial disposition of households in the longer term.

And, Kenya's economy grew 5.1% year-on-year in Q4

Kenya's economy grew 5.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 6.1% in the same quarter of the previous year, the country's statistics office said today.

The economy grew 4.7% in 2024 as a whole, compared to growth of 5.7% in 2023, Kenya's National Bureau of Statistics said in a report.

The statistics agency said last year's growth drivers included agriculture, forestry and fishing, finance and insurance, transportation and real estate.

However sectors like mining, quarrying and construction contracted, it said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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