EXTRACT
Over the week the rand retreated to levels last seen in the horrific Zuma days. On Friday it breached the key R15-to-the-dollar level. That’s a far cry from R12 to the dollar, which is the level it was at in January when hope soared that Cyril Ramaphosa would bring about change and policy certainty in SA.
The consequences of such a horrendously weak rand will be horrific for the poor. One analyst pointed out that the currency’s vertiginous depreciation over the past week may mean a 20c increase in the petrol price. That means virtually everything the poor consume – from transport to food – will increase in price. This on the back of massive fuel price hikes in recent months.
The rand’s weakness is not a fluke or just the result of global political shifts such as what’s happened in Turkey. We are also to blame.