https://sagire.online/topic/south-africa/ Rolling analysis and coverage of geopolitics, energy, security and supply chains. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 02:48:00 -0300 https://sagire.online/wire/1a7cde11/https://sagire.online/wire/1a7cde11/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:24:00 -0300South Africans voted on Wednesday in local elections that will decide who leads the country’s eight main city municipalities as well as its 44 district and 205 local councils, a contest expected to be a tough test for the African National Congress (ANC). A record 29.2 million people are registered to vote at 23,696 voting stations, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa, and more than 1.4 million special votes were cast on Monday and Tuesday. Polls showed the ANC getting less than a third of the vote, down from 45.6% at the last municipal elections, in 2021, and 40.2% in 2024’s national elections. In total, 546 political parties were vying for votes, and final results are expected on Sunday. The outcome is expected to shape the race to succeed Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC leader at the party’s conference in December 2027.South AfricaElectionsAfrica https://sagire.online/wire/40547d84/https://sagire.online/wire/40547d84/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:23:00 -0300Aliko Dangote on Wednesday broke ground for a planned fuel storage site in Namibia, which will serve as a fuel distribution hub in southern Africa, in an OilPrice report based on Bloomberg’s reporting. The project, expected to cost $2.5 billion, includes a fuel depot outside the main port of Walvis Bay and a 1,700-kilometer pipeline to bring fuels to Botswana and South Africa, and potentially to other countries. “We want to heavily invest so that most of the landlocked countries will be able to access petroleum products at a cheaper price,” Dangote said at the event. The initial public offering of a minority stake in Dangote’s refinery could raise as much as $2.1 billion if the company exercises its greenshoe option.NigeriaEnergySouth AfricaAfrica https://sagire.online/wire/37e4db67/https://sagire.online/wire/37e4db67/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:24:00 -0300South Africans voted in local elections on Wednesday amid deep discontent over water outages, power cuts and crumbling infrastructure, with the African National Congress (ANC) on course for a bruising result. Polls show the ANC getting less than a third of the vote, down from 45.6% at the last municipal elections in 2021 and 40.2% in the 2024 national elections. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and closed at 9:00 p.m. local time (0500 and 1900 GMT). Parties are battling for control of major cities in a contest expected to offer a measure of the national mood before the next national polls.South AfricaElectionsAfrica https://sagire.online/wire/6ee70a93/https://sagire.online/wire/6ee70a93/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 01:22:00 -0300In a follow-up to the South African municipal elections, polls put the African National Congress (ANC) below one-third of the vote, down from 45.6% in 2021 and 40.2% in 2024, with fragmentation potentially costing it control of municipalities even as it remains the largest party, and in eThekwini uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) is polling above 40%. The electoral commission has one week to announce the final result, and parties will then have two weeks to form councils and elect mayors.South AfricaElectionsAfrica https://sagire.online/wire/281d1f0d/https://sagire.online/wire/281d1f0d/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 20:22:00 -0300South Africa is holding municipal elections, and the African National Congress (ANC) is trying to prove it still has what it takes to govern after losing its parliamentary majority in the 2024 national election. Poor governance and voter apathy are eroding ANC support in townships such as Alexandra, northeast of Johannesburg. An Ipsos poll puts the Democratic Alliance party at 25 percent support in this election, up from 22 percent last time.South AfricaElectionsAfrica https://sagire.online/wire/b44395c5/https://sagire.online/wire/b44395c5/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:22:00 -0300South Africa and Rwanda will lose their duty-free access to the US market after being excluded from the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) program, according to France 24. With the program ending, South Africa is bracing for some job losses.South AfricaRwandaUnited StatesTrade https://sagire.online/wire/3c4303ff/https://sagire.online/wire/3c4303ff/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 08:23:00 -0300The South African government confirmed the intention of the United States to withdraw the country’s benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from January 1, 2027, with 60 days’ advance notice, according to SAnews, the South African government’s news service. Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said the decision does not define the broader relationship between the two countries and that a solution depends on the willingness of both sides. According to the government, Washington introduced new issues outside the scope of the negotiation process that began in 2025. South African exports under AGOA totaled nearly US$ 1.7 billion in 2025, down from US$ 4 billion in 2024, and accounted for roughly 1% of the country’s total exports. Bilateral trade reached US$ 28.8 billion in 2025, with more than 600 American companies operating in the country. South Africa supplies the United States with 12 of the 50 minerals Washington deems critical and 70% of the isotopes used in cancer treatments.South AfricaUnited StatesTradeEconomy https://sagire.online/wire/9f4395ef/https://sagire.online/wire/9f4395ef/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 04:22:00 -0300US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Monday that Washington intends to suspend South Africa and Rwanda from duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), with South Africa as the largest beneficiary, exporting about 1.7 billion dollars in goods in 2025, citing barriers to US trade and investment, corruption and threats to US national security and foreign policy interests, as well as South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice — the South African government said it had received 60 days’ advance notice of the withdrawal of benefits effective January 1, 2027, with Trade Minister Parks Tau saying the decision does not define the broader relationship between the two countries and that a solution will depend on both sides’ willingness to engage, and that about 10% of exports to the US entered under AGOA in 2025, down from 28% in 2024.South AfricaRwandaUnited StatesTrade https://sagire.online/wire/f38b54d9/https://sagire.online/wire/f38b54d9/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 22:21:00 -0300United States President Donald Trump notified Congress of his intention to remove Rwanda and South Africa from the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) preferential trade program from January 1, 2027, citing barriers to American trade and investment and national security and foreign policy concerns in the region. An annual review found that both governments engage in practices inconsistent with the eligibility criteria, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.United StatesRwandaSouth AfricaTrade https://sagire.online/wire/05cdaa0c/https://sagire.online/wire/05cdaa0c/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:23:00 -0300US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Monday that Washington intends to suspend South Africa and Rwanda from duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to Reuters.United StatesSouth AfricaRwandaTrade https://sagire.online/wire/3273c7fa/https://sagire.online/wire/3273c7fa/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:23:00 -0300Deep rifts over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are likely to derail unified actions and statements at the two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the world’s 20 largest economies in Atlanta, according to Reuters, in a text republished by US News. The US has not invited South Africa to the ministerial, which takes place from October 30 to 31.United StatesSouth AfricaDiplomacyUkraineMiddle East https://sagire.online/wire/7d967d5a/https://sagire.online/wire/7d967d5a/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 07:23:00 -0300Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China supports South Africa in continuing its participation in G20-related activities, TRT World reported. The spokesperson said South Africa is “an important member of the G20” and that Beijing “supports its continued participation in the activities carried out under the group,” according to EFE, in a text republished by swissinfo.ch.ChinaSouth AfricaDiplomacy https://sagire.online/wire/ee7acbb2/https://sagire.online/wire/ee7acbb2/Tue, 27 Oct 2026 08:23:00 -0300South Africa halted a new directive for processing asylum applications after violent protests broke out in Johannesburg and Durban, according to DW. The suspension of asylum applications followed recent unrest, France 24 reported.South AfricaAfricaMigrationProtests https://sagire.online/wire/080da39c/https://sagire.online/wire/080da39c/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 18:24:00 -0300The Democratic Alliance’s candidate for mayor of Durban, Haniff Hoosen, said he would welcome Benjamin Netanyahu despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. Asked whether he would receive him should the Israeli prime minister travel to the city, he answered: “Why shouldn’t I if he comes to visit the city?”, in a mayoral debate earlier this week, according to Middle East Eye.South AfricaInternational justiceElectionsIsrael https://sagire.online/wire/cb225733/https://sagire.online/wire/cb225733/Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:23:00 -0300A mob of about 50 people beat a foreign national to death on Thursday in central Durban, a South African port city that is a flashpoint for anti-migrant sentiment, police said.South AfricaPublic securityMigration