Things are slowly unraveling in South Africa, despite somewhat good news being announced today. All charges of fraud against the country’s finance minister have been dropped all of a sudden. These changes were filed three weeks ago by the South African chief prosecutor, but it turns out there is not enough evidence to keep the investigation going. As a result, the South African Rand value increased by 2%.
The past few weeks have been rather troubling for South Africa. When its finance minister was charged with multiple counts of fraud, a lot of people got worried. The South African rand took a nosedive as well. But it looks like most of these concerns are unjustified, as all charges have been dropped.
Positive News For South Africa, For Now
Civil society groups were not too amused by these accusations, to begin with. In fact, a portion of South Africa’s corporations co-signed a letter in support of their finance minister. It appears these initial charges were political games, rather than actual offenses. President Jacob Zuma allegedly intends to take control of the country’s Treasury somehow.
Although the charges in question relate to an offense, the context is very different from what most people assume. Back in 2010, Gordhan authorized an early retirement package for his deputy. At that time, it seemed the move was legal, and documentation has surfaced backing those claims. However, the charges against him alleged he committed fraud while doing so.
What is rather intriguing is how South Africa is dealing with corruption on a large scale. Unfortunately, there are over 800 claims of fraud and corruption against President Zuma himself. So far, he has not been prosecuted for any of these offenses, nor are there plans to bring him to justice.
Even though the rand has picked up in value again, the country remains plagued by financial turmoil. Unemployment rates have reached 27%, which is unacceptable. Weak commodity prices are not helping matters either. Bitcoin remains a more than a viable solution for people looking into alternatives.
That being said, Bitcoin is not as popular in South Africa just yet. Looking at the LocalBitcoins charts, it is clear there is still plenty of room for growth. Although the weekly volume has increased slightly in recent weeks, there is an overall downtrend on the charts. That situation may come to change at some point, though.
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock
