South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile is set to meet captains of industry amid an energy crisis that’s stifling economic growth and souring investor sentiment.
Mashatile, 61, took over as deputy president in March after being elected in the same position at the ruling African National Congress’ elective conference in December. The rand weakened by a record, falling as low as 19.5148 to the dollar on Friday, undermined by domestic challenges and reports that the US ambassador to South Africa accused the country of supplying arms to Russia. An index of South African banking stocks tumbled to the lowest since October 2022 as the local currency extended losses.