Explainer: Nigeria's move from a fixed to a floating exchange-rate policy: ShutterstockAfrica’s largest economy has finally floated its fixed currency exchange rate for the first time in history. The freeing of the Nigerian naira after months of policy debates saw the currency immediately plummet by 40%. One would have to go back two decades to find parallels. South Africa – … [Read more...] about Explainer: Nigeria’s move from a fixed to a floating exchange-rate policy | The Conversation
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Explainer: can South African banks legally deduct from social grants? | The Conversation
Explainer: can South African banks legally deduct from social grants?: People queue to apply for social grants in Cape Town, South Africa. Nic Bothma/EPAAlmost 17 million South Africans rely on social grants. That’s about 30% of the country’s population. So what might first appear to be a small news item is actually an important legal issue: the South African Social Security … [Read more...] about Explainer: can South African banks legally deduct from social grants? | The Conversation
Explainer: understanding plague in the 21st century | The Conversation
A woman and her child walk past a mound of uncollected garbage in Diepsloot, outside Johannesburg. Uncollected rubbish provides food and shelter for rodents, which can spread plague if they pick up the bacteria. Reuters/Siphiwe SibekoIn medieval times, plague was known as the “black death” and resulted in millions of Europeans dying. Plague still persists in many areas, with … [Read more...] about Explainer: understanding plague in the 21st century | The Conversation
Explainer: causes, symptoms and cures of typhoid fever | The Conversation
A child collects clean water in Delmas, east of Johannesburg following an outbreak of the deadly typhoid virus. Reuters/Mujahid SafodienIn response to media reports about the death of a patient from typhoid fever in Johannesburg, the provincial Guateng health department put out a statement to place the incident in context. The Conversation Africa’s editor Caroline Southey asked … [Read more...] about Explainer: causes, symptoms and cures of typhoid fever | The Conversation
Explainer: how currency markets work and why the South African rand is falling | The Conversation
The rand's current weakness can be attributed to a myriad of structural problems facing South Africa's economy. ReutersGiven that South Africa operates within a flexible exchange rate regime, the value of the rand, like any commodity, is determined by the market forces of supply and demand. The demand for a currency relative to the supply will determine its value in … [Read more...] about Explainer: how currency markets work and why the South African rand is falling | The Conversation
