2015 by the numbers: From zero to R1.7-trillion in 365 days

27 December 2015 - 02:00 By Gareth van Onselen
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
University students march on the Union Buildings on October 23 as part of a nationwide protest against a tuition fee increase and to demand that tertiary education be free. Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd
University students march on the Union Buildings on October 23 as part of a nationwide protest against a tuition fee increase and to demand that tertiary education be free. Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd
Image: THULANI MBELE

There was nought for our comfort amid drought, protests and sackings.

0: Convictions secured against Julius Malema by the National Prosecuting Authority, after its racketeering case against the leader of the EFF was struck  from the roll in August. The case had been ongoing for three years.

1: Doctorates that Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa chief engineer Daniel Mtimkulu claimed to have from a German university. A Prasa spokesman said: "He could not present the qualifications he claims to have and ... he has been suspended pending an inquiry."

 

1.5: Percentage economic growth forecast by the Reserve Bank for South Africa in 2016. The International Monetary Fund forecasts 1.3%. Ratings agency Moody's predicts South Africa will only achieve a 3% growth rate by the year 2020.

story_article_right1

2: Warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Despite the warrants - and an order by the High Court in Pretoria that the Sudanese leader be detained in South Africa while attending an African Union summit - Bashir was allowed to leave the country.

MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH

2.33: Billions of rands of the shortfall in university funding as a result of the fees freeze that was agreed after the #FeesMustFall campaign. The Department of Higher Education stated it would cover R1.9-billion of the total; universities would have to find the additional R400-million.

 

2.82: Millions of rands spent on 13 private flights for Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini in the past two years. In one instance he decided to spend nearly R28,000 to fly, rather than drive, 115km from Ulundi to attend the unveiling of a statue. In 2014 the king requested a R10-million bailout after he exhausted his R50-million annual budget.

 

4: Medals awarded to national police commissioner Riah Phiyega. Among others, she was presented with the South African Police Service Gold Medal for Outstanding Service. Phiyega was later suspended following several reports on her conduct during the Marikana tragedy.

story_article_right2

4.2: Amount in billions of rands it is estimated a new jet for President Jacob Zuma will cost. The tender, advertised by Armscor in November, specified the plane must be able to seat at least 30 people and have a range of 13,800km.

 

5: Number of Airbus A330-300 aircraft that SAA will lease after the controversy between the Treasury and the chairwoman of the SAA board, Dudu Myeni, was resolved. Myeni had tried to change the lease agreement and buy 10 different Airbus models instead. The standoff has been blamed for Nhlanhla Nene's dismissal as the minister of finance.

 

6: Finance ministers South Africa has had since 1994. However, it had three in just four days in early December, as President Jacob Zuma fired Nene, replaced him with backbencher David "Des" van Rooyen - and then brought back former finance minister Pravin Gordhan following a massive public backlash and an economic meltdown.

World Economic Forum on AfricaNIC BOTHMA 

7: Percentage wage increase agreed to in May for 1.3million public service employees over three years. This increase (backdated from April) excluded an increase of inflation plus 1% for 2016 and 2017. The deal puts massive pressure on the Treasury. In October it was forced to raid South Africa's reserves to find the necessary funding, about R64-billion in total - R12-billion for the 2015-16 financial year alone.

story_article_right3

8: Amount in billions owed by South Africans in unpaid electricity bills to Eskom. Of the total, residents of Soweto alone owe some R4-billion. In June Eskom suggested it would renegotiate the individual bills of residents, should they allow pre-paid meters to be installed.

 

10: Amount in millions of dollars that South African football officials are alleged to have paid in bribes to host the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. The figure appeared in documents made public during the indictment of 18 senior Fifa officials in the US.

 

20: Years since personal income tax was last hiked. At the beginning of the year the minister of finance increased the marginal personal income rate by 1%, across all brackets.

 

31: Balls it took cricketer AB de Villiers to score 100 runs against the West Indies in a one-day international in January, a new world record. De Villiers, who hit 16 sixes during his innings, was eventually out for 149. He holds the world records for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket, with the last being scored off 64 balls, once more against the hapless West Indians, in Australia in February.

story_article_right4

 

40: Members of the SABC choir - 25 freelancers and 15 permanent members. The choir cost R3-million to run this year and caused controversy when it was filmed singing the praises of the SABC's controversial chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

 

60: Years since the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955. The ANC spent much of this year celebrating the anniversary and, at the same time, arguing with the EFF as to which party was the proper contemporary custodian of its values.

 

66: Percentage of wins achieved by former Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer. He resigned in November after the Springboks were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup in the semifinal. Meyer lost seven of eight matches against New Zealand, not to mention that one match against Japan, during his tenure.

story_article_right5

72: Position of Bafana Bafana in the Fifa world rankings. In May the soccer team had been ranked 59th.

 

74.6: The penalty, in billions of rands, imposed on cellphone operator MTN by the Nigerian Communications Commission in October, for failing to disconnect millions of unregistered sim cards. In December the fine was reduced to R55.9-billion.

 

76: Deaths in 2015, as a result of traditional initiation ceremonies gone wrong. Thirty-three initiates died during the winter initiation season, and to date 43 have died in the summer season. Most deaths are the result of dehydration and botched circumcisions.

story_article_right6

89: Percentage of the vote Mmusi Maimane won at the DA's federal congress in May in becoming the party's new leader. He beat Wilmot James for the position and succeeded Western Cape premier Helen Zille. Of the 1,244 delegates who voted, 1,106 chose Maimane. A total of 1425 delegates were registered.

 

169: Amount in billions of rands the JSE estimates the decision by Zuma to fire Nene as finance minister in December cost the economy in the days following the decision. The rand lost almost 10% against the dollar (down to R15.89) and euro (down to R17.45).

Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters via The Conversation 

204: Number of national key points identified on a list released by the minister of police in January. The list had been at the heart of a court case launched by the Right2Know campaign and the South African History Archive. The minister had dropped his opposition to the case without explanation.

story_article_right7

600: Pages the final report of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry ran to. The commission cost R153-million. It sat for 300 days and the transcript ran to 39,719 pages.

 

1,000: Megawatts cut from the national grid by Eskom during stage one of load-shedding, the phrase that dominated South Africa in the early part of the year. There were four stages, running from 1,000MW to 4,000MW. Eskom was accused of not sticking to schedules but, in November, managed to reach 100 days without load shedding.

1,982: The last year in which South Africa experienced a drought as severe as this one. The drought, blamed on the el Niño weather pattern, has seen the government set aside R450-million to help commercial and subsistence farmers.

story_article_right8

2,000: Complaints on the customer watchdog website Hello Peter at the height of the Post Office strike in March. Thousands of packages were delayed after postal workers went on strike, creating a backlog that would take months to overcome, because the delivery hubs were overwhelmed.

 

2,029: Year used as the cornerstone of the DA's vision statement, after Maimane's election. By 2029, the DA predicts, it will have been in national power for 10 years and would have transformed South Africa.

 

9,300: The number of jobs business consultancy group Grant Thornton estimated would be placed in jeopardy by stringent new visa regulations introduced in September. After much public pressure, the government eventually agreed in October to a series of amendments.

story_article_right9

 

1,700,000: Amount in millions of rands Anheuser-Busch InBev bought SABMiller for in October, giving it a 28% share of the global beer market.

 

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now