News24 The Lead

Navigating the GNU, VAT, ZAR and Trump's tariffs with Carol Paton

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The South African economy faces potentially volatile times with the Trump Administration's tariffs on one side of the scale and a 1 May VAT hike on the other. "Everyone is feeling the pinch; even the US markets are feeling the pinch," says News24 writer-at-large Carol Paton. The rand has been edging closely to the R 20 per US dollar mark as the sweeping tariffs take effect globally this week. "At this point, we are in a very bad place," adds Paton. SA's among sixty nations being slapped with hefty tariffs - the US has imposed 31% on the region. "You and I can do very little when these geopolitical forces are acting on the world." Later, The Lead host, Graeme Raubenheimer, looks into the findings of the forensic report into the George building collapse. And finally, the SABC insists Afrikaans news bulletins are here to stay after a weekend no-show. You can now mail your views, news, and voice notes to thelead@24.com. New episodes drop Monday through Thursday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts at 19:00.
Chapters
  • 00:01 Graeme's intro
  • 01:10 Interview with Carol Paton
  • 19:04 Trending topic: George building collapse
  • 20:18 And finally: SABC still has Afrikaans news
  • 21:12 AD: Free audiobook of the month
  • 22:08 Graeme's outro
9 Apr 2025 English South Africa News · Society & Culture

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