The leaders of South Africa’s coalition government pledged to accelerate economic reforms and work more closely together during a two-day meeting aimed at improving the functioning of the administration.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African retailer Pepkor has acquired several fashion brands from privately-owned Retailability, it said on Tuesday, as part of its push into the adult clothing market. The Cape Town-based Pepkor has been growing its adultwear categories in recent months through the acquisition of Choice Clothing and the launch of its Ayana womenswear brand.

The South African government has criticized the U.S. policy shift that will give priority to Afrikaners for asylum.

South Africa is heading for a value-added tax (VAT) increase because other taxes are at their maximum, and cutting spending is politically suicidal for the ANC, leaving VAT as the only viable option.

The limited number of white South African Afrikaners signing up to relocate to the US was indication that they were not being persecuted, it added. On Thursday, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced its lowest refugee annual cap on record - to just 7,500.

The South African government reopened an inquest into his death in April as part of a move to investigate high-profile apartheid-era killings that were allegedly covered up by authorities at the time.

South Africa's manufacturing sentiment deteriorated in October, dragged down by subdued domestic demand and sluggish exports, a purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey showed on Monday.

South Africa will on Friday start offering loans from a 2.5 billion rand ($135 million) Youth Fund aimed at supporting small businesses, part of a push by the government to tackle one of the world’s highest unemployment rates.