News headlines:

*Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has extended South Africa’s national state of disaster by a further month.

*Leaders from South Africa’s smaller political parties are meeting today to discuss coalitions – however, the ANC and EFF have been sidelined from the talks and won’t be approached.

*Some Gauteng residents will be hit with a 54-hour shutdown of water starting Monday.

A South African writer, Damon Galgut has won the 2021 Booker Prize with his novel about a Pretoria family, The Promise. With this win, he follows in the footsteps of well-known South African writers Nadine Gordimer and JM Coetzee. Damon, who was shortlisted for the prize on two previous occasions, told BizNews he really imagined that being shortlisted was as far as the book would go and was taken by surprise when he happened to win.

Dirk Van Vlaanderen of Kagiso Asset Management shares his thoughts on Piet Viljoen and Jan Van Niekerk's listed investment vehicle - RECM Calibre.

EasyEquities and Purple Group CEO Charles Savage spent time with the BizNews team unpacking their highly anticipated results. EasyEquities, the group’s crown jewel, was a standout performance. The brokerage platform now has more than one million registered accounts and is growing strongly, as well as being one of South Africa’s most loved brands. The rest of the group weighed on its performance but Savage did suggest that a rebranding of the group’s trading and asset management arms were in the pipeline. Alec Hogg recently added the Purple Group to the BizNews portfolio, generating more than a 70% return in the space of a few months, an incredible return on investment. Long may it continue.

Remgro’s chief investment officer Pieter Uys sits down with the BizNews team to discuss Community Investment Ventures Holdings’ (CIVH) latest proposed transaction with Vodacom. Remgro is the majority shareholder of CIVH, which houses its fibre assets: Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA). This is regarded as Remgro’s most exciting unlisted investment, with CIVH’s valuation totalling R27bn as of Remgro’s latest annual financial statements. Uys delves into the complexities of this transaction and the perceived synergies with Vodacom as one of the leading telecommunications companies on the continent.

Counterpoint Value Fund manager Piet Viljoen delves into a host of corporate action taking place across the local bourse. The mining mergers and acquisitions mania has continued, with a twist, as Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBK) turned down Impala Platinum’s proposed takeover to pursue a deal with competitor Northam Platinum. The Purple Group (owner of Easy Equities) also posted its financial results with the brokerage platform announcing impressive numbers. It remains one of the flagship growth companies on the JSE. Vodacom and Remgro have recently announced a partnership to grow high-flying fibre businesses Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa. Viljoen unpacks the possible synergies this could create. Lastly, Ascendis Activist Investor Harry Smit’s appointment to the board is discussed to wrap up the conversation.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg brings some on-the-ground insights on the back of the medium-term budget speech; Piet Viljoen's market insights; Purple Group’s CEO Charles Savage on the group's results plus an update on other business units under the umbrella; and Remgro CIO Pieter Uys on Vodacom’s latest acquisition, a co-controlling equity stake in (CIVH’s) fibre assets.

News headlines:

*SARS says its concerted effort to clamp down on tax non-compliance has resulted in R172 billion for the fiscus, drawn across all tax types.

*Former state president FW de Klerk died at his home in Cape Town on Thursday at the age of 85.

*Finance minister Enoch Godongwana presented his inaugural budget speech today, in which he resisted pressure to use the fiscal space that has delivered a R120bn boost to tax revenue and faster GDP growth from commodities windfall to announce new spending commitments, including meeting demands for a basic income grant.

Despite millions being spent on rhino protection elsewhere in Africa and in South Africa, the number of rhinos in the Kruger National Park is reported to have dropped no more than 3,000, the lowest number ever. That is a decline of nearly two-thirds over the past decade according to South African National Parks (SANParks). South Africa holds the majority of the world’s rhinos and it is the country hardest hit by poachers. And while there is demand in the Far East, the situation remains dire.

In this episode of the BizNews Power Hour, Alec Hogg celebrates the 30th anniversary of previously isolated South Africa's return to international sport; Alec speaks to legendary Ali Bacher, former SA cricket captain and long-time driver of the sport, who is joined by Proteas Clive Eksteen and Adrian Kuiper who were on that historic tour to India; Andre Viljoen, the owner of Woodstock Brewery, launched Mother Soup and in partnership with the Great Commission United have supplied more than five million meals since the global pandemic started.