BizNews Radio

Investment manager Kokkie Kooyman discusses how Trump’s pro-growth policies are driving financial stocks higher, with relaxed regulations and tariff protections boosting banks. He also highlights South Africa's economic challenges, citing corruption and bureaucracy as key barriers to growth, though recent reforms show some promise for recovery.

In this morning's BizNews Briefing, industry experts weigh in on the shifting political and economic landscape, from the U.S. election results to South Africa’s response to rising fraud and systemic corruption. While optimism grows over Trump’s return and its potential business-friendly effects, concerns emerge about South Africa’s position in a changing global order, including the impact of Trump’s policies on U.S.-Africa trade relations and South Africa's economic future. The conversation also highlights local challenges, from police reforms to the fight against insurance fraud.

In today’s episode of NewsWrap, Donald Trump has won the 2024 US presidential election, our partners at Bloomberg report on his victory; Sasfin Wealth’s Chief Investment Strategist David Shapiro unpacks why Trump is so popular to voters in the US, and Mining Maven Peter Major discusses what a second Trump presidency could mean for the sector; new Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya details her action plan to get the struggling metro back on its feet; OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage updates us on what his organisation is doing to hold Eskom accountable after the electricity supplier proposed a 66% price hike over the next three years; and Altron has been South Africa’s top-performing stock over the last year, so BizNews editor Alec Hogg sat down with CEO Werner Kapp to find out why Altron has been so successful.

South Africa’s ongoing electricity and water crises have once again taken center stage, with Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), shedding light on the root causes and potential solutions. In a recent conversation with Alec Hogg, Duvenage emphasized the critical role of government responsibility, efficiency, and accountability, especially in essential services like electricity and water. He also urged citizens to support organizations like OUTA, which fight for transparency and systemic change.

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The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events - and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here.

The Gauteng Provincial Government has been tapping into a vast CCTV camera network to fight the high levels of crime in the province. In this interview with BizNews, Michael Varney, the Chief Commercial Officer of Vumacam, details the size of the network which has spread throughout Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Mogale - and now even into the Western Cape where it has planted its first network in conjunction with the Saldanha Bay Municipality. He details the “multitude of successes” achieved with the public-private partnership in Gauteng where it has been able to reduce response times from 18 to 30 minutes down to five to 10 minutes. As for the technology, apart from number plate recognition cameras, there are also overview cameras that pick up suspicious behaviour as well as smoke in a city notorious for building fires. “…the minute smoke is picked up, we're able then to create an alert and dispatch appropriately, leading to enormous successes in the prevention of the loss of life.”

Peter Major, Director of Mining at Modern Corporate Solutions, discusses challenges facing South Africa’s mining industry. He highlights political volatility in the U.S., Sibanye’s financial performance, and South Africa’s dwindling gold production due to high costs and regulatory burdens. Major urges regulatory reform to attract investment and sustain the sector.

The new Mayor of Tshwane, Dr. Nasiphi Moya, is faced with debt of over R11 billion, while creditors owe the City over R28 billion. In this interview with BizNews, Dr Moya details her 100-day action plan to save the Metro; gives viewers the low-down on behind-the-scenes talks on a payment plan of the almost R7-billion it owes ESKOM alone. She details measures to mitigate the water crisis; and gives an update on her other priorities, including infrastuctructure development, economic revitalisation, equitable basic service delivery, by-law enforcement and inner-city rejuvenation. Dr Moya says the “anxiety that we as politicians caused” in the lead-up to the Motion of No Confidence in her predecessor “is unforgivable”, but she vows not to let issues inside the council chambers translate into lack of service delivery.

In this morning's BizNews Briefing with Alec Hogg, David Shapiro shares his take on Trump’s polarizing influence on markets and the fallout for US bonds. Closer to home, Shapiro discusses the struggles of South African construction giants like Murray & Roberts, now mere shadows of their former selves amid a stagnant economy.

Altron has been in a two-horse race with WeBuyCars for the title of the JSE’s best-performing stock of the year. Both are the creations by entrepreneurs who kept them family controlled for much of the business’s lives. After the release of interim results at the end of August, however, Altron has opened up some space, with the share price bump taking its year-to-date gain to 107%. CEO Werner Kapp talks to BizNews editor Alec Hogg about Altron’s transformation.

This morning's BizNews Briefing, on air here from 7am, featured the latest on the US Presidential Election where Donald Trump is edging ahead; and live contributions from David Shapiro, Peter Major and Wayne Duvenage.