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The reckless spending of money and the waste and corruption is not going to stop because ActionSA is getting into bed with the African National Congress (ANC). That is the warning of Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor and former Citizen Editor Martin Williams. “There's absolutely no way ActionSA can put a spoke in that wheel,” he says. In fact, says Williams, any party that gets into an alliance with the “divided and corrupt” ANC in the province will end up in an “unstable relationship because you don't know who to trust within the ANC”. He adds that the ANC doesn't even need ActionSA “to do anything” if the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is on board. “So they could be playing off each other forever, at least until 2026 when the next election happens”. He also dissects the different factions in the ANC and describes how the connection of the “Alex Mafia” weaves through it all. While Williams believes that a working relationship between a “reasonable” ANC and the DA is the only way to start turning the City around, “we cannot get into bed with the ANC as currently constituted”. Instead, the DA will work toward gaining a commanding position in the 2026 municipal elections.

The world’s most famous ultra-distance race, KZN’s Comrades Marathon, is hosting an acrimonious battle between runners and the race’s board of directors who are accused of industrial-scale corruption. The catalyst was an allegedly unfair dismissal of admired race manager Ann Ashworth after she exposed blatant skimming by board members of cash meant to be invested in sports development. A special general meeting will be held in Pietermaritzburg this week with its instigators intending to oust two of four board members accused of lining their own pockets. Comrades veteran and blogger Stuart Mann shared the story with BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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Brett Duncan (50), a pioneer for championing offshore share investing for South African retail investors, has passed away. Duncan was a long-time supporter of the BizNews community, having instigated the successful BizNews Share portfolio as a model for Standard Bank Webtrader clients. In this special podcast, BizNews editor Alec Hogg talks to Duncan’s close friend and colleague, Shyft founder Arno von Helden.

Residents of Mamelodi are on the verge of realising a long-held dream: the creation of a skateboard park near the Mamelodi East Police Station. This project owes much to the dedicated efforts of Poelo Mofolo, founder of the Mamelodi Skate Club. Despite hitting a wall in securing a venue for the skate park, Mofolo found a breakthrough when he reached out to Dean McPherson, the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Development, via Instagram and received an immediate response. In an interview with Biznews, Mofolo shared his inspiring journey from childhood spent in children's homes, where skateboarding and acting became vital outlets. A mentor, Katie Miller, played a pivotal role by introducing him to acting and speech lessons, helping him evolve from "a kid living in a room with 20 other kids" to winning Eisteddfods, often without any family members in the audience. Today, Mofolo is not only a passionate skateboarder and actor but also a determined advocate for helping other children succeed. His vision for the skate park includes transforming it into a multi-purpose educational facility featuring after-school programmes for kids in Mamelodi. Mofolo believes that nothing in life comes for free, so he offers free skateboards in exchange for volunteer hours spent in the community garden

After falling short in his campaign to become KZN Premier in Election’24, Christopher Pappas returned to the executive mayorship of the uMngeni municipality. He has wasted no time in raising the pressure to reverse some blatant iniquities which have led to an electricity delivery mess in affluent Hilton. Pappas’s quest has significant implications nationally in a country where laws are often excellent, but the practical application of them just terrible. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

In his weekly dose of commentary on local, regional and international politics, United Independent Movement (UIM) President Neil de Beer analyses the Freedom Front Plus move to shun the Democratic Alliance (DA) in favour of the African National Congress (ANC) in Oudtshoorn. He describes the FF+’s Corné Mulder as “a very astute politician” and says his party - with its new partnership with the ANC - is positioning itself as an “alternative for future government”. He also has praise for Police Minister Senzo Mchunu who is “calm, cool, and very structured and collected”. As for the latest raid on a firearm training facility, he says there is no law that stops South Africans from being trained to protect themselves against criminals who are using “weapons of war”. Another Minister who gets his approval is Home Affairs’ Leon Schreiber who “actually understands” law and order. On the international front, De Beer looks at how the conflict in the Middle East has spilled over into  Europe and the UK “where they have had the most brutal uprisings” - and warns: “And this is making the people across the world go, if this thing kicks off, this is going to be World War III.”

BizNews Editor Alec Hogg provides context on the big stories. In this episode, there's a special focus on the shock political divorce and what the Namibian oil and gas rush means for South Africa's Western neighbour. Also, there's a tribute to the late Robbie Venter.

Operators of illegal military training camps risk losing everything. This is the warning from Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) CEO Manabela Chauke. In this interview with BizNews, he says: “…should you be found guilty, you can even have everything forfeited to the State, including the farm that you're using.” Giving an update on investigations into the illegal military training camp where 95 Libyans were arrested recently, he says: “The main issue here is that you are not supposed to give military assistance to foreign nationals who come from a country where there is instability.” He describes the line that is drawn between tactical training and military-style training. He also details how PSiRA sent a specialist team to the farm where one training facility was registered, but the other - several kilometres away - was not. “They sent the pictures back for us to make an assessment, and we beefed up the team with an additional investigation, and all other forces then ascended there, the South African Police, National Defense Force, Home Affairs…we actually shut down the training even before the arrest took place.”

Top-ranked money manager Sean Peche is revelling in the current volatile stock markets with the turbulence “throwing up innocent bystanders” - stocks that can be nabbed at bargain prices. Among his favourites is a North American beer business run by a group of financially conservative South Africans who learned their trade at much admired SA Breweries. Peche also explains that investors should be paying close attention to Warren Buffett’s sale of half of Berkshire Hathaway’s Apple shares, previously its biggest single investment. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

Corné Mulder shares the reasons why his FF+ broke its longtime alliance with the DA, creating a fresh governing coalition with the ANC in the Western Cape town of Oudtshoorn. Mulder, the longest-serving member of South Africa’s Parliament, argues that in an era where the biggest political party has just 40% of the national vote, structures that previously defined political opposition are not necessarily still fit for purpose. Mulder spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.