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There has been outrage in some circles over the National Assembly’s decision to designate as members of the Judicial Service Commission and Magistrates Commission, MPs “who have previously been found guilty of misconduct or have been criticised by courts for ethical breaches, such as Dr John Hlophe and Ms Faith Muthambi”. In this interview with BizNews, Mbekezeli Benjamin of Judges Matter says: “So for us, it is ironic and it is really inappropriate for the people who are scrutinising lawyers to be judges and magistrates are themselves unethical or have been found to have been unethical. Parliament as a body was supposed to be careful and thoughtful in who it puts forward, especially when there are findings by the Judicial Service Commission that said that Dr. Hlophe was guilty of gross misconduct, which is the worst form of misconduct that a person holding judicial office can be found guilty of. They completely ignored those findings and they said he's suitable to sit on the JSC. So that is the argument that has been made and that case is being filed by the Freedom Under Law NGO.”

Explore the dynamic world of investment through the keen insights of Jean Pierre Verster, founder and CEO of Protea Capital Management. From navigating the evolving landscape of global tech giants like Nvidia and Tencent to uncovering opportunities in luxury goods and traditional industries such as Trigano, Verster's perspective offers a unique blend of strategic foresight and market wisdom. Join him as he discusses the shifting tides of international markets and the potential avenues for growth in an ever-changing economic environment.

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Investment strategist, Magnus Heystek, who is well known for his brutally straight forward views on the economy, has become a cautiously optimistic man. In this interview with BizNews, he shares the positive signs he has picked up from following all the economic indicators - and lists the priorities that remain to prevent a return to the edge of the abyss. “…after 10 years of saying things are bad, I'm saying things are starting to look generally a little bit better, provided the Government of National Unity sticks to its task and manages to cobble a coalition together and do the right things.”  However, he adds this warning” “The danger is, of course, that there's a political fallout as some people have predicted, and the new government falls apart, then the risks are all back on the table.” Meanwhile, he has already invested in more property in South Africa…

Pavel Prigozhin , the son and heir of the late Wagner Group founder, apparently has South Africa on his radar. In this interview with BizNews, SA-Russia expert Professor Irina Filatova says “he's particularly interested in the political side of the affairs…the elections in South Africa, in Namibia, in Mozambique and Botswana.” And using private networks to manipulate social networks and influence public opinion is something his late father Yevgeney used to great effect in Africa. “So there's no doubt that if Wagner's companies, whether it is troll companies or military assistance or whatever, act in South Africa or Southern Africa, they would act in the interests of private interests of the company itself, and of course they would act in the interests of Russia. And many people think that interests of Russia are the same interests as South African interests,” Professor Filatova says. She points out that in almost every coup in West Africa, “there was somebody who was involved in that coup, who started in Russia or in the USSR…was close to the Russian interests”. Meanwhile, Prigozhin Snr has gone from “traitor” to “hero” in Russia, and is being “venerated” again after his failed coup there. Professor Filatova describes his rise to power from hotdog salesman to military strongman; dissects the secret of his success in Africa; and gives an update on current Russia-backed private military operations on the Continent where Western influence is waning fast.

The nation has lived through another week of alliance and dis-alliance politics in South Africa. In this interview with BizNews, Neil de Beer, President of the United Independent Movement, warns that “the biggest and largest instability within the GNU” is the African National Congress (ANC) that has cracked into three factions: that of President Cyril Ramaphosa, that of Vice-President Paul Mashatile, and the faction made up of the allies of President Jacob Zuma, whose MK Party is now the “real” opposition in Parliament. “The sentence you are now going to hear more and more in Parliament, more and more in this country from this RET and revolutionary faction is ‘Sell Out. Sell Outs’. And this…is what is going to be the make and break of the further split of the so-called mighty - but fallen - African National Congress.” De Beer also describes how the recent youth revolution in Kenya has “blown over here, not physically, but mentally” with people starting to say “be careful because if you continue selling out the country’s revolution of the fight against poverty, that Kenya and what happened there does not come here”. De Beer further gives his take on the collapse of coalition talks between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (ANC) in Gauteng. He also gives a performance preview of some of the newly-appointed Ministers.

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Thebolo Motshegare is a teacher at the prestigious St Stithians College in Johannesburg. Noticing the differences in how pupils view entrepreneurship to where he hails from, Bafukeng near Rustenburg, he decided to start a non-profit organisation, Connect Hub that created a 10-week entrepreneurship programme for high school pupils. Motshegare told Biznews he wants to challenge the mindset that a formal education is the only way to advance. “There are a lot of kids who get a university degree, but can’t get a job in South Africa,” he said. Motshegare also wants to encourage young people to solve community problems without relying on the government. “Communities are not built by governments,” he said. “They are built by those who live in it.”

Prepare to be uplifted by this interview with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, a fresh voice whose direct questioning and articulate commentary consistently ruffles the feathers of SA’s rich and powerful. An Oxford doctorate, award-winning book author, activist, rapper, university lecturer, potential soccer star, now trainee lawyer - creator of the mushrooming new media platform SMWX is clearly living a full life. His secret sauce? Healthy scepticism, a quality in short supply right now as a suddenly adoring media fuels the euphoria of a GNU honeymoon. Mpofu-Walsh spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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Self-made entrepreneur turned politician Herman Mashaba shares some uber truths in this interview with BizNews editor Alec Hogg - including deep concerns about his predecessor as Joburg Mayor taking over the key Trade & Industry portfolio. The way Mashaba sees it, the T&I job is way beyond the competency of ANC stalwart Parks Tao whose mess Mashaba inherited in Joburg. That R35bn in corrupt deals which Tao either didn’t, couldn’t or wouldn’t see.

A ransomware attack on South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is delaying the processing of millions of blood tests and imperiling the lives of an untold number of people. BizNews speaks to Chris Bateman, a former long-time News Editor of the South African Medical Journal - after he was contacted by the Eastern European-sounding middleman of the “Black Suit” hackers. The “middleman” made dire threats if the NHLS didn’t enter into negotiation with the hackers. Meanwhile, a 12-year-old girl is dying in Groote Schuur Hospital because her illness can’t be diagnosed without a blood test. There have been similar attacks in countries outside Russia…which leads to the suspicion that the hackers are Russian.

Freshly returned from another bout of high pressure-negotiating, DA Federal Council chair Helen Zille unpacks what’s been going on in negotiations with the ANC on forming a provincial government in Gauteng. In brief: the ANC needs cabinet seats to satisfy its various factions, but the DA refuses to “help the Gauteng ANC fix its own problems” so is demanding a cabinet split reflecting voters’ will. Zille says unless her party it treated fairly, it will return to Gauteng’s opposition benches. Critically, whatever happens in this province has no bearing on deals already struck with the ANC at the national level and in KZN. She spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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