BizNews Radio

Veteran investment manager Kokkie Kooyman of Denker Capital explains why the Rand and share prices of SA financial companies have risen so strongly over the past few days: the election results and ANC’s choice of GNU partners has avoided “an 80% chance” of the country replicating a Zimbabwe-type disaster. He cautions that there is still a risk of “own goals” and malevolent political forces derailing the nation’s future. But Kooyman, the winner of many global investment management awards, reckons a more likely scenario is a second wave of asset price increases driven by large foreign capital flows as SA’s watershed is fully absorbed in the world’s financial capitals.

In more post-election drama, former President Jacob Zuma is turning to the courts to try and have the election set aside because 9,366,000 votes are allegedly unaccounted for - and it wasn’t “fair and free”. But in this interview with BizNews, Dr. Michael Louis of the Independent Candidates Association says he has looked at the court papers, and that there are “no specialist audit reports, there's no specialist electoral support, just a lot of speculation”. He does not believe the application will succeed. Meanwhile, he is calling for the Electoral Act to be totally revitalised, also in respect of the way the President is elected because if President Cyril Ramaphosa is impeached, it could imperil the new Government of National Unity if the GNU doesn’t accept the new President nominated by the African National Congress (ANC). Dr Louis also shares his views on how the new Cabinet might look, and explains why he sees South Africa as a “speedboat” - and not an “oil tanker” - country.

Last weekend, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa broke his ‘no journalist’ norm and opened his home to the Financial Times’s chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman. The London-based columnist was surprised at how relaxed the CEO of SA Inc. was at a very tricky time for the country. Rachman shares insights gained from engaging with Ramaphosa and others during last week’s visit to SA - the country’s rapidly formed coalition government, its position on Russia (and Ukraine), and an outsider’s impression on what lies ahead with BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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The pros and the cons of South Africa’s new Government of National Unity (GNU) are examined in this interview with Neil de Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement (UIM). One of his concerns is that there are people in the African National Congress (ANC) that are “actually not on board and that they're going to do everything that they can….to derail” this GNU, which would be the “worst thing that this Republic can ever see in its future”. He also warns that the use of State Security and intelligence apparatus to spy on each other in the GNU could lead to its possible demise. As for the likelihood of a revolution bubbling in KZN where former President Jacob Zuma’s MK party is being left out in the cold, De Beer says: “It seems that the building block, the revolutionary volcano, the stirring of the emotion of inequality within instability in this country, always comes from the KZN faction. If I was in the defense structure, if I was in the policing structure, and if I was in the State Security cluster, you've got to squash this…Because a country cannot be kept ransom by the precipice of people's ideology.”  De Beer also lists the critical issues that the GNU has to sort out in its first 100 days of governance.

Inkatha Freedom Party president Velenkosini Hlabisa, widely tipped for a key cabinet post in SA’s new Government of National Unity, addresses the key questions of the moment with BizNews editor Alec Hogg. These include the stability of the GNU, Zuma’s MK and how it will act in Parliament and the KZN Province, the goals of IFP-led KZN, and the extension of the GNU partnership to the local level. A massive dollop of rationality and hope for nervous South Africans.

After two weeks of tense negotiations, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen announced today (Friday) that an agreement has been signed by his party, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) to enter into national government, as well as provincial government in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. In this interview with BizNews, Ray Hartley of The Brenthurst Foundation calls it “a day of tremendous hope”. He describes it as “the good scenario…where there is a gravitation towards the centre and parties that support the Constitution, the rule of law, and boosting economic growth, come together to try and take the country forward”. However, he describes the volatile situation in KwaZulu-Natal as “very worrying” and says: “There is the question of what will MK do finding itself out in the cold in KZN where I think it expected, after getting 45%, to be in government”. As for the future of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Hartley comments: “They haven't played it well and…I just sense that they're in somewhat of disarray.”

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Breadline Africa has been a key player in providing educational opportunities for children since 1993. The organisation’s approach involves converting shipping containers into functional educational spaces. A critical aspect of their work is addressing the safety hazards associated with pit latrines in rural schools. Marion Wagner, the CEO of Breadline Africa told Biznews in an interview that Breadline has managed to raise R22 million to address the issue of pit toilets that have caused the deaths of young children in South Africa. By the end of July this year, Breadline would have completed installing flush and dry toilets at 24 schools, providing 550 toilet facilities to 11,000 children. Wagner said the scale of the problem was much larger than the 1000 schools they anticipated. They have found that 35000 schools in the rural areas of Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal still have pit toilets and that there are schools that have absolutely no toilet facilities at all. The charity plans to address period poverty, a major problem in South Africa as a next big project.

Dr Anthony Turton, a 12th generation South African polymath with experience inside SA’s Security Forces, Academia, Water and business, shares lessons from the July 2021 Looter’s War in KZN. The way he sees it, that may have been a mere curtain raiser for what is planned by Jacob Zuma and his MK party. Turton reckons the proposed ANC/DA/IFP government of national unity will have its hands full dealing with what’s coming - but says Zulu Royalty and the private sector, which played a decisive role in quelling the July 2021 unrest, could be a new government’s most powerful ally. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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Starting September 1, 2024, South Africa's retirement landscape will undergo a dramatic transformation with the introduction of the two-pot retirement system. This groundbreaking reform promises to revolutionize how South Africans access their retirement savings, balancing immediate financial needs with long-term security. With a mix of emergency access and preserved funds, this system aims to empower retirees while ensuring financial stability. The Actuarial Society of South Africa's Natasha Huggett Henchie explains the intricacies and potential impacts of this pivotal change, highlighting the importance of understanding the new rules to make informed decisions about retirement savings.

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