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Patriotic Alliance co-founder and strategic advisor Charles Cilliers reckons it’s impossible to overstate the importance of Jacob Zuma’s re-entry onto the political stage. Cilliers admits he underestimated the impact but says party president Gayton Mackenzie, who knows Zuma well, has long predicted this would be a game changer that will benefit king-making smaller political parties like the PA. We caught up with Cilliers on the campaign trail in the Western Cape, where the PA is confident of a strong showing in two key by-elections this week. He spoke to Alec Hogg, the editor of BizNews.

There is a growing dispute between the Democratic Alliance, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) regarding the difficulties faced by South Africans living abroad when trying to register and vote at overseas missions. This issue could potentially result in a case before the Electoral Court that oversees the IEC and the conduct of elections in the country. The dispute follows after voters in Perth, Australia discovered that they could only vote at the South African High Commission in Canberra, while South Africans living in Malta will have to travel to Rome to vote. In an interview with Biznews, Adrian Rose, the Deputy Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, said that the DA has given the IEC and DIRCO an ultimatum to consider the inclusion of so-called honorary consulates, like Perth, as voting stations. If this is not granted, the DA would consider taking other steps. Rose added that the DA wants DIRCO and the IEC to increase the number of voting stations abroad by adding an extra 6-10 within the present legislation. Rose disagreed with the argument that there were financial constraints to adding extra overseas voting stations, as the government receives additional tax revenue from many overseas South Africans. He also highlighted that while the government has set a target of getting 100,000 prisoners out of about 127,000 prisoners to vote, there are no similar targets for voters overseas. It was unfair, he said that prisoners have a better chance of voting than South Africans living abroad. According to Rose, South Africans living overseas have a constitutional right to vote, and the government should take necessary steps to ensure that they can vote without any difficulties

The Social Research Foundation polled Jacob Zuma’s popularity in his home province of KZN just days before the popular politician announced his support for the new;t formed MK party in opposition to the ANC. SRF chairman Dr Frans Cronje says the data shows Zuma’s re-entry is a “game changer” for an ANC which he says is now in panic mode. With Zuma’s MK set to draw 10% nationally and around a quarter of the vote in KZN - primarily from the ANC - the ruling party can no longer expect a benign post-election future where it retains power with the help of a smaller party or two. Among the consequences of the Zuma fracture is increased pressure for provincial secessions from a union imposed by the British colonial power in 1910. Cronje spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

Despite surveys and polls indicating that the ANC’s support in the coming elections could drop to below 50%, Prof Theo Venter, a political analyst at the University of Johannesburg expects President Cyril Ramaphosa to be back in Parliament to deliver the second SONA after the election. In a post-SONA interview with Biznews, Venter detailed the ANC’s potential voter base, including 30% of the rural vote, 10-12% of urban voters and he expects that a permanent Basic Income Grant could add another 5% to the ANC’s tally, bringing it close to the 50% threshold to stay in power. He described President Ramaphosa’s claims of ANC successes over the past 30 years as unconvincing and expressed scepticism that more than 10% of stolen state capture funds will be recovered. Amid stage 6 loadshedding over the weekend, Venter dismissed Ramaphosa’s assurances of an end to the worst of loadshedding as political campaign rhetoric. Venter also commented on Ramaphosa ‘looking for a pen’ to sign the National Health Insurance legislation, suggesting that the President might be reluctant to sign the bill. The one positive aspect of the speech, he said, is that the ANC clarified it is going for green energy and a just energy initiative focusing on Mpumalanga, which is ironically a model that was very actively pushed by former Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter.

Political scientist, historian and former Oxford Don RW Johnson unpacks the likely impact of Jacob Zuma on the ANC’s 2024 Election prospects after the former president’s new party this week drew 20% of the vote in the first by-election it contested. This wide-ranging interview also provides context on the most likely source of the ANC’s miraculous financial turnaround from bankruptcy to rude health - and why money is so critical in South African elections. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

A “defeated” President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a “disaster” State of the Nation Address (SONA)  as his “worst nemesis” former President Jacob Zuma is staging a spectacular comeback. Neil De Beer, the president of the United Independent Movement (UIM), a party in the Multi-Party Charter (MPC), dissects the SONA for BizNews. He also lambasts the “outgoing” President for lying about corruption and loadshedding, and labels him a “very sad indiviual” and a “coward” who is living in “La La Cuckoo Land”. De Beer warns that Ramaphosa will have to call the national election earlier rather than later “because he cannot keep the country together” - and “every day he doesn't call the date, MK is growing…” Moreover, he thinks Ramaphosa - who once called the Multi-Party Charter “a nothing, a null on a contract - has just realised that 50 plus 1 is possible” for the MPC. - Chris Steyn

A deep-fake video using the doctored image and voice of South African billionaire Elon Musk has fooled investors across the world. In one video created for the South African market and regularly flighted on social media channels, “Musk” outrageously and falsely claims that SA billionaires Nicky Oppenheimer and Johann Rupert are investors in his scheme. After being swindled by the con artists, Advocate Petra van Niekerk of the Johannesburg Bar is now determined to expose the scam. In this interview with BizNews, Adv Van Niekerk describes how the false advertising lured her to lose her life savings and shares what her investigations uncovered about an entity which she believes has masterminded the con. She lists all the actions she has taken so far to try and bring it down.  She is in contact with other victims, and has appealed to more to come forward so that she can launch a class action suit.

In a landmark ruling, a Delaware court cancelled Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla compensation package from Tesla following a lawsuit by a shareholder who argued that Musk’s pay package was excessive - an argument that found favour with the judge. These implications of the court case are far-reaching for companies with outside compensation packages and corporate boards accused of lax oversight. In an interview with Biznews, Jeroen van Kwawegen, the co-lead of the New York law firm Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger and Grossman who was responsible for the exceptional result said that the court case proved that the richest person on earth is not above the law, especially in the United States. Van Kwawegen said it also showed that investors have multiple tools in their toolbox to make sure that executives and the directors of their portfolio companies comply with their fiduciary duties. On the impact that the court case against Musk’s Tesla compensation would have on the pay packages of other CEOs, he said the Musk benchmark for chief executives salaries has been nullified and that it will have a direct impact on future compensation packages. He also addressed Musk’s recent poll on X (formerly Twitter) poll that Musk had on his social media platform about relocating Tesla from Delaware stating that such a decision lies with the board and shareholder, not Musk alone. Superstar CEOs, the shareholder attorney said, still have fiduciary accountability. Van Kwawegen also set out that the legal options that are open to Musk should he consider appealing the court’s decision to strip him of his Tesla compensation package.

The Portugal Golden Visa has long been a sought-after option for non-EU citizens, including several South Africans, looking for residency abroad. Launched in 2012 by the Portuguese government, the program aimed to attract foreign investment. However, concerns about escalating property prices led to changes in the Golden Visa’s rules. In an interview with Biznews Andrew Rissik from Sable International explained that despite fears that the program would be completely abolished, it remains available as a ‘Plan B’ or secondary residency option. Rissik clarified that while real estate investment is off the table, residency can still be achieved through private equity fund investments. In comparison with golden visas for other Western destinations, Portugal, he said, remains “top of the pops.” On the percentage of a wealth portfolio that South Africans should consider for overseas suitable investments, Rissik said Sable’s wealth advisors believe it should reflect South Africa’s share of the global market, which stands at 0.8%. The immigration specialist will hold roadshows in Cape Town from February 21 to 23, Johannesburg from January 27 to 29, and in Durban on January 29. South Africans have the opportunity to engage in one-on-one discussions with Sable International immigration experts to explore the investment options and golden visas available.  – Linda van Tilburg

Land Restitution consultant Jan Wessels shares an “uber truth” in this powerful interview where he exposes one of the ugliest of the ANC’s dirty secrets. He claims the political party’s top dogs have long applied a deliberate strategy through the ‘land restitution’ process to capture rich mineral wealth on ancestral land. They use this to enrich politically connected elite through mining deals - while the tribes with historic rights live in poverty. Wessels warns: “In implementing this non-restitution process, the ANC is putting national security at risk. This non-restitution strategy will most certainly lead to a Zimbabwean outcome - communities are running out of patience.” He urges true beneficiaries to take “this long-standing corruption to court…..based on the legal facts, they will succeed in getting these unwanted ANC criminals out of their land and get back their mineral benefits”. He says the ANC is very aware once land restitution puts the land and minerals under the ownership of their historic owners, mining companies “will run to the tribes for mining agreements and would not need the politically connected BEE partnerships to get mining rights allocated”. - Chris Steyn