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Financial compliance expert Paul Nel says South African consumers of electricity have been overcharged by R1.375 trillion in electricity tariffs over the past 15 years. He believes this has contributed to South Africa’s failing municipalities.

Ace forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan says SAPS National Commissioner Fannie Masemola and Hawks boss Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya are unfit for service as both failed a lifestyle audit he conducted. He has written to president Cyril Ramaphosa urging the immediate suspension of SA's two top cops pending a formal investigation. In this interview with BizNews, O’Sullivan details his findings - and warns he will approach the court to remove the two if the president fails to act. According to O’Sullivan, Masemola was in a “parlous” financial state back in March 2022, but has gone from living beyond his means to having cleared all of his outstanding debt, save for the two outstanding judgments, while Lebeya had a judgment for a R3,125,848.23 tax debt registered against him at the High Court in Johannesburg on 2023-05-05. O’Sullivan also spells out the legal reasons why Lebeya’s appointment was “unlawful”. “Anywhere else in the world, these people would be in jail,” he charges. - Chris Steyn

Amazon is set to launch its online shopping service in South Africa this year. The tech giant announced in October last year that it would provide independent sellers throughout the country the opportunity to launch, grow, and scale their businesses. In anticipation of Amazon’s arrival, Naspers has boosted investment into Takealot, the home-grown e-commerce leader in South Africa and said they were well-positioned to deal with whatever could be coming from Amazon. In an interview with Biznews, e-commerce entrepreneur Andy Higgins, who started Bidorbuy and is now the Managing Director of the Bob Group, said while many people believe Amazon will have a massive impact on day one, he thinks it would take them longer. The challenges for Amazon, he said, would be the localisation of the software they use globally, infrastructure, and logistics. Higgins said the South African market has different nuances and Amazon will have to find ways to adapt which, “will be a bit of a challenge.” Ultimately, he said the consumer will be the winner if there is price competition. In terms of growth potential for e-commerce, Higgins said South Africa lags the rest of the world and even its emerging market counterparts. Penetration is still under 5% of total retail sales compared to Brazil, India, and Southeast Asian countries where e-commerce penetration is already over 10%. Amazon’s entry into the South African e-commerce market is absolutely not going to be a slam dunk for Amazon; “they have not been successful in every country,” he said.

The Cape Flats in South Africa is an area plagued by gang violence and drug abuse. The situation has been so dire that the army was sent into the townships in 2019 to control the situation. Exposure to the violence is particularly distressing for children who are caught in the crossfire. It is for these children that the Cape Kids Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Muizenberg in the Western Cape, aims to ensure better outcomes. The Foundation takes in teens from the age of 14 and provides learning support for them throughout their adult life. Vicky Bauer, the Director of the Foundation, said in an interview with Biznews that the foundation, established in 2017, is for curious and determined young people who come to them for a place where they can feel safe and experience the power of being part of a family. From their initial program working with young adults, the foundation has evolved into a residential program with a strong emphasis on trauma counselling, and a school, the Alex School, was established in Muizenberg. Bauer said that The Cape Kids Foundation is in the process of designing an outdoor environmental education program on a site that they have acquired on a mountain peak in Glencairn. They are clearing the site of alien vegetation and making it safe for the neighbourhood that has experienced devastating wildfires in the past. She highlighted that students who come to them are children who don’t have dreams because they are merely surviving.

Action SA leader Herman Mashaba paints a grim picture of what a future South Africa will look like if the African National Congress (ANC) is not unseated in this year’s historic national elections. He predicts that the country will become a failed State - and says Zimbabwe will look like a Sunday school picnic by comparison. He speaks to BizNews after yet another fire gutted yet another hijacked building in Johannesburg where failing infrastructure has also resulted in gas explosions and excessive flood damage. “…if this government is elected back into power in South Africa, then we must accept it's going to become… another failed African state…I can assure you, when we fail, Zimbabwe will look like a Sunday school picnic.”

The first weeks of SA’s election year have been full of drama: new parties, new alliances, and shock resignations, especially that of DA shadow minister for Public Enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia. In this interview, Cachalia shares the details behind his decision to leave the Democratic Alliance (DA). He gives his views on the prospects of the Multi-Party Charter; the path the African National Congress (ANC) is likely to take when the election results are in; the rise of independent candidates - and the “power of the purse” in South African politics. Cachalia says an economically “powerless” South African needs fundamental change - and he vows to continue active involvement, driven by his need to help deliver economic prosperity and champion human rights, social justice, and the expansion of direct democracy.

Kayaking’s iconic world champion Oscar Chalupsky decided to write a book in November 2019 after being diagnosed with quick-killing, incurable bone marrow cancer. The result, a page-turner titled No Retreat, No Surrender, is a guide to the practical benefits of positive thinking and laser-like focus. In this wide-ranging and uplifting interview with BizNews editor Alec Hogg, he talks about entrepreneurship, setting and achieving goals, the link between food determines health and some personal thoughts about SA’s controversial doctor to athletes, Prof Tim Noakes. There’s also some discussion on his superb book, which is a must-read. Just like the recording of the interview is a must-watch. Seriously. - Alec Hogg

With the campaign season for South Africa’s national and provincial elections kicking off, The Multi-Party Charter, a coalition of opposition parties, including the official opposition in Parliament, the Democratic Alliance, has entered the election season with a subdued start. In an interview with Biznews, the chair of the MPC, Prof. William Gumede, explained that the newly formed coalition is in the process of seeking approvals from its members, building trust, and expressing openness to welcoming other parties that respect the Constitution into their fold. Prof. Gumede emphasised that South Africa is witnessing the conclusion of the liberation politics era, ushering in a new age of coalitions. He said that the election outcome will no longer be solely dictated by individual parties; instead, a coalition-based approach among like-minded groups is emerging as a defining feature of South African politics. Prof. Gumede also made a case for pre-election coalition pacts, stating that they are more stable and it is easier for voters to choose because they know exactly what they will be getting after the elections. He said the 2024 elections are going to be the ANC against coalitions.  - Linda van Tilburg

Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, chose the podium at Davos for his first international appearance - and his message could hardly have been more explicit: Western civilisation is in grave danger. In a brilliant 23-minute discourse, the libertarian economist explained how abdication to a political elite threatens to put prosperous Western societies on a path to socialist destruction. Here is the full speech.

Political scientist Dr Frans Cronje’s poll-based Election24 projections for the ANC are more favourable than everyone else, including the party itself. But in this forthright interview, Cronje explains how seen from a historical perspective, his forecast of an ANC vote of around 50% is actually catastrophic, reflective of a deeply embedded downward spiral. He says the penny has already dropped among urban voters where the party is supported by only one-third of voters. Worse is coming, he adds, predicting the ANC will pay a very heavy price for continued abuse of State assets - notably among its currently staunch rural Christian base after the sale once more of SA’s global voice, this time to radical fundamentalists. The chairman of the board of the Social Research Foundation is at his brilliant best here. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.