BizNews Radio

South Africa spends billions on its intelligence services, but more and more questions are being raised about the quality of intelligence being gathered. BizNews speaks to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’) Dianne Kohler-Barnard who sits on the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence. Asked if there were a revolution tomorrow, would the intelligence services know or would they have to go on X and follow it there, she says:  “Well, I think if we can go by what happened in relation not only to the July riots two years ago, but also the burning of the trucks in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga…they hadn't a clue…I do not believe that there is any working together of the three intelligence agencies in terms of determining something like that.” As for the impunity with which organised crime syndicates operate, Kohler-Barnard says she has personally seen trucks with special cubicles behind the drivers to fit “five or six children tied up, drugged and taken out the country and sold”. She fumes: “…you just have to keep on asking where are the hundreds of millions going to in terms of these various entities that don't seem to deliver when it comes to protecting South Africans from the worst of the worst. It is just not happening…” - Chris Steyn

The month of September was a shocker for investment markets, with global bonds rising at the fastest pace in memory, the oil price rising to 25% above the level of just three months ago, plus Nasdaq and S&P posting their worst month since December 2022's smack. WTF happened? In our monthly catchup, Corion’s David Bacher shares his insights on the latest moves - and provides an insider’s view into the latest developments within South Africa’s money management industry. - Alec Hogg

Minister of Police Bheki Cele is in no mood to apologise to crime fighter Ian Cameron for shouting at him to “Shut Up” at a police Imbizo in Gugulethu last year. Speaking to BizNews, Cameron says Cele is considering an appeal to the finding of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests that the Minister should do so in the House. Cameron vows: “…despite or regardless of what the Minister Cele says or doesn't say, I'm not going to shut up. I'm not going to keep quiet. And I'm certainly not going to stop speaking out against injustice - and I'm definitely not going to stop pointing out and speaking out against the abuse of power by certain politicians.” - Chris Steyn

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, Ghaleb Cachalia, has called for Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan to go. Cachalia makes the call in an interview with BizNews on both Transnet and ESKOM being leaderless. “I call him of late ‘Green Shoots Gordhan’ because he says…regularly that there are green shoots in Transnet, there are green shoots in ESKOM, there are green shoots in Denel, there are green shoots in SAA. The fact remains that there are only weeds there. There are no green shoots. And he is responsible for putting the gardeners in place to tend to these weeds which they can't even dig up.” Cachalia says Gordhan is “an incompetent minister who appoints incompetent people to run the heart and spine of our economy”. Cachalia describes African National Congress (ANC) policies as “frankly mad”. He says the ruling party has “created a monster” that they “cannot deal with properly”. - Chris Steyn

It is “quite possible" to “State-proof or make your investments ANC-proof so that the policy decisions and the misgovernance of the country have the lowest possible impact on your investments. That is according to Brenthurst Wealth Director Magnus Heystek who shares some of his top tips with BizNews viewers. He also describes how one can put “further distance” between your assets and the ANC government, “which may or may not do funny stuff in the future with taxes and inheritance taxes, et cetera”. He gives the assurance that one does not have to be “extremely rich” to do so as even normal salaried people can build a portfolio with small amounts of money to invest where the “misgovernance and misrule of the state has the lowest impact on their returns in the long-term. - Chris Steyn

Ex-Army General “Mojo” Motau leads new party into 2024:

National service to fight unemployment and crime - and bring back discipline

A retired Army general is leading a new political party into the national elections next year (2024) He is General Maomela “Mojo” Motau, the former Chief of Defence Intelligence. General Motau speaks to BizNews ahead of the launch of his party, Africa Africans Reclaim (AAR), in Soweto on Saturday 7 October. He says the country “is falling apart”; there is “clear sabotage” of the economy; and people are “losing confidence in democracy”. He believes a return to national service is needed to reskill the youth, bring back discipline and fight unemployment and crime. The general predicts the ANC may get even less than 30% of the vote.

IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa is confident his party will win the KZN provincial election next year. The IFP’s victory in another by-election against the ANC last week — its 10th since the 2021 Local Elections — lends credibility to this prediction. In this in-depth interview, Hlabisa urges members of the Multi-Party Charter to “engage, engage, engage” and specifically calls for including Gayton MacKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance in the Opposition coalition. He also addresses critics who foresee the IFP’s disintegration following founder Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s passing. Hlabisa outlines what it would take for the ANC to successfully woo the IFP away from the Opposition pact next year, setting a very high bar for such a scenario. - Alec Hogg

Western Cape farmers are calling for a state of disaster to be declared - after unprecedented flood waters ravaged crops, washed away roads, swept away shacks, and destroyed infrastructure. One of those farmers is Justin Mudge, the owner of Chiltern Farms, who says they “desperately require intervention”. He speaks to BizNews of the destruction, displacement, devastation, and desperation in the area. Mudge describes how generators have run non-stop since Sunday to keep cool half a billion rands worth of fruit in cold storage that still needs to be packed for export. He describes how workers from the informal settlement had all their possessions swept away by the raging storm waters. And warns that some farmers will find it very hard to recover from the significant damage.

Speaking to BizNews' Alec Hogg, Kanyane Matlou - Senior Portfolio Manager for Listed Property at Terebrinth Capital - shares his views on the current state of the property investment market in South Africa. Matlou draws on his economics and asset management background to shed light on the challenges and opportunities in the property sector. Motlau offers valuable insight into the potential for growth in specific segments of the market, which stocks to watch, and how to navigate the complexities of property investments in a changing economic landscape.

For more information on Terebinth:

https://bit.ly/3PEzICn

More than 400 000 rugby enthusiasts worldwide are currently competing against each other in predicting results and player performances at the Rugby World Cup - courtesy of the Superbru platform, a global sports score prediction app born in a London ‘digs’ shared by a group of UCT-schooled South Africans. In this interview, founder Andy Wood shares the journey of an online operation which, 17 years on, now offers games on all major sporting events, from soccer to golf, cricket to motor racing. It’s an entrepreneurial story of globally-minded Capetonians who turned their passion for sport and knowledge of tech into a serious business providing fun and excitement to its community of millions across the globe. They’ve managed to resist the overtures of corporate acquisitors, and by retaining private ownership continued following an evolving dream. - Alec Hogg