BizNews Radio

In the dynamic realm of finance, keeping one's finger on the pulse of the markets is paramount. In episode 22 of the Fantasy Fund Manager podcast, financial experts David Bacher and Grant Morris joined Stuart Lowman to dissect the intricate web of market uncertainties. From the surprising resilience of the South African Rand to strategies for navigating rising bond yields, their insights offer a compass for investors in turbulent times. Join us as we delve into their astute observations and strategies for success in an ever-evolving financial landscape. Remember, each dawn of Monday is your chance to pitch your winning stocks. With enticing prizes awaiting, the game is on. Rally your comrades and head to www.fantasyfundmanager.co.za to register—big thanks to our platinum sponsors, Sharenet, Terebinth Capital, ClucasGray Asset Management, and MoneyBetter. And mark your calendars: Subscribe now to our podcast to keep up with every episode.

Organised crime syndicates are bleeding South Africa’s national economy of R155 billion a year - and that number is “significantly understated”. That is according to Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Finance, Dr Dion George. He gives this breakdown: Construction mafia - R17 billion; Infrastructure vandalism and arson - R47 billion; ESKOM’s organised crime networks R12 billion; Kidnapping and extortion syndicates - R146 million; Illicit economy, specifically drugs and guns - R13.6 billion; Wildlife syndicates - R1.2 billion; Illegal mining networks (Zama Zamas) - R14 billion; Tender corruption - R30 billion; and the Tobacco and cigarettes Mafia - R20 billion.” He calls on Government to make organised crime a priority - and to stop wasting resources on “never-ending bailouts to basically bankrupt entities”.  Dr George says South Africa is only on its knees because the government has chosen the wrong economic policies.

Hundreds of volunteers of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) have worked day and night over the past two weeks to save lives and bring people and animals to safety in the worst storm surges and flash floods for decades. Craig Lambinon - who has been with the NSRI for 30 years - reveals the massive efforts involved in the recent rescue operations. The NSRI is a free publicly-funded 24-hour rescue service that has saved at least 1 000 lives over the past year. Lambinon shares with BizNews the “success story” of the NSRI; reveals details of its most dramatic rescue operations; and speaks about its “world-class resources” - and the funding from the public and corporations that makes it possible to save so many lives. “…we always say to the people who donate money to NSRI or people who fund NSRI through corporate sponsorships, even though they're not physically with us on rescue operations, we still regard them as being strapped to our back when we launch a rescue operation because without them, we don't have the world-class resources and assets that we have to respond to these emergencies.”

Ranmore Funds founder Sean Peche is cementing his position among the top-performing 1% of global equity funds by disciplining himself to what guru Howard Marks called “second-level thinking”. In this masterclass on investing that self-helpers will appreciate at all levels of expertise, Peche shares the rational approach which has enabled him to outperform no matter what the investment trend of the moment. Hint: study the companies you want to co-own instead of being part of the crowd that attempts to guess big trends (and fails at least 50% of the time). He also points us towards some juicy out-of-fashion investment opportunities that Peche is confident will reward the patient. - Alec Hogg

Police Minister Bheki Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa are protecting each other - and he has so much dirt on high-ranking ANC officials, that he can’t be sacked. This has emerged from an interview with Action Society’s Ian Cameron who says: “Well, I think they protect each other… And I also think they can't really sack Cele because he's got so much dirt on all of them that if they were to sack him and he starts spilling the beans, it will be quite an awkward silence for a lot of people in the higher ranks of the ANC.” Cameron speaks to BizNews after Cele received the Great Wall Commemorative Medal from China. It is awarded to law enforcement officers from foreign countries who have made outstanding contributions towards protecting the safety of Chinese citizens. “My honest opinion is that it's certainly not for good policing service. I think it's because Minister Bheki Cele is a way and means basically for the Chinese government and certain well-connected Chinese officials to get to the South African State and obviously the ANC,” says Cameron.

When the Free Market Foundation’s co-founder Leon Louw was elbowed out of the organisation, many wondered whether it could survive without its long-time guide. Judging by the vigorous contributions of those who remain - and the energetic new CEO, David Ansara, those concerns are irrelevant. Last night Ansara delivered a tour de force at Johannesburg’s Rand Club, the venerable institute in the Loveday Street deep in the CBD, which, like the FMF itself, appeared to be heading for oblivion. Republished in full below (courtesy of editor of Politicsweb Dr James Myburgh) the speech is a reminder of those addresses of an earlier age - carefully crafted works of verbal art which, for centuries, shaped public opinion long before the age of soundbites and Tik Tok. I followed up this afternoon by interviewing Ansara about his talk, exploring areas of his address in greater depth. His forthright and rational message exposes ‘uber truths’ of our society. In brief: Pretoria is part of the problem; the SA state is failing; so each of us needs to take practical steps to ‘State-proof’; but don’t be despondent because what replaces the status quo can be so much better. As Ansara concludes, “The centre cannot hold. Thank goodness.” - Alec Hogg

Solidarity is gearing up the fight the African National Congress (ANC) government in court to stop it from “capturing” South Africa’s schools - and stripping parents of a say in the education of their children. BizNews speaks to Solidarity’s Johnell van Vollenhoven after a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee - in which the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) “used their numbers to obtain a majority” - accepted the BELA Amendment Bill this week. The Amendment Bill was therefore accepted for submission to the National Assembly (NA). This is the next step in the process of making it into law. Van Vollenhoven says such as law would mean “that we as parents and our governing bodies that we choose to govern our schools will be stripped of their powers”. The Bill was accepted despite widespread objection from the public with nearly 9 000 of the 11 000 inputs against the amendment of existing laws. “…they are not interested in looking at what the people are saying, they are only interested in pushing through their own ideology in this regard,” Van Vollenhoven charges. - Chris Steyn

In Namibia, there are only three people per square kilometre, the top income tax rate is 37%, citizens pay no capital gains tax, and there is no estate duty to be paid. Added to this low population density and tax regime are abundant natural resources and low crime rates, which is why our neighbouring country in the desert is being tipped to be the next hot spot for dollar millionaires by wealth analysts at New World Health (NWH). In an interview with Biznews, Head of Research at NWH, Andrew Amoils said hat Namibia shares many traits with Australia and could be described as the Australia of Africa. He says it is becoming a popular retirement destination, especially in parts of Windhoek and the areas between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, where lifestyle estates are on the rise. If South Africa was safe and followed Namibia’s capital gains tax and estate duty policies, he said, it would be one of the wealthiest countries in the world in a decade

The relentless rain of the long weekend has left death and destruction in its wake. The Western Cape Provincial Manager of the South African Red Cross, Fernel Campher, tells BizNews about the “devastating impact of the floods” on human lives. He says some residents ended up in “waist-deep waters where they used to live”, while “the first thing a lot of people did was “grab the families and run out of the houses”. Others have been left with “no access to their families or way through to get home”.  The Red Cross is fully deployed in the province - and has been busy providing hot blankets and hot meals to those in urgent need of aid, but appeals for donations of non-perishable items, clothing, blankets, drinkable water, vanity packs and baby packs as more victims are coming forward for aid. Campher warns the road to recovery is going to be a long one, but says the Red Cross will be providing psychological counselling to those left in shock by the impact of the disaster. - Chris Steyn

If Donald Trump returns to the White House for another stint of President of the US, he may want to renegotiate the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). And those could be tough negotiations because Trump would want his pound of flesh. So says Dr Edward Mienie, the Executive Director of the Strategic Studies Programme & Partnerships and Professor of Strategic & Security Studies at the University of North Georgia in Atlanta. Dr Mienie, a former diplomat for both the National Party (NP) and the African National Congress (ANC) governments, speaks to BizNews as speculation mounts across the world that Trump could pull of another “unthinkable” political victory that would bring about significant shifts in US foreign policy. He says Trump is by far the most popular of the contenders of the Republican Party, and that Democratic Party President Joe Biden is lagging behind. “If he (Trump) wins all of these court cases, or if they fall by the wayside, I'm predicting that it's very likely that he'll move into the White House. And it'll be quite a story…” - Chris Steyn