BizNews Radio

Ronan Wordsworth of Geopolitical Futures - based in Prague in the Czech Republic - tells BizNews that while there's “this idea that perhaps South Africa had shifted quite far towards the Russian camp”, the African National Congress (ANC) has recently actually been “softening” towards the West, and is possibly bringing their stance back “more towards the middle ground”. He says if the ANC needs a coalition partner after next year’s general election, it would have to pick parties that would promote the growth of the South African economy, “which is desperately needed at the moment”. He explains why Kenya - as an African country - and India - despite being in BRICS - have managed to find a workable middle ground between East and West. And he points out that too much focus on Russia at the upcoming BRICS Summit in South Africa “will really upset the balance of South Africa's economy and trade and foreign policy interests compared to the other BRICS partners”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BizNews has received a photograph of a soldier with a Wagner Group badge taunting Poland with his arrival on its border. Another photograph shows a Wagner badge being held up next to the “Polenska” sign. BizNews has also received Flight Tracker maps showing a private plane, believed to belong to Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin flying from St. Petersburg to Belarus and departing again a day later. We ask Andrei Kebkalo, the founder of the Omega Consulting Group (OCG) in Ukraine, for his take of these developments. He speaks about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long-term goal of building a Russian Empire, Wagner’s big appetite for Africa, and Ukraine’s lack of manpower in a long war which he sees as only the beginning. - Chris Steyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Economic Freedom Fighters leader, Julius Malema, has consistently voiced his support for a socialist form of government, often citing Cuba as an example of the direction he envisions for South Africa if his party were to gain a majority. Malema’s tweets have described Cuba as a successful socialist state, and he seems drawn to the idea of enduring leadership akin to the Cuban communist leaders who have held power since the 1959 revolution. To gain insight into Malema’s vision of a South Africa modelled after Cuba, we sought the expertise of Dr. Christopher Sabatini, a senior Research Fellow for Latin America and the Americas program at Chatham House. In an interview with Biznews, dr. Sabatini refutes the notion of Cuba’s success as a socialist state, describing it as an economic basket case that primarily relies on tourism and the export of doctors for survival. He reveals that a significant number of Cubans, 100,000, have fled the country this year alone due to poverty and malnutrition, and that the perception of good Cuban health care is false. Cubans have to bring their own bed sheets to hospital and there is no medicine. Just this week, a Cuban legislator named Carlos Miguel Pérez, who is the only businessman in the country to sit in the communist National Assembly, highlighted the Cuban economy’s inability to provide enough food for all. Pérez said that even a basic item like Gouda cheese costs more than what a state worker is paid in a month, roughly 4,000 Cuban pesos or $20.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A ghost Container Park and empty sites where others should have been erected for Small, Medium, and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) are symbols of the mismanagement of Local Economic Development (LED) funds in some Free State towns. BizNews speaks to Irene Rügheimer, a PR Councillor for the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Dihlabeng in the Free State. She reveals the reasons for this, the challenges faced by the municipality - and the profound impact on the local communities. It is a tale of unscrupulous tactics to abscond with funds; unfinished projects; lack of accountability; the urgent need for reforms; and a glimmer of hope amongst all these challenges. - Chris Steyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Africa will need all the cool heads it can access over the few months as the country moves towards the watershed 2024 National Election, where its long-time rulers are likely to lose their Parliamentary majority. One-time Robben Islander and former MD of News at the national broadcaster Dr Snuki Zikalala, weighs in with a hopeful message to counter those predicting chaos. Zikalala was this week re-elected president of the ANC Veteran’s League, which he explains is the most important of the movement’s three fundamental structures. In this powerful interview, Zikalala argues that popular opinion and even pundits like RW Johnson are wrong about the far-left EFF being the ANC’s “natural partner” - explaining why, post-2024, it would be impossible for the two parties to enter into a governing coalition. On the other hand, provided pre-conditions are met, he is confident a coalition between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance, the official opposition, would work in the national interest. Controversial within some quarters, but Zikalala has never been afraid of rocking the boat. His message offers an inside track into thinking within the ANC, and is sure to be welcomed by moderates hoping for a post-2024 turnaround in the country’s flagging fortunes. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Naspers share price moved from a low of around R1450 in May last year to R3465 at the time of recording the podcast. This is as the group looks to close the door on its complex cross-holding structure at the AGM later this month. In this week's podcast, BizNews' Stuart Lowman was joined by DMA One's quantitative analyst Charlotte van Tiddens and Sharenet’s director of operations, Fran Blom. Charlotte tackled the Naspers question, expecting more growth in the Naspers' share price run. At the same time, Fran picked up where Banyana Banyana left, announcing an extra R5000 Fantasy Fund Manager prize for August’s winning woman, and gave us the stats behind women in finance. Remember to make your picks each week by the market open on Monday to have a chance to win any of the prizes up for grabs. And invite your friends. Register at www.fantasyfundmanager.co.za—thanks to our platinum sponsors Sharenet, Terebinth Capital, ClucasGray Asset Management, and Money Better. Remember to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Unbridled” corruption, poverty - and poor governance are fuelling coups in Africa. BizNews speaks to Professor Humphrey Asamoah Agyekum of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark following the most recent coup, this time in Niger. He lists some of the main reasons behind the many coups - specifically in West Africa. He also discussed the link between coups in West Africa and coup leaders trained in the West. Commenting on one of the coups whose leader was US-trained, Professor Asamoah says: “So that, of course, also led to lots of discussions about what exactly was he trained in. Was he trained to overthrow the government or was he trained in something else, right? - Chris Steyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our monthly recap of the markets, David Bacher of Corion looks back at a month when the Rand outperformed, helping South African shares post a rare performance victory over their global counterparts. Bacher highlights the importance of a long-term perspective and diversification in investment strategies, offering examples of the fruits this delivers. The interview also touches on the significance of Women’s Month and promoting greater female participation in financial markets. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The activities of Cyber Mercenaries are becoming an increasing threat to peace and security in South Africa and the rest of the African Continent. They are willing to fight a Cyber War for anyone who is prepared to pay for their highly specialised services, including: Denial of Service Attacks, Surveillance, Espionage, Malware ‘kits’, Hacking, Social Engineering, Information Gathering, Spam/Scam Distribution, Social Media Bots, The Sale of Stolen Information; and the Generation of Deep-Fakes. BizNews gets taken into their world by Noelle Van der Waag-Cowling, the Cyber Programme Lead at the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA) at Stellenbosch University. She talks about their capabilities, their clients, their motives, their modus operandi - and shares details of some of the damage they have inflicted already. "Any type of cyber activity that you'd like to execute can be at your fingertips if your money is right,” she says. - Chris Steyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gauteng government has been rocked by corruption scandal after corruption scandal for nearly three decades. Veteran Democratic Alliance (DA) politician Jack Bloom, who has served in the Gauteng government since 1994, has witnessed it first hand. He gives BizNews the details of case after case in a province where three of the “Top Seven” in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) came up through the ranks. He describes how some corrupt officials simply got re-elected while others have never been held accountable because of never-ending investigations. “It's quite clear there's an utter lack of shame and utter lack of accountability…And I'd like to see some justice and accountability finally. These cases need to come to court, you know, and people need to be found guilty.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices