BizNews Radio

Once hailed as the beacon of democracy in Africa, South Africa's municipalities are grappling with significant challenges related to governance lapses and accountability. Part 3 of the 6-part series with Kagiso Trust, Professor Sam Koma from the University of Limpopo and Mankodi Moitse, CEO of Kagiso Trust, shed light on the pressing need to professionalize local government in South Africa and address critical issues such as corruption, service delivery, and improved governance. The discussion delves into the importance of promoting high professional standards and ethics in the public sector, the challenges faced in recruitment and appointment processes, and the alarming accountability regressions highlighted by the Auditor General's report. These expert voices advocate for radical collaboration between local government and communities for a better future.Join us for this 6-part series with Kagiso Trust, as we explore ways of being a part of the solution and not part of the problem.Sponsored by:Kagiso Trust - https://bit.ly/3N4FZ9e Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Civil rights group Action Society’s Ian Cameron has launched a petition for a ban on the South African Police’s “Blue Light Mafia”. This after a video went viral on Twitter showing SAPS VIP Protection officers violently assaulting unarmed civilians on the N1 highway. Deputy President Paul Mashatile has now confirmed that those officers are attached to his detail. “Paul Mashatile criticising an incident like this is the same as (Colombian drug lord) Pablo Escobar condemning drug trafficking. It makes no sense,” Cameron says. He says the incident is part of a culture that has been engraved in the very being of VIP Protection Services - and that has been a problem for years on end. - Chris Steyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Corion Report, now in its sixth year, is a superb reference tool for the past month’s performance of asset classes. Compiler David Bacher, Corion’s CEO, explains why the big losers in May turned into the hardest runners in June, unpacks the unit trust sector’s winners and losers and shares his thoughts on what lies ahead. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The IFP steamroller appeared to be gathering irresistible momentum since SA’s November 2021 Local Elections. In one by-election after the other, the IFP posted huge increases in the share of the vote and won an unprecedented eight wards off the ANC in the ruling party’s strongholds. So last week’s loss to the ANC in Estcourt’s Ward 14 was a shock, causing commentators to predict a rejuvenation for Ramaphosa’s beleaguered organisation. Not so, says IFP president Velinkosini Hlabani who puts the reverse down to ANC dirty tricks, not a sudden surge in popularity. Hlabani, tipped by the Freedom Front + as SA’s most likely next president, shares details with Alec Hogg of BizNews. He also looks ahead to the opposition party codesa next month - and explains why any IFP post-2024 election coalition with the ANC would be “very, very difficult for us”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eskomite Jan Oberholzer, an electrical engineer who retired as the utility’s COO at the end of April, spent Friday evening in Hermanus answering nothing’s-off-limit questions from BizNews’s Alec Hogg. Here are the highlights of that lengthy interview, providing the inside track on burning issues like why loadshedding has improved lately and when will it end. Plus the inside track on Oberholzer’s two year consulting job; his lengthy one-on-one meeting with the SA president; SA’s desperate need for a ‘crystal ball’ - and how to turn currently destructive transformation policies into a positive. The interview was in a large hall and in parts the recording is not good. But given the content, it's is worth persevering with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you belong to the group of South Africans that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has referred to as "mobile higher-income earners" and you're contemplating leaving the country or are already part of the large pool of South Africa's emigrants, it's crucial to take into account the tax implications of emigration. The finance minister and the South African Receiver of Revenue are eager to retain as many South African residents as possible within their tax net. Therefore, they expanded tax laws in 2021 to include South African citizens' worldwide income and assets. In an interview with BizNews, Sable International's William Louw suggests that prospective and current emigrants carefully consider the concept of tax emigration, which involves altering their residency status. Louw outlined the necessary steps for tax emigration to BizNews and provided insights on assets that may trigger capital gains tax. He also highlights the rules for individuals who may wish to return to the country.- Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head of equities at Terebinth Capital, Ann Sebastian, is having lots of fun participating in its co-sponsored Fantasy Fund Management game. But her day-to-day work is to select the right stocks to invest in. She does so through a model that applies mathematical formulae to bring together many disparate factors, creating a “wholistic” selection process that turns the old ones on their heads. She explained this - and the excellent returns from Naspers - to Alec Hogg of BizNews.Interview sponsored by:Terebinth Capital: www.terebinthcapital.comProud sponsor of:Fantasy Fund Manager: https://bit.ly/43pn8fMTimestamps:00:00 - Introductions01:01 - Ann Sebastian on Fantasy Fund Manager01:35 - Sebastian on her passion for Mathematics and numbers02:15 - On her transition into investment and finance03:34 - How Terebinth looks at investment05:34 - On using AI and machine learning07:09 - On where the South African market finds itself08:59 - On how to approach investing in the current market11:32 - On Naspers14:09 - On her move from Stanlib to Terebinth16:06 - On Terebinth's woman-dominant business environment17:11 - On what Terebinth stands for17:45 - On Terebinth sponsoring FFM18:38 - On her FFM portfolio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a world where encounters with Holocaust survivors are few, and most have surpassed their 90s or 100s, Ella Blumenthal stands out as an extraordinary individual. Her journey that she penned in her book, “I am Ella” with author Joanne Jowell, goes beyond mere survival, for she carries within her a remarkable absence of hatred and refusal to be defined by her suffering. At 101 years old, Ella, who lives in Cape Town, exudes a fiery, gracious, and humorous spirit, at times even taking on the role of the interviewer. In an exclusive Biznews interview with Ella, her daughter Evelyn Kaplan and Jowell, her captivating presence makes this a must-listen, hosted by Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The growing power of Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa is believed to be behind the sudden termination of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. BizNews speaks to Dr. Robert Zuber, director of the UN-based Global Action to Prevent War and Conflict. He was at the UN Security Council meeting on Friday last week to ratify a plan for the drawdown. He feels the Wagner Group was “partially responsible” as they were able and are able to promise - if not deliver - security to Mali without the pressure that the UN is putting on Mali to return to democratic government, to hold elections, and to fully honour the peace agreement. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has accused Wagner of using its operations in Mali both to obtain revenue for the group and its leader, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, as well as to procure weapons and equipment to further its involvement in the war in Ukraine. The US has now sanctioned Wagner’s Mali “facilitator” Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov who has worked “closely” with Prigozhin’s entity Africa Politology and senior Malian government officials on weapons deals, mining concerns, and other activities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the rural regions of South Africa, an astonishing number of schools continue to rely on pit toilets or latrines, which essentially consist of 3-metre-deep holes in the ground. Pit toilets not only strip pupils of their dignity and compromise hygiene, but they also pose significant risks to their safety. Tragically, there have been cases of young children losing their lives after falling into these treacherous latrines including a four-year-old Eastern Cape girl, Langalam Viki that was found in a pit toilet in June this year. Seeking to address this pressing issue, Breadline Africa, a non-profit organisation, has taken up the mission to install 4000 flush toilets in schools across South Africa. Johan Nel, Marketing Manager from Breadline Africa told Biznews that they wanted to place 4000 toilets in rural South Africa helping 120 000 children. – Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices