BizNews Radio

The establishment of the R100-million Dinosaur Interpretive Centre in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in Clarens in the Free State has been hit by long delays. This has resulted in a huge loss of potential income from visitors, students and researchers from across the world. The Centre was commissioned by the SA National Parks back in 2019 - and the building should have been completed in early 2020 already. MP Sonja Boshoff of the National Council of Provinces has spoken to BizNews about the devastating impact of the delays.

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It takes more than hard work and sweat in the African sun to blow the petals off exhibitors at the world-renowned Chelsea flower show. For Andy de Wet and Quinton Bean, two South African plant breeders, it took 18 years of diligent cultivation, 12,000 hand-pollinated seedlings, and perfect timing to emerge victorious. De Wet Plant Breeders have claimed the prestigious Royal Horticulture Plant of the Year award for their native Agapanthus creation, Black Jack Andy de Wet and Quinton Bean from De Wet Plant Breeders have just won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Plant of the Year award with a native Agapanthus that they named Black Jack. In an interview with BizNews, the duo from Hartebeespoortdam discussed their previous Chelsea accolades and the soaring demand that followed their latest win.

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Sibusiso Ngwenya, the highly qualified head of Fintech at Telkom, explains the telecoms company’s partnership with Easy Equities. It’s a leap in the democratisation of share market investing for the bottom end of society’s pyramid. It offers the incentive of a free R50 investment when the Telkom Digital Wallet client opens their Easy account. Given Telkom’s massive reach and the low cost of buying into equities, it’s a product with vast potential. Ngwenya spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.

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Mozambique’s former Finance Minister, Manuel Chang, is set to face charges in the US over his role in a $2 billion so-called “tuna bond” scandal, after South Africa’s top court dismissed an appeal by his home country for him to be tried there. It marks the end of a long-running litigation that challenged successive decisions by South Africa to extradite Mr Chang to Mozambique. Chang has been detained in a South African prison since his arrest in 2018. The Executive Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation, Nicole Fritz told BizNews that it was a significant moment in civil society’s effort to combat corruption in Southern Africa

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It's a well-known fact that the global suicide rate is alarming, with an average of over 700,000 people taking their own lives each year. What isn't remotely well-known, however, is that the suicide rate among males is three to four times higher than that among women. Richard V. Reeves, a senior fellow at the highly respected think tank Brookings Institution, where he directs the Future of the Middle-Class Initiative and co-directs the Center on Children and Families, has extensively researched this dark disparity between genders. Despite strong warnings not to, the father of three boys documented his findings in Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It in 2022, a critical but bold undertaking in light of our social landscape which dismisses the plight of men by virtue of its (perceived) infinite inferiority to the history of injustices suffered by women. Reeves sets out the structural and social shifts over recent decades, which have effectively left a vacuum previously occupied by permitted and biologically informed masculinity – now tainted as toxic. In an interview with Reeves, the maligned issue of male malaise and the social, cultural and ideological reasons driving this are discussed – highlighting just how crucial addressing the crisis faced by boys and men is to the well-being and flourishing of BOTH genders.

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Many municipalities in South Africa face substantial financial challenges, rendering them unable to fulfil their obligation of delivering essential services to their communities. A prevailing culture of non-payment further jeopardises the long-term viability of numerous councils. But there are beacons of light and councils that are well run that could serve as examples to the ones that are struggling and are in danger of collapsing. Two councils have been singled out by Ratings Africa as the most financially sustainable municipalities in the country. In its latest Municipal Financial Stability Index Midvaal and Saldanha Bay came out as the two best-run municipalities in South Africa. The DA’ Executive Mayor of Saldanha Bay, André Truter told BizNews what his secrets for success were and said he was more than willing to share best practices with ANC-run municipalities. At the core lies zero tolerance of corruption and theft, and the appointment of qualified individuals.

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In this era of state nationalism, reputational crime doesn't get much worse than PWC in Australia which sold its foreigners inside information sourced during consulting to the National Treasury on multinational tax avoidance. A once trusted advisor in Canberra, PWC's head of International Tax Peter Collins, is accused of having passed on secrets to many colleagues, with 53 PWC partners exposed in emails made public earlier this month. Among the major beneficiaries were US Big Tech companies which have been in running battles with Canberra for some years. The Australian Government has now banned anyone involved in the scandal from working on State business - a tall order as Canberra is PWC Australia's biggest client. There is no disclosure of involvement by any South African partners or companies, but sharing of the information has been confirmed in some other English speaking countries, including the US and the UK.

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One of South Africa’s bravest whistle-blowers, Cynthia Stimpel, speaks to BizNews about the huge personal sacrifices being made by

the country’s whistleblowers; the terrible losses some have suffered - and the extreme vilification that is used to discredit those who dare speak truth to power. She is now dedicating herself to help other whistle-blowers through her work at The Whistleblower House that has supported at least 160 whistle-blowers over the past year. She also gives important advice on blowing the whistle in the safest possible way.

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Time flies as we enter week four of Fantasy Fund Manager. This week Corion Capital's David Bacher and Andrew Vintcent from ClucasGray Asset Management joined us in the studio. A Tinder-inspired article in the Financial Mail got the juices flowing around which approach might be better suited; buy-to-hold or active management. The most brought-in stock for the week was Naspers, which is now held by 1 in 4 players, while the big ownership move into Lewis Group was at the expense of Woolworths and Clicks. Also look out for Andrew Vintcent’s pro tip. If you still want to play the game, register at www.fantasyfundmanager.co.za and compete in the weekly and monthly prizes—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.

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A class action law suit has been launched by families of those killed and maimed by guns smuggled to gangsters by cops. Former top cop Major-General Jeremy Vearey has given BizNews the inside story of the investigation codenamed Project Impi, which was eventually disbanded after interference from top brass. About 1 700 people were killed with those firearms over a seven-year period. General Vearey has given an affadavit to the law firm acting pro bono for the families of the victims. He had long warned that the police would be liable for “victim death by death, murder by murder with those guns”. He calls for the Central Firearm Registry to be removed from the authority of the police.

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