BizNews Radio

Padel, a sport that blends elements of tennis and squash, has taken the world by storm, particularly in Spain, Sweden, and Portugal, where it has gained more players than traditional tennis. Some have likened the sport that originated in Mexico in the 1960s to "squash in the sun," while others call it "tennis with training wheels." Despite only a few years of development, padel has already amassed a big following, leading to significant demand for equipment such as rackets, balls, and accessories. Footballers, high-profile tennis champions like Serena Williams and Andy Murray, along with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, have become fans of the game. Around 25 million people worldwide play padel, with Spain boasting six million players. In South Africa, the sport is also rapidly taking off. James Baber and Craig Ireland from Africa Padel told Biznews that the sport was virtually unknown in South Africa until 2020 when the first court arrived and now corporates are starting to organise padel days instead of golf days.

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In this series on South Africans who have massively outperformed and done great things, South African Professor Jonathan Jansen delves into his background, passion for his profession and the power of education in our nation - all of which have charted his path to becoming an Outlier. This is a story of a man who serves our country as an academic, a teacher, a leader, and an inspiration to many. Jansen spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews in an interview that Alec has dubbed as ‘one of the best interviews of his career to date.’

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Business in the United Kingdom have been experiencing a shortage of workers with 1.19 million vacancies in the country. This is according to statistics released in November 2022 by the UK Parliament and a business survey by the country’s Office for National Statistics indicate that 13.3% of British businesses experienced a shortage of workers. The shortages are a result of the country’s decision to leave the European Union. While the door has closed for Europeans; it has opened more opportunities for South Africans to live and work in the UK, which could lead to settlement. Saskia Johnston from Immigration specialists Sable International told BizNews the new post-Brexit rules has opened up the door for more labour-intensive roles such as plumbers and bricklayers and there are many positions open for workers in the healthcare sector. Johnston has however warned that half-truths are circulating about the self-sponsorship route for business owners and mistakes could be costly.

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The world is in the grip of a global energy crisis. This much is true. However, the real reason for this is shrouded by our fundamentally flawed thinking of fossil fuels and the mass of deeply ingrained misconceptions about renewable energy sources as remotely capable of replacing the energy output generated by fossil fuels. In a superbly eye-opening interview with energy expert Alex Epstein, author of the New York Times bestseller The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and Fossil Future, Epstein astutely summarises the undeniable benefits of fossil fuels, the timeline of their demonisation and the moral monopoly that exists on the case for eliminating fossil fuels. Epstein's unique understanding of energy and arguments advocating in favour of energy freedom and human flourishing, both balanced and compelling, are sure to give pause to critical thinkers about their own misconceptions in what has become one of the most contentious topics of our time.

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In this wide-ranging interview with Brenthurst Wealth founder Magnus Heystek, he shares some history that shaped his forthright approach - and explains why the near record Rand weakness of R18:50 to the US Dollar may be far from the end. Heystek takes a closer look at some of shocking news items for SA investors that have emerged recently and concludes that this supports his long-term bearish view of South Africa. Heystek will be elaborating on his perspectives at BNC#5 next week. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.

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South Africa has been placed on a global financial watchdog’s so-called grey list denoting nations with shortcomings in tackling illicit financial flows, a move that will, according to Bloomberg, scar the country’s international reputation and may raise costs for banks and asset managers. The decision was announced by the Financial Action Task Force. Nigeria was also added to the list. It places South Africa in the same category as Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, and Syria. Denker Capital co-founder, Kokkie Kooyman, said it would not affect the man in the street, and even the banks would hardly notice it, but there would be more scrutiny on other avenues by which money left or entered the country. Reacting to the 2023 budget, Kooyman said there had been a government mind shift on the privatisation of electricity. The increase in South Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio meant the country was slowly moving towards Ghana, Zambia, or Egypt. He also weighed in on the sudden exit of André de Ruyter.

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After the publication of his peer-reviewed two-part research paper calling for the suspension of all COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in September 2021, Dr Aseem Malhotra became a household name among vaccine sceptics. Malhotra's COVID-19 journey has been particularly transformative. As one of the UK's most eminent cardiologists and a fierce public health advocate, he was among the first to get the double-dose Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in January 2021 – not thinking or even comprehending the possibility of a vaccine doing any harm. The premature death of his father in July 2021, six months after he had received the second Pfizer shot, was the catalyst which precipitated Malhotra's examination of the mRNA vaccines and subsequent exposure of unprecedented and horrific harm. In anticipation of his keynote address at the upcoming BizNews Conference, Malhotra sat down with BizNews in Cape Town to discuss his findings and insight into Big Pharma, public health and his campaign to cure the pandemic of misinformation.

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South Africa’s stricken power utility will get debt relief to the tune of R254 billion over the next three years year, but economist Dawie Roodt says the indication by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and President Ramaphosa that municipalities debt may be written off and that the power utiity should not implement Nersa increases meant that the Eskom problem would not be solved. Reacting to the Minister's 2023 budget, Roodt said he did not think that the Minister’s economic growth estimate will be achievable; judging from the South African Reserve Bank’s leading indicator that predicts what economic growth is likely to look like over the next couple of quarters, South Africa is probably in a recession. He also believes the Minister had inside-info that South Africa will be gray listed.

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In a week that has seen another round of Stage 6 loadshedding with whispers of a dreaded Stage 8, Finance Minister Godongwana faces the task of incorporating a credible debt-relief plan for Eskom, while stabilising government finances in his annual budget, to be presented on Wednesday, 22nd February. Nezo Sobekwa from S&P Global told Biznews that investors would be looking at how the finance minister would be spending more money on Eskom debt, how he dealt with the public sector wage bill and what the country's GDP growth prospects were. Sobekwa said there were positives in terms of revenue collection and the number of jobs that had been created but said that the budget deficit would have to be revised. Eskom was not the minister's only headache, he said, problems with water supply and fuel costs were expected to impact growth. He expected the minister to say that he would not dish out more money to SOEs or salary increase, but that resolve could disappear down the road. And while the timing of a naval exercise with Russia and China was unfortunate while Ukraine marked a year since the Russian invasion, Sobekwa did not expect it to damage relations with the West. – Linda van Tilburg

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Agri Sa has urged Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to announce measures for farmers in his budget speech to help them to protect the country’s food security. An agricultural economist at Agri SA, Kulani Siweya told Biznews that loadshedding is the most urgent threat to the nation’s farmers and they should be allocated resources to buttress them against its wors effects. Siweya said Agri SA is deeply concerned about the confluence of challenges that have come together to make food production in South African especially difficult at this time and although he did not want to create panic about food security, loadshedding is causing significant disruption. KFC and chicken farmers are an example of the effect it has had. He called on the government not to increase sin taxes as it has a dire effect on farmers and to assist farmers with funding to enable the agricultural sector to be one of the solutions to the energy crisis. 

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