BizNews Radio

In a return to the BizNews studio after spending much of the past four months on the road, Dr Frans Cronje of the Social Research Foundation provides an update on optimism he exuded last time. Bottom line: Cronje is still upbeat and hasn’t changed his view that the 2024 Election will be a positive watershed for the nation. In this interview he shares perspectives shaped by both on-the-ground research with voters and some uncharacteristic reform-minded actions by South Africa’s ruling political party. Cronje’s long-range forecast: A possible Parliamentary coalition between the ANC and its closest rival, the DA – rather than the more popularly predicted ANC/EFF combine. Fascinating and topical with SA’s Watershed election little over 500 days away. He spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.

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Though the uptake of COVID-19 boosters remains low in South Africa, with a mere 3.6 million booster shots reportedly administered by August, the South African Government and international health authorities continue to urge citizens to join the conga line of “responsible” people queuing to get boosted. Given the significantly high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among the South African population, there is no justification for boosters, even less the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorisation thereof. In this long-form interview with Dr David Wiseman, a PhD research bioscientist with a background in pharmacy, pharmacology and immunology, the significant risks associated with continued boosting were meticulously examined. Wiseman’s ability to simplify technical knowledge and his explanation of the dangers associated with boosters were second to none. According to Wiseman, attempting to boost our way out of the pandemic is the immunological equivalent of heroin addiction. Wiseman furthermore provided critical insight into the FDA and CDC’s egregious abandonment of once well-established standards, evidenced by the EUA issued for the new untested BA4/5 bivalent boosters. Note that Wiseman referred to several slides during the interview which have been embedded in the article on BizNews.com.

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Naspers’ businesses are low carbon intense as they are underpinned by digital transition which is the future of the green economy. For example, there are a billion unbanked people in the world and if we had to bring these unbanked people onto the financial grid via traditional brick and mortar, old style financial services it would be devastating for the environment. By bringing them onto the grid via digital services we are able to reduce the impact on the environment of the delivery part of the service and reduce the environmental impact of every end consumer that is able to access their financial needs online. Prajna Khanna, Global Head of Sustainability - Vice President at Prosus Group and Naspers Limited, at COP27.

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Charles Savage was back in the BizNews studio after the release of the Purple Group's full year earnings. In the interview with founder Alec Hogg, looking in his crystal ball Savage said the future has never been brighter despite it being a tricky time in the market for growth stocks, echoed by the demure movements in the group’s share price in spite of a stellar performance over the last 12 months. Noteworthy metrics from the annual report include a 50% increase in customers and the completion of 4 acquisitions, a feat not to be scoffed at coming from a relatively small team of operators. The team are pleased to have executed against their goals for the year and simply view investor’s subdued reactions as an indication of a tricky macro environment as opposed to doubts about future growth, especially when considering the intrinsic value that will be harvested from its recent investment in the Philippines, which Charles expects to be much bigger than its South African market. Considering that the team has come from a R20 million income statement 8 years ago, to a company of R2.5 billion today, it’s difficult to argue that investors won’t be richly rewarded by a global product offering and a sound strategy that is on track to realise local and international expansion. An exciting space to watch indeed.

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Opposition to the electoral amendment bill, in its current form, continues to grow, with Ramaphosa under increasing pressure to act before the 10 December deadline. In June 2020, the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to make the necessary legislative changes to the existing electoral law, which makes it impossible for an independent candidate to stand for office without being part of a political party. This provision is at odds with the country’s Bill of Rights. Parliament was given 24 months to make the changes but that deadline lapsed in June this year and Parliament was granted an extension until December. BizNews correspondent Michael Appel spoke with the chairperson of the Independent Candidate Association, Dr Michael Louis, about the continuing shenanigans that bedevil the constitutionality of the bill and what options remain on the table ahead of the 2024 national elections.

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The African Sovereign Investors Forum (ASIF) represents 10 African Sovereign Wealth Funds that have sustainability at the core of their investment mandates. ASIF is partnering with the Alliance on Green Infrastructure in Africa to help drive green infrastructure projects at scale across the African continent.

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California-based founder of ETF provider Ginsglobal, Anthony Ginsberg, makes some powerful points in this interview on the Tech Wreck and what lies ahead for Wall Street’s fallen angels. Ginsberg, a South African now in Los Angeles, says smart American money is picking up shares in downtrodden tech companies, especially those with high exposure to exponentially growing sectors like the Cloud (think Amazon, Apple, Alphabet) and Cyber Security (think Cloudflare). He shares insights with Alec Hogg of BizNews on the US market’s positive reaction to last week’s inflation surprise; explains why Wall Street is happy about the Mid Term election results; and now that Donald Trump’s bolt is shot, the prospect of a Ron de Santis-led, business-friendly US government in 2024.

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ActionSA’s withdrawal from the Ekurhuleni coalition agreement on Monday is the latest setback for multi-party mergers trying to bring a semblance of stability to municipalities. ActionSA’s national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the party had decided to withdraw and opted to become a constructive and robust opposition party. This is just the latest blow to the stability of the minority government currently leading the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality after Tania Campbell’s removal and then reinstatement as mayor in a short time. BizNews correspondent Michael Appel spoke with Dr Corné Mulder, the Western Cape leader of the Freedom Front Plus, but in his capacity as the chairperson of the coalition technical committee. He is candid about the difficulties they’ve faced in bringing together so many different parties to form minority governments, as is the case in Ekurhuleni. Mulder admits that the continuous in-fighting between parties is robbing the alliance of valuable energy it should be expending on service delivery, never mind tarnishing the image of the workability of coalitions as an alternative to one-party rule come 2024.

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Egypt's COP27 Summit could unlock the rise of renewable energy in Africa and worldwide if leaders are able to strengthen their commitment to phase out fossil fuels and begin to act on that promise. Francois Dao, Vice President EDF Renewables, Middle East and Africa, speaks to us at the global climate conference.

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London-based South African money manager Sean Peche is flying right now, with a value-based approach elevating his Randmore Funds into the top one percentile according to performance monitoring company Morningside. Peche has shared some of the love with the BizNews tribe – recommending two stocks that shot the lights out since being including in our model portfolios. In-form Peche explains to BizNews’s Alec Hogg how his process of seeking value and ignoring fashion helped him dodge performance-killing bullets – and a warning that the next shoe to drop could be a downrating of shares in top-quality multinational companies.

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