BizNews Radio

As electricity and now even water supply issues do not appear to abate in the country, the chat around the dinner table often turns to emigration. Fortunately, vat jou goed en trek is now not the only option. There are many opportunities besides semigration to the Western Cape and leaving for good. The pandemic has opened our eyes to alternatives to being in the office day in and day out. Andrew Rissik from Sable International told BizNews about prospects in Portugal for South Africans considering options to internationalise themselves. According to Rissik, Portugal can be regarded as the Western Cape of Europe and, if you are looking for a city with vibes, Lisbon is Cape Town on steroids. There are also interesting possibilities just down the coast for digital nomads who want to combine coffee culture with surfing and an opportunity to invest in a development in Porto that opens the door to a Golden Visa. – Linda van Tilburg

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Dr Francis Boyle was one of the first individuals who openly claimed that SARS-CoV-2 is a genetically engineered bioweapon that escaped from a high-level lab in Wuhan. Boyle, a human rights lawyer and professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, has advocated against the development and use of bioweapons for decades and drafted the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act, which was signed into law by George Bush, Sr. in 1989. President Joe Biden’s recent signing of the Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation, the purpose of which is to “develop and work and promote and implement … dual-use research of concern, and research involving potentially pandemic and other high-consequence pathogens.” BizNews spoke to Dr Boyle who explained why the very wording of this Executive Order, which is a blatantly unlawful violation of Boyle’s Bioweapons Act, together with the guidelines contained in the World Health Organisation Pandemic Treaty, basically promises that more man-made pandemics are coming. Boyle’s experience and research into bioweapons is unmatched. One of the revelations discussed in the interview, which hit home, literally, was the role of South Africa in the development of bioweapons – which began with the Apartheid regime’s CIA assisted research, development, and stockpiling of biological warfare weapons and the country’s BSL-4 lab currently continuing with  “reprehensible biological warfare weapons work”.

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Melanie Veness and Denise van Huyssteen, CEOs of the PMB and NMB Business Chambers, ventured where few in the private sector have the courage to tread by taking on the practical impact of the ANC's ruinous cadre deployment system in the High Court. They are today celebrating a massive victory after winning what their legal advisor MC Botha describes as "an emphatic judgement". At issue is the long-time practice of municipalities loading electricity tariffs to fund incompetent management. The consequence of the High Court's finding will be to prevent all municipalities from using their monopoly over electricity supply - and what their tariffs - as a bottomless slush fund financed by ratepayers. Veness spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.

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ANC Youth League members – who travelled to Ukraine at the invitation of Russia to oversee so-called referendums – deny they’re Russian puppets. On 12 October, 143 nations of the world voted in favour of condemning the referendums that took place in Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. They concluded it was a sham and an illegal land grab by the Russian Federation. South Africa chose to abstain from voting on that particular resolution and has consistently refused to condemn Russia’s invasion; instead, positioning itself as a non-aligned country interested only in peace. Subsequent to the outcome of those referendums, Russia has officially annexed the four areas that make up 15% of Ukraine. North Korea is the only UN member state that recognises Russia’s annexation of the partially occupied regions. BizNews correspondent Michael Appel spoke to ANCYL chairperson of the International Relations Committee, Khulekani Skosana, about its mission as election observers. He refuses to divulge who exactly invited them and paid for the trip. Skosana is adamant what Russia did on 24 February “is in response to the permeation of Nazi extremism that targets a particular ethnic group. Ukraine has also been responsible for killing Ukrainian citizens of Russian descent”. This is a wide-ranging interview with Skosana expressing his views on everything from the war in Ukraine to political issues in South Africa, including the idea of Cape independence. He says, “Settlers cannot come and tell us they want [Cape] independence in our country.”

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In this no-holds-barred interview Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie opens a window into what South Africans can expect from coalition rule after the 2024 National Election. At the very least, it promises to be exciting. The PA’s co-founder says his ‘kingmaking’ moves that reinstated power for the ANC in Johannesburg and Knysna, are deliberate lessons for erstwhile allies – especially the Democratic Alliance whose leader he again meets with tomorrow. Arguing the end justifies his means, McKenzie maintains if allowed to continue, current bickering between anti-ANC parties threatens to snatch defeat from the jaws of 2024’s probable victory. He maintains the PA’s switching sides will prove the point that coalitions must be run as true partnerships – and is confirmation he will always follow through on what he promises. In this interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, McKenzie also explains the reasons why the PA rejected formal offers of funding from ‘my friend’ Rob Hersov and like-minded tycoons. At BNC#4, when sharing the people he believed would serve SA well in a post-2024 cabinet, Hersov proposed McKenzie should be appointed SA’s President.

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And the blurb: The subject of this interview, Rian du Plessis, says he remains close to ostracised former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste and is well known in SA business circles, as a former executive at RMB, and CEO of two JSE-listed groups Comparex and Phumelela. Du Plessis also serves as one of two external trustees on the Jooste family trust Silveroak, in which capacity he was named in the Anton Pillar court order requested by and granted to the SA Reserve Bank, resulting in this week’s raid on Jooste’s assets. He explains to Alec Hogg of BizNews why the SARB’s raid was such a surprise, what the attachment of Jooste-owned properties, motor vehicles, art, furniture and Mrs J’s jewellery actually means - and what comes next. Du Plessis also shares his perspective after watching the Steinheist mini-series, currently airing on Showmax.

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SA businessman Gary Harlow, named in High Court papers which sanctioned yesterday’s seizure of Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste’s assets, says he will help the authorities in anyway possible. In this interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, Harlow explains how shortly after the Steinhoff implosion in 2017 he agreed to become a trustee of Silveroak, Jooste’s family trust. He also unpacks the history of his relationship with SA’s biggest corporate fraudster - and shares what happened at Silveroak during the past four years of his trusteeship.

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The DA will be laying a complaint with the Public Protector against President Cyril Ramaphosa over his use of defence force resources while out on the campaign trail. BizNews correspondent Michael Appel spoke to the DA's spokesperson on security and justice in the NCOP, George Michalakis, about the flight to Welkom in the Free State which took place on 8 October under the ANC's Letsema campaign. Ramaphosa, as president of the ANC, faces a battle on two fronts. In December he'll square off against party rivals in an attempt to hold on to the reins of the ANC, while in about 18 months time, his party faces an uphill battle in the 2024 national elections. Michalakis says this isn't the first time the ANC has blurred the lines between party and state describing it as a move "that has serious consequences for our democracy".

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The DA's Joburg leader Dr Mpho Phalatse has gone from medic to politician and from leading the opposition in SA's biggest city to becoming its Mayor - and then being controversially deposed after an ally with 8 seats in the 270 seat Council switched sides. In this frank interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, the reluctant politician explains why she is now fighting tooth and nail to prevent a return of the 'corrupt' ANC to its old ways, but fears the plundering of Joburg has already started. Phalatse unpacks events of a turbulent year and explains that she's still working behind the scenes to get back the Mayoral chains. In the process, she also provides insights into the kind of challenges SA is likely to face after the 2024 National Election when political coalitions will become the norm.

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OUTA’s latest oversight report finds parliament continues to flounder in its responsibilities to hold the executive to account or to properly scrutinise how taxpayers’ money is spent or, in many cases wasted. The report titled ‘Kicking the can down the road’ – the fourth annual report of its kind from OUTA – paints a grim picture of an institution that has not sought to revamp its tattered reputation in the wake of state capture. In his state capture report, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo pointed fingers at parliament for utterly failing in its duties to perform oversight and haul before it those members of the executive who are doing the bidding of the Guptas. BizNews correspondent Michael Appel approached OUTA’s Parliamentary Engagement and Research Manager, Rachel Fischer, for some insight into parliament’s continued malaise.

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