BizNews Radio

Bronwyn Nielsen spoke to Zhann Meyer, Head of Agricultural Commodities at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, to explore what it means for Nedbank CIB to be ‘purpose led’. Meyer explained how the bank is working towards the alignment of its purpose to be money experts who do good by using their expertise in an environmentally safe and strategically sound manner. Meyer also expanded upon the nature of Nedbank CIB’S role in sustainable agricultural finance.

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Whistleblower Athol Williams believes the UK government's three-year ban imposed on controversial global consultancy firm Bain and Company should be an embarrassment to the South African government and its inaction. Following sustained pressure from former UK cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain, the UK government banned Bain from tendering for any public sector work for the specified period due to "grave professional misconduct" emanating from its work at SARS. Despite two commissions of inquiry having found Bain - working in concert with former SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane and former President Jacob Zuma - deeply implicated in the repurposing and evisceration of South Africa's tax collector, the South African government has done nothing. The Zondo Commission recommended that all Bain's prior contracts with the state should be investigated with a view to prosecution. Williams tells BizNews he's yet to receive an iota of support or a response to numerous requests for assistance from both the business community and the state after he fled the country last year.

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Iron Lady of SA Politics, Helen Zille, has sounded a warning on growing blind optimism of South Africa post-ANC rule - ie what awaits after the 2024 National Election where the ANC is likely to lose control of a Parliament it has governed for 28 years. While Zille says the DA is working hard to bring the ANC to well under 50% of the national vote, she warns that this on its own is not a panacea. She says the experience in Nelson Mandela Bay, where nine tiny parties hold the balance of power, is a warning. In this wide-ranging interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, Zille also discusses recent by-election results; Dr Frans Cronje's insights into how opposition parties could recruit disaffected ANC voters, and the UK's three year ban on Bain and Co over its role in South African State Capture.

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Bain & Company - found by two commissions of inquiry to have been implicated in state capture - has been banned for three years from tendering for any public sector work by the UK government for "grave professional misconduct" in South Africa. Former UK cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain has been leading the charge against the global consultancy firm in the corridors of power abroad. He told BizNews he welcomes the move by the UK government and continues to call on the US government to do the same. If Bain continues to do any public sector work in South Africa, he's urging the government that it must "immediately be frozen and stopped...if the British government can suspend government contracts with Bain for three years, then the very least the South African government can do is the same".

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Bain and Co, the US consultancy which has been brazening out its destructive role in SA State Capture, has been banned from any UK government contracts for three years. The ban is the first concrete steps taken against the Boston-based firm and follows a campaign by SA-born former UK cabinet minister Lord Peter Hain. There has been no sanction of Bain in South Africa, where its business is booming, with the consultancy adding enough fresh Government and private sector contracts to have recently expanded into new offices. Also in this episode of the BizNews Breakfast Briefing, markets are fretting after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flew into Taiwan despite threats of retaliation from China. And our partners at the Financial Times share insights into 'Generation Moonshot' - the young investors keeping US stocks relatively buoyant.

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Dr Michael Louis - founder of the Independent Candidate Association (ICA) - is ringing the warning bell that the electoral bill, as it stands, is deeply flawed and unconstitutional. In a wide-ranging interview with BizNews, Louis explains the genesis of the June 2020 Constitutional Court ruling and how the Bill of Rights - which gives any individual the right to stand for public office - is at odds with our electoral act stating anyone contesting elections must belong to a political party. The ConCourt ordered parliament to remedy the legislation within 24 months but that deadline expired in June 2022. An extension until 10 December this year was granted. Louis is adamant that this is a "one in a lifetime opportunity" to effect meaningful electoral change but feet-dragging by Parliament has the potential to thrust the country into crisis ahead of the 2024 national election. An election, he believes, in which independent candidates will have a critical role to play in the unfolding coalition nature of national governance.

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South African viewers are likely to be familiar with WildEarth, the DSTV channel that is giving people the experience of actually being on a game drive in one of our amazing game parks. WildEarth, founded by Emily and Graham Wallington, has a global audience of 50 million viewers. Johannesburg-born Wallington, who describes himself as from the ocean, has taken the concept of nature tech to a new level, providing a connection with nature that many people not as lucky as South Africans can now access. The channel was a tonic for many viewers during the Covid-19 lockdowns and they have not tuned out since. Wallington told BizNews he and his team are continuing to scale; there will soon be an improved app, new content and an expansion into marine life. And if you wondered which of its WildEarth non-fungible tokens are the most popular – it is a leopard called Tlalamba, who has two cubs. – Linda van Tilburg

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This year's BizNews conference will be opened by lawyer-turned-extreme-athlete Kim van Kets who personifies South Africa's deep potential. Best known for having completed the first 'triathlon' of SA's 6 762 border in 148 days, in this fascinating podcast with Alec Hogg she explains that when her daughter finished school, her BHAG is to run the length of Africa "before my body gets decrepid." Based in East London and married (for 22 years) to fellow adventurer Peter, she promises to share a message of hope with the full-house of 250 delegates in the Drakensberg at the end of the month.

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After going gangbusters in July, share markets in the US (and SA) took a breather yesterday easing back a few points. On the local market, a trading update from coal producer Thungela Resources revealed a 20x jump in its profits for the six months to end June, supporting a surge from R80 to almost R300 in its share price this year. Also in this episode of the BizNews Breakfast Briefing, China is moving back onto centre stage as its Belt and Road initiative hits major obstacles with some recipients of Beijing's loans needing to expand them just to meet interest commitments.

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While the Western World celebrates July as the best month for stock markets since April 2020's Covid lockdown bounce, China is seeing ominous signs of social unrest in the wake of massive property development company defaults. Also in this episode of the BizNews Breakfast Briefing, investors jump back into crypto currencies and gold - both targeted as inflation hedges - and we have highlights from our interview with Arcelor Mittal CEO Kobus Verster which explores the steelmaker's leverage to the potential of an improved (post-2024) South African economy.

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