Classic Business

Varushka Singh, currency strategist at RMB

Chantal Marx, head of equity research at FNB Wealth and Investments & Petri Redelinghuys, founder of Herenya Capital Advisors

Something stinks in the legal spat brewing between the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA)and Vumacam. Vumacam approached the court with an urgent application to declare JRA’s decision to suspend aerial and CCTV wayleave applications unlawful and invalid, and set it aside. Vumacam was informed recently of the JRA’s decision to appeal a High Court ruling made against it on 20 August 2020 in which Judge Bashir Vally ruled that “the decision to suspend the consideration of aerial and CCTV wayleave applications is declared to be unlawful and invalid”. While the JRA stated concerns around privacy being the reason that wayleaves should be halted, the judge noted that “there is no dispute that Vumacam complies with the legislative prescripts set out in the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 (POPIA) insofar as protecting an individual’s privacy rights are concerned”. The Judge directed the JRA to proceed with the consideration and determination of aerial and CCTV applications within seven days of the order and provide reasons to Vumacam “if the applications are, or if any individual one is, refused”. Michael Avery spoke to Vumacam CE, Ricky Croock, who said: “This appeal directly impacts the rollout of cameras and infrastructure to provide critical surveillance support to SAPS, JMPD and private security companies in their crime fighting efforts.”

The Auditor-general (AG), Kimi Makwetu, released findings of the Covid-19 funds audit revealing that, unsurprisingly, the multi-billion rand Covid-19 relief package landed in an environment with many control weakneness, like tossing a vat of beer into a room full of alcoholics…After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in South Africa, the government announced a R500billion package for the health response and the relief of social and economic distress caused by the drastic measures that had to be taken to contain the spread of the virus. The fiscal relief package is funded by reprioritising the 2020-21 budgets and securing loans. On request of the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, Makwetu’s office has undertaken a real-time audit of 16 of the key Covid-19 initiatives introduced by the government and the management of R147,4 billion of the funds made available for these initiatives. This report represents the first in a series of reports that will deal with the financial management of the government’s Covid-19 initiatives, covering R68,9 billion (47%) of the R147,4 billion spending.Michael Avery spoke to OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage about the findings.

Warwick Lucas, CIO of Galileo Capital

Cobie Legrange, co-founder of Rex Solom Invest

The country’s social welfare and Early Childhood Development sectors are teetering on a precipice. But, instead of throwing out a lifeline, government is being accused of pushing them over the edge. Michael Avery speaks to Children’s rights activist Robyn Wolfson Vorster, & Prof Eric Atmore, director for the Centre of Early Childhood Development, which is a national resource providing training, support and advice in the field of early childhood development, about the crisis brewing in early childhood development centres across the country.

Wayne McCurrie, portfolio manager, FNB Wealth and Investments & David Oberholzer, equity analyst at Nitrogen Fund Managers

Investment management is in flux, arguably more than it has been in a long time. Active management is under pressure, with investors switching from active to index funds. New “smart beta” products offer low-cost exposures to many active ideas. Exchange-traded funds are proliferating. Markets and regulations have changed significantly over the past 10–20 years, and data and technology—which are increasingly important for investment management—are evolving even more rapidly. Many people are fearful about the financial implications of the Covid-19 emergency which, in the space of a few tumultuous months, has totally transformed life as we know it. The volatility in markets has obviously affected our risk appetite, but many families are scrambling to deal with the income hit as jobs are furloughed or lost, bonuses cancelled, side incomes like property rentals reduced. It’s tough out there and you need little reminding. Add to this the growing sense that things will probably get worse before they get better and it can be hard to see a way through. With the markets facing longer-term volatility, this could be an opportune time for financial advisers to demonstrate their deeper worth. Steven Nathan, CEO of 10x Investments is someone who thinks deeply about these issues, and Michael Avery speaks to him about the future for investment management

More than six months after the first case of Covid-19 was diagnosed in the country and lockdown imposed, the time has come to start paying more attention to the critics. Stefano Marani, the CEO of Renergen recently penned an op-ed expressing his concern around the models, conclusions and the resultant global lockdown. Michael Avery speaks to Marani and Nick Hudson, CEO of SANA Partners and part time coordinator of Panda; and Mike Schussler, head of econmists.co.za; to debate whether the right decisions were taken in the face of the evidence.