Spar benefits from rand weakness. Positive growth in Ireland and a weaker rand helped offset continued weakness

at the group's Swiss operations.

The weakness of the rand this year has provided a fillip to Spar, boosting its

foreign currency earnings. While the retail environment remains tough in South

Africa, Spar's operations in Ireland have done well and the rand's

depreciation has flattered it even more.

Spar's Southern African operations grew turnover by 6.7% to 68.8 rand billion,

boosted by the inclusion of pharmaceutical wholesaler S Buys. Excluding S

Buys, the comparable business increased turnover by 5.3%. It credits strong

liquor turnover growth of 13% and a 7.5% increase at its building materials

business for the improvement, despite weakness in the building sector. While

food and liquor growth came in at 5%, Spar says this needs to be viewed

against internal food inflation of 1.4%.

Irish business BWG Group reported euro-denominated turnover growth of 4.2% to

"1.5 billion, with comparable growth of 2.8%. Rand weakness in the second half

of the year resulted in a 9.6% rise in rand turnover to 22.5 rand billion. It said

extreme weather in March and the above average warm summer resulted in

consumers buying larger quantities of food and beverages.

Spar Switzerland reported a 5.8% decline in turnover to 9.8 rand billion but

operating profit increased by 80.6% to 124.6 rand million. Spar said low economic

growth in the retail market were behind the lower turnover, with consumers

continuing to cross into the European Union to do their shopping. Spar said it

would maintain its focus on driving strategic initiatives it had identified to

improve turnover in Switzerland. It's already closed a number of unprofitable

corporate retail stores.

Overall revenue rose 6% to 103 rand billion in the year to end September and

operating profit grew by 7.9% to 2.78 rand billion. Higher finance costs including

foreign exchange losses left basic earnings per share 0.4% up at 948.9c, while

headline earnings per share were 1.4% higher at 965.7c. It's raised its

dividend by 8% to 729c per share.

Against the backdrop of subdued consumer and business confidence in Southern

Africa, the trading environment is expected to remain largely unchanged in the

medium term," Spar said. "The Irish business outlook, still influenced by

Brexit uncertainties, remains positively cautious in both territories where

they operate."

Its shares closed 1.2% up at 177.33 rand yesterday.

Imperial Logistics prepares to go it alone. Imperial Holdings says the restructuring and separation of Imperial Logistics

and Motus was "among the most complex and ambitious undertaken in the SA

market in recent times".

Imperial Logistics will start its standalone future a week from today after it

cleared the final hurdle to the unbundling of automotive group Motus.

Parent company Imperial Holdings said yesterday that the Takeover Regulation

Panel had given the go-ahead ahead for the unbundling of Motus to shareholders

on 22 October. Following that, Imperial will start trading as Imperial

Logistics on 5 December.

The changes are the culmination of a four-year restructuring programme, which

acting chief executive Mohammed Akoojee said was "among the most complex and

ambitious undertaken in the SA market in recent times".

The separation of its automotive and logistics businesses is aimed at giving

shareholders the opportunity to participate directly in either group as

Imperial had discovered there was an absence of operational synergies between

the two. While Imperial Logistics counts businesses as clients, Motus is

primarily consumer-facing. The two are already managed and reported on

independently and the unbundling will allow them to access debt and equity

markets separately.

Imperial Logistics has diverse operations across the continent and Europe and

is expected to deliver sustainable revenue growth, enhanced profitability and

a stable dividend. It's ranked in the top 25 global third-party logistics

providers. It has an established infrastructure and networks in 38 countries

on five continents, with about 30,000 employees. It says its geographical

spread and strong leadership make it a trusted partner to multinational

clients and that its leading positions in regional markets provide a platform

for sustainable growth. The enhanced financial flexibility a separate listing

will give will also underpin its potential for acquisitions.

"As we look forward to a new chapter with Imperial Logistics and Motus being

listed as separate entities, the key priorities of both management teams are

to continue to position their companies as market leaders in their respective

industries and to ensure that each delivers on its strategic, financial and

operational objectives and targets over the next three to five years," Akoojee

said.

Standard Bank, which together with JP Morgan advised on the restructuring,

said the separation had created "two new blue-chip standalone businesses,

appropriately capitalised and focused on generating enhanced value for

shareholders".

Discovery banks on good behaviour. Through Vitality Money, customers will get interest rates in line with their

behaviour.

Discovery has finally launched what it says is the world's first behavioural

bank, incentivising customers to become financially fit.

The new branchless bank is currently busy beta testing on its staff and will

open for customers in March. It says the fully digital bank will leverage the

group's shared-value model and will do for banking what Vitality did for

insurance in the context of financial risk and banking systems. It will try

and do this by encouraging customers to spend less than they earn, save

regularly, have insurance in place, pay off their property, and invest for the

long term. This will alleviate unaffordable debt, exposure to unexpected

expenses, and insufficient income in retirement. Customers will receive

interest rates directly linked to their financial behaviour.

The banking system in South Africa is world class and our competitors are

brilliant," Discovery chief executive Adrian Gore said. "We did, however, see

a gap in-between the traditional offerings and Fintech offerings - a third

entry point that is essentially a new category of banking and a first of its

kind globally: a behavioural bank."

The new bank is up against stiff competition, however, with a number of other

new entrants competing in the branchless space. Apart from incumbent Investec,

Discovery Bank will be competing for customers with the likes of Patrice

Motsepe's Tyme Digital and Bank Zero, co-founded by former FNB CEO Michael

Jordan.

Last week, Discovery sold new shares to raise the 1.85 rand billion it needed to

buy FirstRand's 25% stake in Discovery Bank, a requirement of the Registrar of

Banks when it granted Discovery a banking licence last year.

It said 10% of the bank's shares would be owned by its black depositors.

Discovery's shares closed 1.5% up at 164.76 rand yesterday.

Wow! Black depositors to own a stake in Discovery Bank. If they said this at

the beginning of the presentation I may have paid some attention

#Discoverybank

-- Craig Gradidge (@gradidgec) November 14, 2018

So now we've got to Discover a bank Zero? Or is there Zero to Discover in a

new bank? #whotochoose @MichaelJordaan @Discovery_SA

-- Jaco Els (@mynameisjaco) November 14, 2018

Talking to Adrian Gore at the launch of @Discovery_SA 's new #DiscoveryBank.

Not sure what made him laugh but you can hear it all on @CliffCentralCom

tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/8ezpXXNGBH

-- Gareth Cliff (@GarethCliff) November 14, 2018

Indluplace maintains dividend despite tough year. The real estate investment trust saw a rise in vacancies after Eskom cut back

on activity in Witbank, resulting in the non-renewal of residential contracts

Indluplace has kept its dividend unchanged for the year to end-September,

despite an operating environment characterised by high unemployment and a big

increase in the cost of living. As the only residential-focused REIT (real

estate investment trust) on the JSE, the state of the consumer has a direct

impact on Indluplace. It said this had affected its ability to grow dividends

in the short term and also made accurate forecasting difficult.

To make matters worse, a cutback in Eskom's activity in Witbank has resulted

in less demand for accommodation in the areas, with the non-renewal of bulk

residential contracts with contractors who had been working for the utility.

That pushed vacancies up to 8.4%, largely due to a single Witbank property:

Highveld View. Excluding Highveld View, Indluplace said the vacancy rate for

the remainder of its portfolio was 5.2%. It expects vacancies rep remain

around these levels. It says it's looking at various options for Highveld View

and plans to dispose of the property in the medium term.

Contractual income rose 71% to 563 rand million in the year to end-September,

boosted by the acquisition of Diluculo Properties and the Buffet portfolio in

July and October 2017. The acquisitions also boosted Indluplace's residential

portfolio of 9,788 units to 4.3 rand billion after adding 2,803 units last year.

The REIT is paying a final distribution of 49.19c per share, taking its total

dividend to 97.75c per share.

Due to the non-renewal of bulk contracts at Highveld View and the expected

slow take-up of individual units at lower market rentals than previously

obtained, Indluplace expects next year's dividends to be down by between 3%

and 10%. It plans to dispose of non-performing and non-core assets, including

gradually reducing its exposure to the remaining head leases and positioning

its position for long-term, sustainable growth.

Indluplace remains positive about the investment case for the rental

residential market in the longer term and will continue to look for

opportunities in South Africa," the REIT said.

Its shares closed unchanged at 8.49 rand.

Pierre De Vos: Regardless of the politics, Public Protector's pursuit of

Gordhan is legally flawed and fails the honesty test. In June 2017, Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF),

confessed that the party had "made a terrible mistake" to support the

appointment of Busisiwe Mkhwebane as Public Protector. (Mr Malema does not

appear to be a particularly good judge of character as he previously also

apologised for supporting Jacob Zuma.)

As it turns out, this confession was well made, as the High Court found a few

months later that the Public Protector "does not fully understand her

constitutional duty to be impartial and to perform her functions without fear,

favour or prejudice" and does not appreciate that her office requires her to

be honest.

Unfortunately, some of her recent actions have raised further worries about

her impartiality, knowledge of the law, and honesty. Because these actions

relate to her decision to subpoena Public Enterprises minister, Pravin

Gordhan, to answer questions about the granting of early retirement to former

SARS acting Commissioner, Ivan Pillay, some politicians may prefer to ignore

this new evidence that Mkhwebane is not fit for office.

Gordhan has made powerful enemies within and outside the governing party,

partly because of his haughty manner, but largely because of his ruthless

clean-up of state-owned enterprises which has the looters and their political

backers running scared and fighting back.

In a recent column, Daily Maverick's Professor Balthazar delves into the

politics of the matter, pointing out that the Public Protector recently told a

court that she had not investigated senior politicians like Ace Magashule

implicated in the looting of public funds in the Free State because of a

complete lack of resources, yet has funds to pursue a case that, at best,

appears to be inconsequential and legally weak.

However, I will leave the politics of the matter to others and, instead, will

focus on the legal issues surrounding the latest moves against Gordhan to

illustrate that the Public Protector is still struggling to grasp the extent

and limits of her powers and continues to act in ways that cast doubt on her

honesty.

In response to criticism of her recent move against minister Gordhan by some

of minister Gordhan's supporters, her office tweeted that she had written to

minister Gordhan four times between February 2018 and July 2018, requesting a

response to the allegations levelled against him.

"When the responses were not forthcoming, she issued a subpoena."

As it turns out, this claim was at best misleading and at worse false. Tebogo

Malatji, minister Gordhan's lawyer, pointed out that he had responded to the

Public Protector on behalf of the minister, asking to be provided with the

particulars and evidence of the alleged dishonesty and impropriety on the part

of minister Gordhan that is being investigated.

Section 7(3)(a) of the Public Protector Act states that the Public Protector

may, at any time prior to or during an investigation, request any person to

assist her with an investigation.

The Act does not impose a legal duty to respond to such requests by the Public

Protector, but sections 23 to 25 of the Rules Relating to Investigations by

the Public Protector and Matters Incidental Thereto do purport to impose legal

duties on state officials to co-operate with the Public Protector. However,

these rules were promulgated in September 2018, which means they were not in

effect when the Public Protector requested the minister to respond to

allegations made against him and do not apply in this case.

The main weapon the Public Protector has at her disposal to obtain evidence

from a witness or from an implicated person is her power to subpoena

individuals. This power does not relate to preliminary investigations and

cannot be used to force an individual to testify before a decision is taken to

start a proper investigation. However, it is clear from sections 20 and 21 of

the rules quoted above that the Public Protector may conduct a preliminary

investigation - although her powers during this stage of the proceedings are

limited.

Nothing in the Act or the rules permit the Public Protector to subpoena a

witness during the preliminary investigation and limits it to cases where the

Public Protector is in fact "conducting an investigation". Once a decision is

made that a full investigation will be conducted (after a preliminary

investigation), the Public Protector can use her power of subpoena to great

effect.

This power is contained in section 7(4)(a) the Public Protector Act (read with

section 5 of the Act) and empowers the Public Protector "to direct any person

to submit an affidavit or affirmed declaration or to appear before him or her

to give evidence or to produce any document in his or her possession or under

his or her control which has a bearing on the matter being investigated".

Section 5 states that:

"A direction referred to in subsection (4)(a) shall be by way of a subpoena

containing particulars of the matter in connection with which the person

subpoenaed is required to appear before the Public Protector and shall be

signed by the Public Protector and served on the person subpoenaed either by a

registered letter sent through the post or by delivery by a person authorised

thereto by the Public Protector."

As the subpoena power is a powerful weapon that could easily be abused,

certain safeguards are built into the Act to protect individuals against the

potential abuse of power by the Public Protector.

Thus, section 7(8) of the Act states that any person appearing before the

Public Protector after being subpoenaed may be assisted at such examination by

an advocate or an attorney "and shall be entitled to peruse such of the

documents or records... as are reasonably necessary to refresh his or her

memory". This right to peruse documents before appearing before the Public

Protector is confirmed by section 16(4) of the rules.

This is where it gets odd. The Public Protector has claimed that her

engagement with minister Gordhan is a "preliminary investigation" and that

"her office has no evidence implicating minister Gordhan of any wrongdoing".

In her most recent press statement she states that "he investigation into the

alleged conduct of minister Gordhan is therefore at a preliminary stage",

which is (deliberately?) ambivalent as it could either mean that no decision

has been taken to actually investigate minister Gordhan (and this is just a

preliminary investigation to decide that), or that the formal investigation is

proceeding but is at a preliminary stage.

Be that as it may, either the Public Protector lied when she claimed this was

still a preliminary investigation, or she has abused her subpoena power by

forcing the minister to appear before her in a matter that is still at a

preliminary stage and on which she has no evidence of wrongdoing on his part.

If this is a preliminary investigation as the Public Protector claimed, she is

not legally permitted to subpoena the minister to force him to answer

questions. It would constitute a grave abuse of power for her to use her

subpoena power if she has not completed a preliminary investigation yet.

She is also not permitted to subpoena the minister without providing him with

particulars of the allegations against him and all relevant documents on which

she relied to decide to proceed with an investigation.

This is an important safeguard to prevent the Public Protector from abusing

her subpoena power to go on a fishing expedition. If you do not know what the

allegations are that you are being investigated for and if you are not

provided with the relevant documents on which the Public Protector relied to

make a decision that a full investigation was warranted, the subpoena power

could be abused to harass and humiliate individuals who may not be implicated

in any wrongdoing at all.

It is therefore clear from the Act and the relevant rules that the Public

Protector is not permitted to subpoena the minister to force him to answer

questions under oath unless she has decided to investigate him. If she has

decided to investigate him and subpoenaed him, she is legally obliged to

provide him with the particulars of and evidence of the alleged dishonesty and

impropriety for which he is being investigated. If Mr Malatji is correct that

this information was never provided, the Public Protector is in breach of the

legislation governing her office.

There is one further unseemly twist to this sorry saga. After Mr Malatji

pointed out that it was false for the Public Protector to claim that no

response was forthcoming from Gordhan after the initial request, the Public

Protector further muddied the waters by issuing a statement that looks

suspiciously as if it was drafted with the specific aim of misleading the

public.

In her follow-up statement she again states that "the minister failed to

provide the Public Protector with a response to these allegations as requested

in the preceding correspondences". This claim is misleading as the minister

did respond to the request, albeit through his legal representative. The

statement contains the following paragraph that appears to be aimed at fudging

the issue and to cover up the initial misleading statement:

"Regarding the use of attorneys and advocates during appearances before the

Public Protector, the law provides for legal assistance and not legal

representation. This means that attorneys or advocates cannot speak on behalf

of the person appearing before the Public Protector."

This is an odd claim for a lawyer to make because it appears to state the

obvious. A bit like a professor making a statement that a student only passes

a course if she obtains a pass mark.

Legal representatives do not testify on behalf of their clients. They

represent them, among other things by corresponding on behalf of their

clients. To the extent that this non-sequitur was included in the statement to

suggest that minister Gordhan's lawyer was not legally entitled to correspond

with the Public Protector on behalf of his client, the statement is

deliberately misleading.

It may well be read as a ham-handed attempt to create the false impression

among ordinary citizens not versed in the law that minister Gordhan's lawyer

was not permitted to respond to the Public Protector on his behalf and hence

that the initial statement from the Public Protector that "responses were not

forthcoming" was not the outright lie that it may appear to have been.

I have no idea what will come of this investigation, whether a finding will be

made against minister Gordhan, or whether a court will review and set aside

any such finding. Neither can I say with absolute certainty that facts may not

be uncovered to implicate minister Gordhan in wrongdoing of some sort. But

what I can say with firm conviction is that the Public Protector has been

acting in an unprofessional and less than honest manner in pursuit of the

minister. DM

Recession Proof US Shares worth researching Part 4: Back Testing. Last week I decided to run a back test to see how the selection of recession

proof stocks discussed in my previous 3 three articles would have performed

over the last 20 years. I chose 20 years because it would cover the last 3

major market downturns 1998, 2002 and 2008. The test was run for the period of

Jan 1998 to October 2018.

Part 1, 2 & 3 of this series can be found here in the #SharePicksUSA section:

I made the following assumptions for this test:

All 15 shares were equally weighted at 6.66% of the portfolio to begin with.

Dividends were reinvested.

No adjustments were made to the portfolio for the entire period.

I used the S&P500 index as a benchmark.

My main objective for a Recession Proof portfolio is:

Market value must decline less than the S&P 500 during market downturns so that I can SWAN (Sleep Well At Night)

Market value must equal or better the performance of the S&P 500 over the long term

Produce an increasing dividend income, even during market downturns

The results are as follows:

Performance during the last 3 significant market declines:

July to October 1998 The portfolio decline was 13.6% when the S&P dropped 15%

March 2000 to October 2002. The portfolio decline was 17.64% when the S&P 500 dropped nearly 45%

November 2007 to March 2009. The portfolio decline was 30.42% compared to the S&P500 drop of 51%

The dividends increased every year without any declines during the entire

period. With an initial investment of $10,000 dividend for the first year were

$1,900 and ended up at $12,016 in 2017.

Graph of the portfolio growth with an initial investment of $10,000 compared

to the S&P500.

The portfolio grew from $10,000 to $73,532 The S&P500 grew to $40,520 during

the same period.

Annual returns compared to S&P500 are as follows:

This test was simulated as a "Buy and Hold" portfolio, that is, there were no

adjustments made during the 20 years of the simulation. As you can see this

portfolio significantly outperformed the S&P500 during the market downturns

over the last 20 years. This portfolio had a Beta of 0.64 compared to the

S&P500.

Please note the above graphs like all back testing, suffer from selection

bias. Had I set the start date in the middle of the 2008 crash the S&P500

would have gained more than the portfolio. I selected these dates to

illustrate that Dividend Growth Investing portfolios ride through market

declines with less fluctuations than the total market. Past performance is not

a guarantee of future returns and data and other errors may exist.

Disclaimer: Please note that I am not a Registered Financial Planner. The

articles I write are based on my own personal research and for my own use and

is not to be construed as financial planning advice. At all times readers are

urged to exercise caution when investing in any financial instruments, to do

their own research

Follow @Bruce Ingram

...back to Share Picks USA

Zapiro: Pravin Delayed.

Newsflash: Malusi Gigaba resigns 'for the sake of our country'. Malusi Gigaba's resignation as Home Affairs minister brings to an end a torrid

month that started with a leaked solo sex tape and worsened when his last bid

to appeal a court finding that he lied under oath was dismissed by the

Constitutional Court. Then the public protector told President Cyril Ramaphosa

he had 14 days to take disciplinary steps against Gigaba as lying under oath

was a contravention of the Executive Ethics Act and codes.

That deadline for presidential action was Wednesday. And after a widely

reported meeting between the president and the minister on Friday, it seems

Gigaba made a last-ditch attempt to file legal papers to take the public

protector report on review.

If that had been successful, Gigaba would have been able to stay off any

disciplinary action from the president on the argument that the report and

remedial action were still under review, and thus not final. It is reliably

understood the process of filing the legal papers did not proceed without

hiccups.

In a statement the Presidency confirmed that Gigaba, in his letter of

resignation, indicated he "was stepping aside for the sake of our country and

the movement to which he belongs".

It went on to say the reasons Gigaba gave also included "to relieve the

president from undue pressure and allow him to focus on improving the lives of

the people of South Africa and for him to do the best he can to serve the

country and save it from this economic meltdown".

Transport Minister Blade Nzimande has been appointed to act as Home Affairs

minister until a permanent appointment is made, Presidency spokesperson

Khusela Diko said in the statement.

Ramaphosa, who is due to leave for a working visit to the European Union, now

has at least two vacancies in his Cabinet, that of Gigaba and the vacancy

created by the death of Edna Molewa. Whether he would take this opportunity to

announce a reshuffle remains to be seen.

Gigaba, who not long ago was touted as a future president of the country, must

now decide on his future. While he resigned from Cabinet, he is still an MP

and may decide to take up that post on the ANC parliamentary benches. DM

Mobile saves Telkom as landlines ring off. The telecoms operator grew mobile customers by 50% in the six months to end-

September but BCX weighed on earnings.

Telkom is ringing up sales to mobile customers as revenue from landline

customers starts to dwindle. The telecoms operator grew its mobile customer

base by 50% to 6.5 million in the six months to end-September, using broadband

and cheap data-led products to attract new users.

However, although new revenue streams are compensating for the decline in

traditional products they are not as profitable. It's trying to stimulate more

data traffic to preserve its margins.

As well as its growing mobile business, Telkom says its Openserve and Gyro

businesses also contributed positively to first-half results. Openserve, a

wholesale infrastructure connectivity provider, marginally increased its

revenue, despite the decline in traditional revenue. Gyro, which manages masts

and towers, property development and property management services, continued

to grow external revenue and the mast and tower portfolio tenancy ratio.

On the downside, enterprise business BCX was negatively affected by the weak

economy as well as the decline in voice revenue. The group said large

corporates reduced or deferred spending, while public sector ICT spend

remained subdued.

Operating revenue rose 5.2% to 10.8 rand billion as a 54% rise in Mobile service

revenue to 3.58 rand billion compensated for a 7% decline in Fixed service revenue

to 10.8 rand billion. Information technology revenue improved by 3.3% to 3.77 rand

billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)

increased by 2.9% to 5.32 rand billion but headline earnings per share (HEPS) fell

3.3% to 288c. Adjusted HEPS, which exclude the impact of voluntary early

retirement and severance packages of 282 rand million and the related tax impact

of 80 rand million, rose 10.3% to 328.6c. It's reduced its interim dividend y 5.1%

to 112.14c per share.

Telkom said high-demand spectrum was likely to be licensed within the next 12

to 18 months. However, it said the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands would only be

commercially available after completion of digital migration and restacking.

It also expects the Electronic Communication Amendment Bill to be passed

within the next few months.

We believe that our operating environment will continue to be challenging with

macroeconomic conditions not being favourable to growth, and the private and

public sectors respectively deferring spend on ICT," Telkom said. "Our

strategy, therefore, will be more focused on pockets of growth, while we

continue extracting efficiencies from past investments and driving a

sustainable cost management approach."

Its shares closed 5.1% lower at 52.34 rand yesterday.

Telkom results are out today with the company posting revenue growth and a

slight decline in the adjusted HEPS.

I'm interested on their view that the Spectrum Auction will drive data

prices up in order to recoup the cash spend. @TelkomZA

-- Siba (@s_nombebe) November 13, 2018

Another telecoms company, Telkom has increased its customer base. Despite

tough economic times, Telkom's customers increased by 50% they now have 6.5

million mobile customers. #eNCA #TelkomResults

-- Heidi Giokos (@Heidigiokos) November 13, 2018

Interwaste declines after it’s told to close landfill site. The waste management company is currently the subject of a takeover bid by

French group Sch Environment.

Interwaste's shares fell more than 6% yesterday after it was told to close the

FG Landfill site in Midrand. The move could put a bid by French water recovery

and treatment group Sch Environment at risk.

In a statement yesterday, the waste management company said it had received a

directive from the Department of Environmental Affairs to cease operations at

the site, which has been at the centre of a tussle between Interwaste and

local residents. In February, the North Gauteng High Court ruled in

Interwaste's favour in a dispute over the validity of its licence.

Residents of the area have companied about air pollution and a stench in the

area. They blame it on the site, which previously received mining waste from

platinum miner Lonmin. Last year, the Department ordered the closure of the

site and commissioned experts to investigate its environmental impact.

Last week, the company said it had received a 1.20 rand per share offer from Sch,

a 47.9% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average share price of

Intercaste's shares as at 28 September, the trading day before it announced

that it was in talks. However, according to the offer, the scheme can be

terminated if any material adverse change occurs.

Interwaste's Facilities business, which includes the FG Landfill site, was the

only unit to underperform last year due to lower volumes arising from stagnant

growth and uncertainty over the validity of its licence to operate the site.

Interwaste said it had taken the Department's directive under review.

Its shares closed 6.3% lower at 1.04 rand yesterday.