POWER Talk

As we look ahead to the 2025 Mining Indaba next week, transforming the mining sector remains critical to South Africa’s economic story. This year’s theme includes key pillars are follows: industrialising Africa, future-proofing our communities, Delivering effective net zero & Just Energy Transition strategies, maximising on Africa's critical minerals endowment, giving a voice to future generations, adopting game-changing technologies and prioritising health & safety. Lerato Mbele was joined by Mpumelelo Mkhabela, chairman of Menar and Thando Lukuko, coordinator of the South African Climate Action Network.

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While expressing sadness at the deaths of nine South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in a battle in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence has announced that it will urgently schedule a full briefing on the combat as well as the status of the SANDF deployment in the DRC. According to other reports, as many as 24 other SANDF soldiers were wounded in the same fighting, which was near the city of Goma. Lerato Mbele spoke to Malusi Gigaba, co-chair of the Joint Stansing Committee on Defence and Daniel van Dalen, Signal Risk, Senior Country Risk Analyst. 

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The sky is not the limit for Major Annabel Vundla, when she is flying for the South African Airways, she is Captain Annabel Vundla, when she is flying for the military, she is Major Annabel Vundla. Major Annabel is the South African Air Force’s first black female pilot and flight instructor She is from Mafikeng in the North West province. As she strives for greatness, she can arguably be termed a household name in the aviation industry and says that her heart overflows with joy, pride and gratitude when she is in the cockpit. 

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The escape of alleged illegal mining kingpin James's “Tiger” Neo Tshoaeli has led police officials to suspect that some members of their own force may be implicated in his disappearance. North West Acting Police Commissioner Patrick Asaneng revealed that indications point to possible police involvement in the escape, prompting an internal investigation. Tshoaeli, also known as Tiger, was one of several illegal miners rescued from a shaft in Stilfontein during a recent operation. The escape of Tiger has led to a manhunt extending beyond South Africa’s borders, with police working with their counterparts in Lesotho to track him down. Lerato Mbele spoke to Peter Major, mining analyst and Chad Thomas, organised crime expert.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Expropriation Bill which repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975 and sets out how organs of State may expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons. The Bill, which has undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, aligns legislation on expropriation with the Constitution. Lerato Mbele was in conversation with Bulelwa Mabasa, Director & Head of Land Reform Practice at Werksmans Attorney. 

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South Africa’s political and economic landscape shifted significantly after the 2024 national elections. Poor governance is one of the few things that have led to the leadership crisis. The leading Southern African country has not had sufficient economic growth in years and sectors such as mining, which contribute greatly to the economy continue to be less productive. South Africa has not lacked policies, it has lacked dynamic capabilities inside the public sector to implement those policies. Strengthening of important sectors/areas such as mining, agriculture, governance and security need to be strengthened to achieved desired growth. Lerato Mbele was joined by Ebrahim Fakir, socio-economic & political analyst, Bongani Motsa, senior economist at Minerals Council South Africa and Thokozile Madonko, political economist & research at Southern Centre for Inequality at Wits university.

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Inspired by nature and the importance of skincare, ZeroBS is a skincare range that believes animal fat is the only way to feed the skin. ZeroBS is a unique range of dermatologically tested and dermatologist approved skin food, with tallow, its main, active ingredient. Tallow is Tallow is the rendered down suet fat (also known as leaf fat) of ruminant animals like cows and sheep. Tallow has been used many ways throughout history by our primal ancestors, well before a time of rancid hydrogenated vegetable oils, petroleum-based products and chemically fractionated plant products. Lerato Mbele spoke to founders Warren Wilensky and Yael Shapiro.

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The introduction of the Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA) 4 of 2022 and the upcoming changes to retrenchment procedures signal important shifts in South Africa’s employment landscape. Both the EEAA and the newly proposed retrenchment guidelines are set to affect businesses starting in 2025. While the Employment Equity Act focuses on improving workplace diversity and fairness, the new retrenchment rules aim to refine the processes related to dismissals due to operational requirements. 

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Experts are urging increased police intelligence and better collaboration with international law enforcement as child pornography cases rise in South Africa. This call for action follows the recent arrest of a 35-year-old man in Midrand, Gauteng, who allegedly had 10 million images of child pornography in his possession. The man is accused of hosting and distributing the illegal material internationally. He was arrested on Friday and detained over the weekend at the Randburg police station before appearing in court, where he was remanded in custody.

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Several governments in Southern Africa became increasingly authoritarian in 2024, suppressing dissent and curbing civic freedoms, according to the latest World Report 2025 from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report reviews human rights practices across more than 100 countries, including those in Africa. The Southern Africa section was unveiled in Johannesburg, South Africa (SA). Lerato Mbele spoke to Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, Africa Deputy Director, Human Rights Watch.

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