Indholdsfortegnelse for 2025-11-07 i Cape Times

Vodacom said the matter was settled by the parties out of court, but did not disclose the rand amount of the agreement Vodacom has revised its earnings forecast downwards by around 17%, due to a “one-off event”, hours after it reported that a settlement had been reached in the Please Call Me court action. Vodacom said the matter was settled by the parties out of court; the parties were glad that finality had been reached, and Vodacom did not disclose the rand amount of the settlement agreement, even though Business Report did question the telecom operator in this regard. As part of the settlement, the group said a notice was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeal, withdrawing Vodacom's appeal. Additionally, a notice was sent to the High Court to…

An abandoned mine. A global superpower desperate for supply. And South Africa quietly holding the solution. This isn’t fiction — it’s happening right now in Steenkampskraal, a forgotten town in the Western Cape. For six decades the site gathered dust. Anglo American walked away in 1963, convinced it was exhausted. They were wrong — by about R50 billion. Today, Steenkampskraal’s rare-earth deposits could reshape global supply chains, challenge China’s dominance, and position South Africa as a critical player in the electric-vehicle, renewable-energy and defence industries. The Rare-Earth Revolution The world has entered a new resource war — not for oil or gold, but for elements most people can’t pronounce: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. These minerals are the invisible engine of modern life. Every EV motor, wind turbine and military…

South Africans are seeing slight relief at the pumps this month after the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced decreases in petrol and diesel prices, though experts say the cuts remain modest amid broader cost pressures in the economy. Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe confirmed that both grades of petrol dropped by 51 cents per litre, while both grades of diesel declined by 21 cents per litre at the start of November. According to the Road Freight Association (RFA), the lower diesel prices will offer some financial reprieve to transporters. RFA CEO Gavin Kelly said that as of 5 November, the cost of 500ppm diesel fell by 21 cents per litre and 50ppm diesel by 19 cents, while 93 and 95 octane petrol fell by 39…

Today’s investment landscape is increasingly complex for South African investors, amid heightened market volatility and political uncertainty. Offshore investing remains a critically relevant strategy for preserving and growing wealth while managing risk. Diversifying beyond South African borders is not just a luxury; it’s a necessary consideration for prudent portfolio management. Why consider offshore exposure? From currency fluctuations to policy shifts, the South African market has historically faced a range of economic and political challenges that directly impact local asset performance. Offshore investing offers several key advantages to navigate this unpredictability: ● Diversification of risk: Offshore assets allow investors to reduce the concentration risk embedded in their domestic portfolios. By spreading capital across global markets, sectors, and currencies, investors are less vulnerable to country-specific downturns. ● Access to growth opportunities: Many…

Just Share, a shareholder activism group, says it recommends that investors vote against Sasol’s “say on climate” shareholder resolution at the fuels-from coal and chemicals group’s November 14 annual general meeting, but Sasol has staunchly defended its emissions roadmap. Just share said Thursday that there remain “multiple significant questions” about the feasibility and robustness of Sasol’s “optimised Emission Reduction Roadmap" (ERR) that it released at its Capital Markets Day in May this year - the ERR will achieve the same 30%-by-2030 emission reduction targets to which it committed in 2021, at a reduced cost. Just Share said most of Sasol’s emissions were from the Secunda Operation’s coal-to-liquid process and “offsetting” emissions did not prevent harm from burning fossil fuels. Broadly, Sasol intended to raise production as well as “offset” increased…

THE only way to save Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSezwe Party (MK Party) from persisting instability is for the organisation to go to an elective conference, otherwise, it may not see next year’s elections.That is the warning political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast has sounded after Zuma’s fallout with his deputy Dr John Hlophe. The party suspended Hlophe on Wednesday night for removing the MK Party’s parliament chief whip Colleen Makhubele. Hlophe had, according to the party, unilaterally removed Makhubele without consultation with the party or Zuma and replaced her with Des van Rooyen. Zuma, who was out of the country when Makhubele was removed, then reversed Hlophe’s decision and issued him with a precautionary suspension. However, Hlophe reportedly defied the suspension and dared Zuma to fire him instead of suspending him.…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the appointment of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mmamoloko Kubayi, an ANC member, to chair the panel tasked with recommending the next National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). He was responding to Build One South Africa (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane who highlighted the ANC’s historical challenges and the ongoing investigations into the party. Maimane referenced Ramaphosa's own admission at the Zondo Commission that the ANC stands as “accused number one” and the current Madlanga Commission’s investigation. He then directly challenged the appointment: “Would it not be prudent that the person who chairs the panel that you set up be someone from the ANC, perhaps someone from the GNU partner, in order to avoid potential conflict of interest so that the person appointed…

Two murder-accused juveniles made an 11th-hour about-turn when they abandoned their bail applications at the Athlone Magistrate's Court yesterday. The juveniles are among five suspects arrested for the brutal killings of seven people in Philippi last month, where the victims were allegedly shot and their bodies set alight. It has since emerged that both teens are also scheduled to appear in court today on separate charges of double murder and attempted murder, with information that the crimes share the same disturbing modus operandi — shooting victims, collecting bullet casings, and burning bodies to conceal evidence. The teenage boys, aged 16 and 17, appeared in-camera for what would have been their formal bail applications, facing Schedule 6 offences. Currently, one of the juveniles is in a place of safety, while the…

France flyhalf Romain Ntamack says that even though he did not play in the World Cup quarter-final against the Springboks, all French players were tainted by the agonising defeat. When the sides last met at the Stade de France, the Boks won 29-28 in a nightmare end to the host nation’s dream of winning the Webb Ellis Cup on French soil. Not long before the 2023 tournament, Ntamack suffered a serious knee injury. He had been favoured to be the starting flyhalf, but the No 10 jersey went to Mattieu Jalibert, who is likely to be on the bench on Saturday behind Ntamack. “I wasn’t part of that World Cup quarter-final squad, but the trauma affected more than just the 23 players on the team sheet,” he told RugbyRama. “Since…

Lesaka Technologies’ consumer business delivered a standout performance in its first quarter with a 90% increase in segment adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to R150 million, although the group reported a small loss. The Nasdaq and JSE listed technology group, which provides financial services and digital solutions to underserved communities and merchants across Southern Africa, said year-on-year, group net revenue increased by 45% and adjusted EBITDA was up 61%. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 97%, reflecting organic growth and the accretive effect of acquisitions. “These results mark a strong start to our financial year, demonstrating consistent and resilient growth momentum,” Lesaka CEO Lincoln Mall said. Lesaka serves over 90 000 micro merchants and more than 30 000 small-to-medium-sized businesses; the majority of these businesses are…

Conceptual clarity adopted in its founding principles and a strong mandate to drive sustainable industrialisation has largely defined the history of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Although shortages of manufactured goods, caused by disruption to trade between Europe and South Africa following the first and second world wars were key catalysts for the rapid industrialisation of the local economy, the core objective to industrialise South Africa still underpins the corporation's foundational mandate, alongside its commitment to job creation. Established in 1940 through an Act of Parliament, the IDC turned 85 years old, in October, last month. For context, this institution has contributed significantly to shaping South Africa’s manufacturing and industrial base over the past eight and half decades. The corporation helped birth the likes of Ouma Rusks, Da Gama textiles,…

The South African Revenue Services’ (Sars) provisional sequestration of Roy Muleya, sole director of a company with a tax liability of about R155 million, underscores the serious consequences of tax non-compliance, as confirmed by the North Gauteng High Court on 29 October 2025. This most recent notch in Sars’ belt clearly evidences the revenue authority’s far-reaching powers and zero tolerance for non-compliance. To commemorate this win, Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter commented: “Where taxpayers opt to wilfully disregard their obligations by acting outside the remit of the law, Sars will make it hard and costly. Sars will continue to act lawfully and decisively against those who deliberately seek to evade or neglect their tax responsibilities. The message we want to communicate is that no matter how long it takes, Sars will…

Tesla shareholders will determine on Thursday the fate of a massive pay package meant to retain Elon Musk long enough to achieve technological breakthroughs he vows will change the world. Musk - who has boasted that Tesla's engineering prowess in artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics will leave rival tech giants in the dust - stands to garner as much as $1 trillion in an unprecedented package tied to performance benchmarks. Tesla Chair Robin Denholm has appeared on CNBC and other broadcasts in recent weeks to sell the plan in a sign of the board's continued enthusiastic backing for Musk, despite criticism that the billionaire's embrace of far-right political figures has weighed on sales. "Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what…

Assmang has announced it will place its Beeshoek Iron Ore Mine near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape under care and maintenance at the end of November, following the completion of a Section 189 consultation process in terms of the Labour Relations Act. The plaing of the mine under care and maintenance, as well as the retrenchment of workers, comes despite the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) having expressed strong opposition and its readiness to engage in consultations to explore alternatives. The decision, which comes after extensive consultations facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and involving representative trade unions, will result in the retrenchment of all affected employees, numbering approximately 622 permanent workers, effective 30 November 2025. Assmang, a joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and…

INDEPENDENT Directorate Against Corruption head (IDAC) Advocate Andrea Johnson has dismissed claims that she and her husband, employed at SAPS’ Crime Intelligence, exchanged information. “I know for some it might be you've got to be kidding, girl. It really is. I really hold my oath of office and integrity very important,” Johnson told MPs at the Parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations of capture of the criminal justice system. Mkhwanazi had told the inquiry that it was coincidental that the husband of the IDAC head worked for Crime Intelligence. Former minister Bheki Cele had also told the inquiry that Johnson’s husband works at Crime Intelligence and was not friends with Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo. Earlier in her testimony, Chief Evidence Leader Advocate Norman…

IT was just a week ago when 30-year-old Zolani Zondani returned to Gqeberha after completing an almost 800km journey to Cape Town on foot, all to raise awareness for men’s mental health. In an interview with the Cape Times, he shared his vision for his organisation Broski. “Many men are suffering inside because they are carrying their emotions bottled up, the world expects us not to cry like we are human. It’s also as if counselling is not a thing for us. I want to build a space where men will feel the experience of counselling through the unity of brotherhood. Where men can empower one another through sharing their experiences.” Before the 8 day walk which kicked off on October 13, Zondani’s organisation was not yet registered but since…

From the 68 claims received by the Compensation Fund following the tragic George building collapse, 15 were found to be South African citizens. A staggering 53 individuals were found to be undocumented foreign nationals, with only one having a valid working permit. However at the time of incident, the permit had expired. The collapse, which occurred on May 6, 2024, involved a four-storey building under construction, trapping dozens of workers under rubble. The tragedy that shook the George community left 34 people dead, 28 people survived. An independent forensic investigation into the collapse, by Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane, revealed systemic failures at multiple levels. This week the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, Jomo Sibiya, said from the 68 claims received by the compensation fund, 53 individuals were found…

Award-winning author and medical doctor Kopano Matlwa has returned to the literary scene with Bosadi, a novel that confronts the unseen and unspoken pain of being a woman in a world that often refuses to see it. Through the intertwined lives of two women, Matlwa once again proves her gift for illuminating the private battles fought in the name of survival and dignity. Matlwa is no stranger to tackling difficult questions. Her debut novel, Coconut, which won the 2006/2007 European Union Literary Award, became a modern classic, offering a piercing look at identity and race in post-apartheid South Africa. She followed it with Spilt Milk and Period Pain, both of which interrogated the contradictions of the Born Free generation while examining race, class and the lingering weight of colonisation. In…

World lives with African death without feeling implicated by it SUDAN is not a crisis – it is a revelation. It is the mirror no one wants to look into, showing us what the world becomes when power sheds its old costumes and violence finds new investors. From Khartoum’s charred skyline to the mass graves of El Fasher, Sudan is where the empire updates its software and humanity glitches. To call this merely a “civil war” is to participate in misrecognition. Sudan is the front line of a new imperial order: not built on flags, missions, or manifest destiny, but on ports, drones, logistics platforms, and gold smuggling routes. If the twentieth-century empire arrived with gunboats and civilising myths, the twenty-first arrives through private equity, military-logistics corridors, and humanitarian press…

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has his work cut out for him as he faces a tricky selection task when he announces his final 23-member squad for the AFCON finals in Morocco next month. Bafana have been on an upward trajectory in recent months, having qualified for both the upcoming continental showpiece and the 2026 Fifa World Cup with impressive top finishes in their respective groups. As such, Broos is fully aware that if it weren’t for the players’ effort and performances, Bafana wouldn’t be on the rise or counted among the favourites for AFCON. To maintain that momentum and reward his players’ hard work, Broos is expected to stick with the core of his regular squad for the tournament in North Africa. He also knows that he must prepare…

Despite the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) facing governance and performance challenges, the country’s banks - especially Standard Bank - have been engaging in multiple significant business deals and collaborations with the state-owned asset management entity over the years, allegedly continuing to exploit the situation for their own gain. United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader General Bantu Holomisa recently raised concerns about commercial banks. He accused them of structuring self-serving deals with the PIC that leave the pension fund, and ultimately public servants, to shoulder significant risk. Holomisa, in a formal letter addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Chairperson of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Songezo Zibi, sounded the alarm over what he described as deeply troubling irregularities within the PIC. He cautioned that the scale and nature…

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has said that South Africa’s subtropical fruit sector remains a cornerstone of the country’s agricultural economy and a critical driver of export growth, particularly as the government pursues new market opportunities in Asia and beyond. Speaking at the Subtropical Marketing Symposium this week, Steenhuisen said that when he assumed office last year, he pledged to ensure that South Africa’s agriculture would compete “not just on volume, but on value.” “Nowhere is this more relevant than in the subtropical sector. Our avocado industry produces around 155 000 tons a year, and nearly half of that is exported as fresh fruit," he said. "Of the fresh exports, 75% go to the European Union and Russia, 22% to the United Kingdom, and a smaller but growing 3% to…

Sappi’s share price surged over 9% on the JSE on Thursday after it forecasted an improvement in its 2026 financial year, following a loss for 2025. The woodfibre product manufacturer for global markets will focus on debt and strengthening its balance sheet through targeted cost savings, and operational efficiency improvements, CEO Steve Binnie said. The share price traded 9.47% higher at R25.20 on Thursday morning - the price has ticked downward steadily this year from R54.10. The group, which manufactures on three continents and sells products in over 150 countries, reported headline earnings per share sliding to a US 19 cents loss for the year to September 30, 2025, compared with the one US cent profit the year before. “We’re all in the same boat. Our peers in South Africa,…

THE Gauteng Counter-Intelligence operations (GCI ops) became the new target when it emerged that none of the 121 dockets removed from the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) were linked to the arrest of murder-accused businessman Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe and the search and seizure at the home of attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur, Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. The PKTT was disbanded on December 31 last year when Police Minister Senzo Mchunu wrote a letter directing Police Commission Fannie Masemola to action his instruction. This was followed by Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya’s instruction to recall all case dockets under the PKTT. Crime Intelligence Divisional Commissioner Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry this week that after Molefe and Matlala’s dockets were not found among the…

EKURHULENI Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi allegedly submitted fraudulent documents to his boss when he was asked to explain how and why he signed memorandums of understanding with companies linked to attempted murder-accused tenderpreneur, Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. EMPD Chief Jabulani Isaac Mapiyeye disclosed this when he appeared before the Madlanga Commission yesterday. Mapiyeye told the commission that the internal investigation uncovered that Mkhwanazi had entered into two memorandums of understanding with Matlala’s companies, CAT VIP Security and Medicare24, without the knowledge of his boss. He said that Mkhwanazi did not possess the authority to enter into agreements on behalf of the EMPD, as those powers rested with the police chief and the city manager, among others. When asked to explain about the memos, Mkhwanazi had said:…

Former ANC Provincial Treasurer and current member of Provincial Task Team (PTT) member, Derick Appel, says leaders in the coloured community are deliberately pushed out by some within the ANC. “However, I will fight to ensure that the voice of coloured people will be heard within the ANC,” he said. He made the remarks on Thursday when he dismissed rumours of him defecting to the DA. His former colleague and the ANC’s provincial Secretary-General, Neville Delport, recently defected to the DA, saying more disgruntled members would be following in his footsteps. DA Federal Council Chair Helen Zille made the announcement of Delport’s new political membership at a media briefing in Cape Town on Wednesday. The DA also welcomed three other ANC councillors who have crossed the floor, including Daniel Baadjies,…

What Have You Done? Nicole Trope Narrated by Taryn Ryan Hechette UK – Bookouture In What Have You Done?, Nicole Trope expertly navigates the dark waters of trauma, manipulation, and the fragility of memory. This psychological thriller, masterfully narrated by Taryn Ryan, takes listeners on an unsettling journey through disturbing emotions and psychological complexities. Released last month by Hachette UK – Bookouture, the nearly nine-hour audiobook immersed me in a tense and gripping world where nothing was quite as it seemed. The story opens with a striking image: two stretchers being carted away from the Cordell home, now stained with blood and tragedy. The question, “What have you done, Juliet?” is posed immediately, thrusting the audience into a maelstrom of confusion and horror. Juliet is a broken individual, shaped and…

THE vast majority of South Africans are not extremists, racists, xenophobes or cultural separatists. They are not Coloured or Zulu or Afrikaner nationalists, nor Black or White supremacists. They understand that extreme poverty is unsustainable, and that the government should have done far better over the past 30 years to build a fairer, more united nation. But they don’t want White people stripped of assets and marched into the sea. Nor do they want Black people to continue suffering the indignities imposed under colonialism and apartheid. What they need is a renewed belief that the society described in our Constitution, rooted in equality, justice and shared purpose, embodied by Mandela, remains possible. That there will come a time when all South Africans have a place at the table and are…

Bafana Bafana will head into the AFCON finals in Morocco next month as one of the favourites - not the whipping boys of the past - and coach Hugo Broos says they are ready to live up to that tag. Bafana arrived at the last continental showpiece, which was held in Ivory Coast, merely regarded as participants. But they rewrote the script as they earned a podium finish - third place - for the first time in more than two decades. They have since built on that foundation over the past few months. They qualified for the upcoming continental showpiece without a loss, finishing top of their group. Bafana restored the nation’s pride by qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup after finishing top of their group, shrugging off competition…