Indholdsfortegnelse for 2025-10-17 i Mercury

Audi South Africa on Thursday announced the appointment of Markus Schuster as its new country lead, effective September 2025. It said his appointment marks an important new chapter for the brand in South Africa and reflects Audi’s long-term commitment to the local market. Schuster joins Audi South Africa with more than two decades of global automotive experience across Germany, Italy and Singapore. Most recently, he served as managing director of Audi Singapore, where he successfully led the transformation of the subsidiary into Audi’s first direct-to-customer franchise worldwide. The pioneering approach put the customer experience at the focus of Audi Singapore's activities, combining a multichannel sales platform with the Audi House of Progress Singapore. “I feel honoured to take on the role of Head of Audi South Africa,” said Schuster.…

Ministers and central bank governors push for stronger African engagement in governance Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s largest economies have reaffirmed their commitment to stabilising global growth, tackling debt vulnerabilities, and enhancing Africa’s voice in global financial governance. The two-day meeting held in Washington, D.C., brought together key global policymakers amid an environment of persistent uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and uneven post-pandemic recovery. The G20 noted that the global economy remained resilient in the first half of 2025 but continues to face elevated uncertainty due to ongoing conflicts, supply chain disruptions, high debt levels, and climate-related shocks. While disinflation is progressing across several economies, co-chair and South Africa's deputy finance minister, David Masondo, said members stressed the importance of maintaining central bank independence and data-dependent monetary policy…

South Africa’s motor trade sales grew by 1.9% year-on-year in August 2025, according to the latest figures released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday, reflecting steady improvement in the country’s automotive sector. The growth was largely driven by a 9.4% rise in new vehicle sales, which contributed 2.4 percentage points, and a 4.8% increase in sales of accessories, contributing 0.9 of a percentage point. Stats SA said that seasonally adjusted motor trade sales rose 0.5% month-on-month in August, following increases of 0.9% in July and 0.4% in June. Over the three months ending August 2025, motor trade sales were up 2.8% compared with the same period in 2024. The main drivers of this quarterly improvement were 10.2% in new vehicle sales, 6.4% in sales of accessories, and 2.5%…

South Africa is considered a small emerging market in global terms, with the local stock market accounting for approximately 0.40% of the total global equity market capitalisation. This relatively small footprint underscores the importance of geographical diversification for local investors. All transfers of funds abroad originating from South Africa are subject to exchange control regulations administered by the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). While these regulations aim to manage capital flows, they also provide permissible avenues for individuals and companies to transfer funds abroad. Allowances available to investors Single discretionary allowance (SDA) South African resident individuals over the age of 18 are granted an annual single discretionary allowance of R1 million per calendar year by the SARB, which can be used to externalise funds for…

Nestle, the Swiss food giant whose brands include Nespresso coffee and Perrier water, announced Thursday plans to cut 16 000 jobs worldwide over the next two years, sending its share price soaring. "The world is changing, and Nestle needs to change faster," chief executive Philipp Navratil, who took the reins of the multinational in early September, said in a statement. That included making "hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount", he said. The company's shares shot up more than 8 percent in morning trading, helping to make the overall Zurich stock market the best performing in Europe. Navratil spoke as the company published nine-month figures showing sales down by 1.9 percent to 65.9 billion Swiss francs ($83 billion). The job cuts represent about 6 percent of its staff. The layoffs…

WHILE the presidency and State Attorney seek to recover more than R28 million spent on former President Jacob Zuma’s legal fees, counsel for Zuma questioned why he should face the brunt, while the state officials who in the first place unlawfully granted him the money for his defence are not being held accountable. Advocate Thabani Masuku told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, yesterday that Zuma was not granted the money in the first place through corruption. His legal fees were paid from the State coffers following wrong legal advice to the state. While Zuma did benefit from the money, it was not his doing that it was given to him. Those officials who allowed the State to pay for his legal fees up until the court in 2019 put an…

Public servants whose credentials are found to be suspect are set to face criminal charges as the government cracks down on the scourge of ghost employees across national and provincial departments and components. The government is embarking on a comprehensive physical verification of personnel to identify and eliminate potential ghost employees and safeguard the integrity of its human resources and payroll management systems. According to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), the presence on the payroll system of individuals not actively employed by departments constitutes a serious risk to public resources and places undue pressure on the national fiscus and the broader economy. The department explained that it was critical to maintain accurate and credible data and personnel records under sound governance principles and the applicable legal and…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended Inspector-General (IG) of Intelligence Imtiaz Fazel following damning testimony from witnesses at the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry in Pretoria and Parliamentary ad hoc committee. Both inquiries have raised serious concerns about the integrity of crime intelligence in the country. The Presidency announced Fazel's suspension on Wednesday night amid an investigation into his conduct, following alarming testimonies about corruption within South Africa's criminal justice system. He was appointed by Ramaphosa in 2022 and his contract as IG was only due to end in 2027. The presidency announced that Ramaphosa’s decision comes after Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence received a complaint on Fazel’s conduct without specifying the nature of the alleged wrongdoing. Fazel’s suspension is with immediate effect, pending a probe into his conduct by…

The Renault Triber has been given a makeover, ushering in the company’s new corporate look and badge, while remaining the least expensive seven-seater on the South African market. With a fresh look comes new model grades, with the previous Life, the Zen and the Intens flavours making way for the Evolution, the Techno and the Iconic variants. Best of all, the entry price has been dropped by R10 000, with the 1.0 Evolution kicking things off at R218 999, while the midrange Techno is priced at R233 999 and the Iconic listed at R249 999 in manual form and R259 999 as an AMT automated manual. Renault is also offering an Express panel van model, priced at R249 999. What’s new for 2025? The facelifted Triber is the first local…

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has painted a bleak picture of the state of national players when he took over the reins more than five years ago — before bringing in the colour and flair that have recently restored pride to the nation. Bafana are currently the toast of South African football. They recently qualified automatically for the 2026 Fifa World Cup — their first qualification since 2002. They were merely hosts in 2010. Their qualification campaign only faced challenges towards the end. They were docked three points by Fifa and drew with Zimbabwe in the penultimate qualifier. But thanks to a huge favour from an unlikely source — Nigeria — they got the job done, beating Rwanda 3-0 in the final match to book their ticket to North America…

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour between the Springboks and All Blacks has been officially confirmed. The blockbuster series will take place in 2026, replacing the Rugby Championship for that year, with the reigning world champions and World Cup runners-up set to face each other in three Tests on South African soil. New Zealand, the second most successful World Cup side after the Boks, will also face South Africa’s four franchises in midweek matches as part of the International Series. Fixtures are scheduled from August 7 to September 12, with the quadrennial tour kicking off today’s clash against the Stormers in Cape Town. The final Test will take place at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on September 5, while Ellis Park (August 22) will host the opening Test and the DHL Stadium…

A herniated disc in his lower back – on two levels – kept young Bulls captain Reinhardt Ludwig out of rugby for almost half a year. After making his return as a replacement in last weekend’s defeat to Ulster, the 23-year-old will now be thrust straight back into the spotlight, carrying the pressure of leading the side against Connacht on Friday evening (kick-off 8.45pm) in a must-win United Rugby Championship (URC) clash. It will be the Bulls’ second away match following their 28-7 loss in Belfast, and Ludwig will share the responsibility with the senior players to help the team bounce back and salvage their tour. This isn’t the first time Ludwig has captained the Bulls in the URC – he previously led the team against the Sharks and Lions…

South Africa’s food security has shown modest progress, according to the latest Shoprite SA Food Security Index, released on Thursday. The Index rose to 56.5 in 2024, up from 44.9 in 2023, signaling an improvement but still lagging behind the 2019 score of 65.8, when hunger levels were significantly lower. While Shoprite and civil society groups have welcomed the improvement, they warn that hunger and malnutrition remain deeply entrenched challenges across the country. Sanjeev Raghubir, Shoprite’s chief sustainability officer, said the findings offer “a glimmer of cautious optimism,” but stressed that hunger continues to affect millions of South Africans — including at least one in 10 children. “This index is designed to monitor the country’s progress in addressing hunger and to close the significant research gap that exists on this…

By any measure, the cost of unaddressed mental health in South Africa is staggering. Depending on how it's calculated, mental health challenges are costing the South African economy between R161 billion lost in reduced productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, and staff turnover. These numbers, drawn from credible studies by institutions such as Investec should give business leaders pause. Because this is not just an economic issue—it’s a workplace crisis in plain sight. And something that is worth highlighting as October marks Mental Health Awareness Month. Presenteeism, where employees show up physically but are too mentally unwell to function properly, accounts for the lion’s share of the loss. Unlike absenteeism, which is easier to track and quantify, presenteeism is insidious. An employee may be logged on or at their desk, yet disengaged, overwhelmed,…

PSG Financial Services’ advice-led and diversified businesses continued to drive earnings growth and competitiveness in a tough financial services market during the six months to August 31, boosted as well by higher equity market returns. Recurring headline earnings per share for the group that is owned by PSG Group, which was founded by billionaire Jannie Mouton and Chris Otto in 1995, increased by 22%, with an impressive return on equity of 28.6%, up from 26.2% at the same time last year. The interim dividend was raised to 20 cents a share, considering the strong cash position, compared to 17 cents at the same time last year. CFO Mike Smith said in an interview the group continued its steady trend of growing major financial metrics since listing on the JSE in…

RFG Holdings’ share price shot up over 38% to R22.20 after a surprise announcement Thursday that South African consumer foods and packaged goods company Premier Group plans to acquire it in a share swap transaction. Investors appear stoked with the proposed acquisition, as Premier’s share price also increased by 8.3% to R166.40 in the morning, while the share price of one of Premier’s main shareholders, Brait, also increased by more than 8% to R2.11 per share. The proposed transaction to acquire all of RFG’s shares was structured in a ratio of one Premier share for 7 RFG shares, and was based on a RFG Holdings price per share of R22, and a reference price of R154 per share. The offer represented a 35.6% premium based on the closing prices of…

Inkatha Freedom Party’s Mangaqa Albert Mncwango said that ‘die poppe sal dans’ (there will be trouble) when the members of Parliament get the chance to grill suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu next week Tuesday. Mchunu appeared yesterday before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. He expected to appear in front of the committee again on Friday, and next week, on Tuesday when the MPs will get a chance to question him. Commenting on his testimony thus far, Mncwango said that the minister has been looking at the constitutional imperatives and the definition of roles between the minister and the national commissioner. “Obviously, today and tomorrow are set aside for the evidence leader, Advocate Norman Arendse SC, to actually do his…

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) ditched the Government Communications and Information Services (GCIS) as its media buyer and creative agency despite evidence suggesting GCIS was the more cost-effective option, a parliamentary inquiry has revealed. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) is conducting an inquiry into maladministration, financial impropriety and misuse of public funds at the RAF. One of the matters it is dealing with is RAF’s procurement of media and marketing services from MediaMix 360 and Dzinge Production at a combined cost of R1 billion. Testifying at the inquiry, suspended senior marketing manager Hlami Mathye said the RAF used to utilise GCIS to procure media services and also for its panel of creative agencies for advertising until October 2020 when a memorandum of understanding with GCIS was not renewed.…

One of the two pilots who died in separate light aircraft crashes in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands was from India, the provincial government confirmed on Thursday. KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, expressed his condolences to the families of both pilots and said his office would support them during this difficult time. “First and foremost, we wish to express our deepest condolences to the families of the two pilots who died when the two light aircraft had crashed in Nottingham Road and north of Boston respectively,” said Duma. He said his office had been instructed to provide assistance to both families. “In particular, for the process of repatriating the remains of one pilot who was from India,” Duma stated. According to the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC), both…

There is growing confusion over the plan by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to offer pensions to Amakhosi. The Cogta department and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) appear to be at odds over the plan. Cogta announced earlier this month it had received FSCA approval for the KZN COGTA Pension Fund for Amakhosi. The department had said the structured savings mechanism was designed to support the social standing of amakhosi by providing them with financial resources upon retirement. However, some days later, the FSCA said it had not received any application for the registration of this pension fund, nor had it reviewed or approved any such application. However, the FSCA confirmed that Amakhosi Wealth Management was authorised on August 21, 2025, to provide financial…

South Africans like nothing more than a special edition vehicle, and when it comes to bakkies, it’s even more so. Think the Ford Ranger, the Toyota Hilux and the GWM P-series, to name a few, which have all had a run of limited editions with various additions like rims, decals, interior stitching, aggressive tyres and sports bars to make them stand out from the normal garden variety. Sometimes they’re so successful that it becomes a permanent fixture, as is the case now with the JAC T9 Hunter. “With all 24 T9 Hunters selling out instantly, the company decided to include the T9 Hunter as a permanent model in the line-up,” said Karl-Heinz Göbel, the CEO of JAC Motors South Africa. “The T9 Hunter will soon be offered in both 4x2…

McLaren’s duelling pair of world championship leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will be looking warily in their rear-view mirrors this weekend at the United States Grand Prix for Max Verstappen. With six rounds remaining the two McLarens are separated by just 22 points, with four-time champion Verstappen adrift of Piastri by 63 points but revelling in his recent form after beating both in the last three races. Red Bull's Verstappen has turned a seemingly lost cause into a thrilling late, if unexpected, charge for a fifth title. Jacques Villeneuve, who won the title in 1997, believes the Dutchman can do it and told Italian daily La Gazetta dello Sport that it will be his "best world championship". "The two McLaren drivers are suffering too much from the pressure and…

It says a great deal about how seriously the Sharks view their precarious United Rugby Championship (URC) position that they have rushed back Eben Etzebeth for tomorrow’s crucial home clash with Ulster. Etzebeth had seemed certain to take paternity leave this week as his family welcomes a baby daughter — the second girl in the Etzebeth household — but the Springbok enforcer has chosen to play on for a Sharks side that will be delighted to have his presence. The Durban outfit currently sit 14th on the URC log. The Sharks host Ulster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, in a match of growing importance given that they returned home from a winless tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. They lost to the Glasgow Warriors and Leinster,…

I can still recall my first reaction to hearing the official 2010 Fifa World Cup song — and, incidentally, it’s the same reaction I have to it now. A fierce grimace befalls my face whenever I hear Waka Waka by Shakira, even though I’ve been told multiple times that it’s the best of the theme tunes and a banger of a song. I can only shrug my shoulders and wonder why it was that a Colombian — from a country roughly 11 000km away and very much not on the African continent — was chosen to sing a song about Africa and its first Fifa World Cup. Thank goodness Freshlyground were in the studio next to Shakira when she recorded it – or so the legend goes; they are the…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth to hold steady at 4.1% in 2025, with a modest pickup anticipated in 2026, according to its October Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa released on Thursday. While the region continues to show resilience, the IMF warned that global headwinds — including weaker demand, softer commodity prices, and tighter financial markets — are testing its recovery and reform momentum. “Six months ago, our assessment highlighted the region's strong efforts and that growth had exceeded expectations last year,” said Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of the African Department at the IMF. "But we also noted the sudden realignment of global priorities and increasing turbulent external conditions, marked by weaker demand, softer commodity prices, and tighter financial markets. Today, these global headwinds continue…

“The button has been turned.” Those five words from Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, following the team’s draw against Zimbabwe, reveal more about championship mindset than most business books ever could. On Friday night at Moses Mabhida Stadium, the players walked off the pitch devastated. A goalless draw when victory was within reach. The kind of setback that breaks spirits, erodes belief, and, for many teams, marks the end of a dream. But here’s the difference between ordinary teams and extraordinary ones: champions know how to turn pain into power. And in that moment, Broos proved that leadership is not about avoiding disappointment — it’s about managing recovery. Having spent two decades interviewing leaders across five continents, I’ve seen this pattern time and again. Championship teams and world-class organisations share…

dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za Nearly 80% of surveyed businesses are unregistered, excluding them from finance and formal opportunities, according to Standard Bank’s inaugural Township Informal Economy Report. According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), unregistered businesses operate outside formal regulatory frameworks, including VAT registration, labour regulations, and tax compliance. These businesses are often not incorporated as legal entities, which prevents them from accessing finance, formal markets, and digital tools that could support their growth. Despite these constraints, the township’s informal economy remains a vital part of South Africa’s labour market, accounting for nearly 19.5% of total employment in the last quarter of 2024. Recent estimates place its value at nearly a trillion rand, a significant figure when compared to South Africa’s nominal GDP of R7.3 trillion in 2024. The report, released recently, offers…

DRD Gold directors say the high price of the yellow metal has increased liquidity and cash, and this would be applied, among other things, towards their extended capital expenditure programme for the year to June 30, 2026. This was according to an operational update for the quarter ending September 30, released Thursday, which showed that cash operating costs increased by 8% to R179 per ton for its second quarter, while its gold production increased by 2% to 1 191 kg. The group should benefit more in its third quarter from the current high gold prices; which peaked at its highest price this year at R70,307 per ounce on October 10, or R2.26 million per kilogram. In DRD Gold’s second quarter, it obtained an average gold price of R1.94m per kilogram,…

VIOLENCE and criminality expert Mary De Haas has stated that she is willing to testify before the committee and commission investigating the allegations of the infiltration of the South African Police Service (SAPS) by criminals. De Haas, of the KZN Violence Monitor, said she is prepared to give her side of the story. She has taken exception to being described as an academic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Her name first arose during the testimonies given by KZN Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. It came up again yesterday during the testimony of the suspended police minister, Senzo Mchunu, before the Ad Hoc Committee. In his testimony, Mkhwanazi challenged the committee members to invite De Haas to testify. “I do not know De Haas; I have never met her and…

Despite organisational challenges faced by the ANC’s 11 regional structures in KwaZulu-Natal, all conferences including that of the province, will be held next month. Regions like Moses Mabhida (Pietermaritzburg) and eThekwini which are the biggest in the province, have been reportedly struggling to reorganise branches as those who joined the Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) were holding dual membership. However, the party’s provincial coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu said all conferences must be held as per the roadmap that was given to regional task teams. In an interview this week, Mabuyakhulu said everything was continuing as per the roadmap so the regions were still operating on the plan that was approved. He said that according to the roadmap, the provincial conference was set for 28 to 30 November. His insistence that conferences will…

A Volkswagen bus needs no introduction to South Africans, considering it’s been around for decades and at one stage it almost had a monopoly in the segment. I’ve often said that we should be seeing more vans on the road and that consumers tend to wear blinkers and walk straight to an SUV without a second glance. For me at least, a van makes sense, especially with a family. There’s significantly more space – both for people and luggage. Modern vans have all the screens and connectivity you could ever need, they’re economical, and you have a commanding view of the road ahead, to name a few. The new Volkswagen Transporter is all of that and then some. Exterior Sure, it’s built on the Ford Tourneo platform as a result…

If you’re after a big, beautiful SUV that feels more like a spa on wheels than a roaring beast on the road, the newly refreshed Volvo XC90 might be exactly what you’ve been waiting for. The Swedish carmaker has given its flagship SUV a subtle facelift. While it might not look wildly different at first look, there’s a lot going on under the surface — especially when it comes to safety and luxury. Exterior First up, let’s talk about the looks. The XC90 has always had that simple vibe and Volvo hasn’t tinkered with that too much. The facelift brings a sleeker front grille, sharper “Thor’s Hammer” LED headlights that are immediately noticeable even in daytime driving, and some new wheel options that give it the modern edge. It’s stylish…

THERE is now, at last, a ceasefire in Gaza. The bombs have stopped falling, the skies no longer scream with drones, and the death toll, for the moment, has paused its upward march. But to speak of peace, or even of “progress,” in the shadow of so much devastation, is to mock the very notion of justice. What has been achieved is not peace; it is merely silence, a silence purchased with tens of thousands of Palestinian lives, and one that conceals the deeper crime that the world refuses to confront: the complete and deliberate evasion of justice. Justice was never part of the ceasefire negotiations. It was never raised in the corridors of power or the emergency sessions of the UN Security Council. The world’s diplomats spoke of “humanitarian…

Proteas Women’s premier spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba is determined to do well for the team against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup continues. The slow left-arm orthodox has had a good record in Colombo, having taken six wickets in three games at the venue during the Tri-Series against hosts Sri Lanka and India earlier this year. As the Proteas return to Colombo to face Sri Lanka in their fifth fixture of the ongoing showpiece event, Mlaba is determined to do what she does best and contribute to the team’s success. “I think it’s my second time playing here because we had a Try-Series against, obviously, Sri Lanka and India. It's always good to come back here and hopefully this time…

The Lions' sledgehammer prop, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, believes the Joburg-based team will snap their three-match losing streak in the United Championship when they host the Scarlets at Ellis Park on Saturday. It is a match the Lions should expect to win, given the Welsh team has issues at home as they negotiate restructuring issues, with Wales Rugby in a state of flux. “It is good to be back at home after three weeks away," the 150kg Ntlabakanye said. “Both teams are under pressure this weekend – the Scarlets just got beaten by the Stormers, and Benetton beat us. “We’ll need to rectify that at home, and the prep has been good this week. Obviously, confidence is not something you can talk about; it is something that you go out there and…