Business Day
Treasury digs into dodgy police tenders
Damning revelations from the phone of crime intelligence boss Maj-Gen Feroz Khan have prompted the National Treasury to start an investigation into the awarding of multimillionrand tenders after its former chief director, Molefe Fani, was implicated in...
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Emirati group in R16bn deal for Shell’s SA fuel stations
British multinational energy major Shell has chosen Abu Dhabi firm Adnoc Distribution as the preferred suitor for its almost 600-strong network of fuel stations in South Africa in a $1bn (R16.3bn) deal that would mark the company’s largest investment...
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World Bank advises 15% corporate tax at all SEZs
The World Bank has recommended that South Africa consider extending a preferential 15% corporate income tax rate to all of its special economic zones (SEZ). The country has the infrastructure and institutional capacity to run a world-class SEZ...
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It’s war on illegal online gambling
The government aims to crack down on illegal online betting platforms that are said to account for 62% of a market on which South Africans spend billions of rand. New measures suggest the National Gambling Board has yielded to industry pressure to...
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Last manganese smelter warns of ‘death sentence’
South Africa’s last manganese smelter, Transalloys, has ceased production as high electricity prices batter the industrial base, with companies queuing at Eskom’s door for tariff relief. On Wednesday, Transalloys ceased production at its facility in...
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Richards Bay smelter for sale as part of R92bn deal
Australian miner South32, which was spun off from mining behemoth BHP a decade ago, has put its aluminium smelter in Richards Bay up for sale alongside its other aluminium assets, with US firm Alcoa the preferred buyer. The deal, worth about $5.6bn...
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Mbeki: Protests are ploys, not outbursts
South Africa’s waves of anti-immigrant protests are not spontaneous revolts by citizens but carefully orchestrated ploys driven by political objectives, former president Thabo Mbeki said yesterday. Speaking on the eve of expected nationwide...
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Afrophobia ‘puts ANC legacy at risk’
The ANC risks becoming a casualty of the antiimmigrant sentiment sweeping South Africa and set to culminate in protests on June 30, because of the party’s historical ties to the rest of the African continent, according to the Thabo Mbeki...
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‘Cat’ Matlala sets the dominoes falling
Alleged underworld kingpin Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala has, in a seismic turn of events, admitted to his role in a fraudulent tender awarded to his company by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in a move that will see him spill the beans on senior...
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Retailers told to brace for anti-migrant shutdown
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), representing some of the country’s largest retailers, has warned members to prepare for possible disruptions during anti-immigrant protests on June 30. “We wish to reiterate that CGCSA has engaged...
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New driver ID rules at Durban port
Transnet Port Terminals will from July require truck drivers accessing Durban’s container terminals to provide additional documentation, including proof of identity and immigration status, as part of efforts to strengthen security controls at the...
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KZN, Gauteng ‘to be June 30 flashpoints’
Fidelity Business Intelligence, a unit of the largest private security company in South Africa, has profiled the possible risk of immigration protests after June 30, and identified KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng as the flashpoints. Pressure groups and...
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SIU called in as PIC airport debacle gets messier
Deputy finance minister and chair of the stateowned Public Investment Corporation (PIC) David Masondo has asked the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to weigh in on the PIC’s Acapulco debacle in the latest escalation of the multimillion-rand...
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Regulator flags risks if Gems bows to unions
The medical schemes regulator has raised concerns about the Government Employees Medical Scheme’s (Gems) plan to accommodate union demands for lower contributions, saying its proposal is neither financially sound nor in members’ long-term...
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Africa’s energy transition has a grid problem.
Africa’s energy transition faces both generation and a transmission challenges. Most analysis focuses on capacity shortfalls, underfinanced projects, and the slow pace of renewables build-out. Those remain real constraints. But as new generation...
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SA assets rally as oil tumbles on truce pact
South African assets have rallied strongly as growing optimism over a potential end to the conflict in Iran sent oil prices tumbling and pushed local bond yields to their lowest levels since the start of the war at the end of February. While local...
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Braced for anti-immigrant fallout across continent
The government says consular services are being expanded for South African companies that operate on the rest of the continent and are facing fallout from tension over anti-immigrant protests that have swept across the country. Part of the...
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IDC eyes South32’s stake to save Mozal
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is weighing options to buy South32’s majority stake in Mozambique-based Mozal Aluminium and revive the smelter, which was placed in care and maintenance in March after it failed to strike a tariff relief...
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New strategy maps path to halt decline of industry
South Africa must urgently secure an affordable and reliable energy supply, particularly electricity, and address bottlenecks in its ports, rail and telecommunications networks to halt the economy’s deindustrialisation, the government concedes in a new...
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President vows action over illegal migration
President Cyril Ramaphosa has put forward a number of government interventions to tackle illegal immigration. These include a phased relocation of refugee reception centres to border posts; setting up dedicated courts to fast-track the deportation of...
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Joburg woes a ‘national emergency’
Business has sounded the alarm on the financial and governance crisis bedevilling Johannesburg, urging President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government to do all in their power to facilitate urgent reforms that city-level leadership has failed to...
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Adcock accused of overcharging for dialysis
The Competition Commission has referred pharmaceutical manufacturer Adcock Ingram to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for allegedly overcharging patients for its kidney dialysis products. The alleged transgression occurred between July 2019...
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Ramaphosa rejects xenophobic violence
Faced with increased pressure to contain the diplomatic fallout stemming from the antiimmigrant protests, President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday condemned xenophobic violence. Ramaphosa said the government will also crack down on illegal migration,...
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Ozempic maker takes on local firm
A high-stakes legal battle between Danish drug make Novo Nordisk and compounding pharmacy iDexis over weight-loss jabs is set to be heard in the high court in Pretoria on June 10. Novo Nordisk has asked the court to interdict iDexis from...
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Flood of illegal number plates
South Africa is facing a new security and law enforcement crisis caused by a proliferation of illegal number plates sold without proof of vehicle ownership or registration. The sales are undermining the integrity of the country’s vehicle registration...
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Households brace for pain as dominoes start falling
Indebted South African consumers, whose spending is a key driver of economic growth, will have to tighten their belts after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates, citing intensified inflation risks stemming from higher oil prices linked to the Middle...
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Student debt is squeezing universities
A growing proportion of South Africa’s soaring student debt to universities is unlikely to be recovered, jeopardising the financial viability of the sector, parliament heard yesterday. South Africa’s 26 universities were owed R24bn by end-2024, of...
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Ramaphosa blasts Phala Phala report
President Cyril Ramaphosa has pushed back hard at an independent report into the theft of millions of rand at his Phala Phala farm, saying it amounts to nothing but hearsay. The president is making a high-stakes bid to avert a potentially...
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China, India leave SA eating dust
South Africa’s vehicle trade deficit with key Brics partners China and India reached R90bn last year, exposing the skewed trade between the country and its manufacturing-intensive allies. The vehicle trade deficit, according to data from the Bureau...
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SA’s push for Agoa 15-year extension
The South African government has put forward a spirited defence of its eligibility for the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa) despite its upper-middle-income country status, with Pretoria pushing for a 15-year extension of the duty-free pact. The...
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Jobs carnage is looming
The trading environment in South Africa has deteriorated and is set to worsen over the next six months as rising fuel prices linked to the Middle East conflict drive input costs prohibitively higher for businesses, according to a survey published...
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Inflation: rate hike odds rise
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is increasingly likely to raise interest rates next week after April inflation accelerated, partly driven by higher transport costs linked to global oil supply disruptions caused by the US-Iran war. Consumer...
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SA’s steel tariffs to reshape trade ties
South Africa has imposed the steepest and broadest steel tariffs — the biggest protectionist move in two decades — to shield the local industry from cheap imports. The levies will create a seismic shift in trade relations between South Africa and its...
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De Beers sale now biggest threat to Anglo overhaul
The mooted sale of De Beers has become the single biggest hurdle looming over Anglo American’s restructuring ambitions and its merger with Teck Resources after the company landed a R65bn coal mine sale yesterday. Securing the coal buyer had been an...
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SA left exposed by SANDF cash crisis
The department of defence’s 2026 annual performance plan is replete with warnings that the acute underfunding facing the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) risks undermining the country’s sovereign defence industry base — with many programmes...
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Scandal-hit Tolashe axed
President Cyril Ramaphosa says his decision to fire beleaguered social development minister Sisisi Tolashe yesterday was well considered and that he had given her ample opportunity to respond to all allegations against her. The president dismissed the...
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Farming interests, human rights clash
An independent report into water challenges facing communities in Limpopo that rely on the Middle Letaba Dam (N’waManungu Dam) has found that more than 75% of the water in the area is gobbled up by commercial farmers — a situation it said amounts to a...
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Joblessness rate ‘beyond depressing’
Young people were once again hardest hit as South Africa’s unemployment rate surged more than expected in the first quarter, with little prospect of improvement for the rest of the year as the Middle East war weighs on the economy. Labour federation...
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Ramaphosa defiant in face of ruling
President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday that he will not resign over the Constitutional Court judgment on Phala Phala and announced he will take the independent panel report that found there is prima facie evidence suggesting he may have a case to...
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Surveillance crackdown in gated areas
Estates, gated communities and office parks face sweeping changes to security procedures as the Information Regulator calls for access-controlled areas to collect minimal visitor information and protect privacy. The regulator has now published the...
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Municipalities to dip into huge VAT kitty
The government seeks to redirect a slice of VAT revenue to local government by giving municipalities a share of the more than R400bn that the South African Revenue Service (Sars) collects in VAT annually. VAT is a key tool available to national...
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Godongwana gets tough with Joburg
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has threatened to withhold the Johannesburg metro’s equitable share instalment for July if the mayor fails to scrap a R10.3bn wage offer the council made to city workers. In an explosive letter, which Business Day has...
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NHI court battle revolves on lack of clarity on funding
A lack of information on the costs and funding of National Health Insurance (NHI) was a key point of contention yesterday before Constitutional Court justices in a challenge to parliament’s public participation processes. The NHI Act seeks to...
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Fuel price shock ups inflation risk
South African consumers and businesses will from tomorrow endure another sharp increase in fuel prices, which are set to send living and production costs spiralling further, posing risks for inflation. The looming price shock announced yesterday comes...
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China opens tariff-free door to SA
China implemented a zero-tariff policy for 20 more African countries, including South Africa, on Friday, opening improved export opportunities and offering some respite from swingeing US tariffs. The decision offers a meaningful opportunity to South...
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Moody’s SA exit triggers 24-month shift for banks
The Prudential Authority (PA) has notified banks of its intention to “derecognise” Moody’s Investors Service South Africa as an eligible external credit assessment institution (ECAI). The notice, dated April 21, follows another notice sent out by the...
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Fuel levy relief to be phased out by July
The government is extending its general fuel levy reduction for petrol by another month and pausing the tax on diesel altogether to partially cushion consumers from the blow of another round of hefty price increases in May stemming from the war in the...
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Dimpane takes up baton after top cop suspended
President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola on precautionary suspension, making him the fourth permanent head of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to be removed or suspended before completing a term in...
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Eskom wants tariff relief fast-tracked
Eskom has asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to fast-track its application for a 54% tariff relief for ferrochrome majors, aiming to secure approval by end-May. The agreement between Eskom, Samancor and the Glencore and Merafe...
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Court blocks longer liquor trading hours
The Northern Cape High Court has upended the provincial government’s plans to extend liquor trading hours, upholding a challenge brought by the nonprofit DG Murray Trust. The trust is campaigning against moves by provinces and municipalities to extend...
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Draft rules: BEE track record counts
Companies wishing to do business with the government will have to demonstrate that at least 40% of previous procurement was spent on enterprises that are majority black-owned and managed to qualify for state tenders, according to new draft procurement...
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Law cracks down on spam calls
Parks Tau, minister of trade, industry & competition, has amended the Consumer Protection Act to shield consumers from intrusive spam calls by opportunistic telemarketers, with the National Consumer Commission (NCC) set to establish a register of...
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NSFAS to review loan scheme criteria
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is planning to review the eligibility criteria for its student loan scheme after barely more than 1,500 people qualified this year. The figure is contained in a written reply the minister of higher...
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Tough wage talks loom
South African workers’ real wages are likely to slump in the coming months due to higher living costs emanating from the effect of the Middle East conflict, setting up potentially fractious salary increase negotiations with businesses. The first punch...
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Eskom seeks major reform to reduce emissions
Eskom is urging South Africa to adopt a “cap-andtrade” system and create a market for companies to buy or trade carbon allowances. Such a move would be a major reform that creates a financial incentive to innovate and lower emissions reduction...
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Hill-Lewis takes reins in new DA era
Thirty-nine-year-old Geordin Hill-Lewis, considered a moderate and bridge builder in the DA, won a sweeping victory at the party’s federal conference yesterday. In the days ahead, he is expected to use his political capital to outline his vision for...
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‘Too little security’ for whistleblowers
The draft Protected Disclosures Bill released yesterday provides for enhanced whistleblower protection but does not meet all the requirements for adequate whistleblower protection, says South Africa’s leading anticorruption body, Corruption...
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Ceasefire in Iran war triggers JSE buying spree
The JSE all share index posted its steepest climb in more than six years yesterday as markets breathed a sigh of relief in the wake of the US’s and Iran’s last-minute two-week ceasefire. As the dust settled after six weeks of war, local investors...
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FirstRand’s worst fears come to pass
FirstRand, South Africa’s most valuable banking group, has raised provisions for UK motor finance claims to R17.7bn — more than 40% of its 2025 earnings — as it assesses the future of its UK business, including a possible exit. The group said...
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Eskom seeks relief to save Transalloys
Eskom has asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to grant Transalloys, the country’s last remaining manganese smelter, temporary tariff relief. This comes as authorities continue a piecemeal approach to shielding intensive-energy...
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Kieswetter’s last tax haul tops R2-trillion
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has surpassed R2-trillion in tax collections for the past financial year, pointing to a sustained recovery after the institutional and financial damage of the state capture period. The agency said yesterday it...
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No reprieve for the poor as paraffin price doubles
The government has agreed to temporarily slash the general fuel levy, limiting the extent of increases in the price of petrol and diesel this month, but the cost of paraffin will double, a blow for millions of poor South Africans who need it for...
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Treasury’s fuel levy power in crosshairs
Buoyed by the recent high court ruling that only parliament, not the finance minister, can change the VAT rate, the EFF has upped the ante, seeking a similar ruling on the National Treasury’s powers to increase the fuel levy. The South African Revenue...
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Fertiliser and fuel threat to food supply
South African farmers are bracing for a tough winter season with the war in the Middle East causing fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to collapse. Economists expect a spike in fertiliser and fuel costs to weigh heavily on the local...
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No place for SA at France’s G7 table
France has rescinded South Africa’s invitation to the Group of Seven (G7) summit scheduled for June, excluding Africa’s most industrialised country from the multilateral forum of the world’s seven largest advanced economies. Pretoria was notified of...
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Police integrity in tatters as top cop faces scrutiny
South Africa’s security cluster faces an unprecedented crisis of integrity as three of the country’s top police officials are now embroiled in allegations of corruption and links to the criminal underworld. National police commissioner Gen Fannie...
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Eskom ruling shines light on SOE deals
The government’s annual R1-trillion procurement spend, led by its key state-owned entities (SOEs), will come under increased public scrutiny following a key ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The ruling sets the bar higher for government...
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JSE bleeds at a pace last seen in 2008
Despite a volatile session that ended in positive territory yesterday, the JSE remains on track for its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis as the Iran war drives inflation fears and a sell-off in mining and banking stocks. After the price of...
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SA tightens rules on imports from China
South Africa will require many unregulated imports from China to meet local safety standards under a new directive issued by trade minister Parks Tau. In a significant pointer that it is changing the way it does business, South Africa has taken steps...
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SA slaps hefty tariff on Chinese structural steel
South Africa has imposed a substantial antidumping tariff on structural steel from key trade partner and geopolitical ally China, along with Thailand, in a bid to protect the local industry. The move comes after imports from the Asian superpower and...
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Eskom warns of R240bn debt surge
Eskom has warned MPs that municipal debt might surge by as much as R240bn in the next five years if nothing is done to find a solution to the problem, complicating its unbundling efforts. The utility’s top brass yesterday told MPs that municipal debt...
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Treasury frees up more funds to fight outbreak
The National Treasury has exempted the agriculture department from certain provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, allowing it to reallocate funds from other programmes to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The devastation of the cattle...
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Retailers urged not to hike food prices
South Africans are bracing for higher food prices as rising global oil costs push up production expenses, but industry players warn against hiking prices on existing shelf stock that is unaffected by the conflict. The high cost of food, particularly...
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Treasury cracks down on metros
The National Treasury is cracking down on municipalities that are underperforming on their budgets after figures from the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year pointed to underspending by many, including in the critical water management...
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