Business Day
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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Business, state aligned on impact of Iran war
Paul Hanratty, CEO of Africa’s largest insurance group, Sanlam, has warned of the devastating consequences for consumers and businesses if the Middle East conflict is prolonged, saying this will hurt financial markets and constrain growth. “If this...
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War in Iran throws GDP forecasts into turmoil
South Africa’s GDP growth quickened slightly in the final quarter of 2025 but overall growth for the year came in below the Treasury’s predictions, with turmoil in the Middle East also likely to throw this year’s forecast out the window. But while...
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Mideast model sees R40bn loss for SA
The rand might weaken to as much as R17.63/$ this year if the raging conflict between the US, Israel and Iran continues for six months or more, according to a model by professional services firm EY-Parthenon. The firm also says South Africa’s economy...
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Middle East war is hurting business in Western Cape
Western Cape exporters and the agricultural sector are already feeling the effects of logistical disruptions and rising input costs as a result of the Middle East war. Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Jacques Moolman highlighted cargo...
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Godongwana loses power to alter VAT
The Western Cape high court has found the Value-Added Tax Act, which empowers finance minister Enoch Godongwana to amend the VAT rate, unconstitutional. “It is declared that section 7(4) of the ValueAdded Tax Act 89 of 1991 is inconsistent with the...
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NHI planning goes on, says Motsoaledi
The health department is continuing with its preparations for National Health Insurance (NHI), undeterred by last week’s high court ruling, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi told parliament yesterday. NHI, the ANC’s controversial plan for universal...
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PIC seeks fixers to turn around troubled portfolio
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is looking to rope in a panel of management turnaround experts in a last-ditch effort to turn the corner on its problematic multibillion-rand unlisted portfolio, particularly the property division, which has...
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War in Iran raises SA fuel cost risks
South Africa and other emerging markets are bracing for higher energy costs after US-Israeli strikes on Iran jolted oil markets, raising fears of prolonged price spikes and renewed inflation pressure. The attacks have thrown the Middle East’s...
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Bookmakers push back against 39% effective tax
South Africa’s licensed bookmakers are pushing back against the 20% gambling tax proposed by the National Treasury to curb the surge in betting, arguing it will cause an effective tax rate of up to 39% for the industry and drive businesses in the...
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FMD disaster rattles fast food
South Africans are set to pay more for beef and pork as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) disrupts the meat value chain and fast food restaurants pass the price hikes on to consumers. The surge in beef and pork prices is also likely to have a negative...
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Tax U-turn brings relief, market calm
In a budget that mixed relief and restraint, finance minister Enoch Godongwana used a sudden revenue windfall to ease taxes on households and calmed markets by trimming the growth in debt service costs. The package builds on the prudent fiscal...
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SA reputation takes hit in Cape Town airport fiasco
Cape Town International Airport, the nerve centre of South Africa’s tourism and business travel, was dealt a blow yesterday when a fire diverted international flights and delayed dozens of domestic flights. The incident, which occurred at 11.15am,...
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Spar seeks to stagger payments to suppliers
Wholesaler Spar has asked suppliers to stagger payments, citing cash flow considerations as the group grapples with weak sales and deteriorating margins. In an email sent to suppliers in KwaZulu-Natal, reliably obtained by Business Day, Spar requested...
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Technical skills run dry at SA’s water boards
Engineers or water specialists account for just 21% of non-executive directors across seven water boards, raising questions about whether those charged with safeguarding the country’s ageing bulk water infrastructure possess the technical know-how as...
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Cipla joins Aids drug tender battle
The health department’s controversial Aids drug tender is under a fresh attack. Pharmaceutical company Cipla has filed an application in the high court in Pretoria seeking to scrap the R15.5bn contract, alleging it was unfairly excluded from the...
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Glencore is confident Eskom will slash tariff
Glencore CEO Gary Nagle is confident that Eskom will meet the group’s demand for a 54% tariff reduction by month-end, levelling the playing field with Chinese ferrochrome smelters. “We sit here confident that we will get a very competitive tariff from...
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Slip in jobless rate masks failing engines of growth
South Africa’s economic powerhouses, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, are shedding jobs at a pace that deepens concerns about the country’s shrinking industrial base, even as the national unemployment rate edged lower. Stats SA data shows that Gauteng and...
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Sugar: salvation for sector on the brink
Minister of trade, industry & competition Parks Tau has handed the embattled sugar industry greater autonomy to rein in cheap imports in one of the biggest regulatory reforms of the sector in a generation. The move comes as the industry’s bastion,...
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Bond yields hit decade lows in boon for fiscus
The yields on South Africa’s longer-dated 20- and 30-year government bonds are on track to go as low as 8% this year, while that of the 10-year could drop to 7.5%, providing the National Treasury with enough wiggle room to significantly reduce its...
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Crime gangs in crosshairs
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government will this year prioritise rooting out organised crime and dismantling gangs. Part of the plan includes tightening of gun laws and re-vetting of senior police officers and subjecting them to lifestyle...
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IMF: global shocks still a risk for SA
The IMF says risks to South Africa’s economic outlook remain skewed to the downside, citing weaker global growth driven by geopolitical tension, rising trade barriers and prolonged policy uncertainty. The fund says in its article IV consultation...
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Capital structure as a strategic advantage for mining investments.
Capital discipline, not geology, is becoming the differentiator in global mining. Capital is becoming the critical differentiator in mining as long lead times, rising costs, and selective investors push companies to rethink how projects are...
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Competing for margin in a high-cost world.
At times, clarity is more valuable than capital itself – it often protects it. Excessive optimism during a bull market can lead to overvalued acquisitions, rushed investment decisions or commitments to projects prove unsustainable once market...
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Social license to operate.
While miners must secure the legal license to extract precious metals, they also require a social license. Communities are integral to value creation, as their involvement and wellbeing directly influence the sustainability of mining operations. This...
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Hill-Lewis weighs DA leadership
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has told his caucus he is “seriously considering” running for DA leader after John Steenhuisen announced he will not seek re-election. Steenhuisen confirmed yesterday that he will not seek a third term as DA leader,...
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Steenhuisen expected to step back
John Steenhuisen is expected to announce his withdrawal from the DA’s leadership race today, a move that is likely to ignite a fierce contest to replace him. The party, the second largest in parliament, is expected to hold an elective conference in...
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Metros point finger after JSE warning
Three of South Africa’s largest metros have laid the blame squarely at the door of the auditorgeneral after the JSE warned yesterday it would suspend their bonds if they fail to submit audited financial statements by end-February. The cities of...
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