Cape Times 2023-08-30

THE NATIONAL Treasury has told Parliament that it’s working with the Land Bank to complete what could be the final version of the liability solution with the bank’s lenders in a bid to cure its default position. The Land Bank has been in default since April 2020 after falling into serious liquidity challenges as it failed to repay about R50 billion maturing loans. Since then, three versions of the liability solution have been rejected by the guaranteed lenders of the bank. The Treasury’s director for development finance institutions, Lefentse Radikeledi, yesterday said that R5.1bn of the R7bn recapitalisation from the government was kept in the escrow account created to protect the fiscal allocation from being accessed by its lenders. He said this would be the situation until the Land…

SOUTH African motorists will be singing along to Green Day’s hit song Wake Me Up When September ends as fuel prices are expected to increase drastically in the coming month. It was unfortunate that global supply and demand issues driven also by some geopolitical pressures and the weakening rand, brought such a huge increase at a time when both motorists and fuel retailers were battling hard to survive, Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) CEO Reggie Sibiya said yesterday. According to the latest daily snapshot from the Central Energy Fund, 95 unleaded petrol was looking set to increase by close to R2 per litre, while diesel was to lift by close to R3. Sibiya said the hardships experienced by motorists translated to low fuel consumption which further affected retailers’ profitability which they…

Farmers will be able to access grant funding from R500 000 up to R1.5m, depending on size INTENSIVE energy-using farmers in South Africa have been thrown a lifeline against the impact of rotational load shedding through a R1.2 billion fund aimed at helping players in the sector to procure equipment for alternative energy sources. The government yesterday launched the Agro-Energy Fund (AEF), a blended finance programme to provide funding support for the acquisition of alternative energy assets to alleviate the impact of load shedding on farming operations and the agricultural sector. The fund was established by the Land Bank in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (Dalrrd), and will support all producers in the agricultural sector, from smallholder, medium scale, large scale to mega…

LOGISTICS and mobility group Super Group’s earnings for the year ended June 30, 2023, accelerated by double digits as its performance exceeded that of pre-Covid levels on the back of new client wins, contract renewals and market share gains. Headline earnings per share increased by 23.3% to 469.4 cents, while revenue increased by 30.6% to R61.88 billion. Operating profit increased by 20.7% to R3.95bn. Super Group’s international operations contributed 54% of the sales revenue, up from June 2022 of 52% and 56% of operating profit (June 2022: 53% normalised). Super Group declared a final gross dividend of 80c from income reserves, compared to the 63c in June 2022. The group said yesterday its competitiveness was evidenced in significant new client wins, contract renewals and market share gains. “The…

SIBANYE-Stillwater reported yesterday that it had cut the 2023 production guidance of gold, nickel and platinum group metals (PGMs), citing lower metal prices, operational mishaps, and a strike in France. In its results for the six months ended June 30, 2023, the group said the updated gold production guidance of 625 000 to 660 000 ounces was 16% to 17% lower than forecast at the beginning of the year, following a shaft incident at Kloof 4 shaft earlier this month. Guided nickel output was lowered to 7 000 and 7 500 tons, while PGM output from the firm’s US recycling operations was dropped by 100 000 ounces to 350 000 to 400 000 ounces for the year, as a result of lower demand.…

Sometimes it is hard to resist a little snack at the grocery store. While sampling is almost mandatory at some places, not all stores promote eating in the aisles. With a cart full of delicious foods and easy-to-eat-while-perusing snacks, is it ethical to enjoy a snack or beverage before the cashier rings up the next customer? This is a question that is dividing TikTokers at the moment. A 12-second clip filmed during an influencer’s grocery store checkout has gone viral and sparked an intense debate about whether opening and eating food before checking out is ethical. TikToker Cecily Bauchmann filmed herself handing her items to the checkout worker and captioned the clip, “Opening food is a normal thing at the grocery store k?” “I also opened this in-store,” Bauchmann says…