Cape Times 2025-11-14

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Dean Macpherson, has called for an urgent overhaul of South Africa’s building regulations and approval systems to fast-track infrastructure development, saying bureaucratic red tape continues to delay projects and undermine economic growth. Speaking at the 2025 National Construction Summit on Thursday, Macpherson said it was unacceptable that developers and government entities were still forced to wait up to two years for construction plan approvals. He warned that such delays were slowing down the momentum required to boost economic growth and meeting the country's infrastructure needs. With the summit attended by more than 2 000 delegates from government, business, and labour, Macpherson said consensus was emerging around one priority: accelerating delivery by cutting red tape. "We know that further work needs to be done to remove…

Competition Commission report lauded as heralding a new era for local journalism and media sustainability In a landmark moment for the South African media industry, the Competition Commission unveiled the final report of its Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry on Thursday, heralding a new era for local journalism and media sustainability. This comprehensive report not only details the challenges the industry faces but also promises transformative support, encompassing a substantial R688 million Media Support Package over the next five years, the culmination of an agreement with tech giants Google and YouTube. This will fund national, community and vernacular media through a combination of content licensing, innovation grants, and capacity-building initiatives. It includes support for newsroom innovation, contributions to the Digital News Transformation Fund, and funding for vernacular-language training…

South Africa's 2025 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) struck a noticeably positive and pragmatic tone, signalling government's renewed commitment to fiscal sustainability and a pivot from consumption to growth-enhancing investment. The most significant takeaway from the 2025 MTBPS is National Treasury’s pledge to restore fiscal sustainability and stabilise government debt. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that government debt is expected to stabilise at an estimated 77.9% of GDP in the 2025/26 fiscal year. This marks the first time since the 2008 financial crisis that the debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to stop growing, a reversal of a 15-year trend of debt accumulation. A primary budget surplus (where revenue exceeds non-interest spending) of R68.5 billion - or 0.9% of GDP – is expected in the current year. This surplus is forecasted to…

When Siya Kolisi ran onto the field for his 100th Test, he carried more than a rugby ball. He carried the hopes of a nation — one that has struggled for decades to reconcile excellence with equity, history with hope. But this milestone wasn’t his alone. It was the shared triumph of a partnership that quietly rewrote what leadership looks like: Siya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus. One, a young man from Zwide township who learned to fight for every meal. The other, a maverick strategist from the Free State who saw genius where others saw risk. Together, they didn’t just win two World Cups. They showed that transformation — when done authentically — is not a buzzword. It’s a competitive advantage. The Partnership Principle Having worked with leaders across five…

Economists and analysts believe a 25 basis point interest rate cut is likely when the South African Reserve Bank’s (Sarb) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets next week This comes as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday confirmed that government had officially lowered the inflation target from the previous 3–6% range to a single-point target of 3%, in line with global best practice. Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, on Thursday said the new target represented a “significant structural shift” that could improve household financial stability over time. “We at Debt Rescue see this as a significant structural shift that has the potential to improve long-term financial stability for households. A lower target aligns South Africa with global best practice and, over time, should translate into lower borrowing costs and stronger…

South Africa’s mining sector recorded modest growth in September 2025, supported largely by stronger output from platinum-group metals (PGMs), gold, and coal, according to Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) on Thursday. The data shows that mining production increased by 1.2% year-on-year in September, while seasonally adjusted mining output rose 2.5% in the third quarter compared with the second quarter of the year. Jean-Pierre Terblanche, principal service statistician at Stats SA, said the 2.5% expansion in the third quarter was mainly driven by platinum-group metals, which surged 6.7%, adding 1.7 percentage points to overall growth. Gold production also jumped 5.9% year-on-year in September, the strongest annual gain since July 2023, following a 3.6% decline in August. On a seasonally adjusted basis, gold production increased 6.6% in September, rebounding from a 3.6%…