Inhoudsopgave van 2025-10-27 - Cape Times

Harmony Gold Mining Company, which has ended its 2025 year to June 30, with R11.1 billion in cash, said Friday it has completed the R18.4bn acquisition of MAC Copper, securing full ownership of the CSA mine and unlocking immediate copper production. MAC Copper owns the high-grade CSA copper mine in New South Wales, Australia. Harmony is South Africa's largest gold producer and its chairman Patrice Motsepe said in the integrated report released Friday, that they expect copper will contribute around 40% of group production by the 2035 financial year, ensuring structural resilience through commodity cycles and aligning Harmony with global decarbonisation trends. The MAC Copper transaction, first announced on May 25, 2025, was implemented Friday via a Jersey law Scheme of Arrangement. Harmony acquired 100% of MAC's securities at $12.25…

The South African Post Office (SAPO) is preparing to announce a strategic investment partner as it moves closer to exiting business rescue — a turnaround now proceeding without the R3.8 billion in funding initially promised by the National Treasury. Briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies on Friday, the department’s Director-General Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani confirmed that invitations for potential partners had been published to ensure transparency, even though several investors had already expressed strong interest. "The reason we want to advertise is purely from a transparency perspective. There are so many partners who are absolutely keen to come on board to partner with SAPO. “What we are afraid of, in terms of considering the unsolicited bids, would be if something else is also out there," Jordan-Dyani said. "People have…

If the Minister of Finance, Enoch Gondongwana, decides to propose an increase in the sugar tax in the medium-term budget due to government’s search for additional income sources for the state, the result would be self-defeating. The sugar tax has been shown to destroy jobs, so a hunt for more revenue could well come at the expense of rural livelihoods and reduced state revenue. An increased tax could force many cane growers to go out of business. Godongwana warned in May that the 2026 budget will require “new tax measures, aimed at raising R20 billion”. Increasing the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), introduced in 2018 and sold as a tool to fight obesity, would be a grave mistake. After seven years, there is still no credible, independent evidence that the sugar…

US inflation data is better than expected. Most global financial markets moved sideways and uncertain last week in anticipation of the US inflation rate data that was released on Friday. Expectations were that the annual increase in the US CPI would be 3.1% in September, higher than the 2.9% annual inflation rate increase in August. Analysts and economists anticipate that if the US inflation rate reaches 3.0%, the US Federal Reserve is likely to decrease its Bank rate at its next meeting in November. The US announced on Friday that its annual inflation rate in September has risen by 3.0%, the highest level since January. Energy prices rose 2.8% in the year, the most since May 2024. Annual core inflation slowed to 3% from 3.1%, with markets expecting it to…

4Sight Holdings’ strong performance in the six months to August 31 was led by its Business Environment Cluster, which handles data and AI work, and increased profitability by 264%, reflecting the company’s pivot toward high-value, AI-driven systems and solutions. The JSE-listed technology company’s interim results released Friday showed revenue from operations up by 6.8% to R578.7 million from R542m. Headline earnings per share increased by 30.2% to 6.753 cents from 5.185 cents. Revenue had plateaued in financial 2023, but the company’s earnings per share have continued to climb—suggesting improved cost discipline, margin expansion, and operational leverage. Gross profit increased by 15.3% to R254.1m, and the gross profit margin increased to 43.9% in August 2025 compared to 40.7% in August 2024. The increase is due to the sales mix, whereby professional…

It’s that time of the year again – final exams for learners and students across the country. With stress levels high, many families and friends prepare exam care packs to encourage and support students through this demanding period. Exam care packs are meant to lift spirits and help with focus and motivation. They often include essentials such as pens, highlighters and sticky notes; energy boosters like snacks and drinks; and small comforts such as tea bags, chocolates or homemade treats. However, one particular care pack has sparked lively debate on social media. Posted by X user @PhathekaPat, the pack included items like iced tea, highlighters, biscuits, chips and crackers. But it was one small item – chamomile tea bags – that caught everyone’s attention. The post was later shared by…

‘PLEASE CALL ME’ (PCM) inventor Nkosana Makate has pinned his hopes on the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to bring his more than two decades battle with Vodacom to finality when the matter is heard next month. The fresh 18 November SCA case comes nearly 25 years to the day since PCM was invented on 21 November 2000. In February 2024 the SCA ruled Vodacom should pay Makate between 5% and 7.5% of revenue generated over the past 18 years. Vodacom appealed this decision to the ConCourt. The ConCourt referred the matter back to the SCA for a new hearing by different judges. It ruled that the SCA had made a number of legal errors and exceeded its jurisdiction. He goes into that next chapter of his battle faced with…

The family of slain ANC veteran Zibuse Mlaba has expressed gratitude to the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and prosecutors for making sure that the killers of Mlaba face the full might of the law. The family spoke after one of the hitmen pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the Camperdown Regional Court. Zibuse was a chief in the KwaXimba area in Camperdown. Additionally, he served as an ANC deputy chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal and was a member of the legislature. He was killed on October 21, 2021, at Wareing's Shopping Centre, outside his office. Nhlanhla Hlongwa, 31, confessed on Friday to having participated in the plot to kill Zibuse, further implicating Zibuse’s cousin Mzamo Duncan Mlaba,63, as the mastermind behind the crime. Mzamo is…

AN aircraft instructor and his student had a narrow escape when they crashed while conducting a final evaluation flight test for a private pilot licence in Alberton, Gauteng. The aircraft experienced engine failure, according to the City of Ekurhuleni. They were forced to make an emergency landing at the Hoërskool Alberton rugby field. City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Tikkie MacDonald said they crashed into the school's tuckshop. "Firefighters from the City of Ekurhuleni were immediately dispatched to the scene. The instructor and student were conducting a final evaluation flight test for a private pilot licence when they experienced engine failure, necessitating an emergency landing on the school's rugby field. “Fortunately, both the instructor and student escaped uninjured. The incident has been reported to the Civil Aviation Authorities and is currently…

THE 1976 youth were the first generation to take action in openly expressing discontent with the education system imposed on them. The situation was worse then because they were fighting against the white-minority apartheid system machinery that imposed Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. But they never burnt the schools, and believe me, it would have been understood had they done so. That was followed by school boycotts of 1980 and 1984-1985 especially the latter. Still no school was set on fire. However, the youth in today’s context are under democracy, and the environment is far better than the previous eras. The best part is that despite the shortcomings or challenges in this democracy, the youth can express themselves freely without intimidation. Amidst the issues at University of Fort Hare,…

The Proteas Women’s team will resist any temptation to curtail their attacking instincts as they prepare for their all-important ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final against England in Guwahati on Wednesday. Laura Wolvaardt’s side have suffered major two batting collapses, one at the start of the group phase against England, and another against defending champions Australia in Indore last Saturday. But between these matches, they won five games on the bounce with the batters playing a major role in the hot streak, which included the Proteas’ first-ever total in excess of 300 at the World Cup. They are therefore adamant they will adhere to the refreshing attacking policy, despite many suggesting a rethink may be necessary in a semifinal where the stakes are high. “To lose like that, it does…

Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter says delisting is a vote of confidence in SA’s progress South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list after nearly two years of intensive reform is being hailed as a milestone for the country’s financial sector—yet experts warn it marks the beginning, not the end, of deeper structural changes. On Friday, the FATF announced that South Africa was among four African countries who had been delisted from its “grey list” of countries under increased monitoring for deficiencies in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. South Africa was placed on the grey list in February 2023 after the FATF identified 22 shortcomings in the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework. FATF, the global financial crime watchdog, had instructed the country to…

There has been widespread welcome to the announcement by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) that food inflation has declined for the second consecutive month — offering some relief to consumers after months of high prices. According to the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), consumer food price inflation slowed to 4.4% in September 2025, down from 5.2% in August. The moderation comes despite headline consumer inflation (CPI) edging slightly higher to 3.4% from 3.3% in the previous month. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz, said the decline was driven primarily by lower prices for fruit and nuts, vegetables, oils and fats, milk and dairy products. “The price inflation of cereal products also remained fairly moderate, which illustrates the benefits of the ample harvest and the easing of grain…

The furnaces of Newcastle once glowed like a promise, molten rivers of steel feeding a nation’s industrial dreams. Today those mills lie silent, haunted by at least 3 500 direct job losses and almost 100 000 livelihoods indirectly destroyed. In October 2025, the European Commission proposed cutting tariff-free steel import quotas to 18.3 million tonnes and applying 50 % duties on any shipments above that limit, with plans to take effect next year. The move has tightened the vise on South Africa’s already-fragile sector, threatening to halve export volumes and place another R9 billion in trade at risk. In a country where 34 % unemployment gnaws at hope, steel’s collapse is not destiny; it is the result of decades of policy drift and industrial neglect. What we are witnessing is…

The South African government has dumped employment as a macroeconomic design on the department of labour. This is a serious anomaly that removes an essential component of employment, growth and prices from the main economic actors in macroeconomics, which are namely Treasury, Reserve Bank and trade and industry. To relegate employment to the department of labour is to ignore a yet vexed question of the Phillips curve that addresses the relationship between unemployment and inflation. Whilst questions have been raised around this relationship and Vermeulen in 2017 asked “whether the Phillips Curve is dead?” in a title he penned, the question remains a policy debate in which some central banks including South African Reserve Bank have concluded that perhaps unemployment is not their mandate. As a consequence, and in South…

Procter & Gamble reported better-than-expected sales for its first quarter as consumers brushed off price increases and snapped up its Gillette razors and Secret deodorant. The company also cut its projected impact from tariffs in half. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company reported 2% organic revenue growth for the period - above the average analyst estimate. That measure strips out currency volatility and the impact of acquisitions. Revenue and earnings per share also surpassed expectations. Both volume and sales increased more than expected for the company’s beauty and grooming categories, leading sales growth in the quarter ended September 30. Those divisions offset weaker performance in other areas, such as baby, feminine and family care. “The consumer environment is not great, but stable,” Andre Schulten, P&G’s chief financial officer said on a media…

THE JG Zuma Foundation believes that “true justice” will ultimately prevail after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria ordered Zuma to pay R28.9 million in legal fees accumulated by him. The court also ordered that interest must be paid on this amount, which is expected to run into millions. This is to reimburse the State for the bill it had footed over the years to fund his private lawsuits. Zuma was given 60 days in which to pay the money back. It was also ordered that in the event that Zuma fails to satisfy the judgment debt in the given time, the State Attorney can attach his assets, including his home and a portion of his pension benefit, to foot the bill. In a statement issued yesterday, the JG Zuma Foundation…

THE former Harvester Primary School teacher who allegedly ‘sexted’ a minor will go on trial early next year. The 35-year-old accused appeared in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court on Friday facing charges of sexual grooming of a child and exposing a child to explicit material. The court heard that the investigation is complete and the case is set to be transferred to the Mitchells Plain Regional Court on January 20, 2026. The court previously heard that the investigating officer Warrant Officer Roland Peters went to the school on June 10. The principal said that she was made aware of the allegations by a concerned parent of an explicit video sent by the teacher on June 4. Peters said that he took a statement from the 13-year-old minor who told him…

According to an eyewitness who managed to escape the attack unscathed, the incident took place around 4:30am after a suspicious car drove past. The man explained: “A car just drove past us and we took note of it, but we did not take it seriously because we were waiting for it to come back - obviously cars driving around that time of the night are suspicious. “Two guys came back on foot and then they shot through the fence.” The man explained that he managed to run away when the shots rang out. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said a murder case and attempted murder cases were registered for investigation. “Grassy Park police responded to a complaint of a shooting on Sunday morning, October 26, and upon arrival on the scene…

Springbok and Bulls loose-forward Cameron Hanekom is edging closer to a return-to-play date and could be part of the Bulls’ next URC match, against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld at the end of November. Hanekom tore a hamstring tendon in the URC semi-final against the Sharks in early June, robbing him of a place in the URC final against Leinster and ruling him out of all Springbok activity for the year. Last year, the unlucky Hanekom suffered a knee injury early in the year and would make his Test debut in the Boks’ last game of 2024, the 45-12 defeat of Wales in Cardiff. He has not played for the Boks since. “The rehab is going well, and I started running a few weeks ago, so the return date is…

Five rounds into the United Rugby Championship (URC) season, South Africa’s franchises have made their presence felt across Europe – with three sides sitting inside the Top 8 and one finally getting off the mark. The Stormers remain the standout team, maintaining their unbeaten record, while the Bulls and Lions have shown enough promise to stay in the mix. The Sharks, on the other hand, are still struggling to find their rhythm despite registering their first win this past weekend. With the November break approaching, here’s where the local sides stand. Stormers: Setting the pace at the top Points: 23 | Played: 5 | Won: 5 | Points Difference: +118 John Dobson’s men completed their Italian job in style, beating Benetton in Treviso this past…

South Africa’s fiscal outlook is once again under the spotlight as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to deliver the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) next month on 12 November. The statement is expected to set the tone for the remainder of the fiscal year, providing updates on growth forecasts, inflation expectations and government spending priorities. Frank Blackmore, Lead Economist at KPMG, said the upcoming statement would be a critical moment for assessing whether South Africa’s economic recovery is on track. “The focus will be on revising economic growth and inflation forecasts. The growth was predicted at 1.4% for this year and expected to rise to 1.7% in 2027, but this will likely need to be downgraded,” Blackmore said. According to Blackmore, any downgrade in growth projections will have a…

Transnet has announced a major boost to capacity and efficiency at the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 with the introduction of four new ship-to-shore (STS) cranes valued at R967 million. The State-owned logistics group said the new cranes are part of a broader effort to modernise its infrastructure, improve turnaround times, and enhance South Africa’s global trade competitiveness. According to Transnet, the cranes—manufactured by Liebherr Africa—will replace an ageing fleet that has reached the end of its operational life. “Two of the cranes are being commissioned, with endurance testing and operational handover scheduled to start in the last week of October 2025,” Transnet said. “The remaining two cranes are being assembled and are planned to undergo commissioning and operational handover by the end of November 2025.” The new fleet…

South Africa received well deserved good news with the United Nations’ Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s announcement that it has been removed from the international grey list. This is a positive victory for workers, the economy, the state and society. Our grey listing in February 2023 was a painful blow. It was a vote of no confidence in South Africa’s governance, law enforcement and financial systems by the international community. It was a loud deterrent to international investors considering investing in our economy. It was not surprising given our painful decade of state capture and corruption. It took an incredible amount of collective work by various government institutions, Parliament and the banking sector to ensure South Africa’s exit from the grey list. We must commend the…

Quantum Foods Holdings experienced a surge in its share price on Friday, climbing over 13% after a trading statement indicated an expected increase in headline earnings per share (HEPS) of between 58% and 78% for the year ending September 28, 2025. This development indicates a significant recovery and improved operational outcomes. Closing at 800 cents on the JSE, Quantum's share price reflects a 13.64% increase, although it still trails behind the previous year's level of R10.07. The company anticipates HEPS to rise to between 127.4 cents and 143.4 cents, up from 80.4 cents reported for the previous financial year. The forthcoming earnings boost is attributed to markedly enhanced trading conditions when compared to the previous year. This stems from a successful recovery of the company's layer flock, increased feed sales…

The Department of Transport has opened the door to large-scale private sector participation in South Africa’s rail network currently operated by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), inviting investors to help modernise key infrastructure, introduce smart ticketing systems, and roll out fibre optic connectivity along railway lines. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy on Sunday announced that the department had issued a series of Requests for Information (RFIs) aimed at attracting interest in projects that include: n the modernisation of Prasa’s major maintenance depots at Braamfontein and Wolmerton, n the introduction of a smart, account-based ticketing system across trains, buses, and taxis, n the upgrading of train depots to improve service reliability, and n the deployment of thousands of kilometres of fibre optic cable to support new digital and signaling systems.…

We may not all be like Onezwa Mbola, the South African home cook who proudly says, “I make meals from items that I have grown, raised, or foraged.” But more of us are certainly inching closer to that philosophy. From homemade juices and sourdough starters to nut butters and plant milks, social media has made wellness and mindful eating both aspirational and accessible. And at the heart of this movement sits one creamy, planet-friendly hero: oat milk. It’s everywhere, from your favourite Cape Town café’s flat white to the grocery shelves in your local grocery store. But what exactly is oat milk, and why has it become the go-to dairy alternative for so many? Let’s dive in. What is oat milk? In simple terms, oat milk is a vegan, dairy-free…

In a blow for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) has lost yet another legal battle in its bid to make South African television more accessible. The organisation earlier took the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to have its Code for Persons with Disabilities Regulations 2021 reviewed and set aside. When it lost its high court bid, the NCPD turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which on Friday also ruled against it. In its legal battle to make television more inclusive for those with hearing problems, the NCPD pointed out that in South Africa, the use of a sign language interpreter has been adopted to portray broadcasts to sign language…

Arsenal stretched their Premier League lead to four points as Eberechi Eze’s goal beat his former club Crystal Palace 1-0, while Manchester City lost 1-0 at Aston Villa yesterday. Bournemouth are now the Gunners’ closest challengers in second after they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0. After Liverpool’s latest defeat to Brentford on Saturday, Arsenal enjoyed the perfect weekend as both their title rivals fell further behind, with Mikel Arteta’s side going from strength to strength. Eze left the Eagles to join Arsenal in a £60 million (about R1.4 billion) deal in August, and his first Premier League goal proved decisive as the Gunners were again able to lean on their set-piece prowess and solid defence. The England international blasted in a volley after Palace failed to clear Declan Rice’s free-kick six…

Jude Bellingham’s goal helped Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 to win a tense Clasico and move five points clear of their bitter rivals at the top of La Liga yesterday. Champions Barcelona had won all four meetings between the teams last season, but in his first Clasico as Real Madrid coach, Xabi Alonso ended that run. Kylian Mbappe, who later missed a penalty, fired Madrid in front, and although Fermin Lopez levelled for the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu, Bellingham netted a second for the hosts before half-time, which proved decisive. Barcelona playmaker Pedri was sent off in the final stages for a second yellow card as tensions spilled over in the Spanish capital. Madrid’s victory means they have won nine of their opening 10 league games. Alonso’s side demonstrated…