Cape Times 2025-09-05

B20 South Africa tables recommendations that encompass the “hopes of millions” across Africa Business leaders under Business 20 (B20) South Africa have made recommendations to G20 governments calling for policies that spearhead infrastructure development and funding, job creation, empowerment of small to medium enterprises, as well promotion of investment into industrialisation and digital inclusion. B20 serves as the official business community dialogue platform with the G20, an international forum bringing together the world’s major economies, with South Africa currently chairing the G20 and handing over to the United States in November. B20 South Africa, with input from other business leaders across the continent, on Thursday tabled policy recommendations that encompass the “hope of millions” across Africa. “These recommendations are not just policy proposals. They form a blueprint for the transformation…

Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, has vowed that the government was doing everything it can to control the spread of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) that is affecting the red meat industry. Speaking while visiting communal area in North West to oversee a Cattle Vaccination Campaign on Thursday, Steenhuisen said that they secure close to a million vaccines against FMD. “They have arrived in South Africa and we are rolling out a vaccination programme in the provinces. There is a particular focus on KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and North West. We have 274 live cases around the country," he said. "We need to get on top of this as it is causing huge uncertainty and economic harm to the red meat sector." Steenhuisen added that the visit to the North West…

South African households are grappling with an increasingly severe economic strain as rising inflation in essential goods and services continues to outpace wage growth, eroding purchasing power and amplifying financial vulnerability. This alarming trend disproportionately impacts low-income communities, as highlighted in the latest Cost of Living Report (CoL) published by the Competition Commission on Thursday. According to Competition Commission economist Andiswa Sibhukwana, low-income households are among the hardest hit as they spend a significant portion of their earnings on necessities. The ongoing energy crisis has exacerbated these challenges, driving electricity tariffs significantly higher, and causing additional strain on those already burdened by economic hardship. Sibhukwana pointed out that consumers face persistent inefficiencies in price transmission within the food value chain. "While some staples like canned pilchards have shown signs of…

Cash-strapped and in dire need of 30 000 naira (about $20), Mariam Ogundairo turned to a loan app, downloading it and registering her phone number. The money was quickly sent over but came with a 21.6 percent interest rate, due in two weeks. Like many in Nigeria, battered by inflation, Ogundairo was too broke to pay back what she owed. Then came a deluge of harassment - a tactic that has become the hallmark of many loan apps in Africa's fourth-largest economy. "They started calling my phone contacts when I couldn't pay back on time, saying I owed them," Ogundairo told AFP. "I lost my security, and it makes me so sad and scared." Such loan apps in Nigeria, branded "predatory" by campaigners, are texting threats and leaking sensitive photos…

South Africa’s greatest untapped resource is not buried beneath our soil - it is the 10 million young people who stand at the gateway to adulthood, eager to contribute but too often locked out of the world of work. The debate has rightly focused on education, training, and skills. But there is a harder, less glamorous question we need to answer: how do we connect our youth to actual opportunities in the global economy? Beyond Skills: The Access Gap Today, the barriers facing South African youth are not only about what they know but who they can reach. A young coder in Khayelitsha, a designer in Soweto, or a logistics talent in Durban may be technically trained, but without connections to employers in Lagos, London, or Los Angeles, their skills…

amidst global economic uncertainty Absa Group has signalled a steady outlook for South Africa's growth despite a rocky start to the year. In its latest Quarterly Perspectives report for the third quarter of 2025 released on Thursday, Absa said available data suggested a more encouraging second quarter, with an anticipated gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter. Absa is forecasting 2025 GDP growth of 0.9%, just 0.1 percentage point lower from its last Quarterly Perspectives in May. Assuming no further external shocks, it expects real GDP growth to improve to 1.6% in 2026 and average 2.1% in 2027-29. Miyelani Maluleke, senior economist and head of South Africa Macroeconomics Research at Absa Group, said that the external environment was showing some resilience, but uncertainty was high. “Economic activity has looked…