Índice para 2025-10-20 em Cape Times

Bank procedures in the spotlight after agreements overturned between Standard Bank and client Questionable bank foreclosure procedures have once again fallen into the spotlight following the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision last week to overturn two settlement agreements between Standard Bank and a defaulting client because the bank had not complied with the National Credit Act. The SCA overturned the settlement agreements in the Wolmarans Kinder Trust case after the agreements were used by the bank to obtain orders from the Bloemfontein High Court, allowing the bank to sell properties to recover its debt without the consumer being afforded an opportunity to oppose the application or follow some other route to repay the debt, such as a debt review process. The SCA judgement arose after the Trust and its…

The International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) has pledged to strengthen international cooperation and sound policymaking to safeguard global stability, address rising debt risks, and advance sustainable growth as the world economy undergoes a profound transformation. In a statement on Friday following its latest 52nd meeting, IMFC chairman Mohammed Aljadaan, who is the Minister for Finance of Saudi Arabia, said that while global growth remains resilient, it faces mounting pressures from high debt, geopolitical tensions, extreme weather events, and shifting trade and demographic dynamics. Aljadaan emphasized that these global challenges bring not only risks but also opportunities for reform and innovation. “The global economy is undergoing a profound transformation,” Aljadaan said. “Major policy shifts in trade and other areas are reconfiguring global markets and policy frameworks, heightening uncertainty. Growth has…

Financial inclusion efforts today are increasingly built around digital systems. By 2035, the South African Reserve Bank envisions an economy where the majority of transactions are conducted digitally. QR codes, e-wallets and contactless cards are gradually replacing physical currency. Yet this vision, while compelling, prompts a fundamental question: can a digitally driven economy succeed if the underlying systems are not designed for the financial realities of the majority? South Africa’s informal economy, estimated to contribute up to 30% of gross domestic product, operates primarily in cash. With approximately 1.8 million informal enterprises active across townships, peri-urban areas and rural centres, over 90% remain cash-reliant. Just 12% use formal banking infrastructure for daily transactions. This segment supports an estimated 5 million livelihoods and generates over R75 billion in annual turnover. It…

Two South Africans have acquitted themselves very well in the trade wars of whose sovereignty. This is when it comes to information and knowledge creation. One grew up in Lesotho as a South African refugee and the other in the Cape Flats. Zakes Mda and Eldrid Jordaan have lit the torch of struggle and shed light in the dark and extractive allays of Silicon Valley. After Donald Trump won the elections as a second term president of the United States, it became clear that South Africa was one on the list of the slash and burn countries. This included the little country, which no one knows about except only the MAGA maniac himself. That South Africa was in the pickle was not only important to the US of “Sleepy…

South Africa’s mining industry recorded a slight setback in August, with production declining by 0.2% year-on-year, according to Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) latest Mining Production and Sales report released last week. The contraction, which fell short of market expectations, has sparked mixed reactions from economists and industry observers. Stats SA said the biggest drags on output came from Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), gold, and manganese ore — down 3.0%, 3.6%, and 3.4% respectively — collectively subtracting 1.6 percentage points from overall production. “Coal was the largest positive contributor, rising by 4.1% and contributing 0.8 of the percentage point to overall growt,” said Jean-Pierre Terblanche, principal service statistician at Stats SA. Seasonally adjusted mining production fell for the first time in six months, decreasing by 1.2% month-on-month in August, following…

HEALTH Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has not ruled out going after the estate of the late Tembisa Hospital chief executive officer, Dr Ashley Mthunzi over his alleged role in the looting of over R2 billion through irregular tenders. In its interim report, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found that Mthunzi authorised appointments of non-compliant bidders, and that the purchase orders sent to the Gauteng Health Department contained irregular certificates that were never questioned by provincial employees despite having inflated prices. The report also identified criminal syndicates led by businessmen Vusi “Cat” Matlala, Hangwani Maumela, and Rudolph Mazibuko, with the assistance of hospital staff as having benefited from the loot. Mthunzi passed away after a short illness on April 24, 2024. Speaking to SAFM at the weekend, Motsoaledi said Mthunzi left…

THE R1.9 billion approved by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) Bridge Plan is 50% less than the aid received last year, according to the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). The Pepfar Bridge Plan (PBP) has been approved to provide essential HIV service delivery in South Africa from October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. This plan addresses a US government funding freeze that caused job losses and service disruptions earlier this year. “This initiative is designed to ensure uninterrupted HIV service delivery by prioritising country-specific needs and focusing on life-saving impacts,” Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni recently told a media briefing. However, TAC general secretary Anele Yawa said while this bridge plan was meant to keep the programme operating as it has been since February 2025,…

THE Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), designed to prosecute the participants and members of criminal organisations, does not reach the outer ring of professional enablers. This is according to new report on transnational organised crime, from Gangs to Grey Agents (A Proposal to Fortify South Africa’s Organised Crime Laws Against Enablers), which stated that professional actors never join a criminal group or intentionally facilitate specific crimes. However, they knowingly profit from demand in the broader criminal market by deliberately distancing themselves from its workings, shielding behind a cynical ignorance of the criminality their business model sustains. The report was conducted by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), which said professional organised crime endures because it operates within the same professional ecosystem that sustains legitimate business, drawing upon…

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) continues to show strong progress in its turnaround strategy, achieving record-breaking operational milestones that signal renewed efficiency across South Africa’s ports. The state-owned logistics operator announced that it handled 100 158 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 27 879 fully built automotive units (FBUs) in a single week — a major performance milestone that has been widely welcomed by industry experts. In the same reporting period, Week 28, the Ngqura Container Terminal (NCT) surpassed its daily operational targets by 60%, handling 2 760 container moves in a single day — one of its best performances in years. TPT CEO Jabu Mdaki said the results reflect a defining moment for the entity in the 2025/2026 financial year, which ends in March 2026. “TPT has broken 14 performance records…

boost as China trade deal sealed South Africa’s agricultural sector has welcomed a breakthrough trade agreement that could open lucrative opportunities for local fruit producers. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) announced on Wednesday that Minister John Steenhuisen and China’s Minister of the General Administration of Customs (GACC), Sun Meijun, signed a landmark Stone Fruit Trade Protocol in Shanghai. The agreement, which covers fruits such as apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes, is expected to unlock an estimated R400 million in export value over the next five years. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz), said the deal marks a significant step in deepening South Africa’s access to the Chinese market — an increasingly vital destination for local produce. “We must work to broaden South Africa’s agricultural access…

The Competition authorities have been mistakenly and unfairly targeted recently by various free market fundamentalists These self-appointed critics, masquerading as economic experts, miss the necessity of having properly empowered authorities to regulate and where needed, tackle monopolies and anti-competitive behaviour. To simply leave such important matters for the economy, its growth and inclusivity, to the vagaries of the market, is naïve at best and in reality, a dangerous failure to address society’s faultlines. It flies in the face of international experience, where even the most ‘pro-market’ economies, such as the US, have powerful competition authorities. These critics are mysteriously silent when it comes to the Commission’s many important interventions benefiting millions of workers and consumers, thousands of start-ups and SMMEs, contributing to economic growth and reducing our painful levels of…

Jubilee Metals Group, the Zambia-focused copper producer, said Friday the workstreams to conclude the R1.6 billion sale of its South African chrome and PGM businesses were progressing well, while production at these operations remained firmly on track. The company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market and the JSE, said in an operational update for its first quarter to September 30 that approval by the South African Competition Commission and delivery of detailed accounts for the disposal group were the only two outstanding conditions precedent for the sale. The share price notched up 2.94% on Friday on the JSE to 70 cents, but the price is still well down from 106 cents a year before. “Our South African operations have delivered a solid performance while the sales…

A plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in shipping supported by much of the maritime industry was shelved Friday by delegates to a UN regulatory body following threats from President Donald Trump that he would punish countries backing the measure. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which regulates global shipping, had agreed in the spring to move ahead with its plan to zero out the sector’s emissions, leading to escalating threats from the Trump administration. “We’re calling on other nations to vote with us or face serious consequences,” Michael Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations wrote Thursday on the social media platform X. Trump, in his own social media post, vowed that “[t]he United States will NOT stand for the Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping and will…

THE ANC has described suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff’s demand for apology from Parliament’s Ad Hoc committee evidence leader Advocate Norman Arendse as a tactic to distract and intimidate the senior council. In a letter to Arendse dated October 17, Cedrick Nkabinde’s lawyers, Lawtons Africa, said the remarks their client had taken issue with were made on October 15, when suspended deputy police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya appeared. The committee is probing allegations of police corruption made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. “During the course of these proceedings, and at around 7:16:14 and after the Chairperson had made a ruling that the evidence leader, Advocate Norman Arendse SC, (“Arendse SC”) must clarify certain issues that needed clarity, Arendse SC made reference to our client’s name,”…

POLICE have turned to the public for any information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects behind the killing of seven young men inside a Philippi East house. The attack, at about 10pm in Road 53, Better Life, on Friday bore the hallmarks of a coordinated execution. One victim was found in the front room, while six others lay in the bedroom, their bodies surrounded by smoke-stained walls and the charred remnants of a fire the killers had tried to start. After the news first broke, provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile condemned the killings, saying detectives were prioritising the investigation. SAPS spokesperson F.C. Van Wyk said yesterday: “Kindly be advised that the matter you are referring to is still under investigation. There are no new developments…

When patients arrive at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital’s Level 1 trauma centre in Cape Town, they rarely realise that the caring nurse helping to treat them is also a Springbok rugby player. Professional nurse Nomsa Mokwai prides herself on being particular about nursing practices, but, when she’s not working with the trauma team, she proudly puts on another uniform - that of the green and gold of the Springbok women's rugby team. It’s a role she also takes very seriously, devoting much of her off-duty time to working out in the gym and squad training. The team she’s a part of recently represented South Africa in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom, where they reached the quarter-finals. Mokwai said she loves the variety her job offers.…

A repeat offender rapist will stay behind bars for life after the appeal against his sentence was dismissed in the Western Cape High Court. Audrey le Roux, 40, who at trial entered into a plea agreement admitting to the charges brought against him, brought his automatic appeal from the regional court. His appeal came after being convicted and sentenced for the rape of a minor and a charge of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. His appeal was specifically against the life sentence he received in connection with the rape. According to the court judgment, the 13-year-old rape victim (first complainant) was in the company of her friend (second complainant) when they were accosted by Le Roux “out of the blue”. He struck the second complainant with…

Sune Luus believes the “momentum” is with the Proteas after qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup semifinal with two games to spare. It will be the Proteas’ third consecutive World Cup semi-final after reaching the knockout stages both in 2017 and 2022. Laura Wolvaardt’s team are among the most consistent major tournament contenders after also progressing to the last two ICC T20 World Cup finals. “Yeah, it's exceptional. I think, you know, the team has shown their character in the last couple of games,” said former captain Luus. “I think how we started was not ideal, but to have four wins in a row after that playing good cricket, I think it's definitely put the momentum on our side.” The Proteas still have two matches remaining against Pakistan in…

In a landmark moment for South African football, Mamelodi Sundowns finally conquered the Nigerian hoodoo by claiming a decisive 5-1 victory against Remo Stars in the first leg of the CAF Champions League second preliminary round. The match, played at the MKO Abiola International Stadium in Ogun State on Sunday, saw Sundowns rewrite the history books, overcoming a long-standing jinx of South African clubs failing to secure a win on Nigerian soil in previous Champions League encounters. For years, the prospect of facing Nigerian teams proved daunting for Sundowns. Their previous encounters had ended in disappointment, as they suffered defeats to formidable opponents like Lobi Stars and Enyimba. However, the class and maturity displayed by Sundowns in Sunday’s match indicate a significant shift in the team’s fortunes and mentality when…

The Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) says it could take at least two weeks to restore suspended Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), a move that has severely disrupted air travel and tourism just as South Africa’s holiday season begins to peak. Aviation company Airlink has raised alarm over ATNS’ recent suspension of additional IFPs affecting KMIA, compounding the impact of a broader nationwide suspension of 226 IFPs since July 2024. That suspension followed ATNS’s failure to submit paperwork required to renew the procedures’ validity, and more than 200 of those remain withdrawn. The Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) has echoed Airlink’s concerns, warning that the ongoing suspensions—part of a mandatory recertification process under the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)—have triggered…

Last Thursday China blamed the US of creating “panic” over Beijing’s controls on rare earth minerals. The country, however, has shown willingness to open to trade talks to resolve a dispute that has threatened to reignite a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. “The US interpretation seriously distorts and exaggerates China’s measures, deliberately creating unnecessary misunderstanding and panic,” Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian told a news conference, according to the state newspaper Global Times. Some sell off from emerging markets assets usually accompanies such trade tensions. Profit taking after five weeks of unprecedented demand for precious metals also affected South African markets last Friday. Despite strong sell offs of especially resources on Friday, most indices on the JSE ended the week in the green. The JSE All…

Safari Investments RSA’s board has made an offer to buy out the minority shareholders and delist the REIT as it shifts its strategy to retail centre development. Safari has a R4.2 billion portfolio of shopping centres in high-growth townships and peri-urban areas such as Delyn Mall in Mamelodi, Thornhill Shopping Centre in Polokwane, and Nkomo Village in Atteridgeville. The offer of R8 per share cash is being proposed to the shareholders other than Heriot REIT or its subsidiaries, which already control 59.20% of Safari. Shareholders holding 34.03% of the shares have indicated they would support the proposed offer and delisting. Safari’s thinly traded share price was static at R8 on Friday, having increased from R6 per share over the past 12 months. As reasons for the proposed delisting, Safari’s board…

A civil court’s finding of contempt - even if accompanied by a sanction such as a fine or a stint in jail - does not constitute a criminal conviction under the Criminal Procedure Act. This means that the person found to be in civil contempt cannot have a criminal record. This was the finding of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, which took a closer look at South Africa’s common law. This followed when South African hair brand Native Child earlier won its case against social media influencer, Mary Oluwatobiloba Akinwale. She was ordered to remove certain posts regarding the hair brand from social media. Akinwale did not totally adhere to the order, and Native Child returned to court to hold her in contempt, coupled with a prison sentence. The business,…

The owner of the home where seven men were shot dead and their bodies partially set alight in Philippi East says he rented the property to three people but was later informed 11 people were living there. The attack, which took place around 10pm in Road 53, Better Life, bore the hallmarks of a coordinated execution. One victim was found in the front room, while six others lay in the bedroom, their bodies surrounded by smoke-stained walls and the charred remnants of a fire the killers had tried to start. A strong smell of smoke lingered through the house on Saturday morning. Blood marked the passage, the bedroom door was scorched, and blankets lay heaped in the centre of the dark room. In the kitchen, a bowl of dough sat…

The South African men’s and women’s hockey teams confirmed their status as kings and queens of the continent, booking their place at next year’s Hockey World Cup with respective wins over Egypt and Ghana in the African Hockey Cup of Nations finals in Ismailia, Egypt. The men beat the hosts 5-1 in the decider to clinch their eighth Afcon crown. Expectations of a tight contest, following a drawn group match, were quickly dispelled as South Africa secured a seventh straight final triumph over Egypt, recording the biggest winning margin in an Afcon final and cementing their status as African hockey’s undisputed heavyweight champions. The equally dominant South African women’s team kept pace with the men, claiming their eighth consecutive continental crown with a 4-0 victory over Ghana, who had troubled…

Spin. And spin some more. That’s what Proteas captain Aiden Markram expects from the Rawalpindi surface for the second Test, which starts here on Monday. “We’ve expected those types of conditions from day one,” Markram said on Sunday. “It's about us having done some homework post the first Test and coming up with new plans to hopefully counter that and give ourselves a chance of succeeding in these conditions. “I suppose when you get to spinning conditions, the guessing game is always how long until it really starts to spin exaggeratedly.” Fortunately for the Proteas, their most accomplished spinner Keshav Maharaj has returned to full fitness and will significantly boost the visitors’ chances of utilising the conditions in their favour. Maharaj missed the series opener in Lahore due to a…