Table of contents for 2025-02-18 in Cape Times

A lengthy investigation by financial services firm PwC into Steinhoff’s business dealings has discovered that the company not only overstated its profit, but also its total assets and liabilities. This information is contained in a 7 000-page report that Business Report secured through a Promotion of Access to Information Act request. One particular matter in which Steinhoff cooked the books – under the guidance of the deceased and disgraced former CEO, Markus Jooste – was a deal in which Steinhoff created a company called Van den Bosch Beheer in conjunction with the latter’s holding company. Van den Bosch Beheer is a Dutch logistics company. In November 2006, Steinhoff Europe Group Services entered into a joint venture with Holding Van den Bosch, with each entity owning 50% of the merged company,…

Old Mutual Group has confirmed that Iain Williamson will be stepping down as the CEO and executive director of the company on 31 August 2025. This decision marks the culmination of an illustrious career spanning over three decades with the Old Mutual Group, during which Williamson has played a pivotal role in transforming the company into a more resilient and innovative entity. Williamson’s journey with Old Mutual commenced 32 years ago, and he has served in various capacities, with the last five years dedicated to steering the organisation as CEO. The Old Mutual board on Monday expressed gratitude for his unwavering commitment and significant contributions to both the company and the broader financial industry. In a statement released by Old Mutual, the board acknowledged Williamson’s exemplary service. “The board…

M&A (merger and acquisition) activity in Africa continued on a downward trend in 2024, from already depressed levels in 2023, due to the cost of capital remaining high, major geopolitical events persisting, and the general uncertainty affecting global markets. This was according to global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills' annual M&A report, which said Monday that uncertainty through the year was amplified by the 74 national elections held globally. “2021 and 2022 were stand-out years for M&A in Africa, and 2023 was a year which marked a sharp decline in activity as levels of activity fell to pre-Covid levels. 2024 continued on a similar trajectory to 2023 as deal volumes continued to decrease,” the report said. However, indications of green shoots from 2024 included that deal value increased significantly when…

Petra Diamonds has reported a rise in cash flow from operations for the interim period to December, despite a significant 30% dip in revenues in a challenging operating environment. The company mines diamonds from the Finsch and Cullinan mines in South Africa while it is disposing of its interests in the Williamson mine in Tanzania to Pink Diamonds Investments. It has run into problems with labour unions resisting its plan to retrench employees from some of its South African operations. However, Petra Diamonds on Monday reported that a cost reduction exercise last year had translated to improved cash flow from operations. The company also cut capital expenditures. “As a result of cost reductions, (half-yearly) cash preservation measures, and working capital optimisation, cash flow from operations increased to $55 million (approximately…

Step outside – or even glance away from your smartphone – and you’ll likely be struck by a sea of faces, each illuminated by a glowing screen, consumed by the digital world. There are over 6.3 billion smartphone users worldwide, according to Buildfire’s Mobile App Download Statistics & Usage Statistics for 2025. The insights reveal that there are 2.87 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store, with an average of 1,167 new apps released each day. On average, smartphone owners engage with 10 apps daily and 30 apps each month. These statistics indicate a concerning trend: humans are rapidly becoming cyborgs with our phones practically glued to our hands. The capabilities of our smartphones allow us to imagine what it might feel like to become an AI-enabled…

Calm down bottles, also known as sensory bottles, are fast becoming popular with parents and therapists as a simple yet effective way to help children manage their emotions. They are made from plastic bottles filled with a mixture of liquid and floating elements like glitter, sequins or beads. When shaken, the contents create a visual display that helps children refocus and self-soothe when they feel overwhelmed, anxious or upset - much like the snow globes we loved as children. How do calm down bottles work? The concept behind a calm down bottle is mindfulness and sensory engagement. As children focus on the swirling patterns inside the bottle, they gradually shift their attention away from distressing emotions. The slow, gentle movement of the liquid encourages deeper, slower breathing and a sense…

Magistrate Sadiqah Guendouz chastised the State for presenting a "half-baked" docket in the matter of Anabela Rungo, mother of former Miss South Africa contestant, Chidimma Adetshina. Rungo was arrested on Saturday by investigators from the Department of Home Affairs, assisted by the police. The department withdrew Rungo’s South African documentation in September 2024 after finding that it had been fraudulently obtained, rendering her ineligible to continue residing in South Africa. The department said on Saturday that in an "apparent act of brazen disregard for the legal consequences of her conduct, it appears that Ms Rungo has defied her 'undesirable' status through her Mozambican passport". Rungo appeared late yesterday in the Cape Town Magistrates Court where the charge sheet shows she is being charged with two charges relating to contravening the…

IT is doubtful whether the VBS Mutual Bank fraud and corruption trial against 13 accused will still get underway this year, with two interlocutory applications which are heading to the Supreme Court of Appeal and a possible Constitutional Court bid which could also be on the cards. Nearly seven years after the VBS scandal broke, the main trial is still to proceed in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. The 13 accused were back in court yesterday, but prosecutor Hein van der Merwe told the court that the State is heading to the SCA in a bid to appeal the ruling that the trial of two of the accused had to be separated from that of their co-accused. Judge Peter Mabuse ruled in favour of an application last year brought on…

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has announced plans for a stay away, and called on workers to support their protest action against the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) teacher cuts. The protest is set to take place on February 26, coinciding with the day of Premier Alan Winde’s State of the Province Address in Beaufort West. Cosatu yesterday joined hands with other trade unions and organisations to declare their outrage over what they said was the department’s “its unilateral draconian decision to cut over 2000 teacher posts”. The WCED announced in August last year its plan to cut approximately 2,400 teachers from its payroll, which came into effect at the start of the year. According to the WCED, the decision came after they received only 64% of…

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he believes Harry Kane will be fit to face Celtic on Tuesday, after the striker missed training ahead of the Uefa Champions League game. German media reported Kane picked up a knock in Saturday's hard-fought 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Kompany admitted he could not give a definite answer to whether Kane would play, but said a decision would be made on the morning of the game in Munich on Tuesday. "(It's) definitely nothing bad. We've just had very little time to recover and sometimes you need an extra day," Kompany said on Monday. Bayern were uncharacteristically defensive against Leverkusen, with Kane and other attackers dropping back to help the visitors keep a clean sheet which maintained their eight-point lead at…

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus finds himself in an enviable position as he prepares for the upcoming 2025 season. The announcement of a remarkable squad of 56 local-based players for the first national alignment camp serves as a testament to South Africa's rich rugby talent pool, and it clearly sets a benchmark in international rugby selection. This development also begs the question: where else in the world can fans see such a large cohort drafted in for just the initial training phase, with months still to go before the first Test match of the 2025 season? While countries like England, Ireland, France, New Zealand, and Australia strive to develop their future stars as early as South Africa does, they can only look on with admiration at Erasmus and the Boks’ unique…

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) is setting its sights on a monumental R50 billion investment to foster innovative research and product development in the nuclear sector, with a special focus on a groundbreaking pilot project at Pelindaba. This initiative aims to position South Africa as a global player in nuclear fuel production while rolling out small modular reactor (SMR) technology at decommissioned coal stations across the nation. At a media roundtable on Monday, Necsa CEO Loyiso Tyabashe said the entity and power utility Eskom were largely in agreement on the turning of decommissioned power plants to nuclear stations as it would save at least 30% in capital from already existing transmission lines, water supply and other amenities. Necsa has through the Multi Purpose Reactor Programme secured R1.2bn from…

South Africa’s Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana will on Wednesday this week deliver his much anticipated Budget Speech. Frank Blackmore, KPMG’s lead economist told Business Report that many stakeholders, citizens, businesses within South Africa, investors and rating agencies outside the country will be paying keen attention to what the minister puts forward in the budget. Blackmore unpacked his predictions on what Godongwana could touch on during his speech. Blackmore said that on the revenue side, KPMG do not expect many changes besides the usual increases in sin taxes, something that SA has began to expect on an annual basis. “The reason for this is basically that South Africa already taxes at a really high level as well as the narrow tax base in South Africa. On the expenditure side,…

Chinese technology giant Tencent on Monday said it had started trialling its own artificial intelligence reasoning model after integrating DeepSeek into some of its products, saying the move would make responses "more 'human'". Insurgent Chinese AI startup DeepSeek made global headlines last month when it unveiled its R1 chatbot that can seemingly match American competitors at a fraction of the cost. Since then, a series of major Chinese companies have said they will integrate DeepSeek's technology into their products. On Monday, Tencent said in a post on WeChat -- the social media platform it owns -- that selected users of its Yuanbao chatbot may address queries to either DeepSeek or its homegrown AI reasoning model "Hunyuan Thinker". "With the support of two deep reasoning models, the question-answering is more professional,…

Egg production in South Africa is steadily increasing as the national flock recovers from the 2023 and 2024 outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), and selling prices should drop this year. Egg production levels would only likely reach pre-2023 levels by the middle of this year, according to South African Poultry Association forecasts. Quantum Food Holdings, a diversified feed and poultry group, said Monday the increase in egg production was expected to result in lower egg selling prices this year to September 30, 2025. “The risk of HPAI remains high and is expected to remain high for the remainder of the 2025 financial year, with an increased number of outbreaks reported in recent months in the US, Europe and North Africa,” Quantum Foods said in an operational update for…

It’s the month of love and while some people are deep in Valentine’s Day bliss, others are battling a far less romantic reality – the dreaded ick. According to Google Trends, searches for “giving me the ick” have surged in the past month, making it clear that people everywhere (including South Africa) are obsessed with figuring out why attraction can flip into repulsion so suddenly. But what exactly is the ick, and is there really no coming back from it? What is “the ick” and why does it happen? The term “getting the ick” dates back to early 2000s pop culture, first appearing in an episode of Ally McBeal before being popularised by Love Island contestants who used it to describe an instant, irreversible turn-off. Psychologists explain that the ick…

Alleged underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, claims he hired his co accused to ping the cellphone of slain Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear, amid a plot to kill him. In his shocking claims at the Western Cape High Court, Modack alleged that Kinnear conspired with alleged Sexy Boys gang boss Jerome "Donkie" Booysen to murder him. Taking the stand for the third day, Modack outlined his relationship with former Rugby player Zane Kilian and denied that he instructed Kilian to ping Kinnear on the day he was killed. Kilian is charged alongside Modack and 13 others in the mammoth underworld trial centred on the murder of Kinnear who was shot and killed outside his Bishop Lavis home in September 2020. The group face a combined 124 charges of which several include…

Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League remains seven points after a nervy 2-1 win over Wolves on Sunday responded to Arsenal's 2-0 victory at Leicester 24 hours earlier. Manchester City were the big winners in the race for a place in next season's Champions League with a 4-0 demolition of Newcastle, while Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were beaten. Liverpool looked out of sight in the title race until Everton brought the house down in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park with a 98th minute equaliser in Wednesday's 2-2 draw. Arsenal took advantage to cut the gap at the top to four points when stand-in striker Mikel Merino struck twice in the final 10 minutes at Leicester. Under pressure for practically the first time in Arne Slot's…

Upon arrival in Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, one of the main conversations in and around the Proteas camp has been acclimatising to the foreign conditions and coming up with the right plans for the surfaces on which they will play during the tournament. Having gone through three matches in Pakistan thus far — one against New Zealand in Lahore, another against Pakistan in Karachi, and a warm-up against the Pakistan Shaheen team on Monday — it is clear that the surfaces are heavily skewed to the batters. The Proteas' bowling attack conceded 300-plus scores in each of the three fixtures, a feat that paints a vivid picture of just how batter-friendly the wickets are heading into the tournament. The first two games saw an inexperienced bowling attack…

South African rugby supporters were treated to two excellent local derbies this past weekend, with the Lions and Sharks taking the spoils with important victories. For two most successful United Rugby Championship (URC) SA sides, the Stormers and Bulls, things didn't go too swimmingly. The Cape side suddenly find themselves in a spot of bother in the tournament, while the Loftus outfit lost a home game where they were the outright favourites. It was a first-ever victory at Ellis Park over the Stormers and that inspirational performance should boost the Lions' confidence as they forge ahead in the URC. Being several first-choice players down and resting key Springboks, the Sharks looked in for a drubbing against the Bulls. Not a lot of people expected them to overwhelm their hosts and…

Majority shares in Amplats shift ownership from Anglo American SA to Anglo American International Anglo American is expecting to wrap up the demerger of its platinum producing unit, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), by June this year and will benefit from a dividend windfall despite Amplats reporting on Monday a 40% plunge in earnings for the full year ended December 2024. Amplats is being de-merged from Anglo American as the London and Johannesburg listed resource group restructures its portfolio to focus more on copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients. Anglo American has already made administrative changes, with majority shares in Amplats shifting ownership from Anglo American South Africa to Anglo American International. Anglo American says it has “made significant progress towards its demerger” of Amplats. It will now “seek shareholder…

Zimbabwe’s top retailer, OK Zimbabwe, is grappling with a staggering decline in both volumes and revenues, which fell by 36% during the lucrative quarter ending in December 2023. This downturn has been attributed to ongoing de-stocking and the closure of four retail outlets, a move that the company on Monday hinted may extend further as it evaluates its underperforming stores. The challenges plaguing the retailer are not isolated; they mirror the struggles faced by various sectors across Zimbabwe as pricing and currency distortions weigh heavily on operations. OK Zimbabwe, which competes against Pick n Pay in the country, closed down four outlets during the period while it is mulling more store closures, targeting those not performing optimally. Company secretary Margaret Munyuru detailed the dire situation in a statement on Monday,…

Cape Town is considered the Innovation Capital of Africa. Some even refer to it as a place that is equivalent to Silicon Valley due to the prevalence of technology startups in the region. Whether Cape Town is truly an innovation capital of Africa is debatable. We are however certain about the origins of this tag. We know that it was partly a public relations exercise by leading economic organisations in Cape Town. One of those organisations became what we’ve come to know as the “Silicon Cape”. The organisation was formed by Vinny Lingham and Justin Stanford. Lingham had spent some time in Silicon Valley, California and he felt that Cape Town needed the same intervention. He wanted to enable local tech entrepreneurs to have ease of accessing venture capital. To…

Afrimat export iron volumes continue to be impacted by poor rail performance and full-year results are likely to be weaker than a year before, the mid-tier mining and industrial minerals group said. The main culprits behind the annual loss are changes in the iron ore market given the rand value received on iron ore exports, and the volume reduction from ailing steel-maker ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) in the first half, which had severely impacted Afrimat, the group said in a business update Monday. The government is working closely with businesses to revive failing transport and energy infrastructure. This includes providing clarity on funding and supporting agreements between private companies and Transnet, which operates the main bulk mineral railway routes to the export terminals. Some coal and iron or producers are…

British American Tobacco (BAT) is optimistic about 2025 due to the resilience of the business and the diversity of the group, its markets and products. The group, with over 48 000 employees globally, has returned over £27.5 billion (about R638 billion) to shareholders over the last five years through dividends and share buy-backs. The share buybacks started with £700 million in 2024, and a further £900m is committed for 2025, Tadeu Marroco, the CEO,said in the annual report released on Monday. “We have also continued to reduce leverage and closed the year within our narrowed target range. The group aims to de-leverage its gross debt levels (£37bn in 2024) and moderate the annual net financing cost levels to better support the overall strategy,” he said. Net financing costs of £1.1bn…

February marks Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Month, a vital opportunity to reflect on our daily habits and their far-reaching impacts on our well-being. Recent findings from a Pharma Dynamics survey reveal that stress levels in South Africa have surged by a staggering 56% since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In another concerning trend, 81% of individuals have turned to unhealthy food for comfort, highlighting the critical role food choices play in stress management. Short-term stress can trigger headaches, stomach cramps and even weight gain, while chronic stress can wreak havoc on your immune, digestive and reproductive systems. If left unchecked, it can lead to serious conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression and anxiety, as highlighted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). So, how can…

Born and raised in Khayelitsha, UCT PhD candidate Naledi Maponopono says she is honoured to contribute to shaping the linguistic landscape of the country, both through research and policy influence. Maponopono was appointed by Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, as a board member of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB). The five-year appointment underscores Maponopono’s unwavering commitment to the advancement of indigenous African languages and the promotion of multilingualism in South Africa. Maponopono, who has been part of the UCT academic community since 2011, has dedicated her scholarly journey to studying African languages and literatures. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree, majoring in Public Policy and Administration, Sociology, and isiXhosa Language and Literature Studies, and an honours and master’s degree in African Languages and Literatures.…

Assistant coach Franzel September welcomed the experience and energy utility-forward Catha Jacobs is bringing to the fourth Springbok Women’s training camp at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport this week. Jacobs is the first England-based player to join the training squad this year as her club commitments with Leicester Tigers Women have been completed. “Great to have Catha back. She’s a phenomenal player,” September said. “She brings a different energy with all her experience from the UK. She’s a lovely and willing person for our set-up, always one that helps the players, wants to improve as well. And the variety that she brings – especially to set-piece time as the line-out jumper but not just on attack, defensively as well – we can capitalise on those experiences that she’s had in…

SuperSport United's Gavin Hunt, one of the PSL's most successful coaches with a remarkable collection of championship titles, continues to strike fear in the hearts of Kaizer Chiefs as they prepare to host SuperSport at FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening. Chiefs' goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma has expressed the team's awareness of the threat posed by Hunt and his formidable side. "SuperSport are a big team, and we know what they are capable of. They have a very good coach in Coach Gavin," Bvuma stated. "We know that it's not going to be an easy game. We've played SuperSport twice this season already. We've won once and lost another, but we're looking forward to this game. “We have prepared well, and we know what they can do. However, we need to focus…

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists the Premier League leaders can cope with the mounting pressure of the title race. Arne Slot's side moved seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal after surviving a sloppy second half display to beat struggling Wolves 2-1 on Sunday. After conceding a stoppage-time equaliser at Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday, there was a palpable air of anxiety around Anfield as Liverpool laboured to protect their lead in the closing stages against Wolves. Van Dijk understood why there were nerves in the stands and the Dutch centre-back expects more drama as Liverpool edge closer to a record-equalling 20th English crown. "We are all human beings and I totally understand anxiety or nervousness can kick in," he said. "I said it weeks ago, we just have to…