Table of contents for 2025-03-11 in Cape Times

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) on Monday remained silent as further reports emerged that Daybreak Farms is in deep financial trouble, leading to its CEO, Richard Manzini - who was tasked with turning around the state-owned poultry enterprise - quitting. Daybreak's financial viability as a going concern is in question with the prices of chicken on supermarket shelves potentially at stake. Daybreak is one of South Africa's largest independent, integrated poultry producers. The exit comes as the PIC allegedly rejected a request for an additional R250 million loan to aid the financially stressed company, according to a TimesLIVE report over the weekend. The PIC, the largest asset manager on the continent, oversees assets on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and the Compensation…

US foreign policy expert, Prof. Michael Walsh, has warned that South Africa should expect that the Trump Administration will demand that the government completely abandon bilateral trade and investment cooperation with Iran. This comes as the US has threatened to collapse Iran’s economy by shutting down its oil industry. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week said that the US was deploying sanctions against Iran aggressively for “immediate maximum impact” with the aim to slash Iran’s oil exports of 1.5 million barrels per day to a trickle. Iran is one of the world’s major Brent crude oil exporters and a member of the BRICS+ bloc of nations. Walsh on Monday said no one should doubt whether the Trump Administration was committed to putting maximum pressure on the government of Iran,…

Building sentiment improved slightly in the first quarter from the last three months of 2024, but most builders remain dissatisfied with business conditions and municipal delays are hindering growth in the sector, according to the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index on Monday. The index reading shows almost 60% of index respondents are dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions. Activity among non-residential builders continues to outperform that of residential builders, although both worsened somewhat. “The industrial and warehousing sub-sector has held up well over the past few years, supporting at least some non-residential building work. Now, we are seeing signs that demand for retail space – and to a lesser extent, office and banking space – is picking up too, which further supports the non-residential outperformance,” said FNB senior economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi. The…

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is due to present his revised Budget Speech in a few days. At Sage, we hope his new Budget Speech and government policy go beyond the usual and focuses on digital technologies and the opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) presents for the South African economy. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa will be able to unlock enormous potential by building industries of the future, such as green manufacturing, renewable energy, electric vehicles and the digital economy. AI offers unparalleled opportunities for economic expansion, job creation, and service delivery. If South Africa is to compete in the global economy, the government must create an environment where AI innovation can thrive. If not, we risk falling behind as territories like…

The slide in AVI’s share price was among the biggest declines on the market on Monday, even though interim headline earnings per share increased by 8.9%, and the dividend was raised by the same percentage to 220 cents per share. The share price was trading 4.1% lower at R91.13 on Monday afternoon, barely changed from R91 a year ago. The price decline outstripped the -1.89% and -3.16% declines in the JSE Foods and JSE Personal Goods indexes, respectively, at the same time. The tough consumer environment in South Africa was reflected in revenue for the diversified fast-moving consumer goods group, which only grew by 1.1% for the six months ending December 31. Operating profit increased by 4.6%. Revenue growth in Entyce, the coffee, creamer, and tea products division, was underpinned…

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) has announced the addition of Bombay Lights, a groundbreaking ensemble from India, to this year’s festival lineup which is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated events on the music calendar with tickets disappearing fast. With Phase 1 of the artist lineup unveiled, jazz enthusiasts and music lovers are rushing to secure their spots for what promises to be an unforgettable weekend of world-class performances. Bombay Lights, the latest reveal, are known for their genre-defying fusion of Indian classical music, jazz, and African grooves. They will bring their innovative sound to the renowned Rosies stage, a platform reserved for the festival’s most spellbinding performances. Led by visionary drummer Vinayak Pol, Bombay Lights introduces the shehnai — an ancient Indian instrument…

A luxury Western Cape hotel lost its legal bid to have an order overturned in which it was found that the axing of its executive chef - who was instrumental in dousing a fire which broke out in the hotel kitchen - was substantially unfair. During arbitration proceedings, the commissioner ordered Le Franschhoek Hotel to compensate its chef by paying him six months’ salary. The hotel group, however, turned to the Johannesburg Labour Court to have the ruling overturned. Le Franschhoek forms part of the Dream Hotels and Resorts Group. The group owns some 21 hotels and 100 resorts located mainly in South Africa. It employed the chef, who is not identified, as an executive chef from January 2018. Apart from his culinary duties, he also oversaw health and safety…

Despite describing her as a drug user who had been to rehab three times, witnesses said Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith was a good mother to her children. This emerged as more witnesses took the stand in the trial of missing Joshlin Smith at the White City Multipurpose Centre in Diazville, Saldanha Bay yesterday. The three accused: Smith, Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis and Steven ‘Steffie’ van Rhyn appeared at the half-empty court, where they face kidnapping and human trafficking charges. The trio was arrested weeks after Joshlin went missing on February 19, 2024. She had been in the care of her mother’s boyfriend Appollis. On Wednesday, Detective Constable Refilwe Sekhobe said that during an interview with Appollis, it emerged that Laurentia Lombaard had been smoking drugs with them on the day the…

THE Dolphins find themselves in the play-off of the CSA 1-Day Cup following Cricket South Africa's decision to dock four points from the Warriors for not fielding a team that adheres to the rules that the governing body has in place for men's domestic cricket. Following a comprehensive review and investigation, CSA determined that the Warriors failed to meet the stipulated transformation requirements during their match on February 16, 2025, against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in Durban. The breach pertained specifically to Clause 3.2.2 of the CSA administrative conditions, which requires teams to field a minimum of three black African players in the starting XI. The sanctions imposed include loss of match points. Thus, the Warriors will forfeit thdir points for the match, with the Dolphins awarded four points for the…

Government urged to explore more efficient channels for savings before resorting to a tax increase Chairpersons of various Parliamentary economic committees have advised the government to explore more efficient channels for savings before resorting to a controversial increase in value-added tax (VAT). This comes as finance minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday will table the 2025 Budget Review in Parliament after it was posptponed on 19 February as the political parties rejected the 2 percentage points increase from 15% to 17%. During a pre-budget breakfast media meeting on Monday, leaders from the Standing Committee on Appropriations (SCoA), Select Committee on Appropriations, Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), and Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF) voiced their collective concern regarding the nation’s fiscal health. Sonzezo Zibi, Scopa chairperson, said the government property portfolio…

The United States Treasury Department has announced the immediate suspension of the Corporate Transparency Act, which took effect on January 1, 2024, under the Joe Biden administration. This key piece of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation required business owners to disclose corporate reports with information about Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO). The Trump administration has positioned this move as a step to reduce red tape for American taxpayers and businesses. It may be rooted in the misplaced perception that smaller entities are less likely to be used to move illicit funds. Many observers will be concerned that it is a setback for efforts to increase transparency and combat illicit financial flows. Less UBO transparency will make it easier for corporate structures, networks, and advantageous stakeholders involved in moving funds to evade…

Monde Ntoyanto is a young entrepreneur behind Culo’s Kitchen, an African cuisine cloud kitchen, in Kayamandi township (Stellenbosch). Serving African cooked meals is nothing new, but the process of ordering online and picking up later is a new business model in a township economy environment. The business gets orders via Facebook and WhatsApp. Clients are able to pay via EFT. To deliver goods to local restaurants, they also make use of Uber package service. This level of technology integration is unheard of for a township business. This is just one of the few businesses that is enabled by the digitisation process of townships in South Africa. In recent years, we’ve seen a proliferation of fibre businesses digging holes to install fibre across South African townships. In Kayamandi, where Monde operates,…

Mpact, the largest paper and plastics packaging business and recycler in southern Africa plans to benefit from numerous capital investments coming on stream this year even as its trading environment remains in line with the subdued economy. In the 12 months to December 31, the group experienced the positive sentiment emerging from the May 2024 election, but the trading environment had otherwise proved challenging, underpinned by high interest rates, cost inflation, loadshedding, and other service delivery failures, which negatively affected business and consumer confidence. Nevertheless, said CEO Bruce Strong, despite a decline in profit - headline earnings a share fell 29.9% to 323.6 cents a share - the group produced strong cash flow from operations of R1.9 billion, near its highest recorded number, and net asset value increased 6% to…

The President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo has moved to strengthen business ties with South Africa during a high-level dinner meeting with some of the top JSE-listed companies. Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo has been on a significant visit to South Africa to strengthen ties between the two countries. This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa hosting him earlier this month to bolster political relations. One of the highlights of the visit was a dinner meeting hosted by the South African Chamber of Business in Mozambique (SACBM), bringing together President Chapo, Minister of Economy Basílio Muhate, Minister of Transport and Logistics João Matlombe, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Manuela Lucas, and 11 South African CEOs from various industries, including logistics, agriculture, energy, financial services, security, telecom, and hospitality, a statement said Monday. Logistics group…

Tensions have once again escalated between two rival Soweto taxi associations, the Witwatersrand African Taxi Association (Wata) and Nancefield-Dube West Taxi Association (NANDUWE) in the aftermath of a recent Gauteng High Court ruling and the alleged kidnapping of a taxi driver. On Monday as taxi operators blocked roads between Orlando West and Mofolo, members of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), travelling to the scene of the taxi dispute crashed into a group of pedestrians, resulting in the death of two pedestrians and injuries to others. According to a JMPD statement, the officers crashed into a crowd while responding to a flare-up of a feud between two rival taxi associations with JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla revealing that a total of seven people were involved in the accident. “During their response,…

Staff Reporter Concerted and targeted conservation efforts by the Endangered Wildlife Trust/International Crane Foundation partnership, Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EKZNW), other NGOs and farmers and landowners across the Drakensberg, have delivered another success - the downlisting of the Wattled Crane from Critically Endangered to Endangered. The regional downlisting will be published in the latest edition of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species at the end of May 2025. Wattled Cranes (Bugeranus carunculatus) were listed as regionally Critically Endangered in 2015 with only 267 individuals recorded in the KwaZulu-Natal aerial survey of that year. This aerial survey has been conducted for 32 years in partnership with Eskom and EKZNW as KwaZulu-Natal is the stronghold for the species in South Africa. “A regional downlisting means that in South Africa, the…

THERE is no specific rule or regulation in South Africa guiding or regulating the maximum time a woman can act as a surrogate, nor are there regulations that place a limit on the number of Cesarean sections a woman may undergo, a court said in giving its blessing to a surrogacy agreement. This is according to a recent judgment issued by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in which a married couple who wanted to use the services of a surrogate mother to carry their second child asked the court for the greenlight. The issue which raised some concern was that this would be the sixth pregnancy of the surrogate mother. All five babies during her earlier pregnancies were delivered via Cesarean sections. Judge Brenda Neurkircher had to determine whether a…

It is farcical how Ireland’s Tadgh Beirne escaped any punishment after landing on Antoine Dupont’s knee during their Six Nations clash this weekend, injuring the France superstar. He came off scot-free after recklessly charging into a breakdown Dupont was contesting, landing on the knee of the scrumhalf. It was so severe that Dupont was withdrawn after 30 minutes of play, and his season seems to be over. It potentially means the Springboks will not be able to play against the Frenchman - whom plenty in the Northern Hemisphere regard as the best player in the world - in their Test in November later this year. With players like Pieter-Steph du Toit, current World Rugby Player of the Year, and the nominated Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth who all gunned for…

The latest analysis from NIQ South Africa reveals a cautious but notable momentum in the country's retail sector, despite economic headwinds. For the calendar year 2024, South African consumers spent nearly R637 billion on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), reflecting a year-over-year growth of just 3.4%. This increase was primarily attributed to rising prices rather than higher consumption levels. The Technology & Durables (T&D) market displayed a contrasting trend, achieving a modest sales value increase of only 1.8%, totalling R90bn. A significant 2% drop in the telecoms sector—accounting for over half of the T&D market's value—dampened overall performance. However, washing machines shone as a bright spot, with consistent monthly sales growth culminating in a remarkable 16% increase in both sales value and units sold. Zak Haeri, managing director for NIQ in…

2024 was the biggest election year in human history where over 70 countries representing more than half of the global population held elections. It is estimated that over 80% of incumbent parties lost voter support in 2024 compared to the previous election, making it a significant year for global democracy. Economic challenges, especially inflation, and overall dissatisfaction with incumbent governments were key drivers behind voters' decisions to oust incumbents leading to key electoral outcomes such as the return of Donald Trump to the White House and here at home the ANC losing its majority for the first time since 1994. One of the consequences of the elections anti-incumbent theme is that the world is now scattered with a host of newly installed governments seeking to change the status quo, with…

The current travails of Y Combinator-backed Nigerian logistics tech startup Kobo360 provide a sobering backdrop to this week's Tech Tides Africa column hijack. The numerous reported challenges dogging the former ecosystem darling - which apparently include a crippling debt load, revolving door of key leadership and overwhelming operational issues - put into sharp focus why tech entrepreneurship in Africa's critically sub-optimal freight haulage industry is not for the faint of heart. Yet, it's a space inhabited by the fiercely resolute Zimbabwean founder and passionate intra-African trade proponent Gugulethu Siso since launching her logistics tech startup Thumeza in 2018. (Say, if you really want to see her truly come alive, ask for her unfiltered take on the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) potential to unlock economic opportunity.) Following various survival-focused…

More mining smelters in South Africa will likely close down due to higher costs of production that are impacting operators against the backdrop of lower prices for ferrochrome at a time Merafe Resources is increasingly shifting to chrome ore exports while closing down smelter furnaces. In a joint venture with Glencore, Merafe’s joint venture (JV) has already shut down 10 of its 22 furnaces in the past few years, translating to massive job losses. Worse still, the JV has put its smelting operations under business review at a time volatility in ferrochrome prices is expected to persist. “The reason we going into review is that our smelting operations are under tremendous pressure and are not making money at current prices. “We are reviewing the ops to see if we can…

POWERX, a licensed private sector electricity trader in South Africa, and Yellow Door Energy (YDE) on Monday signed a 24.5 Megawatt peak (MWp) solar power purchase agreement (PPA) in Leeudoringstad, North West. YDE is a leading renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) in the Middle East and Africa. The project will see the installation of a 43km overhead electrical line to connect the solar park to an Eskom substation, enhancing grid infrastructure and facilitating access to green electricity in the North West. "Over 500 jobs will be created through numerous contractors, suppliers and manufacturers, with significant contribution to social and community development. Construction will begin by mid 2025, with commissioning expected in 2026," YDE said in a statement. The Naledi Ya YDE Solar Park, as the initiative is dubbed, will…

Breakups are an inevitable part of life, yet they often leave us feeling lost, confused, and emotionally drained. Whether the relationship lasted months or years, the end of a romantic connection can be a deeply painful experience. In the aftermath, one of the most crucial yet overlooked aspects of healing is achieving closure. Closure is the process of finding emotional resolution and acceptance after a relationship ends. It allows individuals to move forward with clarity and peace, rather than lingering in unresolved emotions. While it may not come easily, seeking closure is essential for personal growth and emotional well-being. Closure is not a one-size-fits-all concept. For some, it may involve having a final conversation with an ex-partner to gain clarity or to express unresolved feelings. For others, it might mean…

THE world-renowned 11th Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest Exhibition is open to the public from tomorrow at the Good Hope Gallery at the Castle of Good Hope. The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest is an annual contest for young photojournalists, aged between 18 and 33. The contest was founded on December 22, 2014, by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO. The Cape Town exhibition, on until March 16, will be hosted by Independent Media, IOL, and the African News Agency (ANA), in collaboration with the Sputnik News Agency and Radio. The Andrei Stenin Exhibition is recognised as one of the world’s top 10 photojournalism showcases and every year the competition attracts visual, captivating, and jaw-dropping photographs…

Staff Reporter FORMER cabinet minister Naledi Pandor has described her appointment as an honorary professor in education at the University of Pretoria (UP) as an incredible honour, and said she was thrilled to return to UP. A PhD graduate of the UP Faculty of Education, she joins UP’s Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Higher Education Futures, where she will contribute, without remuneration, to research, and student and staff development. “Professor Pandor is a leader whose impact on education, policy and innovation, and whose unwavering commitment to advancing higher education and sustainable development, aligns perfectly with the mission of the centre,” said UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Francis Petersen. He was speaking at a small gathering held on UP’s Hatfield campus to welcome Prof Pandor, whose appointment followed an external…

The Springboks have set up a unique tool to track the players they’ve called up for the first alignment camp of the season in Cape Town during the United Rugby Championship (URC) without it impacting their respective franchises. The world champions began their first steps toward the 2025 international season with a three-day camp on Monday, during which head coach Rassie Erasmus and his management plan to align the selected players with their vision for this year’s Tests and beyond. South Africa will play 15 Tests, two must still be confirmed, and it will continue the Boks’ path of rebuilding and testing new players who will take over from the senior guys not making the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Erasmus explained that Sebastian Prim, the Springboks’ sports scientist,…

Stellenbosch FC, who were at the sharp end of poor officiating by match officials in Saturday's match against the darlings of Soweto, Kaizer Chiefs, will host another Soweto opponent on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.30pm). This time, it is Orlando Pirates, currently Soweto's strongest team and chasing Betway Premiership glory. At Saturday's post-match interview at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, an angry Stellenbosch coach, Steve Barker, listed several refereeing injustices against his team in matches against Chiefs and Pirates. His frustration boiled over after his side was eliminated from the Nedbank Cup by a controversial goal in their quarter-final clash against Chiefs. Against this backdrop, Stellenbosch will set their sights on turning the tables on their Soweto opponents. It may not be Chiefs, but Pirates are also in Barker's crosshairs. Additionally,…