Cape Times 2024-09-20

PROMINENT South African business executive Reuel Khoza has joined the board of Jubilee Metals after the resignation of the junior miner’s chief financial officer, Neal Reynolds. Khoza’s appointment to the Jubilee Metals board is with effect from next month, although it is subject to regulatory approvals. Jubilee Metals chief executive Leon Coetzer said yesterday: “Khoza brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that will strongly compliment the Jubilee board, especially at a time when we look to expand our operating footprint in Africa.” Khoza currently holds the execu- tive positions of president of the Institute of Directors Southern Africa, chairperson of Discovery Bank, and is also a visiting professor for several South African universities, as well as lectureships in corporate governance, business leadership and business strategy, among others. Previously, Khoza…

THE NEW DEVELOPMENT Bank (NDB) has raised R1 billion in the South African bond market, it said in a statement yesterday. The book was well supported with more than R2bn in bids across both tenors. Both the three-year and the five-year tranches priced at the tight end of guidance, with the five-year note pricing five basis points tighter than the previous auction. The order book was well diversified with bids being allocated to both institutional investors and the local banks. Monale Ratsoma, NDB vice-president and chief financial officer, said: “Local currency financing is a core offering of NDB and the bank has a robust pipeline of rand-denominated loans for infrastructure and sustainable development projects. “NDB’s rand programme will play a central role in funding the bank’s…

The PARLIAMENT’s Committee on Appropriations has rallied behind Statistician-General, Risenga Maluleke, in the quest for R295 million to keep the entity afloat amidst budget cuts that have reduced its capacity to perform its duties. Speaking yesterday after a meeting of economic cluster ministers with members of the committee, Standing Committee on Appropriations chairperson, Mmusi Maimane, said robust engagement with Maluleke showed the committee how important the work of Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) was in informing what policy decisions to take, what Budget allocations to give to the various muni- cipalities, provinces, nationally and ultimately defined the long term objectives of the country. “I found Maluleke truly a servant of the people and we found the engagement robust in how they shared the integrity of the Census and ultimately the…

It marks easing of policy since the pandemic, as annual inflation rate drops THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) has been called out for being “too conservative” after opting for the lowest cut in the cost of borrowing to offer some relief to consumers. As expected, the SARB yesterday cut its repurchase rate (repo rate) by 25 basis points to 8% a year, following seven consecutive meetings at a 15-year peak of 8.25%. This means the prime lending rate will decline from 11.75% to 11.5% per annum, bringing some respite to debt-burdened consumers. This also marked the SARB’s first policy easing since the Covid-19 pandemic in mid-2020 as the annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 4.4% in August, below the SARB’s 4.5% midpoint target level. The SARB’s…

SEPTEMBER is Tourism Month in South Africa, but instead of that being the focus, South African Tourism (SAT) made negative headlines for excessive board meetings and overspending on board fees. The Institute of Directors in South Africa commends Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille for taking this governance concern seriously. De Lille dismissed the chairperson and deputy chairperson from their leadership roles on the board, seemingly holding them accountable for the 54 meetings in the six months from March to early September 2024, having spent R900 000 of their R1.44 million annual budget for board fees. We have seen excessive board meetings in the public sector in the past, often without it being addressed. Overspending is a risk when non- executive director fees are based on a per-meeting…

SOUTH Africa’s tourism industry is pinning its hopes on structural reforms embarked on by the Government of National Unity (GNU) to attract 15.6 million international arrivals by 2030. Jerry Mabena, chairperson of the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA), yesterday said the appointment of the GNU had seen an improvement in business confidence, even stretching beyond South Africa’s borders. South Africans were looking to the new government to solve critical issues such as unemployment, the cost-of-living crisis and slow economic growth. “We, on the other hand, need to demonstrate how our sector is positioning itself to address these very same challenges. “Indeed, we say tourism matters for the economy; it matters to the many industries that benefit from a thriving tourism industry,” Mabena said. “As we all know, we…