Star 2022-01-12

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE government wants to introduce subsidies for minibus taxi passengers, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has said. Speaking at the launch of the R1.1 billion Taxi Relief Fund (TRF) at the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) head office in Sandton yesterday, he said the transport policy was being reviewed and other forms of transport, such as bus transport, had already benefited from subsidies. Professor Jackie Walters, head of the Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management at the University of Johannesburg, said the issue of subsidies for the minibus taxi industry has been debated for some time, but the government had always faced the dilemma of an appropriate distribution system for such a subsidy, because the taxi industry was still largely unregulated. He believed the government was probably…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za Embattled sugar producer Tongaat Hulett seems to be finally taking action against senior executives identified in a PwC report as participating in “undesirable” accounting practices. In a statement, the company announced that it had filed a R450 million civil claim against some of its former executives and was also seeking an order declaring them as delinquent directors. According to the company, the corruption, which was uncovered in 2019, led to the company’s profits being overstated over seven years. It said this led to the crash of its share price, which was trading at around R130 at the time, compared to today’s nearly R6. The JSE also fined the company. The company said the civil action was based on the findings of a PwC forensic investigation which highlighted…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE World Economic Forum (WEF) has flagged the prolonged economic stagnation in South Africa as the most serious risk to the country’s recovery over the next two years. South Africa entered a period of serious economic depression in 2020 when the gross domestic product (GDP) plunged to a 6.4 percent contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though a recovery is underway and GDP now seems on track to return to pre-pandemic levels of 2 percent in 2022, activity is still not stable following a contraction triggered by violent unrest in July last year. In its Global Risk Report 2022 published yesterday, the WEF cited this prolonged stagnation among five key risk factors that could affect the country’s stability in the short term. The WEF said employment and…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za Global consultancy group Bain & Company is sticking to its guns about having done its penance after the restitution of close to R200 million it earned for its role in the state capture fiasco. Pressure is mounting both locally and internationally for the US originating firm to be held accountable for its role in state capture as its executives were closely aligned with state capture principals and reportedly advised on the mechanics of siphoning billions of rands from state-owned enterprises and National Treasury. Bain's Nicola Wilson said in response to enquiries on its response to the Zondo report, "While we made mistakes in our work with Sars (SA Revenue Service), we remain confident that we did not in any way wilfully or knowingly support state capture at…

HELLO and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2022 to all our Business Report readers. Around this time of year, many are sitting down to take stock of their lives, making resolutions, which may or may not be adhered to, and looking to the hope of a future that must surely be better than the past 24 months or so. Sometimes, in order to better plan for tomorrow it is pertinent to take stock of the past. If it is necessary to do this in our personal lives, I can safely say that as a country, South Africa should consider doing the same and urgently. Over the past few years, we have collectively faced serious challenges. We have been subjected to several viruses and diseases - not only corona, but…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SALES activity levels in all three major commercial property sectors: industrial, retail and offices increased mildly in the fourth quarter, following a “dip” in the previous three months that might have been KwaZulu-Natal/Gauteng unrest-related. FNB’s latest Property Broker survey showed the percentage of broker respondents perceiving business conditions to be satisfactory, had increased in the fourth quarter survey to 32 percent – up from 25 percent the previous quarter. However, despite the improvement, it remained at a “very weak level” and largely reflective of still weak business confidence across the economy, said FNB Commercial’s property sector strategist John Loos in the bank’s latest Property Insights. The level implies that 68 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with business conditions, but it was nevertheless the highest percentage of respondents…