Innholdsfortegnelse for 2025-03-07 i Star

The Occupational Lung Disease Working Group, representing six major mining companies involved in a landmark class action settlement from 2018, has welcomed the announcement from the Tshiamiso Trust that benefit payments to former and current miners, as well as their dependents, have exceeded R2 billion. This achievement marks a critical turning point for the thousands affected by silicosis and tuberculosis (TB) linked to occupational hazards within the mining sector. The Tshiamiso Trust was instituted to implement the 2018 class action settlement, involving African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold, and Sibanye-Stillwater. The Trust is charged with administering compensation to eligible mineworkers suffering from silicosis or work-related TB, as well as their dependents. The Working Group on Thursday expressed pride in seeing the settlement’s terms actively…

Some €6.5 billion – or R125bn – flowed through Steinhoff's books between 2009 and 2017 when the lid was on what is South Africa’s biggest corporate scandal to date was blown. This information is contained in a PwC investigation into the company, which Business Report secured through a Promotion of Access to Information Act application. Overall, eight companies are listed in the report as having been used by Steinhoff to artificially inflate its revenue. PwC stated that this income was recorded by the now defunct company for the financial years between 2009 and 2017. Then external auditors, Deloitte, raised issues with Steinhoff’s accounting practices in 2017, which resulted in Steinhoff losing 97% of its market capitalisation between August 2017 and March 2019 as investors reacted to the news. PwC explained…

Bidvest has successfully gained approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for its acquisition of 100% of Citron, a leading provider of washroom hygiene products and services. This decision marks a pivotal moment in Bidvest's strategy to expand and enhance its offerings within key markets. Citron, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, boasts a diverse customer base across several sectors, including manufacturing, hospitality, facilities management, education, commercial, and healthcare. The company serves approximately 50 000 customer locations through its extensive network of seven branches in Canada, four in the USA, and 10 in the UK. This broad reach enables Bidvest to tap into multiple industries, further solidifying its position in the global market. Bidvest on Thursday said the strategic acquisition aligned seamlessly with its objective to expand its services in…

Sanlam, which reported another year of strong earnings growth on Thursday, is increasingly looking at deals and partnerships to grow its business. The insurance, life assurer and financial services group said its 2024 financial year results had benefited from good business growth in South Africa, other African countries and in India, with underlying market share growth over a number of years, robust growth in new business, and after investment returns increased from relatively benign markets, said CEO Paul Hanratty. “Our strategic corporate activity contributed to lifting the 2024 results, and we expect the contribution from this source to further enhance our performance in future periods,” he said. The dividend was increased by 11% to 445 cents per share for the year. He said they were optimistic about the outlook for…

March into the world of suspense, drama and captivating action with our top picks for movies and TV shows to watch this month. From local to international TV shows, you need to grab your popcorn, get cozy and dive into our top productions to watch this month! Cobrizi This is a 13-episode drama series which stars Presley Chweneyagae, who is popularly known for his role as Thuso Mokoena aka Cobra in The River. This spin-off series is about Cobra attempting to do right by his youngest child. He starts as the same troubled, angry man viewers knew from The River - a survivor whose only way out has been through theft and hustling. But even a man like Cobra can evolve ... if life gives him a fighting chance. •…

FORMER Ethekwini municipality city manager Sibusiso Sithole has been roped in to help with Durban’s water crisis. Sithole was the City manager between 2011 and 2016. Sithole, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba and municipal officials held a robust discussion with ratepayers over the water crisis, on Thursday. The objective of the meeting was to consult with all relevant stakeholders about the recently developed Implementation Plan/Action Plan of the city's water turnaround strategy. The strategy was created in April 2023 and after fresh deliberations, it was approved by the City’s executive committee last month. The strategy is a five-year plan. Last week, the eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) gave the city a memorandum of grievances. Xaba said figures for the budget will be confirmed once the national and provincial budgets are presented.…

SEVERAL provinces including Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo and the Free State are set to lose hundreds of millions of rands allocated by the National Treasury to build houses, upgrade informal settlements and improve education infrastructure due to non-expenditure. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced this week that Gauteng will lose R300 million in the human settlement development grant (HSDG) while the Western Cape’s R200 million allocation will also be stopped together with the Free State, which will lose R50 million. In the informal settlement upgrading partnership grant (ISUPG), allocations of R150m and R100m to Gauteng and the Western Cape, respectively, will be stopped. Godongwana said both decisions followed a revised allocation by the National Department of Human Settlements. Limpopo is set to lose almost R188m from its education infrastructure grant (EIG)…

A NEW fossil discovery from SwartKrans Cave has revealed that an early human relative Paranthropus robustus, which was much smaller than previously thought, making it highly vulnerable to predators. A team of international researchers from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University), including Travis Pickering, Matthew Caruana, Marine Cazenave, Ron Clarke, Jason Heaton, A.J. Heile, Kathleen Kuman, and Dominic Stratford, found that the fossils belonged to a single, young adult Paranthropus robustus. The study, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, not only confirms that the species walks upright like modern humans but also highlights its remarkable small size. According to Wits University, Paranthropus robustus lived in South Africa around two million years ago, alongside Homo ergaster, a direct a direct ancestor of…

Former deputy chief executive of AfriForum, Dr Ernst Roets says some people are threatening to kill him after the explosive interview he had on The Tucker Carlson Show in the US. The wide-ranging interview has sparked heated divisions across our already polarised society, with many applauding him on social media platforms, while many others have been left fuming – accusing Roets of taking part in a misinformation campaign. On social media platform X, Roets wrote: “Some people threatening to murder me because of my interview with @TuckerCarlson. In South Africa, a ‘necklace’ is a brutal method of murdering someone”. Roets shared a post by an X user M Lephole, who wrote: “@ErnstRoets must be given a beautiful necklace for saying Winnie (Madikizela-Mandela) was a terrorist”. During the interview with Roets,…

South Africa, a nation celebrated for its resilience and historic struggle for equality, continues to face systemic human rights violations that undermine the dignity and prosperity of its people under the current government. Despite promises of democracy and constitutional guarantees of equality, justice, and freedom, millions endure economic inequality, systemic neglect, and institutional failure. As the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), we remain steadfast in our commitment to addressing these injustices, guided by our policies and advocacy for restorative justice and equitable development. At the core of South Africa’s human rights crisis lies economic inequality, a legacy of colonialism and apartheid. Land dispossession remains a critical issue, with many Black South Africans still denied access to their ancestral lands. Land is not merely an economic asset; it is a source of…

Nasreddine Nabi is not putting all his eggs in one basket amid Kaizer Chiefs’ CAF aspirations, saying they are targeting both a top-three finish and the Nedbank Cup crown. Chiefs want to salvage their season after missing out on the MTN8 and Carling Knockout, while they are all but out of the Premiership race. They could achieve their aspirations by finishing in the top three in the Premiership or by winning the country’s premier football competition. Sure, both achievements would crown off a decent first term for Nabi at the club, but, furthermore, each holds a continental ticket via the CAF Confederation Cup next season. And so, given that Chiefs still have 10 games in the league to secure their third-place finish, it’d appear that they’d opt to secure their…

FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi has warned that geopolitical tensions in the form of import tariff increases in many countries, led by the US, may lead to higher global inflation and prevent interest rates from being cut further in South Africa later this year. Vilakazi was interviewed Thursday at the release of the financial services group’s financial results for the six months to December 31. Just this week the US imposed a 25% tariff on its imports from Mexico and Canada and it doubled tariffs on some Chinese goods to 20%. Vilakazi said higher tariffs have the impact of raising consumer prices, and may lead to higher global inflation this year, which might also impact prices in South Africa. “We had penciled in two interest rate cuts this year, but the…

Luno, a prominent South African cryptocurrency exchange operating in 40 countries, has urged the National Treasury to enact regulatory changes to classify digital assets as onshore assets when held on local licensed platforms. These reforms are seen as critical to unlocking significant economic growth and generating much-needed revenue for the country’s fiscal health. Historically, South Africa was a frontrunner in the cryptocurrency domain, but it now risks lagging behind as other countries embrace digital currencies as a recognised asset class for both institutional and individual investors. The crux of Luno’s appeal to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revolves around the critical need to classify digital assets as onshore assets when held on local licensed platforms, paving the way for enhanced investment opportunities. Currently, digital currencies are not designated as either offshore…

Mustek, a JSE-listed ICT distributor that is subject to a takeover offer from Novus Holdings, reported a whopping 74% steep decline in its interim earnings, amid challenging global and local economic conditions. Headline earnings per share for the six months ended December 31, 2024 plunged 74.31% to 23.47 cents from the prior year. Basic earnings per share followed a similar trend, falling 74.72% to 23.01c. No interim dividend was declared. "The group's performance remained under pressure," Mustek CEO Hein Engelbrecht said on Thursday. "This reflected the ongoing challenges posed by global and local economic conditions. These included persistent inflation, elevated interest rates, sluggish economic growth, and fluctuating consumer and investor confidence, both in South Africa and internationally.” Mustek also attributed the decline in its interims to selective deal-making. Engelbrecht also…

Transnet tabled a revised three-year wage offer to its recognised labour unions, United National Transport Union and South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, on Thursday. This follows a prior offer presented on Wednesday as the current wage agreement, set to expire on March 31, 2025, nears its end. The old proposal offered a three-year increase tied to inflation: Year 1 at CPI + 1% (4.5%), Year 2 at CPI + 0.5% (5%), and Year 3 at CPI + 0.5% (5%), totaling a 14.5% cumulative rise. The revised offer shifts to a fixed structure: 5.5% in Year 1, 5.5% in Year 2, and 5% in Year 3, amounting to a 16% increase over the period. Both offers include adjustments to basic salaries, 13th cheques, pension contributions, medical aid subsidies, and…

THIS March Mzansi’s favourite housewives return to screens to the delight of reality TV lovers. The Real Housewives of Durban has been serving reality TV gold, since season one and with each season the drama has kept viewers glued to the show. The last reunion left viewers on the edge of their seats, when Sorisha Naidoo walked out, pledging never to speak to Jojo Robinson or Nonku Williams again. Naidoo said that she would only return to the show if there were changes and it seems that changes have been made as she has returned to the show. OGs Williams and Naidoo are the longest-serving Housewives in Africa; they are joined by season two alum Robinson – who at the end of season three hinted at leaving the show, well,…

Minister of Sports, Arts, Culture and Heritage Gayton McKenzie has revealed that there are several high-profile bidders vying for the ownership of Royal AM, a football club that until recently was owned by Shauwn “Mamkhize” Mkhize. The South African Revenue Service’s (Sars) curator, Jaco Venter, yesterday issued a bidding notice announcing that the club will be auctioned off in a bid to recoup a reported R40 million tax debt owed by Mkhize – bids will be accepted from 8am to 1pm on March 14 and the winning bid is scheduled to be announced on March 17. Yesterday, the minister, taking to his official X account, hinted that several bidders want in on the club and entry into the lucrative Premier Soccer League (PSL). “There are several prospective buyers,” McKenzie said.…

ActionSA has raised concerns about the condition of the Brixton Recreation Centre, urging the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) to enforce current legislation and by-laws. The Centre was once a hub for community activities but has now become a shelter for displaced foreign nationals following the devastating Marshalltown building fire in August 2023. In a statement, the party emphasised that recreation centres and community halls are vital to the community development portfolio and play a crucial role in generating much-needed revenue for the City. “Revenue collection is crucial to ensuring that the city can provide service delivery through renting out community halls. “Further to this, the role of recreation centres is pivotal in the rolling out of youth and community development programmes that seek to address social ills and contribute largely…

THE Department of Social Development has revealed that 50 non-profit organisations across the country are under investigation for alleged involvement in terror financing and money laundering. The move is part of the government's efforts to crack down on dubious NGOs, following the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) classification of South Africa as a medium-risk country. In 2023, the global financial crime watchdog also grey listed South Africa for failing to adequately prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, citing weaknesses in law enforcement, insufficient prosecutions, and a lack of transparency in beneficial ownership information. It also identified several key areas the government must improve to move out of the grey list. Since then, the government has taken steps to ensure that it complies with the FATF recommendations and has expressed hope…

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro concedes that since games are coming thick and fast, it’s important to keep a winning front to motivate everyone within the group. Pirates are the second team to beat in domestic football, behind Mamelodi Sundowns, as they are still involved in three competitions. The Bucs are second in the Premiership race, and they are in the CAF Champions League and Nedbank Cup quarter-finals, in which they’ll face MC Alger and SuperSport United respectively. And so, given the fact that they should wrap up all three competitions by June, they’ve been on a tight schedule, playing a game after every three days. That has stretched their hand as they’ve had to put all their resources into use, including their depth, amid being considerate of eventualities such…

Double World Cup winner and Springbok Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen is excited about the budding talent at No 8 for the national side ahead of the new season. But he says someone like Jasper Wiese, currently playing in Japan, should not be forgotten just because he is out of sight. The Boks will have a host of young and talented players to select as part of experimental sides when they start the season against the Barbarians (28 June), Italy (5 and 12 July) and Georgia (19 July) in a couple of months. Players like Cameron Hanekom and Mpilo Gumede at the Bulls, the Stormers’ Evan Roos, Phepsi Buthelezi at the Sharks, and the Lions’ Francke Horn have excelled for their franchises in the United Rugby Championship. Hanekom and Roos have…

Thousands of youth to be trained in AI skills, machine learning, and cybersecurity siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za Microsoft has unveiled a significant plan for further investment of more than R5 billion in South Africa to train thousands of unemployed youth in AI skills and AI start-ups, signalling a new chapter of technological innovation and economic progress for the nation. The global software giant has already dedicated considerable resources into supporting black-owned companies pioneering 4IR technologies and plans to train one million South Africans in AI skills, machine learning and cybersecurity by 2026. Over the past five years alone, Microsoft has invested significantly in cloud, in data centres, in agriculture and in the digital transformation of government services. Brad Smith, Vice chair and president of Microsoft, on Thursday outlined the multifaceted nature of this…

South Africa now stands at a pivotal moment - our sovereignty, economic future, and international standing hang in the balance. The choices we make today will not only define our role in the world but will shape the destiny of generations to come. A Shifting World The world is shifting. Power is shifting. Donald Trump is now the US president, and the US Senate and Congress (both houses) are now controlled by the Republican Party, commonly referred to as the Grand Old Party. South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the ANC are caught in the storm. As global alliances realign, the question we must ask is this: will we remain sovereign in our decisions, or will we be forced into making decisions not necessarily aligned with our historic relationship with…

Grindrod, the JSE-listed freight logistics company, saw its share price slump more than 6% on Thursday after reporting that core headline earnings fell to R1 billion last year from R1.4bn the year before due in part to border disruptions, lower commodity prices, and flooding. The impact on the group of the intermittent Lebombo/Ressano Garcia border closures in the last quarter of 2024 was 4.4 million tons per year in volume and R200 million on headline earnings. Overall performance was also impacted by lower commodity prices except for chrome, and the disruptive cyclonic flooding in the first half of the year, the group said in results released on Thursday. The final dividend was cut a hefty 55% to 17 cents a share. The share price traded at R12.07 on Thursday afternoon,…

MYSTERY shrouds the discovery of two graves in a park, supposedly owned by the municipality, in Shallcross, Durban this week. It is believed police were waiting for the authorities to exhume the bodies in both graves, which suddenly appeared at the Shallcross site this week. The graves, which appear freshly dug, were first seen on Tuesday, near a tree that is usually used for the shade it provides, by a group of scholar transport drivers who rest there. The drivers said the graves were not there in the earlier part of Tuesday, but some sort of digging was done in the afternoon that day, and people were seen finishing off the graves. It appeared to the drivers that the graves were of a size that was used for children. When…

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has acknowledged the staggering backlog of 1.9 million case dockets within the South African Police Service, describing the situation as “abnormal”. Mchunu said it would take two years to wipe out the backlog amid the SAPS moves to seek funds from the private sector to hire contract employees, such as retired detectives. “We note the under-capacity as we speak and therefore we are to ensure the 4 500 new intakes as a starting point,” he said. Mchunu was responding to MK Party MP David Skosana during the oral question session in the National Assembly on Wednesday on measures taken to fill the detective vacancies and steps the SAPS has taken to resolve the backlog of unresolved cases. “There are 1.9 million dockets that are outstanding; there…

South Africa is car crazy, with many enthusiasts treating their vehicles as a blank canvas for modifications. From subtle accessory tweaks to downright ludicrous alterations, the passion for personalisation runs deep. We’re ranked ratio-wise as the top country globally for the uptake of performance cars such as BMW M, Mercedes-Benz AMG, Audi RS and Golf GTI. If you’ve ever attended a car meet where like-minded enthusiasts gather you’ll have an idea of what owners do to make their cars look better, go faster, sit lower, make more noise, handle better and generally make them one of a kind. Growing Industry According to the American International Trade Administration the last decade has seen a rapid growth in automotive aftermarket specialty equipment and accessories. “Accessorising and improving performance of vehicles has transformed…

The Proteas’ exit at the ICC Champions Trophy on Wednesday night was rather limp. There was no drama. No individual errors. Not even a choke. It was just a plain old-fashioned hiding handed out by the Black Caps. The Kiwis were superior in every department that mattered. Their big players stepped up. And youngsters weren’t daunted by the occasion. Not to mention their skipper Mitchell Santner playing a hugely influential role in the outcome. So, do we just accept Proteas coach Rob Walter’s anecdote that it was just "a bad day to have a bad day?” Does one defeat make this group suddenly a bad group of players? Does the baby need to be thrown out with the bath water? I feel these are simplistic questions that won’t get to…

Hours after Lehlohonolo Seema performed his media duties at Sekhukhune United’s Nedbank Cup press conference on Thursday, he was fired as the head coach. Sekhukhune announced on Thursday evening that Seema was leaving the club with immediate effect. The statement in part read: “In light of this development, the coaches Kaitano Tembo and Paulus Masehe will take on the responsibility of leading the team forward. “The club thanks coach Seema for his dedication and contribution during his time with us.” For several weeks, reports suggested that Sekhukhune’s management considered the option of dismissing Seema and hiring the former Orlando Pirates mentor Eric Tinkler. The latter was fired at Cape Town City two months ago. Sekhukhune’s general manager Phineas Masisha has consistently dismissed the rumours regarding Seema and Tinkler. He said…

Round two of the Mamelodi Sundowns and Sekhukhune United tussle moves to the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville as both sides turn their attention to the Nedbank Cup last eight on Saturday (8pm kick-off). They will go into battle less than two weeks after the Brazilians beat Babina Noko 4-2 in a Premiership match at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium last Wednesday. Sundowns narrowly missed out in the final of the Nedbank Cup last season following their 2-1 loss against rivals Orlando Pirates, and as they continue the fight to secure their eighth consecutive league title, a cup triumph will be equally important after last winning the tournament in 2022. The Brazilians are unbeaten against Babina Noko in their last five matches, and speaking ahead of their quarter-final clash…