Star 2021-12-01

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za UNEMPLOYMENT in South Africa is expected to worsen further before the end of the year as the economy continues to face strong headwinds from travel bans, the energy crisis, rising inflation and a looming Covid-19 fourth wave amid the Omicron variant. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) released grim figures yesterday, showing that unemployment hit new record levels after rising by 0.5 percentage points to 34.9 percent in the third quarter of 2021. This is the highest unemployment rate in the country in 13 years, following another record high of 34.4 percent in the second quarter. The job losses could have huge implications for the country’s fiscus as the personal income tax base shrinks and household consumer spending becomes constrained, forcing the government to spend…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za AFRICAN Bank swung to a profit during the year ended September 2021 from a loss a year earlier and unveiled its 2025 strategy aimed at ensuring the bank remains relevant in a competitive environment. African Bank yesterday reported a net profit after tax of R534 million compared to a reported loss of R27m for the same period last year. Chairperson Thabo Dloti said the bank’s results, while encouraging, remained significantly lower than the 2019 financial year’s pre-pandemic results of a profit of R1.2 billion. “This slower return to pre-pandemic profitability levels is mainly due to a slower-than-expected recovery of the South African economy and the conservative, but necessary, stance adopted by the group towards credit advancement,” Dloti said. On the positive side, he said, the…

THE RAND YESTERDAY surprised on the up as it dipped below the R16-mark as the markets shrugged off the latest develop- ments around the Covid-19 Omicron vari- ant and the record unemployment numbers. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday revealed that the unemployment rate had escalated to 34.9 percent in the three months to September, the highest level since 2008. StatsSA said 660 000 people lost their jobs during the third quarter, with the number of discouraged work seekers dramatically increasing by 545 000. Currently, there are more than 7.6 million people of working age who are unem- ployed in South Africa. Despite this, the rand made a spectacular recovery following a retreat to R16.21 to the dollar earlier in the day as caution lingered in markets after…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za ICT TECHNOLOGY investment group AYO Technology Solutions posted muted results for the year to August 31, after facing many challenges, including to its reputation, and the effects of Covid-19 on the economy. Notwithstanding this, a final divi- dend of 30 cents per share was declared, which brought the total dividend for 2021 only marginally lower to 95c from 100c in 2020. Chief executive Howard Plaatjes said yesterday that the pandemic triggered reductions in IT spend, leading to a loss of some customers and non-renewal of maturing contracts, which affected the bottom line. This was exacerbated by the material adverse impact of unwarranted media attention and hangover from the Mpati commission on the group’s reputation. However, he said they had maintained a positive attitude, the balance sheet…

The global community will gather again today to commemorate World Aids Day. This is one of the times when we also remember all those who have succumbed to the virus as well as those infected and affected by Aids. It is also a pivotal time in which we rededicate ourselves to ending the scourge of Aids as a public health threat. The theme for this year’s World Aids day is “End inequalities, end Aids, end pandemics”, which accurately reflects what we should be focussing on. More notable, however, is that this year marks the second time when we observe World Aids Day while we also confront the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now been exacerbated by the impending 4th wave – fuelled by the Omicron variant. As I write this, we…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ANEL Bosman, who made history to become the first female chief executive at Nedbank’s corporate and investment bank, believes the climate change crisis is a game changer not just for the group – but for humanity. Bosman, the mother of two adolescent boys, said solving the climate change crisis would be the defining battle- ground of our time. “It is a moral imperative that we no longer kick the can down the road and ensure that we hand over a sustainable world to the next generation. Nedbank wants to – and needs to – take one of the leadership roles in funding these solutions. Our ambition is that there is a future state where there isn’t a need to differentiate between policy and sustainable policy and banking…