Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-05-05 i Star

AYO Technology Solutions (AYO), yesterday, again called on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to urgently investigate what appeared to be deliberate manipulation of its share price, the listed company said in a statement. On Tuesday, AYO’s share price took a dramatic dip following a suspicious transaction, with an unidentified seller dispersing 100 shares at a value of 3 cents each – well below the market value. AYO said it strongly urged the regulator to investigate who was responsible for what the company considered to be deliberate sabotage, as it was not the first time this had happened. In January 2021, AYO had asked the JSE’s market regulator division to investigate an extraordinary rise of up to 400 percent in its share price. Before…

SANLAM and global financial services group Allianz SE have reached agreement to create a R33 billion “leading pan-African financial services” joint venture, the groups announced yesterday. Following months of negotiations – Sanlam issued a first cautionary note about the talks in December 2021 – the groups said yesterday that they would create a financial services group with an extensive footprint initially across 29 African countries. Andrew Bahlmann, the chief executive of Deal Leaders International, said the deal had the potential to be a good one for Sanlam shareholders, and while benefits may not materialise overnight, in the long term it could be a big profit generator for Sanlam. “In Africa, everything is about trust. This deal promises Sanlam accelerated ‘trust-building’ through Allianz’s greater scale and local expertise, enabling the…

EQUITES Property Fund grew distribution per share 5.2 percent to 162.99 cents after its property portfolio continued to benefit from the global boom in warehouse, logistics and distribution type facilities, chief executive Andrea Taverna-Turisan said yesterday. Net asset value per share increased 7.9 percent to R18.61 and delivered a 9.4 percent distribution yield, culminating in a total return of 17.3 percent for the year. Taverna-Turisan said in a telephone interview they had a “massive year ahead” in terms of development pipeline, and as indication of the health of the business, “we haven’t got any vacancies across our portfolio at all, not even a square metre”. The share price of South Africa’s only listed logistics-focused property stock was up 0.92 percent R20.89 yesterday, with the…

CHIEF Justice Raymond Zondo added his voice to the dramatic arrest of advocate Malesela Teffo last Thursday in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. According to him, the arrest was completely unacceptable and should not have happened. In a media statement, his office said that Justice Zondo had, meanwhile, seen footage of the arrest. “The Chief Justice wishes to make it clear that the arrest of anybody, let alone a legal practitioner, inside a courtroom, is completely unacceptable and should not have happened,” spokesperson for the judiciary Nathi Mncube said. According to Justice Zondo, it should be remembered that Teffo’s arrest was in the same courtroom in which he appeared, representing his clients. Teffo was defending four accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial and was dramatically arrested and cuffed in…

Ray J has confirmed that there is a second sex tape featuring him and Kim Kardashian but he claims she is the only person who has a copy of the X-rated footage. The 41-year-old singer-and-actor and his ex-girlfriend Kim, also 41, dated from 2003 to 2006, and in 2007, a year after their split, a sex tape was unveiled by Vivid Entertainment. Kim took legal action against the company and settled for $5 million and the footage was released to purchase as the adult film Kim Kardashian, Superstar, and it is still available. In the new Hulu reality TV series, Kim has been seen discussing the possibility of there being more unseen footage in Ray’s possession. Viewers also saw Kim thanking estranged husband Kanye West for obtaining a laptop from…

MEMBERS of a family from Eersterus in Hammanskraal, who lost their belongings in a house fire on April 29, are asking the public for assistance to rebuild their home and lives. Lebogang Kubayi, 20, said her sister was sleeping when a fire broke out at around 9am that day. “She was taking a nap after having done the house chores for the day and the children were at school. “The neighbours were the ones who noticed that the house was on fire. They saw smoke coming out of the roof in the garage.” Kubayi said they blew a whistle to get people to help to put the fire out. “The smoke was coming out of the garage, and when they were trying to help put out the fire, someone asked…

South African 4x4 enthusiasts will soon be able to get their hands on the Ineos Grenadier, a new five-seat station wagon that is regarded by many as a modern equivalent of the original Land Rover Defender. Ineos has announced South African pricing and specifications ahead of the order books opening on May 18, along with an online configurator and customer contact centre. The Ineos Grenadier will initially be available in a range of six models, priced from R1 416 985 for the standard model, while the higher-spec Trailmaster and Fieldmaster editions are both priced from R1 528 940. Buyers can choose between BMW-sourced 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol and diesel engines, which cost the same amount. The petrol engine produces 210kW and 450Nm, while the twin-turbo diesel is good for 183kW…

Despite facing numerous headwinds, including the disruptions caused by the recent flooding in KZN, South Africa’s new vehicle market continued on its gradual path of recovery in April. In spite of the associated supply chain disruptions and the fact that April was a shorter month due to several public holidays, the industry still managed a total of 37 107 units. This represents an increase of 4.3% versus April 2021. The passenger car market led the way with 26 653 unit sales and 12.9% year-on-year growth, while the light commercial vehicle and bakkie sector declined by 11.9% to 9 558 units. The medium and heavy commercial vehicle segments also showed declines of 9.4% and 4.6% respectively. Total vehicle export sales increased by 16.0% to 30 788 units in April. On the…

Kaizer Chiefs marketing and commercial director Jessica Motaung says her appointment to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) “is a win-win situation” for the club and the mother body of African football. Yesterday, Chiefs announced that Motaung had been appointed by CAF to be part of the organising committee for women’s football for the next two years. “As we know, women’s football is growing internationally. We’ve seen record numbers in events,” Motaung said during the announcement at the club’s headquarters. “We’ve seen the commitments by Fifa and CAF to make sure that they’ve set up strategy communities that are not just looking at the development of the game, but also the commercialisation of the game. And that’s very important. “I look forward to leveraging the resources around us, but most…

Al Ahly president Mahmoud Al-Khatib held an “emergency meeting” on Sunday following yet another disappointing result in the Egyptian Premier League as the team drew 1-1 drew with 13th-placed Ceramica Cleopatra. Pitso Mosimane’s men are in the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League, but their domestic performances and results have raised alarm in the Red Devils hierarchy. Club president Al-Khatib led an intervention following the club being overtaken by rivals Zamalek on the table, even though Ahly still have three games on hand. “Al-Khatib discussed with the committee’s members, Mohsen Saleh and Zakaria Nassef, with board member Hossam Ghaly and club director of football Sayed Abdelhafiz, the recent decline in the team’s results in the Egyptian League,” the club statement read. “Al Ahly’s president told the players that the board…

THE AUDITOR-GENERAL (AG) has recommended the strengthening of controls at SAA in a bid to ensure credible financial statements after flagging more than R22 billion in irregular expenditure for the financial year ended March 31, 2018. The office of the AG said yesterday that SAA’s accounting authority and management should take note of the weaknesses highlighted in the 2017/18 audit report, especially in dealing with instability, vacancies, compliance with procurement legislation and basic financial management disciplines. Briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), AG deputy business executive Fhumulani Rabonda said the audit outcome of SAA had remained stagnant with a qualified audit opinion with findings of predetermined objectives and compliance with legislation. Rabonda said that SAA’s subsidiary, Mango Airline, regressed to a disclaimer due to lack of evidence…

ROMANIA-focused retail property company MAS Real Estate said yesterday that it had inked a deal to buy 100 percent of its development joint venture PKM Development for €319.7 million (R5.358 billion) as it grows its footprint in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). MAS would purchase PKM’s share capital and shareholder loans of six subsidiaries, which own six commercial retail centres in Romania through two subsidiaries, MAS CEE Management Holdings SRL and MAS Real Estate Finance SRL. PKM Development is the development joint venture (DJV) established in March 2016 by Prime Kapital, PKM Development, MAS and MAS CEE Developments Limited. MAS said yesterday that via the deal it had certain goals to achieve by the end of the 2026 financial year, such as an annual like-for-like net rental…

DRDGOLD, which mines gold dumps around Johannesburg, said yesterday that while its core profit decreased in the quarter ended March 31, 2022, due to rising costs, it was still set to declare a final dividend in August. DRDGold, which is majority owned by Sibanye-Stillwater, said in an operating update that its adjusted core profit fell 3 percent to R367.3 million in the three months to end-March, from the previous quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) decreased by 3 percent from the previous quarter to R367.3m, primarily due to a 6 percent decrease in gold sold, which was in part offset by a 3 percent increase in the average rand gold price received to R914 864/kg, it said. Cash and cash…

Johnny Depp is “pleased” that the judge has denied Amber Heard’s request to dismiss the defamation case. The 58-year-old actor is embroiled in a multimillion-dollar court case with his ex-wife, in which she is counter-suing the Hollywood star after he sued her for claiming in a newspaper article that she had been the victim of domestic violence. A spokesperson for the Pirates of the Caribbean star told Us Weekly: “We are pleased at Chief Judge Azcarate’s ruling to continue with the trial after Mr Rottenborn failed to convince the court that there was reason to dismiss the case. “We stand confident in the future of the case and for the truth to be continued to be shared.” Depp’s representative expressed satisfaction at the way the trial has been going after…

Premier describes the establishment of committee as a decisive step to prevent fatalities AS THE initiation season gets under way around the country, the Mpumalanga provincial government has raised concern about the already rising number of deaths. The province’s premier, Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, said the provincial government had been informed about eight recorded fatalities that occurred from initiation schools across the province this week. Despite a partnership between the government and traditional leaders, there were concerns that the rise in illegal initiation schools could contribute to the deaths of young initiates who would be abducted and forced into these schools. Some of them would possibly die of dehydration, and others would get infections during the initiation process. The premier, who addressed the provincial House of Traditional Leaders in the legislature…

“We have committed to the family to find these killers, and we have committed to Bheki Cele’s words that he must find them before we find them. If we find them before him, we will not give you any guarantee as to what is going to happen.” These were the words of EFF leader Julius Malema at the Gardee homestead yesterday, where preparations were under way for the funeral of Hillary Gardee, slain daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee. The body of the university student was found abandoned in Mpumalanga on Tuesday. “We have deployed all manner of resources on the ground to look for these criminals. The report we have is that we can rest assured that it is not a mission that comes from outside. It is…

LISTENING to the radio talk shows on Workers’ Day, just about all the callers, together with the show’s host, expressed their oh-so-narrow opinions on the labour strike at the Sibanye-Stillwater mining group, which is the world’s leading producer of platinum, second largest primary producer of palladium and third largest producer of gold. South Africa’s mining industry is a major contributor to the economy and, more importantly, a major employer of labour in the country. The theme of the callers, led by the presenters, was the issue of the strikers’ demands for a higher wage increase, which falls short of their demands. A fair wage together with increases for workers is certainly justified, but the conversation over the radio waves was narrow, without consideration of all factors around the strike. The…

THE water relief campaign by Gift of the Givers (GOTG) stationed at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) received a massive response from South Africans wanting to assist the victims in the flood-stricken communities of KwaZulu-Natal. Over the past eight days, GOTG project manager Ali Sablay said, their water collection drive hit the one million litre mark, with at least one truck leaving for distribution every day. Sablay said the impact of these donations was huge as one five-litre bottle of water could literally save a family, not to mention the many people on chronic medication that could not take their medication as certain parts of KZN’s water supply were contaminated. “The distribution is being taken care of by our teams on the ground in KZN which identify various…

The long-awaited manual version of the BMW-based Toyota GR Supra has finally been revealed, as part of a revised line-up that includes numerous subtle tweaks. The good news, for those few who like to change gears themselves, is that the manual version has been confirmed for South African introduction later in 2022, as Double Apex previously reported. The newly available manual gearbox is available with the familiar turbocharged six-cylinder engine, which produces 285kW. The new manual transmission comes with an iMT system that matches the engine speed to the driver’s clutch and shift operations, and it automatically blips the throttle when shifting. The updated Toyota Supra range also benefits from improved steering and suspension. Shock absorber damping characteristics have been modified for improved roll balance and ride comfort, while…

ESKOM in collaboration with other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state agencies is bearing down on crime syndicates, also called the cable theft Mafia, that have stolen more than R7 billion worth of copper cables a year as outages and load shedding leave networks vulnerable to attacks. At a briefing yesterday, Eskom acting group head of security advocate Karen Pillay said a multi-disciplinary effort involving Telkom, Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) as well as the South African Revenue Service had set its sights on the organised elements of the scourge, including tracing the scrap export market transactions. Pillay said: “This is a national crises that has a big impact on the economy. Through the joint efforts, we have integrated strategies to address the phenomenon and are…

RISING inflation and a 5 percent increase in excise taxes have hammered the tobacco cigarette business of BAT Zimbabwe, which is now antici- pating an increase in production costs as it weighs the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With consumer spending power in Zimbabwe declining as a result of cost pressures emanating from elevated inflation, BAT Zimbabwe recorded flat tobacco cigarette sales for the quarter period to the end of March. Retailers have recorded a wave of price increases in the past week as the parallel market exchange rate expanded. “The company’s volumes from sale of cigarettes were relatively flat as compared to the same period last year on the backdrop of shrinkage of consumer disposable income,” BAT Zimbabwe chairperson Lovemore Manatsa said yesterday. Tobacco is a major…

FORMER finance minister Tito Mboweni has warned that South Africa’s economic growth will remain stagnant if the government does not change its policies to focus more on investment instead of social welfare. This opinion against the expansion of a social welfare net, among some of his eccentric views, is probably the main reason why Mboweni has clashed with the powerful trade union movements and socialists within the governing party alliance. Speaking at the PSG Konsult annual conference yesterday, Mboweni cautioned against populist policies, especially those implemented to appease voters after the ANC lost electoral support. Mboweni said that the expanding social expenditure bill needed to be reined in, particularly since the social sector already accounted for about 60 percent of the consolidated budget. “A challenge for fiscal policy is that…

IT HAS been a good few weeks on the van front in our motoring garage. First we had the Hyundai Staria Multi Cab, then the Kia Carnival and most recently Opel’s new Zafira Life Edition. The Life edition is Opel’s entry level van while the Life Elegance the higher specced option. Vans are a breath of fresh air in a sea of SUVs and it would be fantastic to see South Africans embrace them as an alternative that has more space and are far more practical. Measuring 5.30m in length and almost 2m in height, the Zafira is a proper bus and once you climb inside it’s a roomy interior that fits eight seats. The second and third row of seats are movable and detachable increasing the load area significantly.…

The hills around Knysna will be alive with the sound of engines and screeching tyres this weekend as the prestigious Simola Hillclimb gets under way. Suzuki, who are now a Tier One sponsor, have also come to the party with two Swift Sport models, an automatic version and a manual. They will be piloted by journalist Reuben van Niekerk and precision driver and instructor, Wesley Greybe. “Last year, we entered the Simola Hillclimb for the first time and supported the fleet of Suzuki-powered race cars in the Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill shootout. This year, we up our support as a Tier One sponsor and enter our own Swift Sport to show that you can have double the fun for half the price in the class for…

Kaizer Chiefs’ interim coach Arthur Zwane is hoping his team’s 1-0 win over Marumo Gallants on Tuesday night can give them the confidence boost they need to take their game to the next level. The result ended a four-match losing streak in the Premiership for Amakhosi, following defeats to Cape Town City (2-1), Golden Arrows (2-1), Stellenbosch FC (1-0) and SuperSport United (1-0). They also drew 0-0 with TS Galaxy on April 5, while their last league victory before Tuesday was a 3-1 triumph over Chippa United on April 2. Overall, Chiefs’ play in the game against Gallants was far from impressive and laden with flaws. Had it not been for a second-half moment of brilliance from Keagan Dolly, the game would have ended 0-0, which would have been a…

Chippa United survived numerous attacks from Cape Town City at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium last night during a 0-0 Premiership stalemate in Gqeberha. As the first bit of action from the match, Azalea Matrose had a go at goalkeeper Hugo Marques, following a swift counter-attack. However, the Chilli Boys were unable to break the deadlock. Several minutes later and it was the visitors’ chance to attack as Craig Martin fed Taahir Goedeman the ball, before his shot was saved by Chippa United goalkeeper Lloyd Kazapua. Kazapua was again summoned not long thereafter and made a decent save at his near post to keep Tashreeq Morris at bay. The first 30 minutes of the game appeared to have been a tale of the two goalkeepers, with Marques making a fine stop…

SuperSport United may have had to settle for a point against Stellenbosch FC on Tuesday evening in Pretoria, but a youthful Matsatsantsa side appear to have gotten over losing former head coach Kaitano Tembo and banded together into a stronger and more resilient unit. SuperSport, who were without the services of captain and first-choice goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, had to survive a late surge of pressure from Stellenbosch and held on for a well-deserved point. Their recent goalless stalemate against Stellies means interim coach Andre Arendse has managed three consecutive clean sheets – a trait they are going to need if they are to solidify a top-eight spot. Arendse said after the match that on taking up his new role, they had identified that their major weakness was at the back…

Fifty-seven games into a gruelling season, Liverpool could have crumbled when their 2-0 semi-final first-leg lead was wiped out before half-time by an inspired Villarreal playing to reach their first Champions League final. Instead, the Reds will be in European club football’s showpiece occasion for the third time in five seasons after they hit back to win Tuesday night’s game 3-2 and progress from the semi-final 5-2 on aggregate. “Before the game, I told the boys that I would like to read the headlines that ‘the mentality monsters were in town’,” said beaming Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Six matches now separate Klopp’s men from something never before achieved in English football – winning all four major trophies on offer in the same season. The League Cup is already in the…