Star 2022-08-23

TRANSFORMATION of South Africa’s life offices and asset managers has made steady progress on targets set by the Amended Financial Sector Code (FSC) by 2020, but management control, employment equity and skills development targets have not yet been met. This was according to an inaugural study on the transformation of South Africa’s life offices and assets management commissioned by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa). The ownership targets of sectors were exceeded marginally in 2020, according to the three-year study released yesterday. “While it is pleasing to see that we are well on our way, we must also acknowledge that we are not quite there yet,” said outgoing Asisa chief executive Leon Campher. On management control, including board participation, executive directors and executive management, life offices, and…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the business community to create jobs and hire young people who are part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI). This comes as the PYEI in the Basic Education sector is coming to an end this month, which could raise the rate of unemployment among the youth exceptionally high as South Africa struggles to create jobs. The second cohort of 245 000 young people will finish their 10-month placement in schools, joining the ranks of approximately 600 000 youths who have participated in the initiative since its launch in 2020. Ramaphosa yesterday called on all government partners, especially business, to harness the energies, talent, skills and experience of these young people to grow the economy. “The quality work experience and training provided by…

AFRIMAT’s planned R650 million acquisition of the Gravenhage manganese mine has fallen foul of a water-use licence and a dispute has been declared with the sellers. The share price fell 3.64 percent to R50.30 on the JSE yesterday afternoon. In an update of the acquisitions yesterday, Afrimat said the conditions for the Gravenhage acquisition had not been fulfilled, in that a water-use licence issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation deviated materially from the water-use licence application submitted by the sellers to the department. The water-use licence thus did not constitute the grant of the water-use licence application as contemplated in the acquisition agreement. Gravenhage is a long-life, near- development manganese resource in the northern part of the Kalahari manganese field some 120km from Afrimat’s Demaneng iron…

WORKFORCE Holdings, a provider of employment, training and wellness services, said yesterday that despite improved interim results, it was withholding its dividend as it focuses on growth and acquisitions. In its interim financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2022, its headline earnings per share had improved to 14.6 cents per share, compared to the comparative period last year at 11.2c per share. Earning per share increased by 31 percent to 14.7c per share. Revenue increased by 21 percent to R1.9 billion, mainly due to stabilisation in the market after the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as strategies that had been put in place by the group to support both brand and product diversification. In an interview, Workforce Holdings financial…

CONSUMERS will be facing higher sugar prices amid rocketing food prices. The SA Sugar Association (Sasa) has issued a notice to increase the notional price of refined and brown sugar for the purposes of determining the price of sugar cane. The price increase is set to come into effect from August 31. “This price adjustment is necessitated by the increase in our principal cost driver, being the cost of sugar cane and increased overheads, transport, distribution, energy and other variable costs,“ it said in a notice sent to industry players last month. “Quality Sugars will increase sugar prices effective from August 31 by an average of 4.5 percent, however, this price increase might vary by product and/or pack size.” Sasa sets a national notion price, based on variables ranging…

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is a thrilling re-enactment of a true-crime story that catapulted a married couple into the global media spotlight. Streaming on BritBox, the four-part limited-series will leave viewers in awe of the daring moves made by a wife and mother of two to safeguard her husband. BAFTA award-wining actress, Monica Dolan is cast as Anne Darwin, the lead and narrator of the show which tells the compelling story of how she became complicit in her narcissistic husband John’s (Eddie Marsan) ploy to fake his death to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy. “It really is a fascinating story. It’s an astonishingly interesting relationship between John and Anne. It’s also a series of events that is incredibly bizarre, and yet if you follow what…