Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-11-18 i Star

JSE- AND LONDON-listed bank and financial services group Investec has announced a R7 billion share buyback to address its surplus capital position in South Africa. Investec directors said at the release of results for the six months to September 30 that they were making progress on their capital optimisation strategy, and the board had approved a proposed share repurchase programme of up to R7bn to the executives over the next 18 months, subject to market conditions. This is the second recent share buyback. On October 3, 2022, the group announced a R1.2bn share buyback, where about 6.9 million shares in Investec plc were purchased. Shares acquired by Investec Limited under the Investec Purchase and Buyback Programme would be additional to the 10 million Investec Limited shares that…

THE VALUE of South African household wealth decreased by R253 billion in the third quarter, dented mainly by rate hikes, according to the Momentum/Unisa South African Household Wealth Index for the third quarter of 2022, which was released yesterday. The decline in the value of household wealth was caused by a decrease in the value of household assets, specifically financial assets. Johann van Tonder, an economist at Momentum, said yesterday: “Several factors contributed to the declining value of household assets over the past six months. The most prominent of these factors are fast and large increases in interest rates all over the world in an attempt to combat high CPI (consumer price inflation) rates, and an expectation of a world economic recession.” He said households were essentially an estimated…

The contentious second docket in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial once again ruffled feathers and brought about tensions between the defence and Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela in the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, yesterday. The case resumed late following a meeting between defence counsels, Judge Maumela and representatives of the media. After the meeting, the media were allowed back into the courtroom after being kicked out on Wednesday. All media houses were asked to leave the courtroom after visuals showing state witness Tumelo Madlala were picked up by the state. The judge told the media that the taking of pictures during proceedings would no longer be allowed. The matter continued with the cross-examination of Madlala, Meyiwa’s boyhood friend, by the defence counsel for the fifth accused, advocate Zandile Mshololo. Mshololo focused…

THE PUBLIC Safety Department has launched a road safety campaign for the festive season, with an emphasis on zero tolerance for negligent and drunk driving. The launch took place on the N1 South, at the Buccleuch Interchange, this week. It formed part of a broader effort to reduce road fatalities and promote responsible driving during the holiday season. Public Safety MMC David Tembe warned motorists travelling in and through Johannesburg to obey the law. “Do not get into a festive mood this holiday season beyond what the city’s by-laws permit,” Tembe said. He was accompanied by the department’s head of public safety, Tebogo Modiba, the acting chief of police of the Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), Maxwell Khanyile, the chief of Emergency Management Services (EMS), Tshepo Makola, and other high-ranking…

Award-winning a cappella group The Soil get candid about their lives on the first episode of favourite festive season special, The Festive Get-Together in The Life Artois, which premiered last night on Mzansi Magic. Hosted by media personality Unathi Nkayi and presented by Stella Artois, each episode puts the spotlight on celebrity pairs who recount their journeys to success over a special meal, while sharing the challenges of getting together with those who matter most. Other guests over the four-episode season of The Festive Get-Together include comedy sisters Lesego “Coconut Kelz” Tlhabi and Wendy Gumede, father-son duo Lucas Radebe and Primo Baloyi, and former Scandal actors turned YouTube stars, Hungani and Stephanie Ndlovu. With their music rooted in traditional sounds, The Soil created a special niche in the South…

Going into every tournament, there is always immense pressure on England to perform and reach, at least, the knockout stages of the World Cup. This is something that works against them. Since taking charge of England in 2016, Gareth Southgate has naturally and rightfully attracted a lot of praise. He brought about unity to the side, something which they lacked for several years, including in the David Beckham-Frank Lampard-Steven Gerrard eras. Southgate is a good mentor. Had it not been for his unifying influence, the Three Lions would not have reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, before following that up with the runners-up spot at the 2020 European Championships. Being a good mentor does not necessarily mean that one is a good tactician and Southgate’s strategies have also…

Four-time winners Germany arrived at the World Cup in Qatar yesterday after Argentina superstar Lionel Messi touched down to launch his final bid to win football’s biggest prize. After a 1-0 win in a low-key warm-up game against Oman on Wednesday, the Germans, led by captain and goalkeeper Manuel Meuer, flew into Doha. Germany are aiming to erase the nightmare of the 2018 tournament in Russia when they crashed out of the World Cup in the group stage after winning it four years earlier. Team official Oliver Bierhoff explained why they had opted for the seclusion of a hotel in Al-Ruwais, an hour and half from the capital. “We want to develop a team spirit there that will carry us through the tournament - and for as long as possible,”…

This as SA seeks to secure more electricity and gas supplies from the country ESKOM is chasing close to a R1 billion in overdue payment from its Mozambique counterpart Electricidade De Moçambique (EDM), including disputed amounts from 2019, the power utility told Business Report yesterday. This as South Africa seeks to secure more electricity and gas supplies from the country. Eskom with a debt burden of more than R400bn, which the National Treasury has pledged to help with, is scraping the bottom of the barrel for its outstanding payments, including R52bn it is owed by local municipalities. This as it has to fork out billions for diesel and infrastructure maintenance. The outstanding payments from Mozambique came up at Eskom’s State of the System briefing this week where Eskom…

LIFE HEALTHCARE Group’s annual headline earnings slipped 4.5% to 106.1 cents per share even though it saw a strong recovery in surgical and medical activities in southern Africa post the pandemic that resulted in a 9.1% increase in paid patient days. Chief execytive Peter Wharton- Hood said yesterday that group revenue climbed 4.9% to R28.2 billion in the year to September 30, which consisted of a 5% increase in southern African revenue to R20bn, a 2.8% increase in international revenue to R7.7bn and R555 million revenue contribution from growth initiatives. However, a number of one-off items impacted earnings, including a co-investment share scheme for senior management, that resulted in a R136m increase in the share scheme charge. The ending in September 2021 of contracts to assist the…

MEMBERS of Gayton McKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance (PA) have been linked with gangsterism and vigilantism that has been wreaking havoc in Eldorado Park in Johannesburg from the time the party won wards last year. This was revealed by a number of sources who reside in the crime-riddled township. The sources include aggrieved couple Lloyd Prim, 63, and his wife, Bridgitte, 59, who are members of the party. The couple has alleged that party leaders have victimised their imprisoned son Jermaine for attempting to blow the whistle on gangsters who are party members. Bridgitte Prim said Jermaine had, while in prison, been a PA activist, but the fallout between him and McKenzie started when her son expressed concern about some members of the PA allegedly involving children in crimes such as murder…

A resident of Malvern, Johannesburg, John Wilkinson, has thanked Joburg Water for “prompt” action after nearby Malvern High School was flooded by a burst sewage pipe recently. Malvern is in Ward 65, Region F, east of Johannesburg. “I noted the remedial action yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) at about 4.30pm, but could not ascertain who attended the matter. “The school security personnel assured me this morning (Wednesday) that it was, indeed, Joburg Water,” Wilkinson said yesterday. He said there seemed to have been building rubble dumped inside the manhole, and the Joburg Water workers had to remove it. “Full confidence in the requisite Batho Pele/service delivery being rendered by Joburg Water is confirmed,” he said. He said the City of Joburg’s entity had upheld its slogan “water is life, sanitation is dignity”.…

THE largest annual celebration of cycling in South Africa returns to the City of Gold on Sunday. Thousands of cyclists will saddle up at the FNB Stadium to compete in the Virgin Active 947 Ride Joburg, a race about people, the beautiful attractions in Johannesburg and having fun. In this year’s race instructions brochure, director Fritz Pienaar says it is the first edition of the race after all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted and the vibe has returned. “We encourage you to stay for a while after your race to celebrate your achievement. “We will have some great live performers to entertain you, plenty to eat and drink, and a Castle Lite beer tent,” Pienaar says. The city is bringing the flair, and cyclists can bring the fun as they…

Renowned music artists DJ Zinhle and Mvzzle have returned to rock the summer with a new spiritual single, Ngisimamise, featuring rising artist Sindi Nkosazana. DJ Zinhle and Mvzzle met on the set of the popular SABC DJ talent show 1s and 2s, then went on to create together the popular hit single Umlilo. Since Umlilo, the duo have always wanted to work together on another track, and the opportunity presented itself with Ngisimamise. Asked about the release of their new single, DJ Zinhle said working with Mvzzle gave her confidence. “I have a lot of ideas in my head, and working with Mvzzle has given me so much confidence because he believes in my ideas and is able to translate them into music. We work very well together; he has…

THE painful revelations at the Imam Haron inquest are a solemn and painful reminder of the brutal atrocities of the previous rulers. The testimony of apartheid era police officers is a litany of lies that history has torn to shreds. We as a nation must remember him for his dedication to free South Africa of oppression and express our admiration and the deepest respect for his courage and steadfastness to give his life for the cause of righteousness, justice and equity. His death will serve to remind generations of our countrymen of a generous and fearless personality, and of a life of nobility and patriotism, service and sacrifice. Those who hounded and killed him have changed the course of South Africa. What they will probably get is his…

The loud hailing of melodramatic theatrics around a potential political crisis for South Africa and the ANC if Cyril Ramaphosa loses his presidential crown in December is a new verse in the ballad of super-sizing President Cyril Ramaphosa. It is not a song one will ever hear in the potholed streets of South Africa, where hope lies stranded and abandoned like a forlorn waif. Rather, it is a foghorn of elite and invested interests who, from the start, invested in presenting a larger-than-life portraiture of Ramaphosa, exaggerating his political stature, leadership acumen and business know-how. Equally out of tune is the monotonous, mono-tonal beat among Ramaphosa’s opponents that the solution to the woes of both party and nation is the removal of the incumbent president, Ramaphosa. If only it were…

The World Cup will take centre stage from as teams from around the globe touch down in Qatar with the hopes and dreams of their respective nations. The five nations tasked with unifying Africa under one purpose at the global showpiece are Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia and Ghana. For the first time on the World Cup stage, all the African sides will be led by coaches from their respective countries. Here, Smiso Msomi discusses the five coaches leading the African charge in Qatar. Rigobert Song: Cameroon The former Indomitable Lion made his name in the junior ranks of the national team before amassing 137 senior caps that spanned over four World Cups. Rigobert Song was 17 when he played in his first World Cup in…

AS THE CURTAIN came down on the COP27 yesterday, environmental activists have called for parties to intensify their efforts to deliver breakthrough agreements on key issues that are far from agreement and have seen little progress so far this week. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) yesterday said that the summit was failing to deliver on the “implementation” theme prioritised by the Egyptian presidency. The WWF urged the negotiators to agree to a finance facility to deal with the pivotal issue of loss and damage. It said that after a year of devastating climate-related weather impacts around the world, including devastating flooding in Pakistan and droughts in Eastern Africa, it was vital a facility was established with concrete money on the table. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, the WWF global climate and…

HARMONY Gold during the quarter period to the end of September suffered lower output and took a production knock amid Eskom load shedding. Harmony said yesterday the ongoing electricity supply crisis, which is forcing Eskom to institute load shedding, negatively impacted “group production, with approximately 3 215 ounces in production lost” from its South African operations. Higher winter electricity tariffs by Eskom’s winter electricity tariff also had a severe financial impact on the company as it contributed to a 5% growth in its all-in sustaining costs that rose to R907 864 per kilogram. Overall bullion production for Harmony dipped 4% for the quarter period under review to 366 390 ounces compared to the same period in the prior year. The dip in production has been…

The Indaba Gin School is an educational and exciting two-hour experiential journey through the intriguing world of gin. Our gin master will take you back in time exploring the origin of gin hundreds of years ago, all the way to modern times and the great popularity gin enjoys today. You will learn new things and have a laugh with friends about facts you can barely believe to be true. As in life, making your own gin is a process with many important steps. The experience gives everyone involved the opportunity to express themselves and their unique personalities in a special and creative way. After carefully selecting your unique ingredients and botanicals, they all go into a specially crafted copper still, and the distillation process gets under way. Watching the burning…

Summertime is finally here, and as we know, South Africa offers one of the best, if not the best summers. The sun is out, the fun is out and everyone is itching to make the best of the longer days. And after two years of dry summers spent circling the house, the entertainment sector is back in full swing. Savanna Cider’s 500ml cans are welcome everywhere this summer with #NcaTimesCalling A bottle of Savivi is iconic but being 100% pure glass, it’s not always welcome when nca times are calling. That is why with the Savanna 500ml can, you can now #TakeNcaAnywhere and enjoy. We are giving away a 12-pack of 500ml to 10 lucky readers. To enter, email “#NcaTimesCalling”, followed by your name, surname and cell number to…

Damian Willemse showed real guts to step up and take a shot at goal from a penalty against France last week. The Springboks were leading by just a point at 23-22, and they had lost first-choice goal-kicker on the day, Cheslin Kolbe, to concussion following the dangerous challenge on him by French captain Antoine Dupont early in the second half. Then back-up kicker Faf de Klerk – who had slotted a superb touchline conversion and a crucial penalty – was replaced by Cobus Reinach around the hour mark. That left Willemse as the next-in-line, and the situation was tough. He had missed a penalty in the loss to Ireland a week earlier, and had also made a couple of errors with other kicks from hand in Dublin. There were calls…

Denmark might not be among the World Cup favourites but young playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard feels few of the other 31 countries competing in Qatar are keen to take on his team. Denmark were among the first teams to qualify for the tournament, decisively winning their group, and come into the event on the back of an impressive showing at the European Championship 18 months ago, where they reached the semi-finals. “I think a lot of people hold us in high regard, given the way we played in the Euros and in the qualifiers,” he said yesterday. Damsgaard (22) burst on the scene at the Euros, as he came into the side for the stricken Christian Eriksen, and is now a key part of their attack. “I don’t think people are…