Innholdsfortegnelse for 2024-05-22 i Star

FIBRE network operator Frogfoot has argued that Vodacom, Vumatel, and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) should not be allowed to merge to form the largest fibre infrastructure company in South Africa, Maziv, as this would limit competition. This was argued yesterday on the second day of the ongoing Competition Tribunal’s hearing into the proposed merger, to which the Competition Commission is opposed as it believes it would be anti-competitive. Frogfoot founder and director Abraham van der Merwe said that the deal would limit downstream players’ ability to connect to different fibre providers’ networks. He said this would limit competition, as Vodacom’s network would no longer be available as a “counterweight” to DFA. Concerns have been raised that Vodacom will have main control over the merged company, even though it will only…

THE ECONOMIC Intervention Forum of South Africa (Eifsa) has described as a “sad day” the conclusion of the sale of South Africa’s largest fuel station chain, Engen, to Dutch energy giant Vitol Emerald Bidco’s subsidiary, Vico Energy. Engen and Vivo Energy announced the completion of the transaction to combine their respective businesses, with Malaysian State energy company Petronas selling its 74% shareholding in Engen to Vivo Energy, creating a pan-African energy champion. In a statement released yesterday, the partners said the combined Vivo Energy Group now had more than 3 900 service stations, and more than two billion litres of storage capacity across 28 African markets. Mthunzi Luthuli, chairperson of Eifsa said they noted the announcement of the Engen-Vivo Energy transaction with sadness. Eifsa had last year lodged a…

THE JOHANNESBURG Commercial Court has ruled that business rescue proceedings at Kalagadi Manganese be dealt with expeditiously after it dismissed an appeal by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) against its application to have Kalagadi placed under business rescue. The main shareholders in Kalagadi are Kalahari Resources and Kgalagadi Alloys, but the IDC is the most significant lender to Kalagadi and also holds a minority stake in the company. Kalagadi owed the IDC an estimated R3 billion, while a further R2.9bn was owed by the miner to the African Development Bank (AfDB). The miner was also appealing against the South Gauteng High Court’s, Johannesburg, ruling which dismissed its application to compel lenders in the company – that also included Absa Bank – to accept a restructuring arrangement, which it argued…

It has BEEN 30 years since that momentous dawn of democracy. South Africa today stands tall as a respectable global citizen with considerable influence on issues ranging from human rights to climate change and reforms of multilateral institutions, all of which inspire a great deal of pride and resilience among South Africans. The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development, which South Africa hosted in 2002, reaffirmed sustainable development as a central element of the global action against poverty and the protection of the environment. It also identified important linkages between poverty, the environment and the use of natural resources. The adoption of the National Development Plan in 2012 provided a clear development trajectory and enabled us to renew our vision of the South Africa we all want by 2030. It…

Coronation Fund Managers has paid a 185 cents a share dividend for the six months to March 31, which should please shareholders considering they did not get a dividend at the end of the half-year stage last year. There was scope to pay a dividend as its fund management earnings per share increased massively to 185.8c per share from a loss of 13c per share in the prior corresponding period. Fund management earnings are used to measure operating financial performance – it excludes the net mark-to-market impact of fair value gains and losses, and related foreign exchange, on investment securities held. The share price appreciated 3.44% to R34.24 on the JSE yesterday afternoon, well up from R29.20 a year ago, indicating that the interim results had been well received by…

READY, able and willing to be appointed as South Africa’s first female Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya shared her vision for an independent, accountable and responsive judiciary. “Being appointed to the Constitutional Court is the highest honour, especially in a leadership position,” Justice Maya said yesterday during her interview as sole candidate for the highest judicial position in the country before the Judicial Service Commission. While Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is retiring in August, President Cyril Ramaphosa has nominated Justice Maya as his successor. She, however, still had to go through the interview process. Justice Maya was interviewed in 2022 for this top position and found suitable for this appointment by the JSC, but Ramaphosa at the time decided to appoint Justice Zondo. But she is no stranger…

PRISCILLA Chana is already seeing the benefits of the Physical Active Ageing Support Programme, launched at Atteridgeville Community Hall as part of Tshwane District Health Services’ efforts to promote healthy living among the elderly. She said it had already yielded positive results for her and the other members who joined the group when it began. Chaba said she was a very forgetful person and would put down a cup of coffee and later struggle to remember where it was. “Nowadays I rarely forget. I am now able to walk long distances, my blood pressure is also well under control. Since joining this programme, I am active and fit,” she added. The programme is aimed at people older than 60 and focuses on improving their health, promoting active living and preventing…

South African soloist and music sensation Tyla has choreographed a video to showcase township culture in Soweto. Tyla is renowned for her songs that offer an innovative take on pop and R&B. The local artist continues to establish herself as one of the talented and admirable young artists, as noted by her Grammy Award, a controversial Met Gala appearance, BET nominations, and the recently released music video for her song Jump. Following the release of her video featuring American celebrity Gunna and Jamaican DJ Skillibeng, Tyla Seethal, who earned international recognition, has been complimented for maintaining her consistency and representing township culture. This video, currently sitting on more than a million views on YouTube just a few hours after its release, has seen most of the Water hitmaker’s fans speak…

Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled approval of China’s plan as a “genuine desire” to end the war in Ukraine, in an interview with China’s Xinhua state news agency published on Wednesday. Before the two-day visit to China to meet President Xi Jinping, Putin said China’s approach reflected that Beijing understood the conflict’s “root causes” and its “global geopolitical meaning”. Putin arrived in Beijing last Thursday to mark his first trip abroad since his March re-election and his second in just over six months to China. In March 2023, Xi met Putin at the Kremlin for talks about the war in Ukraine based on the 12-point political settlement framework. Following the discussions, Xi held his first telephonic meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As the first comprehensive proposals on how…

The time has come for the Springboks to “start diving deeper” in their plans, says coach Rassie Erasmus, with the second alignment camp of the year kicking off in Cape Town today. The first Test this year is exactly a month away, against Wales at Twickenham in London on June 22 – and that is a match which falls outside of the official international window. That means most of the overseas-based stars such as captain Siya Kolisi, flyhalf Handré Pollard, lock RG Snyman, props Trevor Nyakane and Thomas du Toit, No 8 Jasper Wiese and centre André Esterhuizen won’t be available for selection – although it remains to be seen if the Japanese contingent that includes flanks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kwagga Smith, wing Cheslin Kolbe and centres Damian de…

SOUTH African fund managers surveyed by the Bank of America (BofA) are expecting local equities to rally post next week's elections with a preference tilted towards domestic stocks, although political risks are rising. In its latest South Africa Fund Manager Survey, BofA said yesterday local fund managers had flagged uncertainty ahead of the election, but were optimistic that domestic stocks would rally post the election. “The focus has shifted from resources to domestics. A higher net 68% would overweight domestic stocks but still a 50/50 tussle on whether it's too early to buy interest rate sensitives,” reads the report. “Political risks rising, but 74% expect domestic stocks to rally post elections May 29.” South Africa holds a crucial election against the backdrop of high unemployment, plunging mining productivity and…

THE KINGDOM of eSwatini’s government, through Absa Bank, has issued a R4 billion bond programme on the JSE debt board, marking an opportunity to introduce the country to the global investment community. This new issuance is the latest to list under the “Protea Bonds” segment. Protea Bonds are unique in that they describe rand-denominated bond issues by foreign governments on the JSE. “The listing on the JSE … provides an opportunity for the Kingdom to introduce itself to the international investment community. This programme will help us diversify funding sources, contribute to regional economic integration initiatives, and raise the capital required for us to meet our infrastructure and developmental needs,” said eSwatini Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg in a statement. In the country’s national budget speech in February, Rijkenberg said…

DESPITE numerous interventions not enough small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were being created, deputy director-general: Sector Policy and Research at the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) Mosa Makhele said at the Absa Sacci National SMME Summit yesterday. She was standing in for Thulisile Manzini, the director-general of the DSBD. The situation currently was that 2.7 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could only create 8 million jobs, per SME that was 3.1 jobs, she said. “Obviously, there is something that we (South Africa) have done significantly wrong. Unemployment is at its highest, despite several interventions that we have put in place. “The interventions we have put in place have not yielded the results we want to see.” It needed both the private and public sector to develop…

GHANA will select by December a company to build its first nuclear power plant from contenders including France’s EDF, US-based NuScale Power and Regnum Technology Group, and China National Nuclear Corporation, an energy ministry official said. South Korea’s Kepco and its subsidiary Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Corporation as well as Russia's Rosatom were also competing for the contract expected to span the next decade, said Robert Sogbadji, deputy director for power in charge of nuclear and alternative energy. “The Cabinet will approve the final choice. It can be one vendor or two nations; it will depend on the financial model and the technical details,” Sogbadji told Reuters on Monday. Ghana started considering building a nuclear power plant in the 1960s but the process was derailed by a coup. It revived…

TRANSACTION Capital’s share price fell 6.18% yesterday, even though it reported to be in a net cash position by the end of the half year to March 31, following the unbundling of WeBuyCars and other restructuring. The share price closed at R2.58 yesterday on the JSE, well down from R33.87 only three years ago, prior to the company experiencing financial difficulties due to losses at its SA Taxi subsidiary. The successful unbundling, placement and separate listing of WeBuyCars on the main board of the JSE allowed Transaction Capital to return R5.2 billion to shareholders through the distribution of 256.3 million WeBuyCars shares. A further R1bn was raised for the group via the placement. This allowed Transaction Capital to pay down debt and move to a net cash position…

World-renowned opera singer, Andrea Bocelli, will make his way to South Africa in 2025 for three live performances. The multi-Grammy Award-winner will be touring as part of his 30th music anniversary celebrations. Bocelli is scheduled to perform on April 12-13 at the SunBet Arena, Pretoria, before heading to Cape Town’s DHL Stadium on April 16, where he will perform the largest outdoor classical concert ever to be staged in the Mother City. The concert, presented by Big Concerts Experience in association with KFM 94.5, CapeTalk, 702 and 947, will also feature special guest appearances by some of South Africa’s finest musical ensembles. In Pretoria, Bocelli will perform with a guest soprano, the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra. In Cape Town, he will be joined by the…

THE Unlikely Secret Agent couldn’t be better timed, especially with the build-up to the 2024 elections gaining momentum. This award-winning production is based on the true story of Eleanor Kasrils in the Alan Paton Award- winning book by Ronnie Kasrils. Set in Durban during apartheid in 1963, it peels back the layers of the Struggle with Eleanor, a single mother working at a bookstore, who becomes an ANC operative. When Ronnie Kasrils, her lover, is pursued by the authorities for being a terrorist, Eleanor finds herself in the eye of the unfolding storm. Arrested and interrogated by the Security Police, Eleanor’s loyalty to the cause comes to the fore as she protects her comrades while strategically planning her escape. Directed by Paul du Toit, this compelling play features the talented…

THE 40 low-cost houses built in Atteridge- ville Extension 19 with a budget of R5.1 million raised from the sale of a mayoral mansion in the City of Tshwane, would restore the human dignity of vulnerable people who include those living with disabilities. This was said yesterday by Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink during the official launch of the mayoral housing project in the township. The project was started after former Mayor Solly Msimanga of the DA spearheaded the sale of the mayoral house in the Muckleneuk suburb in 2017. Brink said the official launch was hosted to complete the promise made by Msimanga who had undertaken to erect low-cost houses for the needy with the proceeds of the sale of the mayoral mansion. Msimanga’s decision came under a lot of…

A transformative concept is reshaping the cleaning industry and uplifting lives. This is the story of tandem franchising, an innovative business model spearheaded by the visionary directors of Mila Services, Annemarie Mostert and Charlotte Khoza. Their mission is to restore dignity and create growth opportunities for those who have long been overlooked in the workforce. Mostert, a dynamic leader with a deep commitment to social impact, expressed their vision: “This franchising model is a testament to our belief in the dignity of people who are often ignored by society due to the essential but often unnoticed job of preparing working areas of many corporates. It is time for this change; we are bringing that change.” Khoza, her partner in this venture, emphasised the model’s transformative potential: “Mila means ‘to grow’…

Anele Mdoda, the award-winning radio broadcaster and presenter, had an unforgettable celebration at the weekend to mark her 40th birthday. Esteemed guests dressed elegantly in white for the “Vanity Affair” theme, and toasted the special day with Mdoda who delivered stellar performances from her favourite music catalogue. In a series of videos shared on her X account, she gave fans a peek into her star-studded evening. Radio host Sizwe Dhlomo, former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, and Sithelo Shozi were just some of VIP the guests who graced the dazzling affair. Sharing Vuma Dlozi as her favourite song, Mdoda was seen taking the stage with a vibrant performance, joined by dancers. “Vuma Dlozi Lami is my favourite song in the entire world. So I say imma perform it at my 40th.…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others died in a mysterious helicopter crash, north-west of Iran. History is replete with mysterious air crashes and assassinations that have changed the course of history. On September 18,1961, Dag Hammarskjöld was killed in a plane crash on a peace mission in Africa. Evidence exists that the crash was orchestrated by elements in the global intelligence community. Witness accounts of the crash involving an approaching smaller plane were dismissed. On October 19,1986, Mozambican President Samora Machel died when his plane crashed into a hillside near the border with South Africa. South Africa’s version was pilot error. Reports at the time indicated the plane had been led off course by a VOR (very high frequency omni-directional range) signal, a decoy beacon…

Prudence Sekgodiso “felt like crying” after setting a new 800m personal best, but she knows that she needs to peak at the Paris Olympics to have any thoughts of a medal. The 22-year-old middle-distance star marshalled the field superbly to clinch her first Diamond League victory in Marrakech, Morocco, on Sunday night in a superb time of 1:57.26, which was also the world lead for this year – eclipsing the mark of 1:57.56 set the day before in Los Angeles by Uganda’s Halima Nakaayi. It was the first time that Sekgodiso broke through the 1:57 barrier, with her previous best of 1:58.05 run in Pretoria in March. The success in Marrakech was a testament to her hard work in the early part of the season, where she won the SA…

MICROSOFT South Africa will come to the rescue of thousands of unemployed youth with a R1.32 billion investment for the development of black-owned SMMEs in both tech and non-tech sectors over the next 10 years in a bid to close the digital skills gap. The global tech giant yesterday said the investment makes provision for skills development of young black South Africans in emerging technologies, and includes a commitment to research and development to prepare South African industries for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The R1.3bn Microsoft deal is the largest by a single company under the Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) provisions of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (B-BBEE Act), and brings the total value of agreements concluded during this administration to more than R8.2bn. Microsoft SA…

THE WORLD Economic Forum (WEF) expected international tourist arrivals and the travel sector’s contribution to global economic growth to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, driven by the lifting of Covid-19-related travel restrictions and strong pent-up demand. This is according to the findings of the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024 (TTDI), a biennial report published by the WEF in collaboration with the University of Surrey. The report analysed the travel and tourism sectors of 119 countries across a range of factors and policies. The global tourism industry was expected to recover from the lows of the Covid-19 pandemic and surpass the levels seen before the crisis. This was largely being driven by a significant increase in demand worldwide, which had coincided with more available flights, better international openness, and…

MOST, IF NOT all, political parties contesting the national general elections on May 29, 2024, are finding themselves at the crossroad of energy crisis solutions. There is a lot of empty talk about how much new renewable energy projects has contributed to ending the surge of load shedding, but this is not true. Renewable energy technology is in its infancy. Let’s give credit where it is due. We are enjoying almost two months of no load shedding, because our coal, diesel and nuclear power plants are the main base-load energy sources that are responsible for keeping the lights on. Yes, renewables remains our government energy policy priority. Unfortunately, the energy generated by renewable energy independent power producers cannot, at this stage, be transmitted to the national grid unless it is…

Diversified agriculture and forestry company TWK Investments’ taxed profit fell sharply by 52% to R96 million in the six months to February 29, but its management expects a much stronger second half. Basic earnings per share and headline earnings a share decreased to 311.1 cents and 351.7c, 43.7% and 10.1% lower than the corresponding period, respectively. André Myburgh, the CEO of TWK, said in an interview that the results had been impacted by their timber segment’s woodchip stockpiles, the quality of which were severely impacted by a neighbour’s fire in Richards Bay, and the segment did not generate income for most of the reporting period. The fire at NCT Woodchip Mill started on September 30, 2023, and burned for two weeks. In addition, in TWK’s Retail and Mechanisation…

JSE-LISTED Kibo Energy’s UK subsidiary, Mast Energy Developments, has drawn down a the second tranche of funds advanced by River Fort for its Pyebridge project in Derbyshire as it looks for additional capex for its other power generation sites. This comes as Mast Energy CEO Pieter Krügel, had said earlier this month that the kick-starting of work on the second phase of the Pyebridge project was set to boost the company’s revenues and profitability. The Kibo Energy subsidiary said yesterday that the “second advance from RiverFort under the funding agreement” between the two parties had now been released. Mast said earlier that the second advance was worth a gross total of £1 177 107 (R27.3 million). The funds have since been channelled for associated payments to Cooper…

SPONGEBOB SquarePants is a world-renowned animated television show and its main character, the yellow sea-sponge, is among the most recognisable cartoon characters of all time. And now, viewers can enjoy the show in a variety of languages, including Afrikaans. Nickelodeon aims to move the needle on promoting and preserving local languages after it discovered, through a study done by the UN, that by the year 2100 more than half the world’s languages will be extinct. “Indigenous languages make up the majority of the languages that are under threat and it is believed that one indigenous language dies every two weeks,” the channel said. “These sobering numbers highlight the importance of promoting and preserving our local languages and ensuring that our kids are learning to speak local languages and keeping them…

Residents of Randburg, Cosmo City and Zandspruit informal settlement in Joburg north have expressed concern about the foul smell from uncollected waste due to the ongoing protest by Pikitup casual workers. The protest started last Thursday and was led by Zandspruit-based Combat Movement leader Enos Maake. The community-based organisation assists residents to find work and fight corruption in government. Maake said many workers have been volunteering at the Pikitup Randburg depot for years, yet when 300 jobs were advertised, they were not hired. They alleged that there was corruption, nepotism and political connections at play at the depot. The protest has since disrupted services, resulting in waste piling up in surrounding areas and leaving residents to deal with the results of the ongoing protest. Mavis Ngobeni, 33, from Randburg, expressed…

In SPITE of social media criticism among supporters of former president Jacob Zuma, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has defended its pursuing the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP)/Zuma matter at the Constitutional Court. On Monday, the apex court ruled that Zuma was not eligible to be one of the MKP’s parliamentary candidates following a majority court ruling that set aside an earlier Electoral Court judgment which had found nothing wrong with Zuma’s parliamentary candidacy. Two weeks ago, during the court proceedings, lawyers representing Zuma had indicated that IEC Commissioner Janet Love had acted improperly when she pronounced her opinion on Zuma’s eligibility to be a parliamentary candidate due to his 15-month prison stint for contempt of court imposed on him by the Concourt. In January, Love was quoted as…

EARLY this year, parents at Theresapark Secondary School in Pretoria were up in arms about overcrowding in Grade 8 classes. The school has come a long way since then. Pupils recently hosted an art and fashion show to showcase their talents, showing the school is dealing with its problems. The fashion show was themed “Recycling Meets Arts”, and pupils had to design clothing using recyclable materials. The showcase featured a diverse range of talents, including artists, dancers and designers. Creative arts teacher Nkosinathi Khumalo said the aim of the fashion show was to show parents that they still care about pupils, and even though the school is experiencing an overflow in classes, they can still make learning and teaching fun. “I asked the district and school governing body if I…

THE story of Gcinile Twala and Themba “Grootman” Selahle has gained traction, sparking debate about revenge porn after their sex tape was leaked across different platforms. Given that the tape “deliberately” only shows Twala’s face, many have come to assume that the once-glorified “hot pair”, who seemed to have it all, have sunk into unrestrained animosity. This happened a few days after Grootman reportedly threatened to leak their private interactions on his social media, despite the fact that they were no longer a couple. His frequent, unpleasant messages to his ex-girlfriend have been extensively disseminated on social media, with some users posting screenshots of his posts on Instagram. In justification of his actions, Grootman alleges his phone was hacked, while he continues to speak ill of Twala, with whom he…

How do you score the most tries in the United Rugby Championship, but then also concede the most among the top seven teams in the competition? That is the head scratcher that Bulls director of rugby Jake White is contemplating at the moment as his team gets set for the play-offs. The Pretoria side are sitting pretty at second in the standings on 61 points, two behind leaders Munster, with the last league game left against the Sharks in Durban on June 1. They already have a guaranteed home quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld, but will hope to beat the Sharks to secure second place and possible a home semi-final – and even top spot if Munster slip up against Ulster in their last round robin game in Limerick. But more…

There was good and bad news on the injury front for the Sharks yesterday as star prop Ox Nche got ready to take on a former Russian wrestler in Friday’s Challenge Cup final against Gloucester in London (9pm kick-off, SA time). Sharks captain Lukhanyo Am and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse (shoulder) have been officially ruled out, and may even miss out on part of the Springboks’ international season. Am missed out on last week’s 36-14 United Rugby Championship defeat to Cardiff in Durban with a shoulder problem and a fractured rib, and it was hoped that he would recover in time for the Challenge Cup decider. But it was not to be, and the outside centre is in doubt for the Springboks’ first match of the 2024 season against Wales in…