Star 2024-06-12

THE SOUTH African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has warned that confidence among the business community could take a further knock after sentiment dipped for a second month in a row prior to the May 29 elections. The Sacci Business Confidence Index (BCI), released yesterday, dipped by 5.8 points in April to 108.9 points, and further to 107.8 points in May – a decline of 6.9 points over the two months. The latest BCI reading indicated a second consecutive month of declining business sentiment, negatively impacted by the domestic elections. Political developments are of special concern to business, given their potential effect on economic policy and the business climate, and the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) is currently uncertain. Sacci said the…

FORMER De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver is the new board chairperson for JSE-listed emeralds and rubies British mining firm, Gemfields Group. With operations in Zambia and Mozambique, Gemfields has made new changes to its board of directors. It announced yesterday that Cleaver will be taking over as board chairperson and also announced the appointment of two other new non-executive directors. Cleaver will take over from Martin Tolcher effective next month. The former co-chairperson and CEO of De Beers will also chair the Gemfields board’s nomination committee, the company said. “Bruce’s reputation as a pre-eminent leader is well documented and he brings considerable experience of mining gemstones in Africa and marketing them internationally,” said Gemfields. Cleaver described Gemfields as a “unique and extraordinary business” that had “taken a fragmented and…

THE WORLD Bank raised its global growth outlook yesterday on the back of resilient consumer spending in the US, but warned that growth remains weak by historical standards. In updated forecasts, the Washington-based development lender said it now expects the world economy to grow by 2.6% this year in real terms, up 0.2 percentage points from its last update in January. Its global growth forecast for 2025 remains unchanged at 2.7% – below the average rate of 3.1% seen in the decade before the Covid-19 pandemic. “Growth is at lower levels than before 2020,” World Bank group chief economist Indermit Gill said in a statement, adding that the prospects for the world’s poorest economies “are even more worrisome”. “They face punishing levels of debt service, constricting trade possibilities, and costly…

THE RAPIDLY expanding Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) bloc is starting its quest for a common currency with a strategy to make 80% of all trade among members in local currencies. The BRICS bloc will also be looking to create a settlement payment system that would be independent of foreign currency and foreign banking systems, as moves are made away from the dominant US dollar. The BRICS Experts Forum met this past weekend to discuss “The Role of BRICS in the Search for a New World Order” on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, where Russia announced that it was already spearheading the initiative. Russia’s first deputy chairperson for the State Duma, Alexander Zhukov, said there was a “major trend” for the alliance nations to…

SOUTHERN Palladium has announced the appointment legal expert, Lindi Nkosi-Thomas, as a non-executive director and the resignation of Geoff Hiller from the board of the company. The appointment of Nkosi-Thomas is with effect from June 10. The practising lawyer has vast expertise in the legal sector and has served in advisory roles to state-owned companies and the government. She also has corpo- rate experience, chairing Miracle Upon Miracle Investments, a private company that owns the rights to the Bengwenyama platinum project through a joint ownership structure with Southern Palladium. Follow- ing her appointment to the board of South-ern Palladium, Geoff Hiller will step down from the role of non-executive director, the company said. Southern Palladium said Hiller remained invested in Southern Palladium and will provide leadership advice and support to…

The MALICIOUS alliance between phony political allies and, in some cases, vicious business scavengers pursuing rent-seeking at the expense of the people’s will must be prevented from undermining democratic patterns. South Africa’s tragic history of apartheid requires that the oppressed majority be prioritised to preserve moral authority and eliminate black poverty. Therefore, in a just society, political bargaining or social interests are irrelevant to the liberties of equal citizenship. South Africa lost its ability to unite as a nation, despite Nelson Man- dela’s efforts to promote reconciliation after apartheid. Instead, the State was bestowed with more power by a demo- cratic constitution that lacked core values. The ANC failed to articulate the South African ethos as a synthesis of the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment with the pragmatic…