Star 2024-10-15

Incentive comes as the grocery chain navigates a complex retail environment In a year marked by stiff economic challenges, Shoprite has announced significant increases in the remuneration of its top executives, while simultaneously warning about the growing price sensitivity among South African consumers. For the fiscal year ending June 2024, Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht’s total remuneration rose sharply to R83.3 million, up from R64.7m in the previous year, while chief financial officer Anton de Bruyn’s pay jumped to R32.8m from R21.1m. These hikes come as the grocery chain navigates a complex retail environment exacerbated by economic headwinds that have left consumers feeling the squeeze. According to Shoprite’s annual report released yesterday, the substantial salary increases are attributed to the introduction of deferred incentives and performance-based share allocations. “The rise in…

The rand began the week on a shaky note, sliding by 0.7% to R17.56 against the US dollar as investor sentiment remained clouded by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the impending Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). As the fourth quarter unfolds, the rand has averaged R17.49 per dollar; however, experts anticipate a potential strengthening towards R17.00 as the year progresses. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said yesterday that the rand remained around R17.50/$1 on an escalation in geopolitical tensions globally, the moderate messaging from the US on interest rate cuts, and in the run-up to the MTBPS. Bishop said a slower, and less steep, US cutting cycle, with interest rate cuts now not expected at each Federal Open Market Committee meeting in the first half of 2025,…

Eskom yesterday shed light on its pressing financial situation, revealing a substantial R40 billion shortfall in the 2023/2024 year determination that necessitates significant changes in its electricity tariff structure. As the utility engaged with the media regarding its Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD 6) application, it is clear that its financial landscape is marred by uncertainties, ballooning debts, and new regulatory challenges. Eskom is proposing a steep increase in tariffs: a 36% hike for direct customers in the first year in 2026, followed by a 12% rise in the second year in 2027, and another 9% in 2028. These adjustments, according to Eskom’s chief financial officer, Calib Cassim, are vital for transitioning to cost-reflective tariffs amid numerous external challenges. Chief among these are the R480bn debt-relief programme sponsored by the National…

The Competition Commission yesterday recommended that the Tribunal approve a proposed transaction, whereby the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF), represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), intends to acquire Lanseria Holdings, without conditions. The GEPF consists of a pension fund that is administered for the benefit of government employees. The GEPF, through the government owned asset management firm PIC, is invested in numerous sectors. The acquiring group held an interest in Lanseria Holdings prior to the proposed transaction, while an owned PIC subsidiary ADR International Airports also owns a non-controlling interest in the Airports Company of South Africa. (ACSA). ACSA controls OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), among others, which competes with Lanseria International Airport (LIA), which is controlled by Lanseria Holdings. LIA handles cargo, charter and scheduled commercial flights. It…

The South African fuel industry yesterday sounded the alarm over the potential for a crisis in aviation fuel supplies, urging the SA Revenue Service (SARS) to extend the existing time-bound licences for jet fuel imports. This plea comes hot on the heels of a drawn-out review of the Customs and Excise Act, which has yet to align with the current dynamics of the industry. In a statement yesterday, SARS clarified that it was not responsible for the industry’s shortcomings in meeting the licensing requirements outlined in the Customs and Excise Act. “There are two sides to every story,” said Phila Mzamo, spokesperson for the Fuel Industry Association of SA (FIA). “The act does not provide for changes in the industry. For example, it lacks transition mechanisms to special storage warehouse…

The sugar tax is destroying desperately needed jobs in South Africa. And although health activists are currently claiming otherwise and currently calling for a higher tax, there is independent data to prove the tax has reduced employment levels without an iota of evidence the tax has improved anyone’s health. When the Health Promotion Levy (or sugar tax) was introduced in 2018, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) commissioned a study on the impact of the tax. The Nedlac study found that between 2018 and 2019, the sugar tax cost 16 000 jobs in the sugar and beverage industries alone. Earlier this year, the activist group Healthy Living Alliance (Heala) misleadingly claimed that these job losses resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic, and that there were in fact no job…