Star 2025-05-08

The agriculture sector, alongside economists and trade unions, have expressed optimism following the recent announcement of a fuel price decrease in South Africa. Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe, revealed on Friday that the reductions apply to all grades of petrol and diesel, with petrol prices seeing a reduction of 22 cents per litre and diesel dropping by as much as 42 cents per litre. An economics professor at the North-West University, Waldo Krugell, said even modest reductions in fuel prices can lighten household budgets. “In the macro picture, it also helps to keep the average inflation rate low. It is good news for households and businesses,” Krugell said. “In addition, we were worried about the impact of the VAT rate increase, but that is now off…

Daybreak Foods has initiated a search for the Public Investment Corporation's (PIC) approval to enter Business Rescue, a decision prompted by mounting financial difficulties which have been exacerbated by a shocking culling of underfed poultry and protests from employees demanding their overdue salaries. In an official response to Business Report on Wednesday, corporate affairs specialist Nokwazi Ngcongo confirmed that DayBreak Foods was grappling with significant financial constraints that have hindered its operational capabilities. Recognising the critical juncture at which the company finds itself, the board is exploring avenues to implement business rescue, pending the active participation and agreement from shareholders. "The Board has extensively communicated with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the company's shareholder, and made numerous requests for funding to support operations, including feed for birds and payment of…

The South African government has decided to zero-in on municipalities in a bid to accelerate the implementation of structural economic reforms for inclusive long-term growth in the second phase of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela II, which was launched on Wednesday, will be focused on strengthening local government and improving the delivery of basic services, harnessing digital public infrastructure, and creating dynamic and integrated cities to enable economic activity. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery by modernising and transforming network industries, including electricity, water, transport and digital communications. The Presidency’s director of strategy Saul Musker said the deteriorating performance of local government was a major constraint on growth as it was affecting businesses and…

South Africa’s mergers and acquisitions landscape (M&A) is being shaped up by cross-border consolidation, portfolio optimisation by multinational corporations, and renewed private equity interest at a time there is fresh impetus across the African continent’s capital markets. In an interview with Business Report this week, Yvonne Ike, head of Sub Saharan Africa at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said capital markets in Africa “entered 2025 with cautious optimism”. Ike said this was due to the confluence of stabilizing macroeconomic fundamentals, greater foreign exchange flexibility in some economies, and improving debt sustainability. All this was “helping rebuild investor confidence” across regional markets, Ike said. “At the same time, governments are re-engaging with international capital markets after a prolonged hiatus, and local listings are regaining traction, particularly in sectors tied to infrastructure,…

South Africa’s municipal planning season is in full stretch as local governments carve out their respective development plans for 2025/2026. A lot is a stake for the elected public officials, with just about a year to go until the next local government elections. The Integrated Development Plan is an essential blueprint for a municipality that informs its overall framework for socio-economic development. IDPs play a fundamental role to direct municipal councils on how to allocate resources as well as how political officials aim to aid development of their areas. They are prioritised given their ability to integrate a municipality’s strategic goal and force all relevant departments to be on the same page. One can say that, over the past years if not decade, respective IDPs developed across South Africa’s municipalities…

Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, has reiterated the government's commitment to enhancing internet connectivity across rural and disadvantaged communities in a bid to bridge the digital divide. Speaking at the South Africa Internet Governance Forum held in Durban on Wednesday, Gungubele stressed the significance of this initiative as the nation prepares for the World Summit on Information Society review process. “Digital governance is a global factor that our regulatory, ethical and social frameworks can often keep in place. We are here as South Africans and as global citizens to reflect on the challenges we face. We are here to respond to students, to ensure that they are free and free in the context of research,” he said. Gungubele added that the government has made significant strides…