Innholdsfortegnelse for 2025-05-27 i Star

The group’s pre-tax and capital items loss improved to R237 million for the 52 weeks ending March 2 Pick n Pay's turnaround is taking shape, but initial estimates predicting the retailer would reach breakeven in the 2027 financial year have proven over-optimistic. The group now forecasts this milestone will only be achieved in 2028. The group's pre-tax and capital items loss improved to R237 million for the 52 weeks ending March 2, compared to a R1.4 billion loss in 2024. This improvement was driven by a R1bn reduction in the Pick n Pay segment trading loss, supported by a 27.3% decrease in interest paid as the recapitalisation began to impact debt service costs. CEO Sean Summers, who announced on Monday that he has extended his contract until May 2028, said…

Pick n Pay on Monday said it launched a powerful new app that brings together its on-demand delivery service asap!, Smart Shopper loyalty programme, and value-added services into a single, next-generation platform. The retailer said it is its most significant digital milestone since launching asap!. "The asap! back-end and front-end technology has been completely re-platformed over the past 18 months, resulting in the new ‘Pick n Pay asap! and Smart Shopper’ app. It features enhanced performance, AI-driven functionality, and a redesigned user experience that makes it easier for customers to shop, save, and receive groceries. These improvements are expected to drive strong growth in the coming year," Pick n Pay said. The new app is in Beta until the end of September 2025, with new features and improvements being added…

“In 2011 as MD of Microsoft SA I signed one of the first Equity Equivalent deals in the ICT sector worth about R500m. The Equity Equivalent deal paved the way for more than R25 billion Microsoft has invested in SA under the leadership of Lillian Barnard. The R25 billion direct investment by Microsoft was about building of cloud data centres in SA in the process creating youth employment and buying material from local businesses. It was never about dishing that money to individuals.” wrote Mteto Nyathi on the 25 May 2025 on X. There’s a lot to learn from what Nyathi has shared on this matter in view of current debate about Starlink. The first lesson is that it is incorrect to suggest that it was impossible for Starlink to…

African Bank, which has future plans to list on the JSE, reported a 15% surge in group net profit after tax, reaching R202 million for the six months ended March 31, 2025, driven by its ambitious Excelerate strategy as it aims for a JSE listing ahead "The results reflect the growing impact of its Excelerate strategy, as the Group continues its transformation into a diversified, fully-fledged banking institution serving both personal and business customers," African Bank said. The robust results came despite the South African economy remaining under pressure due to persistent unemployment, structural inefficiencies, and an increasing burden on welfare spending by the government. "However, the easing of inflationary pressure, further aided by the South African Reserve Bank’s decision to cut and pause further interest rate reductions, has…

After a decade in the entertainment industry and several personal challenges, internationally acclaimed English singer and songwriter Calum Scott insists that he has never felt better. “I am probably happier than I have ever been,” he explained during an interview with Independent Media Lifestyle. “I’ve never been more content in both my personal life and my professional life, I feel like I believe in myself more than I ever have and I am in a really good place in my life.” With his increased positivity, the You Are The Reason hitmaker is thrilled to be bringing his The Avenoir Tour to South Africa early next year. The former Britain’s Got Talent star will be performing in Cape Town on January 14, before making his way to Durban two days later…

Six family members have perished in an inferno in Ekurhuleni, as fire consumed their shack at the Marikana informal settlement. Yesterday morning, City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services spokesperson William Ntladi said only one family member survived the blaze. “The home of seven family members was destroyed by fire, all of them trapped inside while sleeping overnight, and only one escaped with critical burn wounds,” said Ntladi. Emergency services from the City of Ekurhuleni swiftly responded to the Marikana informal settlement after receiving a distress call at around 3am yesterday. When the emergency personnel arrived, a four-roomed shack was engulfed by flames. Members of the community were frantically battling the blaze. “Firefighters extinguished the blaze. However, on search, rescue, and recovery, all six were found to…

It has been months since the State closed its case against Rivers of Living Waters Church leader Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo, but rather than proceeding with his defence against the 10 mostly rape charges against him, Zondo is using all the legal avenues open to him to avoid this. When it was his turn to present his defence and to decide whether to take the witness stand or not, he chose to ask for his acquittal as he argued that at this point, the State did not prove that he had a case to answer to. According to him, the evidence against him presented by the seven rape accusers was weak. Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Papi Mosopa, however, in March turned down his application and said at this point,…

The ANC provincial secretary, Reuben Madadzhe, has legitimised the Peter Mokaba Regional Elective Conference in Limpopo, despite chaotic scenes and allegations of irregularities. The conference, held in Polokwane recently, saw Polokwane mayor, John Mpe reelected unopposed as chairperson for a third term, amid violent clashes and police intervention. The conference descended into chaos on its first day, with delegates clashing and hurling chairs and tablecloths at one another in protest. Some delegates accused the Regional Task Team (RTT) of allowing “bogus” delegates into the venue, leading to verbal disputes that escalated into physical confrontations. Police intervened to restore order, and the conference continued with the election of Mpe and his slate uncontested. Madadzhe dismissed allegations of irregularities, stating that the party’s regional structures followed all protocols. “We stand by that…

ActionSA has written to President Ramaphosa, requesting that he dismiss the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, for her clear failure to arrest the deepening unemployment crisis that continues to erode hope, dignity and opportunity for millions of South Africans. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), Q1:2025, paints a dire picture: The official unemployment rate rose to 32.9%, up from 31.9% the previous quarter. A staggering 8.2 million South Africans are now unemployed, with an additional 3.5 million discouraged work-seekers. 291 000 jobs were lost in the first quarter alone – the first such Q1 contraction since 2021. This equates to more than 24 000 jobs lost each week, and almost 5 000 each workday. The proportion of young South Africans aged 15–34 who are not in employment,…

The Bulls should brace themselves for a hard-fought United Rugby Championship (URC) battle against Scottish side Edinburgh on Saturday (1.30pm kick-off), recent clashes between the two sides suggest. The visitors from the Scottish capital have won three of their past five meetings across the URC and Challenge Cup. Their most recent clash was an EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final in Scotland that the South African giants lost 34-28. Jake White's team paid for a sluggish first half in that encounter, despite a brave fightback in the second half. The Pretoria outfit won their last seesaw URC clash 22-16 in September. The Scottish giants, however, got the better of the visiting South Africans with a 31-23 win at Hive Stadium in their previous URC clash. In fact, the home side has won…

Now that the dust has settled on a tumultuous season, Kaizer Chiefs will embark on a comprehensive review of Nasreddine Nabi’s tenure as head coach. Over the past few months, Chiefs’ performances have remained underwhelming, and concerns about Nabi’s ability to lead one of South Africa’s most iconic football clubs have persisted. Kaizer Motaung Jr, the club’s sporting director, and marketing director Jessica Motaung addressed these concerns by confirming that the club would assess Nabi’s performance at the end of the season. The review is expected to highlight inconsistencies throughout the campaign and the failure to meet expectations. A primary target was securing a Top 8 finish, as outlined two weeks ago by Motaung Jr during a radio interview: “We need to be (in the top 8)," he said. "We…

Debt experts and economists believe that an interest rate cut of 25 basis points is likely when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets on Thursday. This follows Statistics South Africa announcement last week that CPI inflation edged up slightly from 2.7 % in March 2.7% to 2.8% in April Reza Ismail, the head of bonds at Prescient Investment Management, said that he believes there will be an interest rate cut on Thursday. “The observed 3-month Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR) of 7.45% and the 1x4 FRA (Forward Rate Agreement) at 7.26% suggest that markets are currently pricing in a modest easing bias. This reflects a forward rate expectation approximately 20 basis points below the current 3-month interbank rate, implying a probability-weighted scenario of a 25 basis point repo rate cut…

We've all been there. You're at a great restaurant, the food is exceptional, the company is sublime, but the table wobbles incessantly. Every time you reach for your drink, it rocks. Every bite of food becomes an exercise in careful coordination. The solution is simple—slide a matchbook under the short leg—but somehow no one ever does it. Instead, we spend the entire evening managing around the dysfunction, accepting the irritation as part of the experience. The global financial system suffers from the same wobbly table problem, only instead of disrupting dinner, it's costing African businesses billions and perpetuating economic exclusion on an industrial scale. The matchbook solution might finally be at hand, in the form of stablecoins. But the questions surrounding this fix demand careful scrutiny. $286 billion blind spot…

Barloworld, still the subject of a controversial takeover bid by Saudi Arabia-based Zahid Group and CEO Dominic Sewela, nearly halved its interim dividend to 120 cent a share (210 cents per share). This followed a 20.5% decline in headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 423.2 cents for the six months to March 31, with the results impacted by a weak performance in the Russia business due to the impact of sanctions in that country. Many JSE-listed companies exited their businesses in Russia after the onset of the war in Ukraine, but Barloworld opted to retain Vostochnaya Technica (VT). Excluding VT, normalised HEPS was flat at 356 cents per share. Sewela said trading conditions were broadly aligned with their expectations of stable to modest economic growth, guarded optimism, moderated by cyclicality…

Businessman Willah Mudolo has vowed to take his legal fight to South Africa’s Constitutional Court and even to the International Court of Justice in The Hague – claiming that justice is being denied in his ongoing criminal case linked to self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s controversial mega church project. Mudolo is reported to be meeting a team of international attorneys, interestingly, the same team used by South Africa in its bid to have the war in Gaza declared a genocide. According to American legal expert Michael Sully, the case against Mudolo is weak and void of fact. Sully told The Star that Mudolo’s rights are being violated because he is a foreign national. “Mudolo did not skip the country like Bushiri did. In the evidence admitted to court, Mudolo proved that…

ActionSA has ramped up pressure on Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo, demanding that Emfuleni Local Municipality be placed under mandatory administration. The party said years of financial mismanagement, collapsing infrastructure, and failed service delivery have pushed the municipality beyond the point of recovery without urgent national intervention. “It is now imperative that the Gauteng Provincial Government invoke Section 139(5) of the Constitution and place Emfuleni Local Municipality under mandatory administration, with the full oversight of National Treasury.” ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni MPL, has criticised the ongoing oversight failures in Emfuleni, warning that years of ineffective and incomplete interventions under Section 139(1)(b) have allowed the municipality to slide into what he described as a “full-blown crisis.” Ngobeni stressed that Emfuleni’s dire financial state is undeniable,…

As Johannesburg prepares to table its 2025/2026 budget tomorrow, it is essential to acknowledge the instrumental role played by the recent Integrated Development Plan (IDP) engagement sessions in shaping this vital financial blueprint. The successful series of consultations and participatory dialogues held over the past weeks has ensured that the City’s budget is more closely aligned than ever before with the needs and aspirations of its residents. This approach flows from the themes articulated in the State of the City Address (SOCA) – “The Johannesburg We Want to See” – and the budget theme for 2025/2026, “A Financially Sustainable Joburg.” Engagement as the Foundation for Strategic Planning The IDP sessions brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including residents, community organisations, business leaders, and government officials, to deliberate on…

Donald Trump was promised Christian farmers fleeing “white genocide” in South Africa. What he got instead was AfriForum’s charity box of surplus volk: out-of-work bouncers, hairdresser assistants, boarding house managers, and working-class families looking for a better life. If the contents of that consignment had been chicken instead of people, the US Department of Agriculture would’ve shut it down for misleading labelling. Just as the US dumped its low-grade chicken parts into Africa through AGOA – wings, necks, gizzards – AfriForum and Solidariteit appear to have tried the same trick with what they perceive as politically expired volk. It was strategic dumping – with a PR budget. Disguised as a refugee programme, this was AfriForum’s Great White Offload. Ideological offcuts in the guise of human cargo. The roots of this…

Ace South African sprinter Akani Simbine made it a hat-trick of wins this year in the 100m at the Diamond League meet in Rabat on a great weekend for South African speedsters. The fastest man in the world so far this year was again imperious over the final 50m as he streaked away from a strong field that included African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya and former world champion Fred Kerley of the US. Simbine stopped the clock at 9.95 seconds in the 100m sprint, not far off his world-leading time of 9.90, to remain unbeaten this year over his specialist distance. Omanyala was second in 10.05 while Kerley took third place in 10.07. What made Simbine's feat all the more impressive was that it came in the…

Picking a list of the ‘best’ players in a certain league is highly subjective most of the time. At others it can seem impossible. This English Premier League season falls into the latter category as the Top 6 morphed into a Top 8 during the recently concluded campaign. Liverpool’s title triumph was among a number of shocks in a campaign where there have been three winners of the three major domestic trophies: the League, FA Cup and League Cup. The rise of the likes of Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Bournemouth and FA Cup kings Crystal Palace has also coincide with the fall of giants Manchester United and Tottenham. Spurs managed to salvage some redemption in the Uefa Europa League final win over the Red Devils. United and noisy neighbours Manchester City…

The South African rand maintained its position below R18 against the US dollar on Monday, buoyed by a weakening greenback as investors reacted to US President Donald Trump’s renewed focus on trade tensions with Europe. The rand traded at R17.82 to the dollar in morning sessions, benefiting from a broader decline in the US currency, which softened after Trump threatened Europe with 50% tariffs and criticised the region on social media. By 4.30pm the rand was at R17.87 to the dollar, 0.2% up. “The dollar’s weakness stems from investors shifting away from U.S. assets amid heightened trade rhetoric,” said Bianca Botes, a director at Citadel Global. The rand, however, remained stable against other major currencies, trading at R24.11 to the pound and R20.32 to the euro. Market participants await the…

We are a nation of firsts and paradoxes. The first on the continent to industrialise and the last to align our education system with our economy. The most connected generation in our history is also the most unemployed. South Africans are not confused about what is broken. Ask a teacher, an employer, or a young job-seeker and they will all tell you the same thing: how we prepare people for work no longer works. It is not a lack of money or effort. It is the absence of a system that speaks to our economy, our people and our moment in history. The data confirms this disconnect. According to Statistics South Africa, only 7% of Grade 12 learners qualify for STEM-related degrees despite growing demand for engineers, technicians and digital…

South Africa’s Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has dismissed an appeal by Springbok Solar Power Plant against Renergen’s helium extraction rights at the Virginia Gas Project, affirming the company’s legal authority to extract and commercialise helium as a by-product of natural gas. The decision, announced on Monday, ends a protracted dispute and strengthens Renergen’s position as a key player in South Africa’s helium and natural gas sector. The ruling follows a thorough review of legal and scientific arguments, resolving a contentious debate over whether helium should be classified as a mineral or a petroleum by-product under South African law. The Minister’s decision confirms that helium extraction falls within Tetra4’s existing Production Right, a subsidiary of Renergen, aligning with the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. The Minister said this…

You can sit on a board and still fall short of leadership. In the evolving architecture of corporate governance, there is often confusion between having a seat at the table and truly discharging the duties that come with it. Being a director is not ceremonial; it is a fiduciary commitment. One that demands more than occasional attendance and rubber-stamping decisions. It demands diligence, judgement, independence, and above all, accountability. Too often, we invoke the language of “oversight” or “strategy” in vague terms. But what does it actually mean to govern well? South African company law sets the standard with quiet clarity. Directors must act honestly and with the care and skill expected of someone entrusted with protecting the interests of others. They must remain free of conflicts, act in the…

Limpopo police have arrested a 30-year-old man for alleged attempted murder following a shooting incident at a funeral gathering in Mankweng. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba reported that the incident unfolded in the early hours of May 24, leaving the mourning community in disbelief. “Police received information regarding the shooting incident and responded immediately to the scene. Upon arrival, officers discovered that the male victim had already been transported to a local hospital for medical treatment after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.” Mashaba added that the 30-year-old suspect was apprehended on the scene and faces a charge of attempted murder. Police are investigating the motive behind the shooting. He added that police also recovered the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting. “During the crime scene investigation, police…

The Department of Higher Education and Training and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) have acknowledged students’ struggles to access funding, attributing the problem to application discrepancies, late registration confirmations and budget constraints. This follows last week’s march by students at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), demanding immediate intervention from the department and NSFAS regarding delayed funding. The students claimed that due to the delayed funding, they were forced to attend classes on empty stomachs, while some faced eviction from their residences for not being able to make payments. In a joint statement, the department and NSFAS said some students from universities who applied during the TVET application cycle have experienced difficulties with their registration status due to errors encountered during the application process. “Certain students, whose registration statuses…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has expressed satisfaction with the progress made in curbing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the province. A traceback epidemiological investigation revealed that cases were linked to an auction in Utrecht, KZN, in February. FMD has since spread to Mpumalanga and Gauteng. In KZN, an outbreak of FMD was confirmed in Amajuba, uMkhanyakude, Zululand, King Cetshwayo and uMzinyathi districts. Recently, MEC Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa conducted a site visit to the affected dip tanks. KaMadlopha-Mthethwa said she was happy with the progress so far, but noted that more work needed to be done to eradicate FMD. “We have visited different affected areas and witnessed some good work being done, we also continue to plead with our people to bring their cattle for animal…

UASA calls on the government to fund safety initiatives and education to protect residents of informal settlements against the devastating terror of shack fires without delay. UASA is deeply saddened by this morning’s preventable loss of six family members, including toddlers, who perished in a devastating shack fire at the Marikana informal settlement in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. Only one family member, a young girl, survived the blaze. She escaped with critical burn injuries and is currently receiving medical care. When emergency services arrived at the scene, the home of the seven family members had already been destroyed by the fire while they were trapped inside, sleeping. This tragedy has caused devastating distress for the surviving family members and the local community. The cause of the fire is currently undetermined, raising concerns…

When my mother passed on in 1973, I learnt about the pain of losing a mother and hoped it was my last experience. Today I feel the same pain with the passing of Mme Gertrude Shope, Isithwalandwe. She treated me as her child and showed me the love of a mother. She was my leader and mentor at the same time. Her late husband, Mark Shope, was equally my father and political mentor. He groomed me to be a political instructor in our camp in Angola and recruited me to the underground structures of the SACP. The Shopes were the in-laws of my childhood friend and Comrade, the late Tebogo Mafole. We all shared a strong bond of comradeship and selfless service to our people. Many others have experienced the…

When the world’s rugby powers gathered in South Arica 30 years ago for the Rugby World Cup, the soundtrack was Coolie’s Gangsta’s Paradise while OJ Simpson’s flee from justice was one of the first “crimes” captured on television. The American football star would be found not guilty by a court of murdering his girlfriend Nicole Brown, with 150 million people watching on live television, but many apartheid villains would not be as Nelson Mandela established the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in South Africa. It was a cleansing experience for a Rainbow Nation that continued its welcome into the wider world after democratic elections in 1994. This was the year when Microsoft’s Windows ’95 swept the across the world and altered how we operated computers. This was the first year that…