Star 2025-07-03

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) has poured cold water on a report by advocacy group Open Secrets, which accuses consultancy firms and their intertwined relationships with business interests of systematically looting funds allocated for South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET). The report, titled The Climate Consultants; How management consultants cash in on the climate crises, outlines serious allegations regarding the influence of private sector technocrats on government climate policy, while simultaneously consulting for fossil fuel companies implicated in worsening the climate crisis. The report describes how much of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) plan is being financed by a $12.8 billion pledge from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Most of the money so far provided is in the form of concessional loans, which means it…

The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has responded to recent concerns surrounding a document that has raised eyebrows within the public domain. A week ago, the Public Service and Commercial Union of South Africa (PSCU) raised alarm over alleged financial mismanagement of pension funds amounting to more than R500 million at the GPAA. According to a preliminary internal audit report for the 2024/25 financial year, compiled by Abacwaningi Business Solution (ABS) Audit & Advisory Services, there are a number of key governance concerns at the GPAA, which the auditors have brought to the attention of management to ensure sound governance. The GPAA is a government component which reports to the Minister of Finance and administers funds and schemes on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the largest pension…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has drastically cut South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2025 below 1%, saying that the economy continued to be weighed down by a range of structural constraints and could take a hit from Trump's trade war. In its Country Focus Report for South Africa published on Wednesday, the AfDB lowered its forecast for Africa’s most-industrialised economy to a meager 0.8% this year from a previous estimate of 1.6%. This forecast by the AfDB is more pessimistic than the National Treasury’s growth forecast of 1.4% for the year, which was revised down from a prior 1.9% on the back of geopolitical tensions including Trump’s trade levies. It is also less than the South African Reserve Bank’s latest projection of 1.2% this year amid declining…

Officials cite ‘deal fatigue’ after Competition Tribunal scheduled a hearing too late Sun International’s R7.3 billion acquisition of Peermont has been terminated after the Competition Tribunal scheduled a long-awaited hearing too late for the deal to legally proceed, while “deal fatigue” had set in among the parties. In an extraordinary event, the Competition Tribunal had scheduled hearings for the Sun International and Peermont deal to be heard on October 2, 2025. The Competition Tribunal is a condition precedent to the transaction, which currently has a longstop date of September 15, 2025. “Accordingly, as the hearing date is after the regulatory longstop date, the parties have mutually agreed to the immediate termination of the Proposed Transaction,” Sun International said. However, the Competition Commission denied it was the cause of delays in…

There is a quiet war being waged across the globe. Not with guns or tanks, but with ideas, influence, and narratives. At its heart lies a question that should haunt any country born of struggle: who gets to tell our story, and on whose terms? South Africa, once a beacon of hope in a world riddled with racial injustice, stands today at a painful crossroads. Our democracy, though hard-won, has been hijacked by elite capture, economic exclusion, and the slow erasure of our liberation ideals. And in the realm of global discourse, we have surrendered our voice to the same Western machinery that once labelled our freedom fighters terrorists. It is in this context that the message of BRICS, and particularly the recent "Legacy of Hope" initiative, must be understood.…

Farming associations have welcomed the issuing of the first permit to integrated poultry producer Astral Foods for the vaccination of poultry against avian flu. This comes after global outbreaks of Avian flu in America and Brazil. The Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, on Tuesday announced that South Africa will embark on its first-ever vaccination campaign for poultry in the coming days as a proactive measure to minimise the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks. Francois Rossouw, the CEO of the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai), said that granting Astral a permit to vaccinate broiler breeding stock against HPAI was a crucial step forward for the poultry industry. “From both a veterinary and agricultural perspective, this move strengthens our ability to prevent outbreaks, protect food security, and stabilise the…