These agreements are key to the wholesale businesses of both companies. MTN charges for the use of its network, which also underpins the largest part of Cell C’s operation: its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business.

In recent years, Cell C, South Africa’s fourth-largest mobile operator, has shifted away from owning and operating its own network infrastructure in favour of roaming agreements with MTN and Vodacom.

The recently listed company argues its customers get a better network experience underpinned by its two larger rivals, having gone from operating 5,500 towers to having access to 29,000.

Cell C first signed a roaming agreement with MTN in May 2018 for 3G and 4G services in certain areas. Like rival Telkom, the company used such agreements to plug holes in its coverage and to ensure customers had connectivity even in areas where it owned no towers.

The virtual provision of Cell C’s radio access network through MTN’s infrastructure began in January 2021, with the migration completed in mid-2023.

In addition to utilising excess capacity on its network, MTN benefits from having access to Cell C’s radio frequency spectrum, which the latter earns revenue from.

Talks to revise the terms between the two operators have now stalled.

“MTN South Africa and Cell C have engaged extensively on the terms of their long-standing commercial relationship but have not reached agreement on certain matters. These will be addressed through the mechanisms provided for in the parties’ agreement, while engagement on the terms of the relationship continues,” MTN said in its third-quarter update on Monday.

MTN, South Africa’s second-largest mobile operator, said it would provide a further update when appropriate.

According to Cell C, its existing agreement with MTN remains in force on its current terms and runs until 2032. “There is no impact on the network services we provide to our customers and business partners,” the company said in a statement sent to Business Day.

Neither operator has disclosed which elements of the agreement are in dispute or the value of their commercial agreements.

“We are not in a position to provide further detail beyond confirming that no changes to the terms of either agreement have resulted from any engagement to date,” said Cell C.

The update showed the third quarter was MTN South Africa’s strongest earnings quarter of the year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 7% year on year, and the Ebitda margin expanded 3.6 percentage points to 38.1%, above MTN South Africa’s medium-term range of 35%-37%, as structural cost interventions began to take effect.

Growth in consumer postpaid, enterprise and wholesale was offset by prepaid, where MTN South Africa has prioritised the quality of its customer base over short-term volume. Prepaid trends improved each month through the quarter, and data revenue growth accelerated to 6%.

MTN South Africa expects “affordability pressure and intense competition to persist through the rest of 2026”.

Its immediate aim is to carry third-quarter earnings and prepaid momentum into the fourth quarter “through disciplined commercial execution, relevant and affordable propositions, a simpler customer experience and continued structural cost reduction”.

“Beyond prepaid, our growth levers are clear: monetising rising data consumption through personalised propositions and broader 5G and FWA [fixed-wireless access] adoption, scaling home connectivity across FWA and fibre-to-the-home, and building on resilient postpaid and enterprise businesses supported by ICT, IoT and better credit management,” MTN said.

The company said it is engaging the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa on the amended End-User and Subscriber Service Charter regulations, due to take effect in January. Among many moves to reduce the cost to communicate, the regulator aims to impose new rules on data expiry, which threaten revenue for local mobile operators.

Business Day

The company said on Monday it had secured a further $8m loan from its controlling shareholder, Kinetic Development Group (KDG), bringing the total funding agreed with the shareholder to $16m. KDG had previously agreed to provide an $8m loan in August. The loans will be settled through the issue of shares, subject to shareholder approval.

The funding, with proceeds from product sales, is expected to cover the suspension period, the restructuring of the workforce and a review of the mine’s business plan. MC Mining said it continues to engage KDG and other potential funding parties to secure the additional funding needed to restart Makhado.

Operations at Makhado were initially suspended on October 1 while the company finalised its funding arrangements. The board has decided to maintain the suspension after tests at the coal processing plant identified areas requiring improvements to mining and processing, including infrastructure feeding coal into the plant.

The tests showed the plant could process raw coal and produce hard coking coal, used in steelmaking, and thermal coal, mainly used to generate electricity.

MC Mining will reassess the mine plan, mining and processing requirements, outstanding infrastructure work, funding needs and contractor arrangements. A restart date will depend on completing the necessary work and securing further funding.

The company said it had invited qualifying South African employees to apply for voluntary separation packages and is considering further organisational changes, subject to consultation. No final decision has been made on compulsory retrenchments. Operations at the Uitkomst and Vele collieries also remain suspended.

In a separate development, nonexecutive director Christine He resigned with effect from Monday. She was MD and CEO until July, when she moved to a nonexecutive director role.

Business Day

The increase in Raubex’s order book comes as Sanral’s road construction contract awards show signs of recovering, after the awarding of four projects worth a combined R1.54bn between July and October.

“We are executing projects across battery storage, solar PV, wind energy and water infrastructure. We have also been named preferred bidder for the Limpopo border post project, while Raubex Building has secured civil works on the Gautrain project, with scope for the work to expand,” the group said in its results for the six months to end-August.

It reported an 11.8% increase in revenue to R12.12bn, while headline earnings per share rose 4.4% to 254.3c.

However, operating profit rose only 2.5% to R618m, lagging revenue growth as margin pressure across several divisions weighed on the group’s profitability.

Raubex’s shares fell 2.72% to R42.97 on Monday, their low for the day.

The materials handling and mining division was a major drag on performance, swinging from an operating profit to a loss of R111.1m despite revenue growth of 27%.

“The weakness was largely driven by the underperformance of Bauba Resources’ mining operations and higher input costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East,” the group said.

Raubex CEO Felicia Msiza said the decision to sell its full stake in Bauba followed a strategic review, with the group looking to sharpen its focus on core infrastructure operations and free up capital to pursue growth opportunities.

“Discussions are progressing, though there is no certainty that a transaction will be concluded,” Msiza said.

The construction materials division’s revenue rose almost a quarter, but weaker aggregates performance and a slower-than-expected recovery in bentonite demand weighed on operating profit.

“Uncertainty surrounding the future of South Africa’s ferrochrome smelters continued to weigh on bentonite demand, slowing the recovery in the industrial minerals segment,” the group said.

In its roads and earthworks division, the group reported revenue growth of almost 20%, while operating profit remained largely flat.

Msiza pointed to improving procurement activity, though contract awards remained below historical levels in the first quarter of the 2027 financial year.

The infrastructure division’s revenue fell 16%.

The group’s Western Australian operations provided an earnings boost, swinging from an operating loss to an operating profit of R145.1m despite largely flat revenue.

The group’s overall cash generation more than doubled, while its interim dividend rose 8.6% to 88c a share.

Msiza said the operating environment in South Africa supported growth, with opportunities in renewable energy, water infrastructure and public-private partnerships.

The group remained positive about its medium- to long-term prospects, citing opportunities across its divisions and its secured order book as support for future growth.

Business Day

In the partnership, announced on Monday, Investec will become the banking partner for an expanded Shoprite Financial Services transactional account. The offering is expected to include a debit card, pending regulatory approval.

Through the deal, Shoprite will be able to broaden its financial services products by using Investec’s banking infrastructure, licence and regulatory expertise, rather than setting up its own bank.

For Investec, the agreement opens the door to a much wider customer base through Shoprite’s extensive national footprint. It also gives the bank a chance to strengthen its role in South Africa’s fast-growing digital payments market.

“It enables Investec to access new markets, allowing us to scale our established financial services capabilities while remaining focused on our existing target market,” Investec CEO Fani Titi said.

Titi said the arrangement would also allow the bank to deepen its participation in South Africa’s payments ecosystem and broaden its access to retail deposits.

Investec said the partnership would not affect Shoprite’s existing ties with banks, payment service providers and loyalty partners, allowing the retailer to continue working with a broad range of companies.

Customers are unlikely to notice major changes. Shoprite will remain responsible for the products and services offered through its stores, brands and digital channels, while Investec will provide the banking technology, licence and regulatory support needed to run them.

The partnership builds on Shoprite’s steady expansion beyond retail and into financial services. Through its money market account, the retailer already provides basic banking services to more than 4-million customers, many of whom use it for day-to-day transactions. The size of that customer base has helped Shoprite establish itself as a significant player in a sector long dominated by traditional banks.

Read: BIG READ | Shoprite: from R1m bet to R200bn retail wonder

Business Day recently reported the retailer is increasingly using insights from its vast customer base to develop new products, with more than 5,000 data points available for each Xtra Savings member.

The company has said its ambition is to create a one-stop financial services ecosystem catering to the everyday needs of consumers and small traders. At the centre of that strategy is the money market account, which has evolved beyond a simple wallet and transaction account into a broader platform for banking and payments.

Customers can already use the account for services such as money transfers, cash deposits and withdrawals, bill payments and the purchase of prepaid electricity, water and airtime. Shoprite also offers selected insurance and credit products. The planned introduction of a debit card would mark the next step in expanding the account’s capabilities, giving customers another way to manage and spend their money.

Shoprite reported sales of R270.8bn for the year to end-June and operates more than 3,700 stores across South Africa and selected African markets. Its financial services offering is available through its Money Market counters at Shoprite, Usave, Shoprite Cash and Carry, Checkers and some franchise outlets.

Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said the retailer wanted to use its reach to make financial services more accessible and affordable.

“By combining our reach with Investec’s banking expertise, we can expand access to simple and convenient fintech solutions that give South Africans greater choice and control over their money,” Engelbrecht said.

The partnership comes as Investec pursues a separate growth strategy for its private banking business in South Africa.

In May, Investec announced plans to double its South African private banking client base by 2030 and add about R3bn to operating profit over the period. It aims to increase its client base from 128,000 to about 250,000, with a particular focus on customers earning R800,000 to R1.5m a year, Business Day reported.

The bank said at the time that it was underrepresented in this affluent income segment, where it had a 7% market share. Its strategy included growing its existing client base and attracting more customers through offerings such as My Investments and Investec Life.

The Shoprite partnership is separate from those private banking targets. Investec has said it will maintain its core private-client strategic focus while using the arrangement to extend the reach of its existing banking capabilities.

The agreement also comes as more retailers and financial services groups seek a greater role in everyday payments and banking services. Pepkor is preparing to expand its banking operations after receiving a banking licence, while Sanlam is pursuing its banking ambitions through its partnership with TymeBank.

The Investec-Shoprite agreement remains subject to regulatory approval. The companies have not announced a launch date or provided further details about the expanded account’s pricing and features.

Business Day

A Morocco-flagged container ship spotted their boat on Monday about 28km off the port of Kaloi Limenes. Thirteen migrants were found dead and another died later in hospital, the coastguard said. Eighteen people survived.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the deaths. Greek authorities said the boat may have been at sea for days, struggling to reach the shore due to strong winds.

“We found them (the survivors) shivering from the cold,” said a local coastguard official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The incident comes after another on Saturday off Crete in which the coastguard retrieved eight bodies and rescued 28 migrants from Sudan, the coastguard said. In three other incidents on Monday, the coast guard rescued another 187 migrants.

On Monday, a Reuters photo showed a body wrapped in a black bag being taken ashore at the port of Agia Galini.

Four of the survivors were taken to hospital on Monday, including a toddler. The other survivors were taken to a migrant facility on Crete, the coastguard said.

Greece, long a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, was on the front line of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015-2016 when nearly 1-million people landed on its islands, mainly from Türkiye.

Total migrant arrivals have since ebbed as Athens has bolstered sea and border patrols. But arrivals from Libya of migrants — mostly fleeing violence in Sudan and Bangladesh — have surged in recent years.

Reuters

Releasing production figures for the three months ended September on Monday, the group said gold revenue rose 3% to R22.3bn, helped by a 26% rise in the average dollar gold price received to $4,057/oz.

Harmony’s shares closed 3.67% higher at R287.20 on Monday.

Gold production of 342,758oz mainly reflected planned lower output at Moab Khotsong, southwest of Johannesburg, which has entered the anticipated ore gap.

Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea was affected by a regulatory stoppage. This has since been resolved, and the operation has returned to normal production.

Despite the lower production, Harmony is on track to meet its production, cost and grade guidance for the financial year.

CEO Beyers Nel said having completed the first quarter of the financial year, the group had maintained its 2027 financial year production guidance of 1.4-million to 1.5-million ounces of gold and gold equivalents, with increased copper production expected to offset the planned reduction in gold output due to the Moab Khotsong ore gap.

All-in sustaining cost (AISC) rose 17% to R1,300,073/kg ($2,484/oz), towards the lower end of guidance.

Nel attributed the year-on-year increase to annual inflationary increases in labour and electricity, high gold price-linked royalties, increased development capital and lower volumes from Moab Khotsong.

“Cash operating costs remain well controlled, increasing by only 7% for our gold portfolio, well below our planned mining inflation of 10%,” he said.

“With the conflict in the Middle East ongoing, it is worth noting that diesel is a small part of our cost base, at around 50 litres per gold-equivalent ounce. This leaves Harmony relatively well insulated from higher global energy costs,” he said.

Harmony said three employees died during the quarter. Its lost-time injury frequency rate improved to 5.04 from 5.80 in the fourth quarter but was higher than 4.29 a year earlier.

The group, which has recently added copper to its portfolio, says the metal is now a meaningful and growing part of Harmony. Its CSA operation in Australia, which it acquired in October last year, generated copper revenue of R1.3bn in the first quarter at an average copper price received of $6.44/lb.

“This revenue is additional to our gold business. It gives shareholders growing exposure to strong copper fundamentals as we progress towards about 100,000 tonnes of high-margin copper per annum, once Eva Copper is in production and CSA reaches the targeted 40,000 tonnes per annum,” Nel said.

CSA produced 7,077 tonnes of copper at a C1 cash cost of $2.72/lb. While the recovered grade of 3.15% was below guidance, it reflects the mining sequence rather than orebody quality, he said.

“We are improving stope availability and maintaining development rates to restore production flexibility and lift grades in the coming quarters. We expect C1 cash costs to move back towards guidance as grades and production flexibility improve over the financial year.”

The Eva Copper Project in northwest Queensland is the next catalyst in Harmony’s copper journey and continues to progress towards first production in the second half of calendar year 2028, he said.

Construction is now 15% complete and advancing, with 700 construction workers mobilised to site. The permanent village has been completed, and long-lead equipment has started arriving on site ahead of installation next year.

The total project capital range of $1.55bn to $1.75bn remains unchanged, he said.

For the 2027 financial year Harmony expects to produce 28,000 to 30,000 tonnes of copper.

The group ended the quarter with a net cash position of R4.2bn and liquidity of R30.2bn in cash and undrawn facilities. It successfully executed a $500m convertible bond offering, enhancing financial flexibility and optimising its cost of capital while supporting the group’s long-term growth ambitions.

“Operationally, our focus remains on delivering our unchanged guidance for the financial year while carefully managing the planned ore gap at Moab Khotsong.

“Our key projects remain on track and are actively managed, while our exploration programme unlocks value from our substantial mineral endowment through low-cost Mineral Reserve conversion,” Nel said.

Gaborone/Johannesburg — Botswana will double its holding in De Beers to 30% under the terms of Anglo American’s proposed sale of its stake in the diamond producer to a consortium of investors, the country’s president said on Monday, confirming support for the deal.

Botswana’s backing is key for the sale to progress, as the country has the right of first refusal on Anglo American’s stake. Under the terms of the deal, it would become De Beers’ single largest shareholder, President Duma Boko said.

Anglo American put De Beers up for sale in 2024 as part of a wider restructuring amid falling diamond prices and growing demand for synthetic stones. A Botswana government official said in July that the miner had chosen the Global Diamond Consortium as the preferred bidder.

Boko said on Monday Botswana supported the sale to the consortium, which is being led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny.

“This means that, when this transaction is complete, Botswana’s shareholding in De Beers will double from the current 15% to 30%,” Boko said in a speech in parliament.

“Botswana will become the single largest shareholder in De Beers, and with that comes greater influence in the strategic decisions for decades to come.”

Boko said the governments of Namibia and Angola would participate in the De Beers transaction.

A new chapter

Swiss luxury group Richemont, owner of Cartier, is among the companies in talks to join the Global Diamond Consortium.

Two people — a De Beers sightholder, or rough diamond buyer, and a diamond industry insider — told Reuters sightholders Diarough, Pluczenik and Grandview Klein Diamonds, as well as jewellery maker Signet, are also part of the talks.

Indian company Rosy Blue India, which had previously been involved, has now withdrawn interest, one person said.

“De Beers once taught the world to desire diamonds. Its prospective owners now face the immense task of rekindling that desire at a time when luxury fashion houses and watchmakers have completely stolen the consumer spotlight,” said Tobias Kormind, MD of jewellery brand 77 Diamonds.

“Bringing together heavyweights like Signet, Richemont and major sightholders like Pluczenik and Diarough means key players across the supply chain are uniting to back a natural diamond recovery.”

Anglo American said on Monday it would continue to work with Botswana, other governments and the Global Diamond Consortium towards agreeing binding transaction documents.

Penny said the consortium was working with the governments of Botswana, Angola, Namibia and Oman towards becoming co-owners of De Beers, and was focused on finalising agreements with Anglo as soon as possible.

“Together, we believe we can create a new chapter for this iconic business, one defined by strategic clarity between producing countries and the wider value chain, stronger consumer connection, and sustained growth in demand for natural diamonds,” Penny said in a statement.

Natural diamonds

Botswana’s stake in De Beers gives it exposure not only to natural diamonds but also to advanced technology through Element Six, the miner’s synthetic diamond business, Boko said.

“Our investment in De Beers is not just an investment in natural diamonds. It is an investment in technology,” he said.

Boko said Element Six will participate in a planned $600m synthetic diamond plant Reuters reported in January will be built in the US.

Demand for synthetic diamonds used in high-performance computing is likely to rise as artificial intelligence and large-scale data centres expand, the president added.

The US government had asked Element Six to partner on synthetic diamond technology, Boko said.

He said he had agreed with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick that the company should form the core of a new technology partnership between Botswana and the US.

Matlala, in a witness statement that was part of a plea deal with the state in a R228m tender criminal case, alleged that Sibiya called his wife, Tsakani, before his appearance before parliament’s ad hoc committee last November and threatened her, saying that Matlala should not disclose anything about him.

“Tsakani informed me that Sibiya would constantly remind her by way of threats that I should not disclose anything about him (Sibiya) to the ad hoc committee, failing which my life and that of my family would be put in harm’s way,” Matlala’s witness statement reads.

Matlala’s witness statement, which contains Sibiya’s alleged threats, was made public only on Monday. The statement was part of his now collapsed plea deal negotiations with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).

Matlala was uncomfortable answering questions related to the alleged threats made by Sibiya before the commission, which is investigating allegations of criminal infiltration in the country’s law enforcement agencies.

“I do not want to make any comments on it. I do not want to put someone’s life at risk; someone’s life should matter,” he said without disclosing the name of the person he wanted to protect.

The commission previously heard testimony that Sibiya caused Matlala to change an affidavit before the high court in Pretoria in which he detailed knowing Sibiya.

The witness statement detailed Matlala paying Sibiya R500,000 “since a lot was done to ensure” that the R228m health tender by SAPS was awarded to Matlala’s company, Medicare24.

Matlala denied he paid R500,000 to Sibiya, funnelling it through the bank account of his friend Given Makofane. The allegation in the statement was reflected in the notes of the commission’s investigators.

Matlala, despite two statements making reference to the R500,000 payment to Sibiya, denied making such an allegation.

Matlala only conceded giving R50,000 to Sibiya and denied Sibiya assisted him in getting the R228m tender. The evidence is contrary to what Sibiya testified before the commission; Sibiya denied receiving any money from Matlala.

Matlala told the commission he made the statement to Idac’s chief investigator, Dylan Perumal, after being promised that he and his family would be placed under witness protection if he provided information about top police officials.

He said he was booked out of prison by Perumal and senior investigators Suneel Bellochun and Brian Padayachee and was taken to the Sheraton Pretoria Hotel and a McDonald’s near the prison during the preparation of the statement.

During his cross-examination, Matlala told the commission several points in the witness statement signed by him were “false”, saying Perumal, as the one who typed the statement, must have inserted certain things.

Among other things, Matlala rejected from the witness statement a claim that he paid R80,000 to former public works deputy minister Bernice Swarts.

“Prior to the lease agreement being authorised, Sibiya contacted me and indicated that Berrie [Swarts] wanted money to buy alcohol for a traditional ceremony. I agreed to assist, as I had cash on hand in my safe at my residence. Sibiya and I arranged to meet at the ORT International Airport ‘arrivals’, where I handed him R80,000 in cash to give to Berrie,” the statement reads.

“A few days before the lease agreement was authorised, Sibiya contacted me and informed me that the lease agreement was authorised and said that Berrie wanted money for sorting out the lease agreement.

“I asked him how much she wanted, and Sibiya said that R200,000 would be enough. I took R200,000 from my residence to pay Berrie.”

He denied the allegation in his witness statement and said that at the time he met Swarts, he already had the lease for the public works property located in the police training college in Pretoria.

Matlala told the commission the Idac investigators tried hard to charge police national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola, and in the statement, tried to link Masemola to unlawful conduct.

“They told me that they are not after [me], but ‘we need to arrest so that we can get the people we want to pursue.’ I asked them who those people are; they mentioned Masemola, [Lt-Gen Nhlanhla] Mkhwanazi, and [Lt-Gen Dumisani] Khumalo,” he said.

Matlala was forced to testify on the statement after commission chair Mbuyiseli Madlanga ruled that limitations in law on the usage of documents from collapsed plea deals mentioned criminal trials, not commissions.

In July, Matlala withdrew from the plea deal in a R228m tender scandal case, having submitted a statement during the plea deal negotiations.

His legal representative, Annelene van den Heever, has indicated to the commission they intend to take Madlanga’s ruling on review, lambasting the NPA for acting beyond its legal powers by giving the witness statement to the commission.

She said the precedent set by the ruling was that “no accused would enter into plea agreements” with the state due to a lack of information protection by the NPA.

Business Day

The decade-long second transition, which was characterised by unstable coalitions as political leaders grappled with the exigencies of power-sharing and which culminated with last week’s municipal election, has broken the mould of South African politics.

The non-ANC voter pool has grown from 46.09% to 68.22% since 2016, but the resulting fragmentation means that rather than settling on a new order, the electorate has thrown the political pack of cards high up in the air and they have landed in confounding fashion.

The question, for example, of who the winners of LGE 2026 are is hard to answer. The DA will make the most of the fact that it has gained control of new councils and made some significant inroads in predominantly black voting districts, but if they are being honest with themselves, the DA’s leadership will be disappointed that they have increased their national share of the vote by less than 3% — from 21.81% in the 2024 national election to 24.64% last week, which is well short of the 26.9% that Maimane achieved 10 years ago.

ActionSA has a stronger claim to be the “winners”, as its performance in the three Gauteng metros of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni means that it will play a pivotal king-maker role in the negotiations to form viable coalition governments in these important cities. But, although it has more than doubled its share of the vote nationally (up from 2.33% in 2021), it is still only in fifth place with 5.67%.

The party with arguably the greatest claim to have had a successful election is the South African Communist Party (SACP). With barely a bean to its name, but with organisational energy and capacity and experience from the many elections it has fought from within the big ANC tent, it has won almost 2.5% of the vote and well over 200 council seats. It could be a player in coalitions, depending on who it decides are its most appropriate allies and partners.

The principal losers are easier to discern: the ANC, along with its two biggest breakaways, the EFF and the MKP. The EFF is a busted flush; and after its extraordinary performance from a standing start in 2024 when it won 14% of the national vote, MKP dropped to single figures. And while the Patriotic Alliance has gained a little in the Western Cape, elsewhere in the country voters seem to have seen through the bluff and bluster of the PA’s leader, Gayton McKenzie.

Political gravity has sent the ANC into freefall – caused by a combination of the collapse of its organisational structure, expedited by the decision of the SACP to stand alone in this election for the first time, lack of funds, and the corruption and gross incompetence that have been the hallmarks of much of its governance in city halls across the land.

The fact that the ANC lost its majority in strongholds such as Buffalo City and Mangaung shows how far the party has fallen. The ANC is no longer the most popular party in the biggest 10 cities, when taken together.

There is not a scintilla of evidence to suggest that ANC voters abandoned the party because it has opted to share power with the DA in the GNU — as some self-interested opportunists in the ANC are claiming — otherwise, their votes would have gone to the EFF or MKP.

Losing about 25% of its share of the vote in areas with predominantly black voters, the ANC has shed votes in all directions — to the left (the SACP) and the centre right (DA and ActionSA) — but not to the populist right (MKP/EFF/PA). Yet, while it is clear that the shift to the populist extreme has stalled — with the combined share of the votes won by MKP, EFF and PA dropping from about 26% two years ago to about 18% now — it is not clear that the centre is holding or getting stronger.

While in the 2016 LGE ANC and DA support combined totalled 80.8% it is now just 55.9%. Even if under Geordin Hill-Lewis’s leadership the DA manages to get back onto its stalled 2016 growth trajectory, given the ANC’s rapid decline, it now seems unlikely that the two biggest parties will reach 50% at the next general election in 2029.

The second transition away from ANC dominance has not yielded a single, consolidated opposition bloc. While the most muscular and noisier populist forces have been pushed into retreat for the time being, the question of where South Africa’s new political equilibrium point will come to rest is a matter of conjecture, uncertainty and continued contestation.

*Calland is visiting adjunct professor at the WITS School of Governance and partner of the Paternoster Group, which has established a City Risk Monitor that roots its political analysis of the LGE in the economic risk profile of municipalities in South Africa

Bafana will look to win both matches when they host the Harambee Stars at Orlando Stadium on Friday at 6pm before travelling to Nairobi for the return leg next Tuesday.

Bafana defeated Guinea and Eritrea in the Afcon qualifiers in late September before beating Egypt in an international friendly at the beginning of October.

Kenya have already secured their place at the 2027 edition as co-hosts alongside Uganda and Tanzania and are using these matches to prepare for the tournament.

“I hope it remains like that,” Mosimane said of his perfect start and insisted he is still under pressure despite it.

When you are not under pressure, you must know that you are in the wrong space

Pitso Mosimane

“If you don’t want pressure, don’t coach Bafana. In fact, don’t coach any team. Is the coach at Chippa [Brandon Truter] under pressure? Who is not under pressure, and who is in their comfort zone?

“I’ve seen the coach of the [Orlando] Pirates [Abdeslam Ouaddou] celebrating the derby [victory]. I feel how difficult the emotions and the build-up of this thing are. We are all under pressure. The minute you are not under pressure, you are in your comfort zone, and when you are not under pressure, you must know that you are in the wrong space.”

Mosimane dismissed the notion that Kenya will have a significant advantage because of McCarthy’s familiarity with Bafana.

“I guess everybody knows how Barcelona plays, right,” he said.

“Everybody knows how Arsenal is playing, right? Everybody sees Bayern Munich. Everyone has got analysts, four analysts — people have got that, so they don’t know how they play? Everybody knows how you play. Just because I know how Benni plays doesn’t mean I have an advantage now. No, it just gives me a little bit of data and understanding of seeing patterns and what is most likely to come.

“What if he has changed the plan? Everybody knows how Pirates play until you get into Orlando [Stadium], right? It is the way it is in football.”

Business Day

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By John Irish

The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Monday she saw little sign of Russian goodwill to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, adding Moscow had already signed up to numerous agreements underpinning European security but had failed to respect them.

Kaja Kallas was speaking on the sidelines of a G7 ministerial meeting before trilateral discussions on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the US. Officials from France, Britain, Germany, Nato and the European Commission will also be in the Emirati capital.

“So far they have just been pretending that they negotiate because we haven’t seen any goodwill from the Russian side,” Kallas said in Paris.

“They are bombing Kyiv; they are bombing civilians. Ukrainians are making advances on the battlefield, so the Russian focus has been only on civilians to cause as much suffering before the hard winter is coming.”

Russia denies targeting civilians but has stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and other key targets in recent months, as its forces’ advances in eastern Ukraine have stalled.

Ukraine has responded with drone attacks on Russian energy installations, often deep in Russian territory.

Moscow has long accused the Europeans of refusing to consider Russia’s own security concerns in Europe, for example by pursuing Nato enlargement up to its borders.

Security architecture

Jared Kushner, one of the lead US negotiators, said last week that the US was working on a “broader European security architecture”, something that has worried some Europeans who have repeatedly said they would not accept anything they had not agreed to.

“The problem is that we already have a European security architecture in place that Russia has agreed to,” Kallas said, citing examples including the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, when Russia and others pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine.

“All this talk has to be about how we make sure that Russia actually respects the obligations that it has taken,” she added.

European friction

In a sign of friction among Europeans, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on November 5 that Europe risked becoming irrelevant in efforts to end the war in Ukraine if member states continued pursuing separate diplomatic tracks, rather than agreeing on a common representative and strategy.

Kallas said future discussions on European security should be led by the EU in line with its treaties and institutional structures, rather than through ad hoc formats.

“It is clear that the big countries want to talk also to big countries,” she said. “But when it comes to European security issues, the EU has very clear lines in place. We have the treaties,” she said.

With the EU currently negotiating a 22nd package of sanctions on Russia, Kallas said she hoped that losses suffered by US President Donald Trump’s Republicans in last week’s midterm elections would alter Washington’s approach to Ukraine.

“We are hoping that there will be pressure on Russia to end this war and pressure [with] the [US] sanctions,” she said. “If we were to do this together with the Americans, it would really have an effect.”

Reuters

Business Day

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Business Day

The group said it expects distributable income per share (dips) for the year to end-August to increase by between 11% and 13%, exceeding the growth guidance of between 3% and 5% communicated at the half-way stage.

Octodec’s shares closed 4.64% higher at R19.62, having touched a 52-week high of R20.29 during the day.

The group said the stronger-than-anticipated performance reflects the settlement of the loss of income insurance claim relating to the gas explosion in the Johannesburg CBD in July 2023. It also experienced lower required expenditure on repairs and maintenance and further savings in finance costs.

Octodec, one of the largest property owners in the Johannesburg and Tshwane CBDs, was affected financially and operationally as a prominent inner-city landlord by the methane gas explosion on Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg.

While the explosion did not directly damage Octodec’s structural assets, the extensive and prolonged street repairs cut off essential public access to properties in the area.

The group said dips is expected to be between 190.37c and 193.80c, compared with 171.51c a year ago. This corresponds to an increase in dividends per share of between 10% and 13%.

The dividend per share is expected to be between 147.95c and 151.99c, compared with 134.5c a year ago.

As a result, the final dividend for the year is expected to be between 83.45c and 87.49c per share, compared with 72.5c a year ago, representing an increase of between 15.1% and 20.7%, it said.

Earlier this month Octodec sold Killarney Mall, South Africa’s oldest shopping centre, after years of seeking a buyer for the property, as the group looks to free up capital and pay down debt.

The group said the sale had cleared its final hurdles after securing Competition Commission approval, with the mall transferred to private buyer AJPG Property 1 on November 2.

The group agreed to sell the mall in February for R397.5m through the sale of all the shares and claims in its wholly owned subsidiary, Killarney Mall Properties. The proceeds will go towards reducing borrowings and funding the group’s strategic priorities, it said.

The group will release its annual results on November 24.

With Noxolo Majavu

Business Day

Business Day TV

Group service revenue for the nine months to end-September grew by 17.2% in constant currency to R176.2bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) before one-off items was up 22.9% at R86bn.

The ebitda margin was up 2.8 percentage points to 47.9% despite higher energy costs, the group said on Monday.

MTN’s shares closed 5.17% higher at R224.19 on Monday, their high for the day.

CEO Ralph Mupita said demand across the group remained robust.

“Customer numbers increased by 7.2% to 322.9-million and data revenue grew by 28.2% (constant currency): it now accounts for 50.4% of service revenue. Ebitda growth outpaced service revenue growth, reflecting operating leverage and our expense efficiency programme, which absorbed higher energy costs.”

Data revenue increased by 20.9% to R88.9bn on a reported basis, while fintech revenue increased by 1.6% to R22.6bn and voice revenue decreased by 3.1% to R46bn.

Active data subscribers grew 9.6% to 181.7-million. Mobile Money (MoMo) monthly active users were up 9.3% to 70.3-million. Fintech transaction volumes were 20.1% higher at 20.3-billion, with transaction values up 36.9% to $512.5bn.

The group invested R28.8bn in capex (ex-leases). In Ghana, MTN secured 5G and mobile broadband spectrum with 15-year licences at a cost of $202m.

The third quarter was MTN South Africa’s strongest earnings quarter of the year. Ebitda was up 7% year on year and the ebitda margin expanded by 3.6 percentage points to 38.1%, above MTN SA’s 35%-37% medium-term range, as structural cost interventions began to take effect.

Growth in consumer postpaid, enterprise and wholesale was offset by prepaid, where MTN SA has prioritised the quality of its customer base over short-term volume. Prepaid trends improved each month through the quarter, and data revenue growth accelerated to 6% in the quarter.

In the third quarter, ebitda growth accelerated from second-quarter rates in Nigeria (32.8%), Ghana (42.1%), Rwanda (26.9%) and Zambia (54.2%).

The group said the IHS transaction remains on track. The group announced earlier this year it had entered into an agreement to acquire the 75% of IHS shares it does not already own for $2.2bn (R36bn) in an all-cash transaction.

IHS shareholder, Nigerian and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) regulatory approvals have been received, and only the South African Competition Tribunal, the Economic Community of West African States and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa approvals remain outstanding. Completion is expected before the end of this year.

“For the rest of the year, we will focus on sustaining the commercial momentum across our markets, carrying MTN SA’s Q3 improvement into Q4, restoring fintech growth towards our medium-term targets, addressing the specific challenges in MTN Uganda and completing the IHS transaction,” Mupita said.

It will also focus on maintaining cost and capital discipline and delivering free cash flow growth and improving returns.

Business Day

Governments should consider regulating foods that include added colours, flavours or sweeteners designed to make the product more appealing to consumers, according to new draft World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance that has sparked swift pushback from the food industry.

The WHO draft aims to help governments identify which foods should be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet — and which products could be subject to measures such as warning labels or taxes, depending on national priorities. The new draft food-profiling model, published last week, marks the first time the UN health agency has included this type of ingredient in its guidance, previously only focused on nutritional content, including fat and salt.

“This draft goes beyond traditional nutrient profiling by recognising that foods may need to be considered not only for their nutrient content but also for other aspects of their formulation” to prevent diet-related disease, said Katrin Engelhardt, technical officer at the WHO’s department of nutrition and food safety.

About 11-million deaths a year are linked to unhealthy diets, according to the agency, based on data from a global study.

The proposed new model is also the WHO’s attempt to guide member states through an increasingly polarised debate about ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a class of food or drink made using processing techniques, additives and industrial ingredients, which often contain little whole food. Examples include carbonated soft drinks or instant noodles.

Beyond nutrients alone

Many food scientists say UPFs pose numerous health risks but others — and the food industry — say they are defined too widely, which risks demonising healthy products.

The International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA), an organisation representing major multinational food and beverage companies, said it was concerned the proposed approach shifts attention away from nutritional quality and could capture more products for potential regulation.

“Of particular concern is the potential to undermine established nutrition priorities and reformulation efforts,” said IFBA secretary-general Rocco Renaldi.

Other concerns for the food industry are higher costs from reformulating products or stringent labelling requirements, as well as the risk of class-action lawsuits as seen in the US, and higher taxes for processed food companies.

Broadly, the WHO said the model covers “industrially produced foods to be consumed in moderation” and is a bridge between its healthy diet recommendations and government policy on individual food products.

Lindsey Smith Taillie, co-director of the Global Food Research Programme at the University of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said the point of the model was to target unhealthy foods, combining nutrients and UPFs.

“These two frameworks have never been mutually exclusive and can and should be used by policymakers as the starting place,” she said, adding that healthiness is measured by multiple criteria.

Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane last week said industry players should have a say.

“We’re in the food business, and we care about consumers deeply,” Cahillane said. “And so we ought to have a seat at the table as these discussions evolve.”

The WHO proposal is out for consultation until November 27.

Reuters

The US health regulator on Monday warned of a potential increased risk of a serious eye condition associated with the use of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and diabetes.

The US Food and Drug Administration informed patients and healthcare providers it is requiring GLP-1 drugs such as Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy to add information to the “warnings and precautions” section of labelling about the potential increased risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (Naion).

The condition is a common cause of sudden, painless vision loss and may lead to permanent impairment of sight in some cases. It is caused by decreased blood flow to the front part of the optic nerve, but the underlying cause is not completely understood.

The FDA said it has evaluated clinical trial data, animal data, and post-marketing data, including observational studies and case reports.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Last year, the European Medicines Agency’s safety committee said Wegovy and Ozempic may in very rare cases cause Naion, the first time a regulator had confirmed the side effect.

The condition may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic as well as in Novo’s other diabetes drug Rybelsus, for at least one year, EMA had said.

Four patients in Denmark, who experienced vision loss after using Novo’s GLP-1 drugs, were granted compensation, the Danish Patient Compensation had said last year.

A large study published in 2025 tracked nearly 175,000 diabetic patients treated with semaglutide and an equal number taking non-GLP-1 medications. It found that the risk of Naion more than doubled after two years of treatment with a GLP-1 drug, compared to diabetes medicines from other classes.

Reuters

With 42% local content, the Tengo will be built alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo at Volkswagen’s Eastern Cape plant after a R4bn investment. It will serve the local market and be exported to other African countries.

The Tengo competes in one of the market’s most popular segments and could help Volkswagen claw back market share after slipping from second to third place behind Toyota and Suzuki.

Pricing has yet to be announced, but the Tengo will probably be positioned below the T-Cross, which retails for between R400,000 and R548,400. About the same size as the T-Cross, the Tengo will compete against popular compact crossovers such as the Toyota Starlet Cross, Chery Tiggo Cross, Mahindra XUV 3XO and Suzuki Fronx.

South Africa will become the first country outside Brazil to manufacture the Volkswagen Tera, though the vehicle will be sold locally under the name Tengo. The name was selected through a public voting campaign launched by Volkswagen Group Africa in June 2025.

The Tengo is a front-wheel-drive vehicle with no off-road aspirations but has an SUV-like design with squared-off black wheel arches, raised ground clearance and functional roof rails. It has a distinctive light signature with split front LEDs and differs from the Brazilian Tera with unique front and rear bumper designs.

It will initially be available with a 1.0l turbocharged petrol engine paired with an automatic transmission and a 1.6l naturally aspirated petrol engine in manual and automatic guises. There will be three specification levels: Trend, Life and the range-topping Style.

Before the Tengo’s showroom debut early next year, Business Day was recently invited to experience the car and see the engineering behind it at Volkswagen Group Africa’s home in Kariega. This included a tour of the factory and the technical facilities where the vehicle underwent quality and safety testing.

After a 2.6-million kilometre durability testing programme involving 41 vehicles, the locally built Tengo has been adapted for African conditions with a more robust rear axle for rough roads, revised engine management and the removal of the close-coupled catalyst to cope with lower quality fuel.

Standard safety equipment across all Tengo variants will include six airbags, ABS and electronic stability control. VW expects the vehicle to achieve a four-star rating when it undergoes Global NCAP crash testing.

We had a brief drive in pre-production 1.6l models at the company’s test track. Under the bonnet is the same 77kW/153Nm four-cylinder engine that powers various VW Polo and Polo Vivo models. The normally aspirated unit delivered a decent commuting pace and refinement when paired with the five-speed manual transmission. The six-speed Tiptronic automatic was less refined, with the transmission generally holding higher engine speeds and generating more noise.

It was a short test drive, but it revealed that the ride quality was reasonably comfortable on bumps, and the Tengo felt solidly built. The raised ground clearance didn’t cause excessive body roll, and the car swept neatly through corners.

We did not get to drive the more powerful 85kW/200Nm TSI model, but the 1.0l three-cylinder turbo engine’s willing performance and fuel economy have been well proven in the Polo and T-Cross ranges.

At 4.1m long, the Tengo has a reasonably spacious cabin, with a back seat roomy enough for adults. The interior of the range-topping Style model features a tablet-like infotainment display, digital instrument panel, multifunction steering wheel and cloth/artificial leather seats. The cabin is dominated by hard plastics, as befits its budget crossover positioning, though the Life has some textured and padded surfaces for added comfort and stylistic appeal.

The top model also gets additional luxuries such as a wireless smartphone charger with cooling. Full specifications will be revealed at the Tengo’s showroom debut next year.

Business Day

Well, if the rest of the world could have voted in this election, this would have been the outcome the world would have wanted. I’m sure this rebuke of Trump and Trumpism precipitated shouts of joy from Dar es Salaam to Denver, from Tokyo to Toledo, from New York to New Zealand, from Cairo to Canada, and from Ukraine to Kansas.

From sea to shining sea, the people spoke in historic fashion. The first African American female governor elected to head a state was elected in the state of Georgia, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. The first openly gay senator was elected from New Hampshire. Mississippi, a state Martin Luther King said was “a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression” but could be “transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”, did something historic.

Mississippi is on the verge of electing an African American man as one of its senators. Texas elected a Latino woman governor and New Mexico elected a Native American woman as its governor as well. North Carolina, which was a Republican stronghold, has now become one of the most solidly Democratic states in the union.

The chapeaux on all of this is that out of the 15 seats Republicans created last year to try to maintain their chokehold on American democracy, they won only two. The result is Democrats control the Senate and House of Representatives. Trump is officially a lame duck.

In the remaining two years of his presidency Trump has a choice. He must either get along with a Democratic Congress or set the stage for a similar sweep in two years that guarantees a Democrat wins the White House and they secure even more control in Congress.

Read: ADEKEYE ADEBAJO | The comeuppance of Donald Trump

What message were the American people sending at the ballot box in these midterm elections? Were there multiple messages being sent? Was this a referendum on cruelty, corruption and chaos? The short answer is yes. Was this a referendum on the price of petrol, the price of food and the cost of war? Again, without a doubt the answer is yes. Was this, in a word, a referendum on Trump? It would surely seem so. Those are the obvious lessons to be learnt from the 2026 midterm elections in the US.

I would also suggest that there were several more subtle, but no less powerful, messages that were delivered in America’s elections. The most unbelievable, given America’s history in terms of racism and sexism, is that the majority of Americans are prepared to move beyond race, gender and sexual orientation as ultimate arbiters about how political decisions are made and who they are prepared to entrust with the levers of power on their behalf.

Do the midterm election results mean racism has ceased to exist in America? No. Does it mean gender bias is dead? No. Does it mean America has become miraculously bereft of bias? No. What the midterms revealed is that the majority of Americans want honest, creative and caring leaders who will work on their behalf and make the country work. Nothing else matters.

What the midterms revealed is that the majority of Americans want honest, creative and caring leaders who will work on their behalf and make the country work. Nothing else matters.

This is not only a message about America’s people, it is a message to America’s leaders. That message is that the bar of accountability has been raised for those elected to office. The message is ― you can no longer get elected by playing to age old tropes, you’ve now got to do the hard work of offering solutions to the problems people face and if you ignore that message you do so at your peril.

The first three words introducing the US constitution are “We the people.” The point being that the legitimacy of government is derived from the people. The government is by the people and for the people. Therefore, it is ultimately accountable to the people. What that means is that when those who are stewards of sacred trust of governance are not faithful in duty, it is the responsibility of the people to replace them with leaders who will.

What we witnessed was American democracy in action in its purest form. The government must be accountable to the people. That is what was on full display in America’s midterms. Those are a couple of takeaways for those of us who are Americans. Are there any lessons in the midterm elections for Africa’s nascent democracies? I would suggest there are several.

Democracy only works when you stay fully invested. On election day, vote. Sometimes it takes longer than you like to get it right. Sometimes it takes more elections than you would want to make things right, but keep trying. The apocryphal lesson is something I used to tell Tanzanians during my tenure as US ambassador. As Churchill once remarked, “democracy is the worst form of human governance, it’s just better than everything else.” It’s not always neat. It’s more often messy. It doesn’t guarantee a succession of great leaders, but it does guarantee that you can get rid of the worst. This is the message to the people.

The apocryphal lesson is something I used to tell Tanzanians during my tenure as US ambassador. As Churchill once remarked, ‘democracy is the worst form of human governance, it’s just better than everything else.’

There’s also a message for those that seek the mantle of leadership. Would-be leaders have an obligation to make the sale for their candidacy. Do the hard work of offering a better idea about how to make the lives of people better. The people are listening, and if you do only then will you merit their support. Change for the sake of change is not enough. Those in office are corrupt and you’re not, is not enough. If you want to lead offer a better idea about how you’ll make the lives of the people you aspire to lead better.

Let me end as I started. America’s midterm elections have come and gone. Given that the world suffered mightily through the first two years of Trump’s second term, we deserve to “eat, drink and be merry” today. Well, maybe tomorrow too. Though we might’ve thought we’d die, we didn’t. So, let’s celebrate. But after we celebrate, remember the work begins anew.

For those who are devotees of democracy, in the words of Kwame Nkrumah, “forward ever, backwards never.”

• Stith, a former US ambassador to Tanzania who served on the Africa advisory committee of the office of the US trade representative, is founder and chair of The Pula Group and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York.

“We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about eight months but will have to return deposits for a lot of people,” the billionaire said in a post on X on Monday.

The comments come after Musk said Tesla would add an extra production shift to fulfil outstanding Cybertruck orders before dismantling the production line next year to expand output of its Cybercab robotaxi.

The production wind-down is slated for mid-2027, Musk announced on Friday, with the resources being redirected to the Cybercab, a vehicle central to the automaker’s autonomous-driving ambitions.

Tesla began delivering the Cybertruck in late 2023, but demand has fallen far short of Musk’s expectations. US sales fell 48% to 20,237 units last year, according to Kelley Blue Book, well below Musk’s earlier projection that annual Cybertruck sales could reach 250,000 vehicles.

Reuters

Germany looks set to get its first female head of state next year after chancellor Friedrich Merz nominated Ilse Aigner on Monday as his conservatives’ candidate to replace President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the largely ceremonial role.

With the support of Merz’s conservatives, their Social Democrat partners in Germany’s ruling coalition and the Greens, Aigner is very likely to be elected in January by the Federal Convention comprising members of the lower house of parliament and delegates from Germany’s 16 federal state parliaments.

The term of Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, ends in March.

Aigner, who is speaker of the Bavarian parliament and has previously served as a federal minister of agriculture, said that, if elected, she would work to overcome divisions in German society.

“Our country and our democracy — yes, they are under attack from within and without,” she said, standing alongside Merz.

“Extremists are celebrating their triumphs, and ideologies are on the rise. Division is being fuelled, and consensus is being disparaged,” she said.

Aigner, a member of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Merz’s Christian Democrats, did not elaborate, but Germany’s mainstream parties are having to contend with the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which opinion polls suggest could become the biggest party after the next federal elections, due in early 2029.

Firm opposition

Merz praised Aigner’s “clear commitment to the fundamental values of our democracy” and what he said was her firm opposition to hatred and extremism.

“Ilse Aigner is a win for the Federal Republic of Germany. A president with dignity and heart, a president who brings people together, sets a direction and sparks debate,” he said in a televised statement.

Although the German president’s official duties are mainly limited to signing legislation into law and formally appointing ministers, the head of state is also expected to provide an important moral voice beyond daily politics.

Aigner, 61, trained as an electrical engineering technician and worked in electrical systems development for helicopter maker Eurocopter. She began her political career in local politics before being elected to the federal parliament in 1998.

She served as agriculture minister under former Chancellor Angela Merkel before returning to her home state of Bavaria, where she became speaker of the state parliament in 2018.

A senior member of the Social Democrats, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, praised Aigner as “an experienced, down-to-earth politician” who would be able to bring Germans together.

In a letter to members of its parliamentary party, the Greens’ leadership urged support for Aigner’s nomination “for cohesion, mutual respect and strengthening the democratic centre beyond party boundaries”.

Reuters

Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Jordan had shown understanding and openness towards resolving the incident in Deraa province, adding that the two countries had set up a joint security and technical committee to investigate the circumstances of the air strikes.

Jordan said its strikes on October 26 targeted Islamic State militants linked to a deadly attack on a church in Jordan’s Karak province. Syrian authorities said the strikes killed seven civilians, including three children.

“Work is under way to redress the harm and compensate the innocent victims,” Shibani told a joint press conference with his counterpart Ayman Safadi, after the third session of the Syria-Jordan Higher Coordination Council, attended by high-level ministerial and technical delegations from both countries.

“Syrian blood is as precious to us as Jordanian blood,” Safadi said, renewing his condolences to Shibani and the families of the victims. He said the ties between the two countries were strong.

The meeting marked an effort to move past a rare diplomatic test for Damascus and Amman, which have expanded political, economic and security co-operation since the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Shibani said bilateral relations were at their strongest in decades. The two countries signed 11 cooperation documents covering investment, civil aviation, food security, cloud seeding in the Yarmouk River basin and a proposed railway connection linking Saudi Arabia to Turkey through Jordan and Syria, he said.

Trade between the two countries has nearly tripled in the past year to $330m, he said, adding that 20 of Syria’s 22 ministries were now engaged in direct co-operation with Jordan.

Safadi said the two countries were working together to combat drug trafficking, a longstanding security concern along their shared border. He also reaffirmed Jordan’s support for Syria against Israeli attacks, urging international intervention to halt them before they pushed the region towards further escalation.

Bengaluru ― England fast bowler Brydon Carse, who was stood down from the national team after an incident outside a nightclub in August, has been named in the second-string England Lions squad to tour South Africa next month along with the national team.

British media reported that Carse, who has not played for England since January, may return to the senior squad for the first Test, with Josh Tongue set to miss the match in Johannesburg next month for the birth of his second child.

Carse was last month charged with breaching the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) professional conduct regulations over the incident in Derby. A final decision about his punishment has not yet been announced.

England have handed Nottinghamshire all-rounder Liam Patterson-White his first Test call-up for the three-match series against South Africa. Batter Jacob Bethell will hope to play his first Test since June after recovering from a knee injury.

“Liam Patterson-White’s selection comes on the back of a strong summer in the County Championship, when he took the most wickets of any spinner in Division One,” selector Marcus North said in a statement.

England will play three one-day internationals and five Twenty20 matches in Australia starting on Friday before flying to South Africa.

England Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Liam Patterson-White, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.

Reuters

Carrim was arrested at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport by the Madlanga commission’s recommendations task team in October for allegedly contravening the Commissions Act after repeatedly failing to appear before the inquiry.

He was granted bail of R100,000 by the Pretoria magistrate’s court in that matter.

Video courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

Antalya — Leaders of the COP31 climate summit urged the world to accelerate the fight against global warming amid rising temperatures and worsening climate-driven disasters, as the annual meeting began in Turkey on Monday.

The comments at the start of the two-week UN conference were an appeal to governments to focus on climate, even as other international crises from war to soaring inflation and the uncertainty of AI compete for their attention.

“The urgency of this moment must drive us forward,” UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell said at the opening of the event on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, adding that progress so far was “nowhere near fast enough.”

Read: UN urges nations to act beyond climate pledges at COP31

A report by the UN Environment Programme published in October said the world was already poised to overshoot 1.5°C of warming above pre-industrial times, the threshold set at the 2015 Paris climate summit to avoid the worst consequences of warming.

This year is on track to be one of the four hottest on record, driven by a powerful El Niño, a UN report showed on Monday.

It has also stood out with a series of extreme heatwaves across Western Europe and a glacier collapse in Nepal that triggered a catastrophic flood killing more than 1,450 people, with thousands still ​missing.

Turkey’s COP31 presidency has focused this year’s summit on a goal to electrify more than a third of the global economy by 2035, up from about a fifth today. It is asking nations to sign onto a pledge supporting that target.

Theoretically, such a goal could help reduce planet-warming emissions by speeding the global shift away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles, furnaces, boilers, cooking stoves, and other greenhouse gas-emitting equipment.

Read: Turkey talks up stronger trade ties with SA ahead of COP31

“We want people to feel the results of climate talks in daily life: in buildings that use less energy, in clean public transport, in energy they can afford and in new jobs,” Turkey’s COP31 president Murat Kurum said.

But climate advocates have criticised the pledge because it does not require the additional electricity to come from low-carbon sources, setting up an early fight over whether electrification alone should count as climate progress.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped Turkey could deliver concrete results.

“Our goal is to make this summit a platform where concrete results are produced, where countries turn their pledges into action, because it is no longer time to make promises that remain on paper,” Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Azerbaijan, according to a transcript of his comments shared by his office on Monday.

Fossil fuels

The Iran war has underscored the world’s attachment to fossil fuels, as has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though some say the wars have also shown the benefits of moving to renewables.

Now in its ninth month, the Iran war has disrupted Middle East oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting fuel prices around the globe and prompting a scramble for new supplies.

US President Donald Trump’s administration — which is shunning climate talks for the second year — has encouraged policies maximising oil, gas and coal production to tackle the disruptions.

South Korea, India, Thailand and other Asian nations, meanwhile, have also increased their reliance on coal or taken steps to boost coal-fired power generation.

“A lot of people who previously might have been embarrassed to argue for continuing very high use of fossil fuel are now feeling empowered to make that case,” said John Holdren of Harvard University, who was a science adviser to former US president Barack Obama.

At the same time, the deployment of renewable energy has also risen, driven by surging exports of cheap tech from China.

Stiell told the summit renewables were the clear answer to improving energy security.

“This year’s fossil fuel cost chaos has delivered a global shockwave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer,” he said.

“But the solutions are clear,” he added, saying renewable energy installations had already saved the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars.

This year’s fossil fuel cost chaos has delivered a global shockwave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer. But the solutions are clear.

Simon Stiell, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary

The rapid rollout of AI is also complicating talks, driving a surge in global power demand and contributing to rising greenhouse gas emissions.

Turkey will call on governments, businesses and other institutions at COP31 to sign a pledge outlining principles to ensure AI is developed and deployed sustainably.

Chris Bowen, Australia’s president of COP31 negotiations, said he hoped the conference would show the world that multilateralism works.

“Let’s show future generations that this generation was equal to the moment, equal to the challenge,” he said. 

Reuters

Arena Holdings is a news and entertainment content provider and one of Africa’s largest English-language news publishers. It owns iconic news titles, including the Sunday Times, Sowetan and Business Day. Arena also broadcasts on DStv through Business Day TV, Ignition TV and The Home Channel, and owns three film production and distribution assets — Empire Entertainment, Indigenous Film Distribution and Ochre Moving Pictures.

Arena is also home to Africa’s longest-running independent recording label and music publisher, Gallo Music.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Sowetan is looking for a news reporter with the ability to research, investigate, broadcast and write accurate and engaging news content across multiple platforms while working independently and meeting tight deadlines.

The role requires strong current affairs knowledge, excellent storytelling skills, and the ability to deliver timely, high-quality journalism.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Produce compelling digital-first content and break unique and exclusive news.
• Use information and data to map out and report on emerging societal trends.
• Identify and independently pursue stories of public interest.
• Create audio and video storytelling content.
• Work according to established deadlines.
• Establish and maintain an extensive network of contacts that can be relied upon for sourcing unique stories.

EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS

• Relevant diploma, degree or equivalent qualifications.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in journalism.
• Audio and video editing skills are critical.
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WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• Excellent organisational and communication skills.
• Digital savvy and strong multimedia skills.
• Unimpeachable integrity.
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HOW TO APPLY

Qualified applicants may submit their CV and two references to mediarecruitment@arena.africa

Please include “News Reporter” in the subject line of your application.

Closing Date

19 November 2026

The internal probe followed a media report that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese executive who allegedly passed information to Beijing. Huang told Nvidia’s employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without disclosing details of the relationship.

The investigation, announced on Sunday, has put a spotlight on Huang’s future given Nvidia’s status as the world’s most valuable chipmaker and the CEO’s role as the most prolific salesman of the AI boom.

The leather-jacketed Huang enjoys rock-star status worldwide, particularly in Asia, where he often mingles freely with fans, taking selfies and signing autographs for his devoted followers.

He is Nvidia’s fifth-largest shareholder with a roughly 3.6% stake, according to LSEG data, and keeps a tight grip on the company through an unusually flat structure in which dozens of executives report directly to him.

But unlike Meta Platforms or SpaceX, Nvidia has no dual-class shares that would give its co-founder majority voting control.

The market’s probably telling you now this does no favours to the stock whatsoever in a time when there’s a lot of conjecture as to the build-out of data centres

Chris Weston, Pepperstone head of research

The fallout of the probe extended to South Korea, where Madison Huang, Huang’s daughter and an Nvidia executive, cancelled a planned visit to Seoul for an Nvidia conference that was set to begin on Monday, according to companies she had been scheduled to meet.

Nvidia’s shares tumbled nearly 5% in US premarket trading, extending last week’s sell-off and pushing the stock to fresh multi-month lows. At the current levels, the chipmaker would lose around $250bn in value from its last closing price.

“The market’s probably telling you now this does no favours to the stock whatsoever in a time when there’s a lot of conjecture as to the build-out of data centres,” said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne.

But Weston said he did not think Huang, whom he described as the “godfather of AI”, would be replaced.

“If we genuinely thought he was going to step down ... the stock would be down — it would be an absolute bloodbath, to be honest,” he said.

Nvidia said its board has confidence in Huang. Some analysts said he has no natural successor within the company in case he decides to step down.

The so-called Chinese spy narrative is purely a groundless accusation, slander and a smear

Guo Jiakun, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson

The New York Times reported last month that Huang had a relationship with Alice Huang, an unrelated former executive of Singapore-based company Megaspeed, who US authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset.

“The so-called Chinese spy narrative is purely a groundless accusation, slander and a smear,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

Megaspeed did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Monday, a public holiday in Singapore.

Alice Huang did not respond to The New York Times last month when it first reported her relationship with Huang, and Reuters could not determine her location to seek comment on Monday.

Asian partners unaffected

Shares in Nvidia’s key Asian chip suppliers rebounded on Monday after last week’s sell-off of AI-related stocks, with TSMC closing 4.7% higher, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ended up 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Some prominent figures weighed in on Huang’s admission. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said on X the Nvidia CEO was an “incredible human”, but if “indeed this is more than an affair, then it is obviously a real problem”.

“I am hoping for a simple affair, not a risk to our national security,” he said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented, “I agree” on a post by Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire that said Huang “did something incredibly dumb” that was “bad for America” but that “Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership”.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had not spoken to Huang about the allegations, but called him a fine person. “I hope everything’s fine. He’s done such an incredible job,” he added.

When asked if he believed he should have acted on intelligence when he was briefed about it, Trump said: “No, I don’t think so. I think he’s an honourable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it.”

The New York Times reported that Trump was briefed about the intelligence findings roughly a year ago and chose not to do anything with the information.

Cancelled visit

Madison Huang had initially planned to visit South Korean AI startup Rebellions and hold a question-and-answer session with Kakao Mobility. Rebellions said the events were cancelled due to “unavoidable internal circumstances at Nvidia”.

Nvidia AI Day Seoul, a two-day event expected to draw about 2,000 participants to discuss physical AI, agentic AI and infrastructure, will proceed as planned, according to South Korean media. Nvidia did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Analysts said a prolonged investigation or internal review could potentially delay Nvidia’s investment decisions or product launches, with broader implications for the semiconductor industry.

Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said Nvidia’s rivals, including Advanced Micro Devices, could attract greater attention in the short term, potentially putting Samsung, which has close business ties with AMD, in the spotlight.

Still, he said Nvidia’s products would be difficult to replace, limiting the potential impact, though shipments to China could face further delays depending on how the situation developed.

South Korea’s deputy science minister said on Monday the government expected no disruptions to contracted deliveries of Nvidia graphics processing units despite issues currently facing the company.

Reuters

Rassas’ boatyard in the northern port city of Bizerte is part of a fast-growing yacht building and pleasure boat industry in Tunisia, which is trying to leverage its skilled workforce, competitive costs and proximity to Europe to take advantage of rising global demand for luxury vessels.

While few may be able to afford the yachts in Tunisia itself, where average wages are just a few hundred dollars a month, exports have grown rapidly over the past decade to around €500m (about R9.18bn) last year, the North African country’s trade association says.

Rassas says his business, founded by his father three decades ago to build small pleasure boats, now produces 10 yachts a year, catamarans and smaller yachts, which sell for up to €400,000 (R7.4m) each. He employs around 60 people.

“It is always very satisfying to see these models being launched into the water, after a great deal of work having been done beforehand,” Rassas said. “It’s like watching your child set sail.”

Tunisia’s yacht building sector as a whole has grown to about 75 companies, from around 20 a decade ago, Montassar Dhiaf, head of Tunisia’s Marine Industries Association, the trade association, told Reuters.

Many of these are now Tunisian-owned and operated, unlike previously when foreign firms were more dominant, he said.

One sign of the industry’s progress is that a luxury catamaran, the WAMA 42XL, built by a Tunisian company, won the under-45-foot power category in the 2026 Multihull of the Year awards, which recognise the best new multihull yachts and catamarans internationally.

Dhiaf says foreign expertise, particularly from Italian firms, helped transfer technology and develop local skills, enabling Tunisian companies to move from making components to building and exporting complete yachts.

“Tunisian companies can now handle the entire process, from design and manufacturing to outfitting and after-sales services,” Dhiaf said.

Yacht makers in Menzel Jemil near Bizerte also provided some of the components for Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo’s luxury superyacht, he said.

French yacht makers, including the Beneteau Group, operate in Tunisia as well, and the sector aims to double its exports by 2030, which could boost foreign currency reserves and create jobs, Dhiaf said.

He called on the government to provide support, establish training centres and offer tax incentives to make Tunisian companies even more competitive.

Rassas said his own business — currently spread across five boatyards — aims to double output and expand production of luxury catamarans, which can take two months or more to build.

Models range in length from 7 to 25 metres, Rassas said. One 11-metre model currently being built will feature three cabins and reach speeds of 25 knots, he added.

Reuters

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By Olena Harmash

The IMF began a review of Ukraine’s lending programme on Monday that could unlock $1.67bn (R27.46bn) in fresh financing for Kyiv as it struggles to shore up its war-hit economy and plug a looming funding gap.

Co-operation with the IMF, Ukraine’s key international lender, is critical to ensure funding from other partners and help maintain economic stability as the conflict with Russia grinds on and Kyiv faces a multibillion-dollar financing shortfall for 2027.

“Discussions will cover macroeconomic and fiscal policies, as well as key structural reforms,” Priscilla Toffano, the IMF’s resident representative in Ukraine, said.

The review combines the second and third assessments of Ukraine’s four-year IMF programme, potentially clearing the way for the disbursement of about $1.67bn.

Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said the meetings would also cover the budget and international financial aid for 2027.

Ukraine’s economy, battered by more than four years of war, is now in one of its most challenging periods due to intensified Russian air bombardments on businesses, energy infrastructure and revenue-generating sectors.

The economy slipped into contraction in 2026, with GDP down 0.7% year on year in the third quarter. The central bank expects GDP to slip 0.4% in 2026. Inflation is on the rise and expected to reach 12.5% this year.

As exports via the Black Sea ports are blocked and main exporting sectors — agribusiness and the steel industry — are crippled, the budget revenues are also falling below the plan.

The country faces a massive funding gap of about $70bn (R1.15-trillion) next year, Ukrainian officials have said.

The central bank said the IMF’s team and Ukrainian officials would hold meetings in Lviv and Warsaw, with some experts joining the talks online.

Reuters

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Spur Corporation CEO Val Nichas earned R26.1m in total remuneration in the 2026 financial year as the restaurant group, which owns Spur and Rocomamas, completed the five-year strategy she was appointed to lead in 2021.

Her total pay rose from R20.6m in 2025, according to the group’s integrated annual report. It comprised R6.6m in guaranteed pay, a R5.4m short-term incentive, R597,000 in bonus-matching shares and R13.4m from share appreciation rights that vested during the year.

The end of the strategy cycle provides a measure of the growth achieved since 2021, when Spur was dealing with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, including restaurant closures and restrictions, financial pressure on franchisees and uncertainty among employees.

The strategy was built around four stakeholder groups: employees, customers, franchisees and investors. Its priorities included building a high-performance culture and a pipeline of future leaders, advancing employment equity and BEE, investing in marketing and innovation, revitalising lower-margin brands, improving franchisee profitability and lifting returns for investors, with international expansion in markets where its brands had the greatest growth potential.

In 2021-26, the group’s restaurant network grew from 624 to 751, while its loyalty club membership rose from 1.2-million to 2.6-million. The number of customers served annually increased from 48-million to 56-million.

Over the five years, restaurant turnover grew at a compound annual rate of 15.3%, profit before tax 25.1%, earnings per share 27.9% and cash generation 27.5%. Return on equity grew at a compound annual rate of 17.8%, the group said.

Spur’s share price grew at an annual rate of 17.5% over the period, reaching a record R45.49 on May 29, the highest level since the group listed on the JSE in 1986, it said.

Franchisees invested more than R400m in their restaurants in the two years before the report, and the group’s first franchisee satisfaction survey, conducted in the 2026 financial year, recorded a 71% satisfaction score.

On transformation, Spur’s broad-based BEE rating improved from level 8 in 2022 to level 4 in its 2025/26 assessment, and the group met the required threshold for supplier development for the first time.

Nichas said the strategy had been shaped by the need to protect the business while changing its brands and operations to meet customers’ needs.

“It was not the beginning any new CEO would choose, but it brought immediate clarity. We had to decide what mattered most, what needed to change and what should never be lost,” Nichas said.

“Our first responsibility was to protect the foundations of the business, support our franchisees and people, grow turnover and profitability and provide stability at a time when certainty was in short supply.”

Her short-term incentive was calculated using company performance, weighted at 80%, and personal performance, weighted at 20%. The company performance score was 102.5%, while her personal performance factor was 133%.

A further 621,454 share appreciation rights from an allocation made in November 2023 are expected to vest this month. Spur estimated their value at R8.5m, based on a share price proxy of R41.36.

Nichas is not done with Spur, as she prepares for “the next phase”.

“The completion of the initial strategy is not an end. It is a moment to recognise what has been achieved, to acknowledge where we adapted and to be candid about what remains unfinished.

“The next phase will require us to further accelerate growth, expand transformation, strengthen franchisee returns and continue evolving our customer experience,” she said.

Business Day

Oil prices fell on Monday after US President Donald Trump downplayed the likelihood of renewed strikes on Iran, though attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz kept supply concerns in focus.

Brent crude dropped 75 US cents, or 0.75%, to $97.57 a barrel in morning trade while US West Texas Intermediate lost 38c, or 0.4%, to $90.45.

The Brent benchmark plunged 16% last week for its steepest weekly drop since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Oil continues to trade lower on hopes of a US-Iran peace deal rather than concrete signs of progress,” said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, adding that Trump’s latest comments that fresh strikes on Iran are highly unlikely have added to the pressure on prices.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said: “Weakness in the physical market, supported by still-elevated flows out of the Middle East, is one factor weighing on prices.”

US midterms

Trump said on Sunday that he was highly unlikely to order fresh attacks on Iran as long as talks to end the conflict progressed, even as both countries reported that shipping had been hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz.

He had hinted at renewing attacks on Iran ​after ⁠last week’s US midterm elections, but there has been no sign of a large-scale US military operation. Iran has said it would respond by striking US and Israeli targets.

Trump was to meet the prime minister of mediator Qatar on Monday as efforts to end the Iran war ramp up after last week’s midterm elections, though senior US and Gulf officials cast doubt on the chances of an imminent deal.

With no victory in sight more than eight months into the conflict he launched alongside Israel on February 28, Trump has played down the likelihood of major warfare restarting soon but remains unwilling to accept an existing Iranian truce plan.

Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade, called Trump’s comments “more measured” but said the market is still waiting to see whether the midterms have produced a lasting shift in Trump’s approach to the conflict or whether this is just another temporary change in tone.

Oil is headed for a glut again as recovering Middle Eastern oil flows, rising production from other countries and weak demand have pushed global supply above consumption, JPMorgan said in a report on Friday, estimating a surplus of 1.1-million barrels per day in September, widening to 1.4-million bpd in October.

Separately, the Iran-aligned Houthis said they were responsible for an attack on Saudi Aramco’s offices in Riyadh on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery was set on fire after a Ukrainian drone attack on the region on Monday, governor Alexander Drozdenko said.

Reuters

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David Warner said on Monday that former Australia teammate Usman Khawaja’s comments that the entire team had been aware of the plan to tamper with the ball during a 2018 tour of South Africa were “100% accurate”.

Warner and fellow batsmen Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were banned from cricket for several months over the plan to rough up the ball with sandpaper during the third Test at Newlands.

In an excerpt of his autobiography released on Saturday, Khawaja said “open, light-hearted discussions” about tampering were not confined to batters, bowlers or staff but extended throughout the team.

On Sunday, he added that he had chosen to speak about the “Sandpapergate” scandal now after promising childhood friend Warner that he would share his side of the story.

In a video posted on Instagram, Warner thanked Khawaja and said Cricket Australia’s investigation into the incident was flawed.

“This whole interview process was rushed and botched,” added Warner, who retired from international cricket in 2024. “Uzzie was sitting next to Cameron Bancroft. Uzzie was not interviewed. How is that a thorough investigation? It baffles me.”

Cricket Australia (CA) did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Warner said he and Khawaja were looking for accountability. “We’re not here to point fingers and we’re not opening old wounds,” added the 40-year-old.

“It’s about accountability, transparency and ensuring the truth is properly examined, and perhaps it’s time people stop scrutinising the person asking for accountability and start asking those responsible for the investigation to provide it.

“Now, there were a lot of statements and inaccuracies over the last eight years that were out in the media by people, and there were a lot of people who stayed silent.”

Last week, the CA defended its 2018 probe, which concluded that prior knowledge of the plot was confined to Smith, Warner and Bancroft.

“All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process,” it said in a statement on Saturday.

“There has been the ongoing opportunity to present any relevant information, and this remains the case.”

The four Australia bowlers who played in the 2018 Test — Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon — issued a joint statement in 2021 denying any knowledge of the plot.

Cummins, now the Australian Test captain, said last month he had spoken with Khawaja about the upcoming release of his autobiography and dismissed suggestions that the book could trigger further fallout.

Reuters

Commission chair justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga on Monday rejected arguments from Matlala’s representative, advocate Annelene van den Heever, that a statement provided by Matlala to the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption in a plea deal process cannot be used by the commission.

In July Matlala withdrew from the plea deal in a R228m tender scandal case after having submitted a statement during the plea deal negotiations.

The Criminal Procedure Act provides that after a plea deal collapses and a trial starts afresh, the agreement shall be null and void, and no regard shall be had to any negotiations which preceded the entering into the agreement or any record of the agreement, unless the accused consents to the recording of all or certain admissions made by him.

Van den Heever argued that a statement made by Matlala that was provided to the commission by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) legally should never have been before it and should not be considered.

Madlanga in his rejection said the law bars a criminal court from taking into consideration the plea agreements when a trial starts afresh, but that does not apply to the commission.

“I take the view that what section 105(A)10 relates to is criminal proceedings. It does not relate to proceedings of a commission of inquiry,” Madlanga said.

“The nullity of the statement that is at issue does not apply to a situation that is outside of the criminal proceedings that the introductory part of the section refers to. That is, criminal proceedings that are contemplated to have started. Therefore, I reject the submissions made by Mr Matlala’s legal representative that the section 204 (Criminal Procedure Act) statement cannot be used in these proceedings.”

Matlala’s legal team indicated that they intend to take the ruling on review on an urgent basis.

“I hold instructions to at this stage take the ruling by the commission on review. This is an extremely important issue that we believe will have a profound impact not only on our client but also on the legal process as a whole,” Van den Heever said.

The commission’s ruling would lead to accused persons “never entering” plea agreements with the state, in that certain information provided during plea negotiations would be provided to commissions by the NPA and not protected as promised, she argued.

She asked the commission to proceed with hearing Matlala’s evidence in camera, but the request was not made in the form of an application.

“He will not answer any questions unless there is a situation whereby this, the issue of the content of that statement, at some point is done in camera with strict security relating to who can hear and who can’t hear, and if necessary, we will then make a separate application to deal with that issue because of threats to my client’s life and to those of his family,” she said.

The hearings continue.

Business Day

Chiefs qualified for the last four after beating Siwelele 2-1 at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, setting up an away date with Sundowns. The league has yet to confirm dates and venues for the competition’s semifinals, though they are expected to be played after the current Fifa break.

Asanele Velebayi came off the bench to score the winner for Chiefs, his first since arriving at the club in August last year.

A man who is never short of confidence ✨

Wandile Duba converts from the spot and Chiefs are level ✌️⚽️

📺 Stream #CarlingKnockoutCup on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/31z6R78B8R

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) November 8, 2026

Siyabonga Ndebele had put Siwelele ahead early in the first half before Wandile Duba restored parity for Amakhosi on the stroke of halftime. Mduduzi Shabalala had skied one spot-kick seven minutes before Duba converted his.

“We knew when we qualified for the semifinals we’d play a big game there. We need this type of game because our team needs to grow. With this type of game against Sundowns, our team will grow,” Da Cruz said.

“It will be a very good game for us, and we will play that game for sure to qualify for the final.”

Mdu Shabalala makes up for his penalty miss 🙌

He wins another one for Amakhosi 👏

📺 Stream #CarlingKnockoutCup on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/zRWs0pE5zD

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) November 8, 2026

Chiefs have missed two chances of winning a cup this season after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the MTN8 in August, before failing to make it to the CAF Confederation Cup group stages last month. Amakhosi have struggled to stay consistent in the league, having already played five draws.

It is because of this that Da Cruz feels reaching the Carling Knockout semifinals will boost their morale and put them on a “positive dynamic” after a tough few months.

“When you win, it’s always a pleasure. It gives confidence to the team and allows us to be in a positive dynamic. At the start of the season we didn’t get the results we expected, but I am happy about the work of the team and the mindset and how the team progressed as well,” the Chiefs coach said.

Sowetan

Prosecutors rested their case last month after withdrawing three of the four impeachment charges against Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, to try to expedite the trial by focusing on her wealth and business interests and her asset declarations.

The trial heard nearly four months of testimony from prosecution witnesses, including tax, banking and anti-money-laundering officials.

Prosecutors said assets they linked to Duterte and her family were either missing from her declarations or inconsistent with her net worth. A forensic financial analyst who testified said Duterte could have more than 800 million pesos (R208.6m) in unexplained assets.

Duterte’s lawyers rejected that and called their first of 24 witnesses on Monday. Duterte has called the proceedings political harassment and denies wrongdoing.

What happend to the other charges?

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on four charges initially, including misusing public funds, accumulating unexplained wealth, bribery and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, the first lady and a former house speaker.

The withdrawal of most of the charges should shorten proceedings, raising the prospect that a verdict could be reached before year-end.

In the last impeachment trial in 2012, which resulted in the conviction of then supreme court chief justice Renato Corona, the verdict came a few days after the defence concluded.

What is needed to convict Duterte?

Under the constitution, two-thirds of senators, or 16 or 24, are required to convict an impeached official, but in Duterte’s trial the threshold has been changed.

In a major ruling in September, the number of votes prosecutors need for a conviction was lowered from 16 to 14 because four senator-judges cannot participate.

They were sidelined due to legal actions against some, which include a scandal in a multi-billion-dollar public works programme, and the International Criminal Court’s investigation into a bloody “war on drugs” led by Duterte’s father.

With the possibility that more senator-judges could be subject to separate legal proceedings, the change in the vote threshold could have broader implications.

While the lower threshold is seen as favourable for prosecutors, it could still be a challenge to secure a conviction.

Political loyalties in the Philippines are fluid, and Duterte has influential allies in the Senate and beyond, making the outcome difficult to predict.

The trial came with the backdrop of a bitter fallout between Duterte and Marcos that followed the collapse of the once-powerful political alliance between their families, which joined forces to win the 2022 election.

Political impact

Duterte plans to run for president in 2028 and surveys consistently show her as the frontrunner to succeed Marcos, who cannot seek re-election and is limited to a single term. He has said he would endorse a successor.

A conviction could remove Duterte as vice-president and disqualify her from holding public office, potentially knocking the top contender out of the 2028 race.

That gives the trial consequences beyond the remaining years of Duterte’s term and has focused attention on how individual senators, some of whom have their own political ambitions, will vote.

What happens if she is convicted?

If Duterte is removed, Marcos would nominate a new vice-president from among members of the Senate and lower house, who must be confirmed by a majority of both chambers, voting separately.

If acquitted, Duterte would remain vice-president and could pursue the presidency in 2028, though an impeached official can still face separate criminal proceedings.

Duterte is facing a criminal case before a trial court in connection with the alleged threats she made against Marcos and members of his family. She posted bail in September after the court ordered her arrest.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

By Yomna Ehab and Alexander Cornwell

US President Donald Trump will meet the prime minister of key mediator Qatar on Monday as efforts to end the Iran war ramp up after last week’s midterm elections, though senior US and Gulf officials cast doubt on the chances of an imminent deal.

With no victory in sight more than eight months into the conflict he launched alongside Israel on February 28, Trump has played down the likelihood of major warfare restarting soon, but remains unwilling to accept an existing Iranian truce plan.

Mutual attacks continue, with the US striking Iran’s Qeshm island overnight, according to Iranian state media, and Iran attacking tankers in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz this month while its Yemeni Houthi allies have hit Saudi Arabia.

Diplomatic moves

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is both prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, will meet Trump and US vice-president JD Vance in Washington later on Monday after visiting Tehran last week.

Iran’s proposal to end the war involves an end to the US blockade of its ports, the lifting of some sanctions and a halt to bombing in return for Tehran stopping its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with talks on its nuclear programme and other sanctions to follow.

The US has repeatedly rejected that plan, which Iran has said could be condensed to a two-day timeframe, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Sunday describing Tehran’s conditions as “outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic”.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei defended the plan on Monday as the most reasonable offer on the table.

Senior US Republicans, including Vance, have blamed their party’s dire showing in last week’s elections on the Iran war, but despite growing domestic political pressure to end the conflict, Rubio said he did not believe a diplomatic breakthrough was imminent.

We should prepare for a long period of uncertainty in which neither a decisive resolution nor a stable regional order can be taken for granted

Anwar Gargash, senior United Arab Emirates official

A senior United Arab Emirates official, Anwar Gargash, echoed that view on Monday, saying a comprehensive political settlement between the US and Iran appeared difficult.

“We should prepare for a long period of uncertainty in which neither a decisive resolution nor a stable regional order can be taken for granted,” he said.

Vance, who led the negotiations for a short-lived truce in June, will also meet Al-Thani, whose country has been a prime mediator since early in the war, conveying messages between the sides and proposing ways to bridge their differences.

Military action

Sunday night’s strikes on Qeshm Island did not impact vital infrastructure or services, a provincial official told Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency on Monday. The US has not commented on the Iranian media reports.

Attacks on tankers in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz ramped up sharply in October and have continued at the highest rate since the start of the war, figures from international maritime agencies showed last week.

On Sunday Iran, which typically does not acknowledge striking vessels that report being hit by projectiles, said a tanker had hit a mine east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The war has triggered a global energy shortage, prompted Iranian strikes on Gulf Arab countries, spilt over into a major Israeli offensive in Lebanon during the spring and summer, and has reignited Yemen’s long-frozen civil war.

On Sunday Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi group said it had struck an office building of Saudi state oil company Aramco in Riyadh. The Saudi energy ministry said an attack had blown out windows across several floors of a building in the city’s financial district, without assigning responsibility.

Reuters

World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz says his Paris Masters victory on Sunday is the ideal platform to launch his campaign for a first ATP Finals title and that he played his best tennis since returning from a wrist injury in August.

Alcaraz defeated American Ben Shelton 7-6(5) 7-5 in Paris to seal his fifth title of the year and his third since returning to the tour at the US Open after a break of nearly five months.

“This was probably my best week in terms of tennis [since returning],” the seven-time Grand Slam champion said.

“I can match it with Vienna, that I feel really comfortable in terms of tennis.

“But I would say this week, I made one step forwards mentally. I had a lot of really tough moments.

Alcaraz d. Ben Shelton 7-6(5) 7-5

Carlos wins his first Paris Masters title.

He gets his revenge from the loss to Shelton in New York.

9th Masters title... 9th straight win.

✅29th career title(5th of 2026)
✅59th top 10 win

He's baaaack.

🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/e60CvuILpn

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 8, 2026

“During the matches, I faced important and really tough moments internally, fighting with myself, trying to be positive, trying to stay strong mentally, and not letting those negative thoughts into the game.”

Alcaraz has yet to win the ATP Tour’s season-ending tournament, finishing runner-up in 2025 after losing to rival Jannik Sinner.

“As I said openly, this is a tournament that I really want to win one day,” Alcaraz said.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be this year or next year, if I’m ever going to be able to win this tournament, but I’m going to work hard.

“I’m going to believe that I can do that, and I’m going to go this year with a lot of confidence, with a lot of information in my bag, on the things that I really want to improve and be better at in that tournament. I’m going to go for it, for sure.”

The ATP Finals begin on Sunday in Turin.

Reuters

Coco Gauff shredded her shoes but stayed one step ahead of Jessica Pegula to defeat her compatriot 6-4 6-7(5) 6-2 on the first day of the WTA Finals at Indian Wells on Sunday, while Czech Linda Noskova got the better of Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-4.

Gauff had beaten Pegula three months ago in Cincinnati and had the right formula once again, as the 2024 winner showed superb versatility in a round-robin clash between the top two Americans in the season-ending championship.

The frequent rivals were 5-5 in their head-to-head record before Sunday and appeared perfectly matched through a tight opening set, where Gauff got the break from the baseline on the fourth set point.

Pegula took back the momentum by winning the first three games of the second set before Gauff dug in her heels, saving three set points in the 10th game to level it at 5-5.

Gauff d. Pegula 6-4 6-7 6-2 at WTA Finals

Coco’s now won her last 3 matches against Pegula

This match was such a battle from start to finish

Coco was down 1-5 in the 2nd set & took it to a tiebreak, but had to get it done in 3

✅48th win of 2026

2024 champ has arrived

🇺🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/83ek5bG8A8

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 9, 2026

Gauff then saved two break points and shouted in celebration as she clinched the 10min 11th game.

Pegula saved match point in the 12th and found another gear in the tiebreak, taking the set with a shot down the line.

Up a break in the third set, Gauff extended her lead to 5-2 when she ran up to the net and forced her opponent into an error. She capped a terrific performance with a triumphant roar as Pegula sent one past the baseline on the third match point.

“Honestly, I was having a lot of fun today. I took a little break; it was my first match in a month,” said Gauff, who was last in action at the China Open in early October.

“To play a tournament like this with no preparation is something I’ve never done in my career. I’m just really happy to get through today. It was a tough match.”

HOW DID SHE MAKE THAT?!🤯👏

Linda Noskova is in control against Kostyuk at FAGE WTA Finals!#FAGEWTAFinals | #TheUltimateStage pic.twitter.com/CQB3Di4tQD

— wta (@WTA) November 8, 2026

The 22-year-old said she had to be aggressive to deal with Pegula’s game.

“I also had to run a lot,” she added.

“My shoes are pretty torn up now. Some of my shoes are like somewhere on the court there, so I’m going to have to change shoes tomorrow.”

The eighth-ranked Noskova is keen for another accolade after her breakthrough win at Wimbledon this year, and she got off to a fine start in her WTA Finals debut, applying pressure from the baseline and at the net.

The pair traded early breaks before Noskova slammed her foot on the gas in the first set, where Kostyuk was unable to hold her serve until the seventh game.

Kostyuk was a late addition to the competition after world No 1 Elena Rybakina pulled out, and the Ukrainian was never able to settle in against the Czech, who sent across 20 winners and sealed the match with a forehand to the back corner.

“I definitely wanted to give this week one last push of the season,” said Noskova, who reached the semifinals at Indian Wells earlier this year. “It’s a long year, we all are kind of drained and injured and all the things together, but it’s one of the most important tournaments of the year.”

Reuters

The Southern African Agri Initiative put the number at 62,000 direct jobs at risk. Aluma Capital went further, to somewhere between 125,000 and 576,000 direct and indirect jobs. To its credit, trade union federation Cosatu offered a more sober 3,000 to 10,000.

The reality is that losing Agoa will cost South Africa jobs, with real consequences for real households. But the figures being quoted are inflated, and the damage is being blamed on the wrong tariff.

Manufacturing shed 100,000 jobs in the year to end June, down 6%. The Eastern Cape lost 116,000, a fall of 7.9% and the worst of any province. That is the motor belt, and those are the plants that build cars for the US market.

Now ask what did it. South African vehicle exports to the US fell 83% in 2025, from 24,682 units to 4,136, on the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa’s count. They were already down 73% in the first quarter, then 80% in April and 85% in May.

We have already lived through worse conditions than January will bring, and the labour market did not register it

The duty responsible was the 25% tariff imposed under section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act, which took effect in April. And here is the part the commentary keeps getting wrong. In 2024 vehicles accounted for 64% of all South African trade under Agoa — R28.6bn and 24,682 cars.

The industry was inside Agoa, a member in good standing, drawing the preference in full. And yet exports to the US collapsed anyway. Agoa waives the ordinary most-favoured-nation import duty but has no power over a section 232 tariff imposed on national security grounds. Membership was worth perhaps two and a half percentage points in duties to a carmaker facing 25%. It was never going to be material, and losing it in January changes nothing for a single one of those plants.

Agoa’s share of our exports to the US fell from 28% to 10% in a year. This was caused by the Section 232 destroying the trade that made up most of it. Which brings us to the asymmetry at the heart of this debate. We have absorbed a 25% duty on vehicles and parts and a 12.5% duty on manufactured and processed goods, and treated both as background weather.

Now an Agoa termination that adds roughly three percentage points to the rates already being paid is said to threaten half-a-million jobs. The small, late, South Africa-specific measure is being set up to carry the blame for damage done by the large, earlier, global ones.

Set aside cars and steel, which section 232 governs, and what remains is agriculture and light manufacturing. This is the labour-intensive band, the citrus and fruit country of the Cape, the part everyone warned about. Agriculture added 39,000 jobs in the year to June, a rise of 4.3%. The Western Cape added 91,000, the largest increase of any province.

How could that be? Agriculture gained 26,000 jobs on the year and 30,000 on the quarter. The Western Cape gained 95,000. Total employment rose by 21,000, and unemployment fell to 31.4%. We have already lived through worse conditions than January will bring, and the labour market did not register it.

Losing Agoa will cost jobs in the low thousands, concentrated in a handful of farming towns that can ill afford it. It will not cost 100,000 jobs

I do want to be careful, because the opposite error is just as lazy. These are household survey estimates carrying sampling noise, and sector employment moves for many reasons. A good season explains more about an agricultural quarter than any tariff does.

Also, the survey is a blunt instrument. A few thousand jobs lost in Citrusdal or Patensie would disappear inside a provincial figure of 2.8-million. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey cannot see a shock of 5,000 jobs. But it can see 100,000, and it can certainly see half a million. So the data does not refute Cosatu, but it annihilates everyone quoting six figures.

The honest position is that losing Agoa will cost jobs in the low thousands, concentrated in a handful of farming towns that can ill afford it. It will not cost 100,000 jobs. The people who say it will are counting sections 232 and 301 without naming them.

I raise this because a wrong diagnosis produces a wrong cure. It spares government the harder question of why Washington reached for three separate instruments against us in a single year: the higher bracket of the section 301 tariffs, visa restrictions and now this.

There are also all the domestic causes of job losses, but that’s a conversation for another day. Blaming Agoa is the comfortable answer, because it makes the loss someone else’s fault. The uncomfortable answer is that the jobs went 18 months ago, when we were looking the other way.

• Davhie is research associate at the Centre for Risk Analysis, focusing on political risk and foreign policy

Business Day

The trade truce was due to expire on Tuesday, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump expected to meet for the third time so far this year at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation leaders’ summit in China next week.

After September’s Washington summit between Trump and Xi, both sides proposed a $60bn (R988.23bn) package of reciprocal tariff cuts, including about $17bn (R279.99bn) worth of US farm goods that China imported in 2024, though the plan has yet to be finalised.

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in September the two-month extension would give the two sides “more time to see what we can do on the economic front”.

A 24% additional tariff on US imports will remain suspended for two months from 1.01pm (5.01am GMT) on Tuesday, but a tariff of 10% will remain, China’s state council said.

China will extend export-control waivers for certain critical minerals and related technologies until January 10 2027, the commerce ministry said.

Measures affecting 11 US firms on China’s unreliable entities list and 16 on its export control list will remain suspended until January 10 2027.

The suspension of special port fees on US-linked vessels will also be extended until January 10 2027, China’s transport ministry said.

A probe into shipping and shipbuilding supply chain security will remain suspended.

The Chinese commerce ministry said it would also extend the suspension of sanctions on five US-linked units of Hanwha Ocean by two months.

China is extending the tariff suspensions to implement the “outcomes and consensus reached at the Washington meeting between the heads of state of China and the US”, the state council’s tariffs commission said.

China has “noted that the US side has repeatedly stated that it intends to use section 301 tariffs to replace the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that have been held invalid by judicial rulings”, it said.

China will “closely follow subsequent measures taken by the US side and will, as appropriate, adjust relevant tariff countermeasures in light of developments”, it added.

Reuters

Matlala withdrew from the agreement in July after rejecting a 12-year direct imprisonment sentence proposed by the court instead of the eight years he had agreed to with the state. The plea agreement was subsequently declared null and void.

Matlala appeared before the commission in Pretoria on Monday, where his lawyer, Annelene van den Heever, objected to the use of the plea agreement and evidence linked to it, including section 205 affidavits.

“We vehemently oppose the use of section 105 [plea agreement] and section 205 [incriminating evidence], whether it is the affidavits or whatever is presented to the commission. We say it will bring justice into dispute if that is allowed at the commission.”

WATCH | Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala at Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into criminality political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system taking place at Brigette Mabandla Justice College in Tshwane.

Video: ANTONIO MUCHAVE pic.twitter.com/i3FAYQxmEd

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 9, 2026

Van den Heever argued that allowing the commission to use the plea agreement and related evidence would infringe on her client’s constitutional rights.

The commission is investigating allegations that criminal cartels, including alleged cartel member Matlala, had infiltrated the criminal justice system.

The plea agreement relates to fraud and money-laundering charges Matlala faces in connection with his company Medicare 24 Tshwane District’s SAPS tender.

During the now-nullified plea proceedings, the court heard that affidavits submitted by Matlala implicated senior police officials. The state indicated that the information contained in the affidavits could assist in securing convictions against the officials.

The state alleges that members of the SAPS bid evaluation committee and senior officials colluded to bypass proper National Treasury regulations to award the health services contract to Matlala’s company.

Investigators allege that Medicare 24 Tshwane District did not have the necessary facilities, staff or equipment to fulfil the contract.

Several senior officers who were part of the adjudication process have also been arrested alongside Matlala and face similar charges.

The commission continues.

Sowetan

Arena Holdings is a news and entertainment content provider and one of Africa’s largest English-language news publishers. It owns iconic news titles including the Sunday Times, Sowetan and Business Day. Arena also broadcasts on DStv through Business Day TV, Ignition and The Home Channel, and owns three film production and distribution assets — Empire Entertainment, Indigenous Film Distribution and Ochre Moving Pictures.

Arena is also home to Africa’s longest-running independent recording label and music publisher, Gallo Music.

Role overview

Arena Holdings is looking for a video and audio producer to join our multimedia team and help shape digital storytelling across some of South Africa’s leading news and lifestyle brands.

We are looking for a creative, highly skilled and digitally savvy storyteller who can conceptualise, produce, shoot, edit and publish compelling video and audio content.

The ideal candidate should have a cutting-edge portfolio, a strong understanding of local and international digital trends, and the ability to tell stories that resonate with audiences across multiple platforms.

They will need to be comfortable working at speed, under pressure and across multiple projects, while maintaining the highest editorial and commercial production standards.

Key responsibilities

• Conceptualise, produce, shoot, edit and publish high-quality video and audio content across Arena platforms.

• Produce engaging breaking news, interviews, explainers, social videos, podcasts, documentaries and long-form content.

• Manage the full production process, from story development and scripting to recording, editing, packaging and publishing.

• Develop innovative, audience-focused approaches to visual and audio storytelling.

• Write scripts, headlines, captions and supporting copy for multimedia content.

• Repurpose content into engaging, platform-specific formats for digital and social audiences.

• Collaborate with journalists, editors and producers to identify and develop multimedia story opportunities.

• Co-ordinate interviews, contributors, locations, schedules and production requirements.

• Develop content ideas that drive audience engagement, reach and revenue.

• Work across multiple Arena brands, tailoring content for different audiences and platforms.

• Work weekends and after hours when required by the news cycle.

Experience and requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or diploma in journalism, audiovisual engineering or a related field.

• Experience in an audio and video industry, digital newsroom and related fields.

• Valid driver’s licence.

• Ability to work quickly and accurately under pressure.

• A self-motivated person with an ability to work within a team.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Unimpeachable integrity.

What we are looking for

• Exceptional video and audio storytelling skills with a strong editorial instinct.

• Highly proficient in video/audio recording and editing software.

• Creative, digitally savvy and always looking for new ways to tell stories.

• Able to manage multiple projects and collaborate across newsrooms and brands.

• Self-motivated, adaptable and comfortable working independently.

• Committed to accuracy, ethics and editorial integrity.

• Experience using AI and emerging technologies in digital storytelling would be an advantage

• Understanding of audience analytics and content performance.

How to apply

Qualified applicants may submit their CV and two references to mediarecruitment@arena.africa.

Please indicate “Video and audio producer” in the subject line of your application.

Closing Date

November 19 2026

First introduced in South Africa in 1966, the Corolla has evolved through many generations and body styles, including sedans, hatchbacks, coupés, performance models and SUVs. Today, the nameplate encompasses the locally produced Corolla Cross and the high-performance GR Corolla.

The three 60th anniversary editions add exclusive styling details and equipment to their respective model ranges.

Here’s what buyers can expect.

Corolla hatchback 60th anniversary

The Corolla hatchback 1.8 HEV 60th anniversary edition is distinguished by global 60th anniversary badging and 18-inch black alloy wheels. It is available exclusively in platinum white pearl bi-tone, paired with a black leather interior. It is priced at R618,900.

Inside, the special edition also features an engraved instrument panel and aluminium pedals.

Power comes from Toyota’s 1.8l hybrid synergy drive (HSD) system, which produces a combined output of 103kW. Claimed combined fuel consumption is 4.0l/100km.

Corolla sedan 60th anniversary

The Corolla sedan 1.8 HEV 60th anniversary edition, priced at R596,300, takes a more understated approach. Its distinguishing features include global 60th anniversary badging and an engraved instrument panel.

Buyers can choose from glacier white, satin silver metallic and graphite grey metallic exterior finishes, all paired with a black leather and suede interior.

As with the hatchback, power comes from a 1.8l HSD system producing 103kW. Toyota claims combined fuel consumption of 3.9l/100km.

Both the Corolla hatchback and sedan anniversary editions come equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 3, the manufacturer’s suite of driver-assistance and safety technologies.

Corolla Cross 60th anniversary

The Corolla Cross 60th anniversary edition, priced at R499,900, is based on the 1.8 XS petrol model and adds several styling and practical features. The locally manufactured model is scheduled to go on sale in South Africa from early next month.

Exterior additions include a black bi-tone roof, 17-inch black alloy wheels, mud guards and black C-pillar garnish. Roof cross bars are also fitted, providing additional carrying capacity for outdoor equipment.

Inside, the special edition features black and brown partial leather upholstery. Commemorative details include branded boot and door scuff plates, Corolla Cross all-weather floor and boot mats, and 60th anniversary badging on the front fenders.

The Corolla Cross is available in glacier white or chromium silver, both with a bi-tone finish.

Unlike the hybrid-powered hatchback and sedan, the Corolla Cross is powered by a 1.8l naturally aspirated petrol engine paired with a continuously variable transmission. It produces 103kW and 173Nm of torque, with a claimed combined fuel consumption of 6.7l/100km.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

The Hawks have arrested nine foreign nationals at Johannesburg airport and a hotel in Bruma in connection with an alleged attempt to travel from South Africa to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said an investigation into the case involved Interpol, the Hawks’ crimes against the state unit and serious organised crime investigation team, international law enforcement agencies, South African crime intelligence, the Gauteng police tracking team and various security companies.

“Acting on intelligence gathered during the investigation, the multidisciplinary team operationalised an intervention that resulted in the arrest of the nine suspects, aged between 20 and 26 last night,” Mogale said.

They were preparing to board flights out of the country when they were apprehended.

The suspects are expected to face charges relating to the contravention of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.

TimesLIVE

In many township housing developments, provision for fixed broadband has not been part of the original infrastructure plans.

As more households depend on the internet for education, employment and business, this gap has become increasingly significant.

The opportunity now is to make connectivity part of how new communities are planned and built, alongside the infrastructure that supports everyday life.

The challenge of affordable connectivity

The gap in fixed broadband access is reflected in how South Africans connect to the internet.

According to Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey 2025, 85.6% of households had at least one member who could access the internet, yet only 20.6% had fixed internet access at home.

The disparity is particularly pronounced across income groups. Research by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory found that just 5% of households in its lowest income bracket had fibre at home, compared with more than 60% in its highest income brackets.

These differences highlight how household income continues to shape the quality and availability of connectivity.

Household reliance on prepaid mobile data for access to the internet often comes with difficult spending decisions. A learner completing an assignment may be drawing on the same limited data budget as a parent searching for employment.

For someone running a small business from home, staying connected to customers is part of earning a living.

The cost of connectivity therefore influences how people participate in opportunities that increasingly depend on being online.

Improving access requires attention to household affordability as well as the infrastructure investment needed to bring reliable connectivity into more communities.

Connecting more communities to fibre

The cost of internet access is only part of the affordability equation. Equally important is what it costs to bring a network into a community.

In established neighbourhoods, extending fibre can involve reopening roads, working around existing utilities and restoring completed infrastructure. These costs influence investment decisions, particularly in lower-income areas where commercial returns are less certain.

Reducing the cost of network deployment could improve the prospects of extending fixed broadband to communities that have historically had limited access.

This is the approach global technology leader Huawei is testing in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, through a pilot project in collaboration with fibre network operator Openserve, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, the department of human settlements and uMhlathuze Local Municipality.

The Fibre Pre-Provisioning Proof of Concept project aims to establish how telecommunications infrastructure can be integrated into new housing developments from the outset. Openserve brings network deployment expertise, while Huawei contributes technical and engineering support.

At Phase 1A of the Empangeni Integrated Residential Development Programme, where 405 homes are under construction, the project uses a “pipe and Box” approach that incorporates underground fibre ducts alongside other utilities, with access boxes installed in individual homes.

By establishing these pathways during construction, the pilot project will test a more efficient way of preparing new communities for future fibre connectivity.

Pilot project impact

The Fibre Pre-Provisioning Proof of Concept project will assess the time and cost savings from installing fibre pathways during housing construction and whether the model can be applied in other developments.

Because the work is taking place in an active housing development, the findings can give housing authorities and network operators a clearer basis for assessing future projects. That evidence will be important if fibre pre-provisioning is to be adopted more widely.

In uMhlathuze, the initiative also supports the municipality’s ambition to grow as a more connected and economically active city.

It brings that vision into the development of residential neighbourhoods, recognising the role of digital infrastructure in supporting local economic activity and improving access to services.

The initiative is also relevant to the department of human settlements, which oversees the norms and standards governing state-supported housing.

Empangeni offers a practical example of how broadband infrastructure can be incorporated into housing development.

The pilot project also demonstrates the value of closer coordination between housing authorities, municipalities and telecommunications partners in developing communities that are equipped for the growing demands of a digital economy.

If fibre pre-provisioning proves viable, the findings could inform how telecommunications infrastructure is specified and funded in future housing developments.

This would create a clearer framework for investment and coordination between the housing and telecommunications sectors, allowing successful approaches to be adopted more widely across South Africa.

This also aligns with government’s broader vision for digital inclusion. In his 2026/27 Budget Vote, communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi outlined an approach to meaningful connectivity that encompasses affordability, access to devices, digital skills and productive use, alongside network coverage.

Together, these priorities point towards a future where digital inclusion is reflected in how people live, learn and participate in the economy.

Aligning housing and digital development priorities could help bring that future within reach of more South African communities, particularly those that have historically had limited access to fixed broadband.

This article was sponsored by Huawei.

The commission has heard from several witnesses in camera since October 5 due to ongoing investigations and/or the confidential nature of the material.

Its final report is due to be delivered to President Cyril Ramaphosa by January 25 2027.

Video courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

The company said the listing would allow Namibian pension funds and asset managers to invest in the company as part of their domestic investments.

CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said the move was part of the group’s efforts to attract a wider range of investors.

“The listing on the Namibia Securities Exchange is a measured and cost-effective step in our ongoing programme to broaden and diversify Tharisa’s investor base,” he said.

The company said the listing would give Namibian investors another option for investing in the resources sector. Resources companies make up a small part of Namibia’s main share market index, which is dominated by financial companies. Anglo American is currently the only other resources company in the index.

Tharisa’s primary listing will remain on the JSE and it also has listings on the London Stock Exchange and A2X markets.

The move comes as Tharisa advances its Karo Platinum Project in Zimbabwe, its second major mining asset. The first phase is designed to produce about 226,000oz of platinum group metals (PGMs) annually at full production, more than doubling the group’s PGM output. First ore to the processing plant is expected in the fourth quarter of 2027.

The company said expanding its investor base and improving demand for its shares were among its priorities as it moves into the next phase of the project.

Pouroulis said the long-term investment horizons of Namibian pension funds were aligned with the group’s growth plans.

“We are confident the listing will bring new demand to our shares rather than dilute existing liquidity, with the JSE remaining the anchor for price discovery,” he said.

Business Day

Yangwang charges the Altior as bringing Chinese culture into a contemporary vision of ultra-luxury through intricate craftsmanship and advanced engineering. The first showcase with brown and gold exterior palette is inspired by the ding, an ancient Chinese ceremonial bronze vessel.

Physically, the newcomer spans 5,600mm in length, 2,030mm in width and 1,590mm in height, with a 3,500mm wheelbase. It debuted this size, while the earmarked rival can be had in various body lengths.

A large grille and Yangwang’s oracle-bone signature lights with 12 elements that rotate and illuminate sequentially add to the sense of occasion, with a coach-door arrangement of front doors that open to a maximum of 80° and rear doors to 90°.

The company has also fitted umbrellas housed within the doors while three 21″ alloy wheel designs are on offer, including multi-spoke, polished disc and fully enclosed cover designs. It has a 532l luggage compartment.

Inside are yellow Hetian jade air-vent detailing, pure-wool floor mats, natural woods and hand-polished real-metal switches. Passengers perch on semi-aniline leather-clad seats with Suzhou embroidery and perforation, silk threads that create flowing cloud and thunder motifs and jewellery-inspired controls across 11 locations and 48 decorative pieces in total.

The rear quarter private lounge features a pair of reclining, aviation-style zero-gravity seats with a massage system. A one-touch relaxation mode coordinates seating, lighting, sound, fragrance and sun blinds. A 39-speaker audio system, 21.4″ overhead screen that supports entertainment and conference calls, and front and rear refrigerators are also provided.

Powering the limousine are four independently controlled electric motors and BYD’s second-generation Blade battery, providing a driving range of more than 999km. Flash charging with up to 1,500kW enables juicing the Altior from 10% to 70% in five minutes and 10% to 97% in nine minutes.

Yangwang says it will share more technical specifications at a later date, but it mentions the Altior is equipped with tank turn, the capability of zero-radius, and 360° rotation aided by the e⁴ individual wheel drive technology.

The next-generation DiSus fully active body control system that’s also fitted manages movement by reading the road ahead and adjusting the suspension in real time, helping to reduce disturbances from the road surface and controlling body movement through corners.

The Altior also features an emergency flotation capability, designed to provide additional support if the vehicle accidentally enters water. The system debuted in the Yangwang U8 SUV that can float in water in deep water for up to 30 minutes.

Further convenience amenities include assisted-driving systems, including parking-space-to-parking-space navigation, motorway, urban navigation and parking assistance. The Altior will be offered in executive and bespoke editions, including the limited-run new Shanhe Dingyun theme launch car intended for collectors.

BYD executive VP Stella Li said: “Altior brings together the depth of Chinese culture and our ambition to create something extraordinary for the people who will experience it.”

Business Day

As the ANC confronts its largest electoral decline of the post-apartheid period, these elections have not delivered a story of opposition triumph or decisive victory. Instead, they have laid bare profound fractures across the political terrain.

The 2026 municipal contest was fought by hundreds of political parties and local organisations. Many of these groups, particularly several of the players that have emerged with significant support, represent direct breakaways from established political parties.

Their rise speaks directly to the internal fracturing taking place within existing political formations. While this trend was already evident in the 2024 national election, it has become far more pronounced in the municipal sphere, where highly localised and regional political dynamics have allowed the space for relatively new entrants to make their mark.

This has not been an overnight phenomenon. Smaller parties have played increasingly pivotal roles in local municipalities over the past decade, a dynamic that eventually filtered upward into national government governance.

After the 2026 vote, the significant losses suffered by the ANC can be attributed to voters dispersing their ballots across a wide range of political parties, rather than coalescing around a single party that might benefit from widespread disillusionment.

A centrist ANC-DA coalition is put forward as an option that could bring much-needed political stability to local councils. However, it remains a largely untested arrangement in municipal administration

In short, no single political party should interpret these results as a ringing vote of confidence. While voters have demonstrated a clear willingness to shift their support toward alternative parties, the overall landscape remains marked by fragmentation rather than victory or systemic political renewal.

Crucially, this shift comes with a sobering caveat: despite a higher voter turnout when compared to 2021, most adult South Africans opted out of casting a ballot.

In this context, attention has immediately shifted to coalition negotiations and the pressing question of who will govern. While major metropolitan areas, particularly in Gauteng, continue to dominate media headlines and public debates, most hung councils are situated within local municipalities.

This mirrors the post-2021 election environment, but with one fundamental difference: the national backdrop is now defined by an ANC-led national coalition, the government of national unity (GNU).

A diverse spectrum of coalition governance models are being floated. These proposals range from governments of local unity (GLUs) and national negotiations for local municipal deals to minority coalitions, leading party primacy, and a potential majority coalition between the ANC and the DA.

A centrist ANC-DA coalition is put forward as an option that could bring much-needed political stability to local councils. However, it remains a largely untested arrangement in municipal administration. Concurrently, reports indicate the ANC is mulling the option of sitting on opposition benches in select metros where it cannot dictate coalition terms.

On the other hand, given the broader dynamics of the GNU, there is a preference emerging among certain actors to replicate the national model locally, as a broad coalition offers the potential to integrate multiple parties while significantly reducing the power of smaller political kingmakers.

However, the distinct operational realities of running local municipalities must not be sidelined by the hard politics of executive power. Coalition politics has proven to be a murky terrain. On a positive note, this election cycle has seen political parties articulate a greater commitment to transparency during coalition formation and governance.

This commitment must be directed to the residents in the municipalities they will serve. To be meaningful, such transparency must encompass formal agreements on power sharing, policy alignments and core governance principles.

Furthermore, local government should operate with public participation as one of the foundational principles of running municipalities. At the end of the day, the 2026 elections have delivered a clear signal: beyond party affinities, voters desire a change in their daily lives at the local level. Coalition negotiations must reflect this reality.

• Essop is a researcher at the Society, Work and Politics Institute (Swop) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Business Day

Story audio is generated using AI

ActionSA has ended the ANC’s long-standing hold on Ekurhuleni’s ward 6 in Thembisa, securing it with 38.84% of the vote in last week’s local government elections.

The ward, which covers six sections — Isiziba, Endulwini, Ibazelo, Isithame, Igqagqa and Lidinga — had been an ANC stronghold for the past two decades. In the 2021 local elections, the ANC won with 64.3% of the vote.

ActionSA secured 4,587 votes, finishing 6.2 percentage points ahead of the ANC, under the leadership of its Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, councillor-elect Xolani Khumalo.

Speaking to Sowetan, ActionSA ward branch secretary Fihliwe Nkohlisa said the result reflected the work the party had put into building its presence in the area over the past eight months.

“We launched this ward in March with very few members, but the election has gone quite well and makes me think about where we come from. Now we have more than 700 members,” she said.

WATCH | Fihliwe Nkohlisa, ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni ward 6 branch secretary, speaks to Arena journalist Michelle Banda about winning the ward, which has been an ANC’s stronghold for many years. After ActionSA claimed the ward in the recent local government elections, it will be led… pic.twitter.com/wjZo3u1Pkw

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 8, 2026

Nkohlisa said residents had approached the party with concerns ranging from poor service delivery to unemployment and substance abuse, particularly among young people.

“The administration we have just come from did not seem to take these issues to heart, but we are here ready to effect change,” she said.

Nkohlisa said the party had worked to assist residents with issues ranging from burst sewer pipes to electricity outages, adding that it tried to communicate with residents when it could not resolve their complaints.

Residents who spoke to Sowetan said they hoped Khumalo’s election as councillor would bring more responsive leadership to the area.

Thandiwe Dlokolo, a neighbour of Khumalo’s grandmother, said she was pleased he would represent the ward, citing his previous involvement in community matters.

We are happy now that he will be our councillor because he really cares about people

Tembisa resident Thandiwe Dlokolo

She said he had recently helped a family with transport for a funeral and had assisted in resolving electricity problems in the area.

“We are happy now that he will be our councillor because he really cares about people and always has, even before getting into politics,” she said.

Dlokolo said residents wanted the new administration to tackle drug abuse, illegal immigration and crime, while creating opportunities for local people.

She accused the previous administration of failing to involve residents in community projects, saying people from outside Thembisa were often brought in while locals remained unemployed.

For 27-year-old Siyabonga Mnguni, who has been unemployed since completing matric in 2018, the change in political leadership brings hope of better opportunities.

“I get contract and seasonal jobs, but nothing sustainable. At 27, I have to ask for assistance at home while relying on the R370 social relief of distress grant, which is barely enough for my needs,” he said.

Mnguni said unemployment, crime and substance abuse remained major concerns for young people in the area.

Mziwenkosi Jacobs, a teacher at a local school, said he hoped the incoming administration would be accessible and respond more effectively to residents’ concerns.

He cited recurring water and electricity outages, delays in installing speed humps and an unused sports field at a nearby school as issues requiring attention.

“We hope all these issues will be addressed,” he said.

Sowetan

The fertiliser and explosives group on Monday reported a 2% rise in revenue to R11.4bn, while operating profit increased 26% to R1.1bn.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) were up 21% to R1.4bn. HEPS rose 25% to 399c.

CEO Seelan Gobalsamy attributed the strong performance in the first half to disciplined strategy execution across the group’s diversified portfolio and the resilience of its integrated manufacturing and supply chain capabilities.

Growth in operating profit was supported by cost management, portfolio diversification and agile sourcing.

“Our strong financial position provides a solid base from which to allocate capital toward strengthening our core operations and pursuing growth opportunities across agriculture and mining,” he said.

Revenue in the agriculture unit declined 4%, but operating profit increased 13% to R517m.

The group described the unit’s performance as “resilient”, despite lower volumes and global supply disruptions. Higher average selling prices reflected the impact of the Middle East conflict on commodity input prices, and improved manufacturing contributions supported the performance.

Agriculture RSA achieved higher operating profit and margin through higher selling prices, improved manufacturing contributions and cost discipline, despite deferred purchasing decisions amid softer grain prices, elevated input costs and weather uncertainty.

Rest of Africa delivered revenue and operating profit growth, led by increased prices and volumes in Zambia, despite higher transport costs and foreign exchange losses compared with prior-year gains.

Agriculture International delivered a mixed performance, with stronger domestic volumes and production in Australia, offset by liquidity and credit challenges in Brazil and constrained exports. The distributor-led model in the US supported volume growth.

“The agriculture segment remains well positioned, supported by differentiated offerings and integrated manufacturing and supply chain capabilities. Softer crop prices, elevated input costs and the prospect of drier El Niño conditions may weigh on demand and margins for the remainder of FY27,” it said.

Mining revenue increased 11% and operating profit increased 15% to R655m, supported by higher volumes in South Africa and Namibia and operational efficiencies.

Operating profit and margin increased despite input price volatility linked to the Middle East conflict, softer commodity markets, operational disruptions and continued investment in international infrastructure.

Mining South Africa’s volumes increased through new contract wins and extensions, a strong Northern Cape performance and cost containment supporting earnings growth.

Blasting Solutions performed strongly across the Southern African Development Community, though the diamond market remained under pressure. Mining International’s revenue increased marginally, while operating profit declined due to disruptions in West Africa, infrastructure development in Canada and Australia and a weaker metallurgy performance.

The chemicals division reported a 14% decline in revenue, but operating profit increased more than 100% to R97m, supported by a streamlined cost base, higher profitability in the Water Care business and gains from asset disposals.

Omnia continues to dispute additional assessments raised by the South African Revenue Service after the transfer pricing audit relating to the 2014 to 2016 years of assessment.

After extensive engagement, Omnia terminated the alternative dispute resolution proceedings in August as it was unable to reach an equitable resolution of the matter with the tax authority.

“The group continues to pursue resolution of the dispute, including through the mutual agreement procedure and remains open to a negotiated settlement, while retaining the option of pursuing litigation should a satisfactory resolution not be reached,” it said.

Gobalsamy said shareholder support for the proposed transaction with Solar Industries marks a significant milestone in the group’s growth journey.

In September Omnia received a R22bn offer from Indian conglomerate Solar Industries. Solar, which set up a base in South Africa a decade ago, made an unsolicited offer for Omnia, which makes financial sense for the group and opened possibilities of accelerated growth on Solar’s balance sheet.

“The proposed combination offers the potential to accelerate our international expansion through greater market access, manufacturing capabilities and innovation. Throughout this process, our focus remains firmly on serving customers with excellence, growing cash generation and creating long-term value for all stakeholders.” Gobalsamy said.

Business Day

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While Africa has the people and resources to become a global economic powerhouse, it needs to prioritise policy consistency and the rule of law if its potential is to be realised, says a top economist.

Standard Bank’s chief economist and head of research, Goolam Ballim, told the One Young World Summit in Cape Town this week that Africa was now relevant to the global economy amid political ructions, geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation.

“In today’s world of re-shoring, on-shoring, or ally-shoring, or put differently, when nations are looking for paths to establish trade and supply chains on trust and predictability, Africa is slightly more relevant.

“In terms of commodities, Africa has abundant cobalt, platinum, lithium and a variety of other critical and rare earth minerals that are going to be essential for this century’s energy and advanced manufacturing.”

Amid questions over the debt sustainability of the US, the implications of China’s ageing population and the slowdown of development capital in Europe, analysts are assessing Africa’s young population as a key strategic advantage in the long term for growth.

According to the UN’s world population prospects report, nearly 60% of global youths are concentrated in just 10 countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico and the US.

Ballim said Africa needed to put in place the basic building blocks for growing economies and prosperous societies, such as infrastructure for basic services and the rule of law, with policy consistency as the backbone. “In terms of food security, 60% of the world’s still-available arable land is on the continent. In so many respects, Africa has an enormous amount of relevance.

“That relevance can remain theoretical. Theoretical in the sense that, for all of these things, this potential to translate into prosperity and meaning, Africa is devoid of the substructures that are necessary to monetise, to translate this potential into reality. This potential needs electricity. It needs skills. It needs technology. Regulation. The rule of law. Policymaking to make this all into a true transformation.”

Also at the summit, the chair of Anglo American South Africa, Nolitha Fakude, said Africa faced various challenges in its economic development strategy and ambition, but opportunities still abounded.

Fakude said geopolitics needed to be considered. “In some countries, one particular mineral is for economic development, when you say technology and digitisation. Others look at it for decarbonisation purposes because they want to make sure that we transition to a low-carbon economy by using some of these metals that are mined.”

She said as geopolitical tensions intensified around the world, Africa’s role in the global political community would become more pronounced as the region had the resources that feed the defence industry.

Rohitesh Dhawan, president and CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals, said South Africa had been growing as an economy because the mining sector, supported by banks, legal companies and manufacturers, needed multi-pronged support to create jobs that secured people’s dignity and rights.

“One thing that’s very hard for companies in general, but for my industry to say, is that I really feel we need help. We don’t have the answers in the mining industry for how to build an industry that can protect rights, protect the planet and grow at the pace it’s going to need. We need help. We need your help.”

He said mining companies know the value of every commodity but understand that the most precious thing they have is people.

Business Times

The shortfall could undermine both economic growth and leaders’ efforts to expand local financing to protect companies and countries on the continent during periods of global market stress, when foreign lenders often pull ​back from markets perceived as risky, the OECD warned.

“Overall, capital markets remain underutilised as a source ​of long‑term finance — particularly when compared to other emerging-market economies — limiting their contribution to ⁠economic growth and resilience,” the OECD said in its Africa Capital Markets Report 2026.

The report’s estimates ​are based on bond and loan transaction records from the London Stock Exchange Group and private credit fund ​data from Preqin, covering all 54 African countries.

The corporate bond market, estimated at $35bn, is 44% smaller in inflation-adjusted terms than its 2015 peak, largely due to reduced activity in South Africa.

Companies across the continent issued no more than 20 bonds ​in 2025, 17 of them by financial firms. Six countries — Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria and South ​Africa — accounted for 80% of outstanding corporate debt.

Only 17% of corporate debt issued in 2025 was in local currency, limiting ‌borrowers’ ⁠ability to secure long-term financing without exposure to exchange-rate swings.

Economic and institutional hurdles are the main obstacles to developing bond markets in countries without them, the OECD said, adding that policymakers must take “a broad, whole-of-government approach”.

Regulatory quality, rule of law, exchange-rate stability and well-developed pension funds are among the factors most closely linked ​to deeper bond markets, the ​report said.

A more ⁠than 25% drop in aid provided by OECD donor countries to Sub-Saharan Africa underscored the need for deeper domestic capital markets, the OECD said.

African ​equity market capitalisation surged 49% in 2025, more than twice the gain in ​broader emerging ⁠markets. Four countries — South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco — accounted for 88% of the total.

At a round table on Friday, OECD director for financial and enterprise affairs Carmine Di Noia said Ethio Telecom’s listing on Ethiopia’s new ⁠securities exchange ​in May and the Kenya Pipeline Company’s recent IPO underscored the ​rise in investable assets beyond the traditional hubs.

He also said that three-quarters of large non-financial state-owned African enterprises remain unlisted, representing ​a large potential pool of assets.

The report found that market depth and liquidity remain highly concentrated. South Africa had significantly greater market depth, with a score of 98, compared with 61 for Morocco and Mauritius, and 51 for Nigeria. Scores were much lower in many other markets.

“The market-depth score provides an indication of the size and liquidity of a country’s capital markets relative to the size of its economy, with higher scores indicating greater market depth.”

The report said South Africa continued to show deeper capital market development, pointing to the listing of Optasia on the JSE.

In terms of sustainable finance, the report said South Africa remained the continent’s most advanced sustainable finance market, highlighting its progressive climate finance ecosystem, institutional investor base and regulatory framework.

Reuters

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The ANC’s national leadership will meet this week to determine its approach to coalition negotiations after the party’s worst electoral performance yet, as political formations begin positioning themselves to govern hundreds of hung municipal councils across South Africa.

The party’s national working committee (NWC) is scheduled to meet today, followed by a national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday, where its coalition task team is expected to present various options for adoption ahead of formal negotiations.

Nationally, the ANC garnered 30.7% of the votes, with the DA, MK and EFF following with 24.24%, 9.76%, and 6.22% of the vote, respectively. Only Cape Town will be governed with an outright majority after the DA received 56.42% of the vote. The other metros ― Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Buffalo City and Ethekwini ― will be governed through coalitions.

“Greater choice and competition is a sign of a strong democracy … to have our election declared free and fair is an incredible achievement,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. “All who seek public office must be judged by one standard: whether they put public services first.”

The ANC’s internal meetings will be among the first major tests of how it intends to exercise its diminished electoral mandate, with the party facing the prospect of negotiating its way into administrations in municipalities it previously governed outright.

WATCH | IEC announces election results

Meanwhile, the DA’s coalition discussions will be co-ordinated nationally under the federal executive’s authority to ensure a consistent, principled approach countrywide, the party’s federal council chair, Ashor Sarupen, said.

“The DA’s federal executive has mandated the party to initiate discussions with political parties that share a commitment to clean and accountable government, rooting out corruption, service delivery for all, the rule of law and nonracialism.”

SACP leader Solly Mapaila told Business Day the party would invite the ANC, EFF, MK and other parties “of the left” to discuss possible coalition partnerships across the 138 hung municipalities.

The negotiations will take place against a 14-day deadline for the new municipal councils to be finalised after the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s declaration of the final results. In the first council meetings councillors will elect mayors, speakers and other officebearers, pressuring parties to reach agreements quickly.

The ANC has already begun preliminary engagements with potential coalition partners, including ActionSA, with discussions so far limited to what the parties are prepared to bring to the negotiating table rather than specific municipal agreements.

WATCH | Business Day political editor, Hajra Omarjee speaks to ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba on the party’s coalition negoations and the proposal that the DA’s Helen Zille not be made mayor of Johannesburg. pic.twitter.com/G5ZSQXM0iT

— Business Day (@BDliveSA) November 8, 2026

The ANC’s national leadership is expected to play a central role in determining which partnerships it pursues, amid indications that provincial and regional structures will have limited autonomy in striking agreements.

Secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the NEC would determine the party’s approach to coalitions, while ruling out any rush to secure positions at the expense of its political principles.

The ANC has also indicated that it is prepared to sit in opposition where the terms of a coalition agreement do not meet its requirements.

“The ANC will not be in a hurry to get into coalitions. That is not the only option. There is also an option to sit in opposition,” Mbalula said.

The position comes as the party confronts differing political calculations in key provinces and metros, particularly Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal, where the election results have altered the balance of power.

In Johannesburg, where the DA emerged ahead of the ANC, the regional party leadership has had to contend with the prospect of losing control of the municipality. The ANC’s Johannesburg structures have indicated a willingness to occupy the opposition benches rather than enter an arrangement that does not serve their interests.

In KwaZulu-Natal the ANC’s provincial leadership has moved to centralise control of coalition negotiations, instructing regional structures not to initiate discussions or enter into agreements with other political parties without prior authorisation.

In a directive dated November 6, provincial co-ordinator James Nxumalo told all regional co-ordinators that the coalition process remained the sole responsibility of the provincial structure and would be guided by a clear provincial mandate.

“No region is authorised to make commitments, enter into agreements or represent the organisation in any coalition engagement without an explicit mandate from the province,” the letter says.

The directive also cautions regional structures against drawing conclusions about potential coalition arrangements, stating that the election results had not yet been formally declared at the time it was issued.

The intervention comes as the MK party emerged as the leading political formation in KwaZulu-Natal and indicated a preference for working with the ANC, raising the prospect of an alliance between the two parties in municipalities where neither can govern alone.

The directive in effect places the responsibility for determining the ANC’s negotiating position in the province with its provincial leadership while preventing regional structures from pursuing separate arrangements with prospective coalition partners.

Business Day

So, the negotiating teams of the main political parties have got their work cut out to reach power-sharing agreements in each of these local governments in time for the legal deadline of November 22.

Along with their negotiating strategies and tactics and their “redline” issues, they will have to make a choice on two preliminary matters. First, whether and to what extent to allow local politicians to handle the deal-making rather than to control it from a national leadership level. Second, to decide whether to offer “package deals” where, for example, one party agrees to support the other’s mayoral candidate in one council in return for support for theirs somewhere else.

Both the ANC and the DA have opted to have national-level negotiating teams, which have already been formed and are primed for action — at least in the eight metros and other bigger councils — and for good reason: emotions may still be running high after a keenly fought local contest, and personal relationships are more likely to get in the way of cool-headed negotiations (though the opposite can also be true; positive, trust-based relationships have enabled a diverse range of coalitions in smaller municipalities to succeed over the past five years).

This is not to say that these considerations do not also apply at the national level. On a Political Arena podcast panel discussion on Thursday, ANC NEC member Mdumiseni Nthuli said he had colleagues in the ANC leadership who found the DA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille arrogant for presenting herself as a “messiah” to save the creaking city, with the clear implication being that this would make it less likely that the government of national unity (GNU) can be transposed into a “GLU” — government of local unity.

Nthuli further indicated that the ANC would have to ask itself whether sharing power in the GNU with the DA had hurt its prospects at this election. This is a good question to pose, but the ANC’s leadership must be very careful not to jump to the wrong conclusions. If they are thinking clearly, they would be wise to accept a different logic: if ANC voters were really upset about being in bed with the DA, then they are much more likely to have taken their votes to the MK Party or EFF. But, instead, support for both of these populist parties — as well as the Patriotic Alliance — has fallen since 2024. In the provincial ballot in 2024, the three parties secured 26%, but in this election it is currently projected to be about 17%.

The ANC has bled voters across the political spectrum — to the centre right (DA and ActionSA) and centre left (SACP), but far less to the extremes. Most likely, this happened because of the fundamental decline of the ANC as a fully functioning political and campaigning organisation and because of its myriad failures in government in city halls around the country on the bread and butter issues that matter most to residents.

If the ANC leadership concludes that it can course correct and revive itself by entering into partnerships with the MK Party and EFF — though the feeble performance of all three means the arithmetic does not add up to 51% in any of the metros bar eThekweni — it would be making a grave mistake. It would constitute a decision that runs against the grain of the electorate’s choices.

Which takes us to ActionSA — the standout performers in this election, at least in Gauteng (it doesn’t get into double figures anywhere else in the country). ActionSA is the living proof that in coalition politics every percentage point matters. They are now in a position to play a powerful kingmaker role in the Gauteng metros.

Based on Council for Scientific and Industrial Research projections, ActionSA could provide the DA with a two-party solution in all three Gauteng metros — Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni — whereas because ANC support has shrunk so far, there is no such ANC plus ActionSA two-party option in any of those three metros.

The DA plus ActionSA deal is — on the numbers — the easier deal to do. However, the very difficult relationship between Herman Mashaba and certain DA leaders, especially Helen Zille, makes this a very difficult deal to do.

Which brings one back to the ANC-DA relationship. Assume the ANC leadership is thinking clearly, sustains its 2024 refusal to do business with the MK Party, and recognises that to get to 51% with ActionSA will require lots of other parties — an ABZ coalition (Anyone But Zille) — creating instability and complexity, then the obvious alternative is to extend the national “grand coalition” with the DA to the metros. This will require leadership maturity and courage, both to overcome the loud nationalist anti-DA voices inside the organisation, especially in Gauteng, and the psychological barrier of having to accept being the smaller party in the partnership. This is what the business and investment world would like to see — and this important consideration should not be neglected.

There are two ways to sweeten the deal inside the ANC (as was the case in 2024). One is to adopt the GNU approach of adding a sprinkle of smaller parties so that it looks less like the ANC is beholden to the DA, even as the junior partner. The other is to entertain what one might call the “package” approach identified as a preliminary negotiating consideration. It might be hard for the DA to accept that to achieve such a historic centralist pact across the municipal sphere will require certain mayoral candidates who have worked hard to achieve pluralities in their cities to put their interests aside in favour of a greater good, but as with any major negotiation, there will have to be concessions and compromises made on all sides.

As this weekend’s crucial first round of negotiations get under way, political leaders will need to focus on what is in the best interests of the country, the economy, and the residents of municipalities that are crying out for stable and trustworthy governments to rebuild basic services and infrastructure.

• Calland is visiting adjunct professor at the Wits School of Governance and partner of the Paternoster Group, which has established a City Risk Monitor that roots its political analysis of the local government elections in the economic risk profile of municipalities in South Africa

Business Day

The tribunal, consisting of retired Supreme Court of Appeal justices Boissie Mbha and Sharise Weiner and advocate Pule Seleka, Legal Practice Council chair, will investigate allegations against Hartle and whether she is guilty of gross misconduct.

The hearing has been scheduled to begin on Monday and run until November 18 in Sandton, Johannesburg.

A gross misconduct finding by a tribunal and endorsed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) could lead to a recommendation of impeachment to be voted for by parliament. If impeached, the judge could lose her lifetime salary benefit and her job as a judge.

The complaint against Hartle was filed by a court official, Thozamile Semekazi, who alleged Hartle hurled derogatory and racist remarks at him in the East London (now KuGompo City) high court chambers in May 2025.

Hartle has denied the allegation before the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC), which dealt with the matter before the JSC.

Semekazi alleged he was belittled by the judge when he delivered “a pile of case files” to Hartle’s office. The case files were delayed.

“Judge Hartle did not even allow me to speak for myself; what she heard from [the secretary] was sufficient for her to the extent that, while standing at the door, facing the inside of her secretary’s office, while I was seated … she uttered the following words to my face: ‘F**k you’, ‘p**s man’, and as she turned to look at her secretary, continued with the insults and said, ‘I am tired of [registrar Thabosa] Mafalala’s staff, bloody f**king k****r’ — with such a confident, loud and aggressive, firm voice,” Semekazi alleged.

Semekazi said the judge later apologised to him.

Hartle, before the JCC, denied using the k-word. She, however, accepted that she used an “expletive” but said it was not directed at Semekazi. The judge said that she had been dealing with delayed delivery of files for cases to be heard.

“In my brief interaction with Mr Semekazi — who I did not expect to be seated in my secretary’s office when I entered to inform her of the status of the trial I was hearing — I did inform him very firmly that I would not be accepting the chairload of files that was standing in the entrance to her office. It is my sharp rebuke that must have upset him,” the JCC report quotes Hartle to have said.

“My expression of frustration with regard to the registrar’s abuse of my kindness was directed at [the secretary] Ms Frost and her alone. I used a single expletive. I hardly had time to consider who was present in her office before the word had slipped out. I immediately apologised to the stranger in our midst [Mr Semekazi] that I was sorry for the word.”

Before the JCC, Hartle disputed ever using the k-word and accused Semekazi of grossly misrepresenting the interaction. She said the complaint constitutes an attempt to undermine her work and destroy her.

The tribunal takes place months after Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge also faced a tribunal probing a complaint of sexual harassment against him lodged by a judge’s secretary, Andiswa Mengo.

Business Day

Preliminary results gave Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s National Party, ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First 67 seats in a 131-seat parliament, one more than the 66 required for a majority.

However, almost 400,000 votes, or about 14% of the total, have yet to be counted, and official results are not due until November 27. Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins have said they would wait for final results before entering formal coalition negotiations.

The tight result has created a period of uncertainty for incoming legislators, including seven from the centrist Opportunity Party, which crossed the 5% threshold to enter parliament for the first time.

Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong, a political newcomer who could become pivotal if the final vote changes the outcome, said her caucus was meeting in Wellington to begin preparing for parliament.

Wong told a press conference she had received calls from Hipkins and Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick but had not heard from any other leaders, including Luxon. “I believe he said he was going to call shortly,” she said.

The election has underlined voters’ frustration with the two dominant parties, with support flowing to smaller parties across the political spectrum as voters looked for new solutions to problems, such as the weak economy, rising costs and strained health care. Labour narrowly led National in the popular vote, but National secured enough electorate seats to keep its three-party bloc marginally ahead.

“At the end of the day, we play the cards the voters have dealt us. We don’t yet know what those cards are going to show,” Hipkins, who has not conceded the election, said on Monday. Hipkins said he remains optimistic the final vote count could favour the left, and if it does, would like to see a government in by Christmas.

Markets on watch

Investors are watching the political uncertainty closely, particularly given pressure on the New Zealand dollar and questions about the direction of fiscal policy.

Kelly Eckhold, chief economist at Westpac Bank in New Zealand, said markets would be on edge over the next few weeks as the country worked out the result, with the exchange rate a particular focus.

“The likelihood is that we will end up with some sort of centre-right government. The question will be: Will it require the support of Top (Opportunity)? And what will be required to be agreed to be able to get there?” he said.

After New Zealand finance minister Nicola Willis lost her seat on Saturday night, Brad Olsen, chief economist at economic consultancy Infometrics, said the bigger question at the moment was who is going to be the next finance minister.

Willis will remain in the job until her ministerial warrant expires in four weeks’ time and then the role will be taken on by someone else within the caretaker government after agreement from the governor general until a government is formed.

Reuters

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Analysts say the ANC suffered a bloody nose in the local government elections, haemorrhaging votes after taking the electorate for granted and failing to honour its social contract, particularly on service delivery.

The party’s electoral support declined further in the November 4 elections as voters grew disillusioned with service delivery. The ANC failed to win any of Gauteng’s three metros, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, with the DA emerging as the leading party in all three.

Analysts emphasised that the political horse-trading expected over the next 14 days must produce stable municipal administrations capable of driving economic development and improving service delivery, given that municipalities are at the coalface of delivering basic services.

Elections analyst Wayne Sussman told Business Day that Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero, deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku, and development planning MMC Eunice Mgcina “have all lost their seats in the Johannesburg council. The ANC will have no PR councillors in all three Gauteng metros, just ward councillors”.

“South Africans sent a very strong message to the ANC in this election. It suffered a very, very difficult and devastating blow,” Sussman said.

Nelson Mandela University political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said it was an open secret that the ANC’s one-party dominance was a thing of the past.

“Voters have taken their sense of urgency seriously ... they have fallen out of love with the ANC because the ANC doesn’t want to address the elephant in the room, which is the slow pace of service delivery,” Breakfast said.

“If you don’t honour your social contract, voters are going to punish you. The ANC has taken people for granted for such a long time.”

The ANC’s electoral support has been declining in the local government sector over the years, achieving 64.8% in 2006, 61.9% in 2011, 53.9% in 2016, and 45.5% in 2021.

During last week’s municipal elections, in the Johannesburg metro the DA led with 34.7%, followed by the ANC (20.2%), ActionSA (16.2%), EFF (6.5%), uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) (5.5%) and PA (2%).

In Ekurhuleni, the DA led with 30.6%, ANC (22.1%), ActionSA (18.5%), MK (7%), EFF (6.4%), Freedom Front Plus (4.9%), PA (1.55%) and IFP (1.1%).

In Tshwane, the DA led with 34.3%, ActionSA (22%), ANC (20.2%), Freedom Front Plus (7.6%), EFF (5.7%), MK (1.9%), and SACP (1.1%).

The Gauteng metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane are critical to South Africa’s economy, collectively accounting for about a third of the country’s GDP. They are also at the centre of the country’s service delivery challenges, with persistent problems around water supply, electricity, roads, waste management and public transport.

Whoever governs these metros will have significant influence over how some of the country’s biggest municipal budgets are spent, with Johannesburg allocating R97.1bn, Ekurhuleni R71bn and Tshwane R58.5bn for the 2026/27 financial year.

In Buffalo City metro (formerly East London), the ANC led with 41.9%, UDM (18.3%), DA (16.8%) and EFF (6.7%).

In the Cape Town metro, the DA retained control with 56.4%, followed by the ANC (13.9%), PA (3.7%) and Freedom Front Plus (3.4%).

In Mangaung metro, the ANC received 33.9%, DA (33.4%), EFF (8.5%), Freedom Front Plus (5.9%) and ActionSA (2.7%).

In the eThekwini metro, the MK led with 38.3%, followed by the DA (25.4%), the ANC (16.4%) and the IFP (6.8%).

In Nelson Mandela Bay, the DA led with 44.1%, followed by the ANC (25.4%), EFF (5.5%), SACP (3.1%), PA (3%) and UDM (2.4%).

Economist Duma Gqubule said after four electoral disasters, President Cyril Ramaphosa “must resign and not listen to [ANC chair] Gwede [Mantashe]. He is the least popular ANC president since 1994. He lost 22 percentage points in two national elections and 23 percentage points in two local elections. His economic record is the worst since 1994”.

‘Downward spiral’

Political analyst Kelvin Knowles said in the 2024 national and provincial elections, in which the ANC fell below 50% for the first time since 1994, “it was already very clear that come 2026, in the local government elections, it’s going to continue on its downward spiral, and it’s going to continue going into 2029 and so forth”.

He said historical studies showed that former liberation movements have about a 25-year lifespan in government if they do not transition into modern political parties.

“The ANC completely lacks that realpolitik sophistication; they don’t have sound economic policies and their foreign policy actively alienates key markets,” Knowles said.

“The upcoming coalition talks across the metros are going to be wild. There is a strong push to limit coalitions to just two or three parties to avoid total instability.

“The big play is between the ANC and the DA. Helen Zille and the DA leadership haven’t ruled out working with the ANC locally, but they have absolute no-go red lines when it comes to the MK party and the EFF.”

Knowles said people should not be surprised if “we see a “horses for courses” arrangement where the metros are carved up — say, the DA takes four, the ANC takes three and ActionSA gets one. In fact, a lot of these intense negotiations were likely already finalised behind closed doors long before the first vote was cast”.

North West University Business School economist Raymond Parsons said: “The successful conclusion of South Africa’s 2026 municipal elections so far already sends a positive message that holding ‘free and fair’ elections can be good for the economy. For local and international investors, a predictable political process at various levels of government is a major pillar of business confidence.”

Parsons said municipalities had become engine rooms of the economy that drive outcomes at the local coalface.

“The latest election results also strongly affirm a definitive further shift and realignment towards multiparty coalitions at municipal level. But the ‘horse trading’ that now takes place over the next 14 days must nonetheless ensure political stability if local economic development is to be maximised. Less partisanship and more progress will be needed,” he said.

“For South Africa to now break out of its current narrow 1%-2% GDP growth corridor therefore also depends on functional local governments and their ability to maintain a positive environment for business activity. Business cannot operate without dependable water, electricity, roads and logistics.

“All parties have previously committed to urgently fixing municipal governance and service delivery as their overriding priority and must now be held accountable. As the incoming political leadership now seeks to form new administrations, effective and stable governance at local level is tangibly needed to help improve the investment climate for job-rich growth.

“It is also clear that the sheer scale of service delivery and infrastructural challenges now facing villages, town and cities in South Africa requires a collective effort,” Parsons said.

Collaboration in local government is vital to ensure positive and sustainable outcomes. In the evolving political landscape business must therefore remain willing to act as a constructive partner, such as through effective public-private sector partnerships, to expedite delivery and job creation at local level, he said.

“Through strengthened engagements with the new political leadership, the new municipal governments and business must mimic the advantages that have already become apparent from the existing cooperation between the government of national unity and the private sector.”

Business Day

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Fashion and homeware retailer TFG says its decision to close 120 underperforming stores in Africa in the six months to end-September has not added to South Africa’s high unemployment rate, with more than 95% of affected employees redeployed to vacancies elsewhere.

CEO Anthony Thunström told Business Day the group, which now plans to close a further 60 to 80 stores in the second half, prioritises finding alternative positions for employees before shutting the doors.

The closures form part of a wider cost-cutting and restructuring programme aimed at simplifying the business and reducing operating costs as consumers face pressure from higher fuel prices and rising interest rates.

The group, which owns Foschini, Markham, Sportscene, @home and Jet, said it had closed 178 stores across its African, UK and Australian operations during the period, while opening 71 new stores.

This reduced its total store count from 4,914 at the beginning of April to 4,807 at the end of September, the group said.

In Africa, the number of stores fell from 3,664 to 3,585. TFG London closed 28 stores and opened 19, bringing its total to 640, while TFG Australia closed 30 and opened 11, leaving it with 582.

Nonetheless, TFG Africa recorded sales growth of 3.8% in the six months, ahead of the 1% growth reported by the Retail Liaison Committee for the market. Its like-for-like sales, which measure sales at stores trading over comparable periods, increased 2%.

However, the group’s overall sales fell 0.4% to R29bn, though they grew 1.4% when the effect of currency movements was excluded. Revenue increased marginally by 0.1% to R31.4bn.

The African business accounted for 68% of group sales and was the only division to report sales growth in its local currency. TFG London’s sales dropped 2.2% in pounds, while Australian sales fell 4.4% in Australian dollars.

Read: Price cuts on the cards as TFG adapts to tough times

Headline earnings per share were 6.8% lower at 272.8c. The group declared an interim dividend of 121c, down 6.9% from the same period last year.

TFG’s share price jumped 6.98% to R55 on Friday, the biggest gain among the JSE’s large and mid-cap shares.

Thunström said investors should assess the group’s performance in the context of the retail cycle, arguing that the business was positioned to benefit when trading conditions improved.

He said the cost-cutting programme, continued closure of underperforming stores and the growing contribution from Bash would be important measures for investors to watch over the next 12 to 24 months.

Group operating profit dropped 6.5% to R2.1bn. TFG Africa was the exception, increasing operating profit by 2.7%, while operating profit in London and Australia fell 32.5% and 28.5%, respectively, in rand terms.

TFG said it had held trading expenses flat at group level compared with the previous period, despite inflationary pressures. In Africa, trading expenses increased by 4%.

The retailer is shifting more of its business towards online shopping as it works to improve its digital sales and fulfilment operations.

Online sales in TFG Africa rose 53.3% during the period and contributed 10.9% of the division’s sales, up from 7.4% a year earlier. The growth was driven by Bash, its online shopping platform, it said.

The group said it is working to strengthen its financial services business by bringing its credit, rewards and Bash operations under unified leadership and modernising its credit capabilities.

However, its latest results show customers remain under pressure. Credit sales in Africa were down 2.4% and accounted for 25.8% of sales, compared with 27.4% in the previous corresponding period.

Net bad debt increased 10.2% to R824m, which the group attributed to weaker consumer credit health in South Africa. Its gross debtors’ book grew 3% to R11.3bn.

TFG said higher fuel prices and the resumption of interest rate increases in South Africa and Australia were expected to keep consumer confidence and spending constrained across its three territories.

The latest trading figures also showed continued pressure in some markets. TFG Africa sales fell 0.7% in the five weeks to end-October, compared with growth of 3.7% in the corresponding period last year. Australian sales fell 5.3% in the same period.

TFG’s UK brands Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles were affected by a cyber incident in October. Their stores remained open but traded at reduced levels. Demand on their own websites fell 30.2% in the five weeks to end-October.

The group said its other businesses were unaffected and that it had cyber insurance cover in place.

“While the first half has been difficult, the group enters the second with a leaner cost base, a smaller store footprint, strong online momentum, lower inventory and reduced net debt,” it said.

Cash generated from operations increased 20% to R3.7bn, while pre-International Financial Reporting Standards net debt fell R900m from the previous corresponding period to R9.1bn.

“The group remains focused on executing its priorities, prudent capital allocation and capital-light growth through its digital channels,” TFG said.

The group said chair Michael Lewis will retire at the end of December after almost 38 years on the board, 11 of them in his present role. He will be succeeded by Alexandra Watson, an emeritus professor at the University of Cape Town and chair of AdvTech, who joined the board on November 7.

Business Day

The diplomats signalled the Democrats’ gains could narrow the White House’s room for manoeuvre but warned against expecting a return to traditional US multilateralism while foreign policy remains very much under Trump’s control.

The meeting, moved at short notice from Marseille to Paris for security reasons after weeks of protests across France, will see the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, make his first appearance before allies since the elections.

Other than France, the G7 includes Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, as well as the EU. Ministers from Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea and Brazil are also attending.

With Ukraine top of the agenda, the G7 ministerial comes ahead of trilateral discussions on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the US. Officials from France, Britain, Germany, Nato and the European commission are also aiming to be in the Emirati capital, though they are not expected to take part in the trilateral format.

In a sign of friction among Europeans, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on November 5 that Europe risks becoming irrelevant in efforts to end the war in Ukraine if member states continue pursuing separate diplomatic tracks rather than agreeing on a common representative and strategy, an issue that is likely to come up at the G7.

Diplomats painted a sombre picture of the situation in Ukraine. While the front had largely stabilised, making major breakthroughs unlikely, they warned that Russia had shifted tactics toward systematically targeting energy infrastructure in an effort to trigger a nationwide winter blackout.

Shortages of Patriot interceptors and other air defence systems were Kyiv’s most urgent military vulnerability and they said one objective of the G7 meeting would be to sustain pressure on Russia while mobilising additional military, financial and energy support for Ukraine.

Iran is also expected to feature prominently in discussions. Washington’s G7 allies have repeatedly voiced scepticism over the war and fear further US military action could worsen rather than resolve the crisis.

The talks could also expose differences between Paris and Washington over Lebanon.

France is pushing for discussions on a new UN-backed security framework to replace current arrangements in southern Lebanon and has floated options including a French-Italian international force.

While French officials privately acknowledge US reluctance to embrace some of those ideas, diplomats said the G7 offers an opportunity for the allies to narrow differences as the expiry of existing arrangements at the end of the year draws nearer.

Reuters

The achievement surpasses the previous record of 496.22km/h, set by the same car at Germany’s ATP Papenburg proving ground in September 2025. It has earned the 2,220kW hypercar two Guinness World Records: highest speed achieved by a production car in a single-direction run and highest speed achieved by an electric production car in a single-direction run. The record has also been recognised by motorsport governing body the FIA.

The record-breaking run took place on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road on November 1, with German endurance racer Marc Basseng again behind the wheel. Unlike the previous attempt at a dedicated proving ground, the Abu Dhabi run was conducted on a public road closed for the event.

The achievement marks a significant milestone in the century-long pursuit of a production car capable of exceeding 500km/h, a threshold that has remained beyond the reach of conventional combustion-powered vehicles.

The U9 Xtreme’s performance is the result of three years of development, with BYD’s electric motor and battery technologies underpinning its extraordinary speed. After initial runs in Abu Dhabi that reached 490km/h, engineers adjusted the car’s aerodynamics, suspension software and tyre pressures to improve high-speed stability.

The U9X has an electric motor at each wheel, with an independent torque-vectoring system that continuously monitors road feedback, adjusting each wheel’s torque to maintain traction in all conditions.

BYD executive vice-president Stella Li said that “503.17km/h is a fantastic achievement, and it moves the benchmark for pure electric power even further ahead of where others might dream”.

The U9 Xtreme has also demonstrated its circuit performance, setting a production electric car lap record of 6min 59.157sec around Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife.

The U9 Xtreme is intended for limited production with only 30 examples to be built worldwide, with customers able to specify bespoke finishes and details.

The first production-standard example, named Dawn Moment, was unveiled at this year’s Beijing Auto Show.

Business Day

The title was Mercedes’ first constructors’ crown since 2021 and came a week after 20-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli became the youngest drivers’ champion with four races to spare in Mexico City.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second, racing from 21st on the grid due to engine penalties, in a race that started and ended in the rain, and teammate Isack Hadjar was third. George Russell was fourth for Mercedes and Antonelli fifth with the fastest lap.

Mercedes had needed to score only three points more than Ferrari to clinch the title and the Italian team never threatened to prolong the fight on a treacherous track, with Charles Leclerc seventh and Lewis Hamilton ninth in his 400th race.

“It was a very tough race, very, very tough,” said Norris, the 2025 world champion, of his 14th career win and 50th podium and his team’s first victory since August.

“A lot of challenges today with the conditions and going onto slicks in the wet is always tough, especially when you are pushing for the lead and trying to catch up a bit,” added the Briton, who lost out to Antonelli at the start.

“The main thing today was I kept it cool and didn’t make any mistakes and had the pace when I needed to. Nice to be back on the top step and what a place to do it.”

Norris took the chequered flag, waved by Brazil soccer player Neymar, 14.602 seconds clear of Verstappen.

Mercedes equalled Williams’ nine constructors’ championships.

“It was a very strong beginning of the season and that kind of got us over the line. These last few races have been challenging at times. Today it was difficult, but overall I’m so proud for the organisation,” said team boss Toto Wolff.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was sixth with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson sandwiched between the Ferrari drivers in eighth after a fine race that saw the New Zealander start third and run in second place for the first five laps.

Nico Hulkenberg took the final point for Audi in a race of spins, slippery moments and changeable conditions.

Reuters

This was the basis of a webinar for the UN World Cities Day (October 31), co-hosted by Nelson Mandela University’s department of building and human settlement development and the Mandela University Institute for Sustainable Futures.

Partnering with the university was the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and the state department of science, technology & innovation.

The UN World Cities Day theme for 2026 is “Regenerating the City: Adequate Housing for All”, and the webinar extended this by adding “through the mainstreaming of innovative building systems”.

“Innovative housing systems that improve people’s lives are required to help address the shortage of low-cost housing,” said the webinar convenor, Sijekula Mbanga, Mandela University’s chair of human settlements in the faculty of engineering built environment and technology.

According to the UN, about 3.4-billion people across the world (about 42% of the world’s population) lack adequate housing. South Africa has an estimated housing deficit of 2.6-million homes affecting 12-million people.

“Innovative building systems (IBSs), referred to as innovative building technologies (IBTs), include innovative construction materials and climate-resilient technologies for faster delivery of energy-efficient homes,” said Mbanga.

All IBSs and IBTs undergo engineering tests for structural integrity and performance under different climatic conditions, with certification from Agrément South Africa — a public entity operating under the department of public works and infrastructure.

Several examples of IBSs and IBTs were shared during the webinar that are ready to be upscaled to mainstream construction methods.

Nolwandle Gqiba, a professional town and regional planner, and executive director of human settlements for City of Cape Town, said: “The City of Cape Town follows environmentally efficient means of delivering affordable housing and we have numerous examples of public-private IBS and IBT construction partnerships in areas ranging from Khayelitsha to Durbanville.”

One example is the Greenville housing project, a mixed-use residential development in Fisantekraal near Durbanville. This is a partnership between the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape government, and developer Garden Cities. The project has delivered about 4,000 homes, including 100% government-subsidised homes.

“The project uses lightweight but robust Benex blocks made from a mixture of cement and polystyrene beads that interlock during construction,” Gqiba said.

Another example in the Western Cape is a community centre in Elandskloof near Citrusdal on a community-owned farm, using the IBS of a Cape Town-based company called nonCrete.

The method is called “alien biomass to housing”, and the bricks are made from black wattle trees that are felled on the farm, put through a chipper and combined with a binder to create low-carbon, fire-resistant bricks. They have notable thermal qualities, helping to keep dwellings warm in winter and cool in summer.

The removal of the invasive trees frees up large amounts of freshwater, reduces the risk of fires and creates jobs, as does the brick-making process.

Financial and regulatory support

Architect Jamie Smily, the founder and MD of XLAM South Africa, has focused on cross-laminated timber (CLT) building for the past 10 years. He said there is a need for financial and regulatory support for green building.

“CLT construction methods have been independently tested and verified to meet the South African National Standards ... yet there are still many regulatory, political and municipal hurdles to get through.”

An IBS example from the Eastern Cape is the Ekuphumleni Eco-Sun Green Village — an off-grid, low-income housing and sustainability pilot project in the Ekuphumleni township near Kenton-on-Sea.

The houses in the village are constructed with bricks containing polystyrene and cement additives, bound together with a fibre plaster mesh. The homes use a solar system and greywater plants treat water from washing so that it can be reused for toilets.

The webinar also addressed the digital technologies that can be used to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of cities.

Associate professor Samad Sepasgozar from the School of Built Environment at the University of New South Wales, Australia, said a digital twin city is a smart digital mirror of a city designed for more efficient approaches to city management. It provides real-time virtual models of the urban environment, including streets, buildings and infrastructure, along with resource flows such as water and electricity consumption.

For example, in all cities there are precincts with office buildings where electricity is predominantly used in the daytime, as well as blocks of flats or homes where the highest electricity use is at night. This empowers city managers to shift electricity capacity to where and when it is needed most.

Emma Ayesu-Koranteng, chartered construction manager and head of the department of building and human settlement development at Mandela University, said the need for transdisciplinary research for cities and human settlements that can be translated into advanced IBSs.

“The government needs to create an enabling environment for IBSs, including financing projects,” she said. “Whole life cost assessment for all construction methods and materials, conventional and non-conventional should become essential, as well as carbon performance, environmental impact, maintenance requirements and long-term asset value.”

Yonela Njisane, manager of Mandela Institute for Sustainable Futures at Nelson Mandela University, said: “We have the collective expertise required and we are encouraging the establishment of organised partnerships for low-cost housing, including: a national institutional forum for higher education institutions to drive curriculum, research and related capacity development; public and private sector collaboration to expand and scale projects; learning from each other’s experiences and developments; and committing to collection action.”

“No single institution, sector, or country can challenge this alone,” said Sudesh Rathilal, executive dean for the faculty of engineering built environment and technology at Nelson Mandela University.

“Universities and research institutions have an important responsibility to partner with the public and private sectors in addressing society’s pressing issues. We need research that informs policy; that challenges conventional thinking; and we need strategic programmes to educate architects, engineers, IT specialists, urban planners and a range of transdisciplinary professionals who can contribute to implementing innovative solutions for our cities and housing systems,” Rathilal said.

Business Day

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Government departments, parliament and civil society organisations have a series of engagements scheduled this week, with prison reform, employment, digital skills development, energy policy and the management of marine resources among the issues on the agenda.

On Monday, correctional services national commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale will host UN under-secretary-general and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) executive director Monica Juma at the Nelson Mandela Rules Academy at Drakenstein Correctional Centre in Paarl.

The visit will give Juma an opportunity to learn more about the academy, which was established with technical support from the UNODC. Discussions will focus on implementing the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, as well as opportunities to strengthen international and regional co-operation on prison reform, rehabilitation and professional training.

Higher education and training minister Buti Manamela will deliver the keynote address at the launch of the Northlink TVET College Digital Hub at its Goodwood campus in Cape Town.

The hub forms part of the college’s efforts to strengthen digital skills training and modernise its training environment. Through partnerships with industry, particularly in AI, the initiative will offer training and certification in areas including cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analysis and software development.

On Tuesday, Stats SA will release the third-quarter 2026 Quarterly Labour Force Survey. The figures will provide an update on employment, unemployment and labour force participation.

The South African Nuclear and Clean Energy Conference will also begin in Gauteng, bringing together government and energy sector representatives to discuss nuclear energy development, small modular reactors, clean energy infrastructure funding and South Africa’s energy commitments.

The department of forestry, fisheries & the environment will hold public consultations on draft policy frameworks for small-scale and commercial marine fisheries at Eric Baker Hall in Hondeklip Bay, Northern Cape.

On Wednesday, the Integrated Justice System National Conference begins at the Sun City Convention Centre in the North West and runs until Friday. The conference will mark 30 years of the constitution and examine technological integration, case flow management and digitisation across the criminal justice system.

The second day of the Nuclear and Clean Energy Conference will focus on implementation roadmaps for technology adoption and industrial policy.

On Thursday, the department of forestry, fisheries & the environment will continue its public consultation process on coastal fisheries in Elands Bay, Western Cape. The engagement will consider coastal marine living resources and proposed adjustments to fisheries policy.

Civil society organisations Action for Southern Africa, the Canon Collins Trust and the Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign will host the first webinar in a three-part series examining xenophobia and the far right.

The online discussion, titled “When communities fight back: xenophobia, solidarity and resistance”, will feature community activist and former Johannesburg proportional representation councillor Simphiwe Zwane and Abahlali baseMjondolo co-founder and president S’bu Zikode.

It will examine grassroots responses to xenophobia and ways to build solidarity across communities and borders. The series will continue with webinars on December 10 and January 21 2027.

Business Day

We recently had a series of conversations with South African SME employers to better understand how they approach employee financial benefits. What struck me was just how differently business owners think about their responsibilities.

Some feel a strong moral obligation to look after their people, particularly those who have been with the business for many years. Others believe that employees should take responsibility for managing their own finances. There are also business owners who recognise the importance of financial benefits but simply don’t have the time, resources or expertise to navigate the options available.

Many of the businesses we spoke to offered no retirement or investment benefits, and I suspect the complexity of traditional employee benefit arrangements has something to do with it.

The problem with a standard pension model

For decades, employee pension arrangements have followed a fairly standard structure. The employer chooses the scheme, employees contribute a predetermined percentage of their salaries, and investment choices are often limited to a selection of funds.

The model certainly has its merits. Regular contributions encourage financial discipline, and for employees who might otherwise neglect retirement savings, that structure can be valuable.

However, consider a young employee trying to save for a deposit on a first home, compared with someone supporting a family or approaching retirement. Their financial goals, capacity to save and appetite for investment risk are unlikely to be the same.

Retirement is an important part of financial planning, but so is having an emergency fund, saving for children’s education or building up enough capital to buy a home. These goals require different financial products and different levels of access to savings.

I believe we should be looking at employee benefits more broadly, with greater flexibility for individuals to decide how best to allocate their savings across their financial priorities.

Retirement is an important part of financial planning, but so is having an emergency fund, saving for children’s education or building up enough capital to buy a home. These goals require different financial products and different levels of access to savings.

Another interesting finding from our conversations was the frustration business owners expressed about the complexity and transparency of financial products.

One employer described having to escalate questions about investment fees because the provider’s own advisers couldn’t give satisfactory answers. Another found substantial differences in fees quoted through different channels for essentially the same product.

If experienced business owners are struggling to establish exactly what they’re paying for, we should consider how difficult these decisions can be for employees with limited financial knowledge.

Small differences in investment charges can have a substantial impact on long-term savings, yet understanding the total cost of investing remains unnecessarily complicated.

This is an area where employers can add real value by providing access to straightforward information, transparent pricing and independent guidance, without necessarily making investment decisions on behalf of their staff.

I don’t believe employers should be expected to manage every aspect of their employees’ financial wellbeing. Equally, there’s an opportunity for businesses to do more than simply pay a salary and leave employees to figure everything out for themselves.

Employers can play an important role in providing the structures, tools and education that help employees make better financial decisions. This might include access to different savings and investment products, financial guidance or employer contributions towards longer-term goals.

Interestingly, several employers we spoke to were receptive to the idea of financial rewards that vest over time, such as deferred bonuses linked to length of service or performance.

Technology now makes it possible to provide employees with access to a broader range of financial products, clearer information about fees and greater control over their investments. Rather than starting with the question of which pension scheme to offer, it may be more useful to consider what financial support employees actually need and how the business can help provide it.

Ultimately, employees need to take responsibility for their own financial decisions, but employers have an important role in making those decisions easier and more informed. Getting that balance right could make employee benefits considerably more relevant to the people they’re intended to support.

• Webbstock is a cofounder of Fynbos Money.

Business Day

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Countries should go beyond existing pledges and deliver accelerated action to reduce emissions and tackle global warming, according to a UN report released before the climate change conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey.

This week, world leaders will meet for the largest annual global summit to negotiate climate action plans and face a clear caution from the UN report, “The point of return”, released before COP31, to urgently reduce emissions.

The report will be a feature during negotiations of the COP31 outcomes on climate finance and climate action targets.

According to the report, the planet could suffer from warmer temperatures: “If current policies continue, there is a 66% chance that warming will be limited to 2.8°C by 2100, while continuing to increase thereafter.

“If all NDCs [nationally determined contributions] are delivered and similar efforts continue, there is a 66% chance that warming will be limited to 2.6°C by 2100. This is a worse outcome than expected last year as a result of the formal withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement and revised estimates of historical emissions,” the report reads.

The US withdrew from the Paris Agreement, a binding international treaty on climate change, after Donald Trump assumed the presidency in 2025.

It was the second time Trump withdrew from the agreement. The withdrawal was significant, as the European Parliament described the US as one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

The report found that climate action plans (nationally determined contributions) submitted by countries since last year to reach the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal of limiting warming to well below 2°C have had a near-zero impact on expected emissions and warming.

“This highlights the need to go beyond existing pledges and to deliver on more ambitious pledges through accelerated action.”

The report proposes that to tackle rising temperatures, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reduced by 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040, all relative to 2025 levels.

“By contrast, the full implementation of the new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted by around two-thirds of all countries could reduce emissions by 5–8% by 2030 and 11–15% by 2035 relative to 2025 levels.”

The report states that under current policies, only six G20 members — China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, South Africa and Turkey — were assessed as likely to achieve their unconditional 2030 targets on greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

The unconditional 2030 targets are countries’ targets to reduce emissions using their own resources.

“No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight,” UN climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell has remarked ahead of the conference.

He made the comments as COP31 has been labelled the “Implementation COP”, with leaders facing pressure to implement climate change agreements.

“This will be a COP that converts pledges and targets into concrete results across both the negotiations and the global climate action agenda.

“It will bring together businesses, cities, states, communities and civil society to turn words on paper into projects on the ground.”

He said the conference takes place against the backdrop of an ongoing fossil-fuel cost crisis that has resulted in energy and transport costs spiralling.

“Now more than ever, the climate crisis and its causes are on every kitchen table, hitting every economy and population hard. COP31 can help bolster practical solutions. Electrification and clean energy can cut household bills and lock in energy security.”

A South African delegation will be part of the negotiations. The climate change debate in South Africa has centred on the government facing pressure to minimise coal use; the country largely depends on coal-fired stations for a stable grid.

Minerals Council South Africa’s climate experts have argued that coal mines should continue to operate for years during the energy transition and use technology to reduce emissions.

The council has emphasised that the sector, as a lucrative business providing employment, provides energy security, which is important for the economy.

Business Day

Matlala will continue under cross-examination facing questions from commission chair retired justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and his co-commissioners, senior advocates Sesi Baloyi and Sandile Khumalo, after having last appeared before the commission in late August.

Matlala is a crucial witness before the commission investigating allegations of criminal infiltration in law enforcement agencies, as the anchor allegations of criminal infiltration in the South African Police Service’s upper echelons were pinned on him by KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

When he returns, his legal team, led by senior advocate Annelene van den Heever, has been ordered to make written submission of legal arguments on the Criminal Procedure Act provision on ambits of the collapsed plea deal with the state and its effect on matters Matlala will be required to testify to before the commission.

Matlala’s legal team has previously put up a fight to block the commission from accessing an affidavit he filed in the collapsed plea agreement, in which he provided information about police corruption in a R228m tender scandal.

The National Prosecuting Authority, before the plea deal collapsed, intended to use Matlala’s evidence and affidavit to charge top cops in the tender scandal.

Matlala previously refused to answer questions related to former police deputy commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya. Matlala is accused of gifting and paying large sums of money to Sibiya related to the R228m tender awarded to his company, Medicare24. Sibiya, who is facing charges of rape, sexual grooming of a minor, and human trafficking, resigned in October.

Matlala invoked the constitutional right not to self-incriminate, which he told the commission was contained in the affidavit he made in the plea agreement with the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) and could reveal further details.

In his previous appearance, evidence leader Mahlape Sello asked Matlala to make available the affidavits and statements he filed in the plea deal because Matlala used the documents as a blanket approach to refuse to answer questions.

Advocate Fatima Missi, representing Matlala, previously argued the affidavits in the plea deal were privileged and that information could not be disclosed to the commission.

If the document were to be disclosed to the commission, it would have access to several admissions made by Matlala in the criminal proceedings.

The Criminal Procedure Act provides that the state cannot use any admissions made by an accused in a new trial unless the accused consents. Sello said protection of the documents applies to criminal court proceedings, and the commission was not a court.

This will be a central issue in discussions when Matlala returns for his two-day appearance this week and whether questions on Sibiya fall within the ambit of the right not to self-incriminate.

Commission spokesperson Jeremy Micheals said over the coming weeks the commission will hear the testimony of numerous other witnesses who are scheduled to appear under subpoena.

Micheals confirmed police minister Senzo Mchunu, Mkhwanazi and police crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo will return to the witness box.

BusinessDay

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Irvin Jim, who has been “suspended” as general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), has written to regional leaders who orchestrated the suspension to provide written representations about why their membership of the metalworkers’ union should not be terminated.

Numsa’s national office bearers, including Jim, announced recently that their special national executive committee had resolved to suspend the regional leaders, who in turn said they had lost confidence in them.

However, the regional leaders announced at a media briefing that their own executive committee, which met on Monday last week, had resolved to suspend the office bearers on charges of dereliction of duty, conduct bringing the union into disrepute, gross violations of the Numsa constitution and constitutional procedures, and wasteful expenditure.

The central committee meeting held by the regional leaders in October resolved to strip the national office bearers, including Jim and president Andrew Chirwa, of their powers and replace them with a task co-ordinating team.

In a letter dated November 5 to the regional leaders and Numsa staff members, Jim hit back, saying the task team had no standing in Numsa or authority to speak on behalf of the union “whatsoever”, given among others that no valid central committee was convened on October 23 and as such any resolutions arising from that meeting are null and void.

“Accordingly, you are well advised to ignore the content of the letter issued by [task team members Silumko] Nondwangu and [Karl] Cloete and make use of the opportunity afforded to you to make written representations as to why your membership/services should not be terminated by 6pm on Saturday November 7 2026. Failing which, Numsa’s national executive committee will proceed to consider your continued membership/services in the absence of any such representations,” Jim said.

However, the regional leaders’ special national executive committee meeting had maintained that the central committee meeting of October 23 was “properly constituted and that its decisions remain valid and binding. No court of law has set aside those decisions.”

In their letter to the “suspended” regional leaders dated November 5, Nondwangu and Cloete said they were writing to “formally advise you of developments regarding the purported suspension issued against you by comrade Irvin Jim”.

“The special national executive committee, duly convened on November 2 2026, considered the decisions and actions taken by comrade Irvin Jim in relation to the suspension of elected leaders and office bearers of the union.

“Having considered the relevant constitutional provisions and surrounding circumstances, the special national executive committee concluded that the purported suspension issued against you was not authorised by the Numsa constitution and was therefore unlawful, unconstitutional, invalid and of no force or effect.

“The special national executive committee accordingly resolved that the purported suspension be lifted with immediate effect and that all comrades affected by such actions be restored to their full rights, responsibilities and standing within the union.”

Nondwangu and Cloete stated the regional leaders remained members and/or elected leaders in good standing, and the “purported suspension issued against you is regarded as invalid and unenforceable”.

“Any restrictions that flowed from that purported suspension are withdrawn. You are entitled to resume and perform all functions, duties and responsibilities attached to your elected position within the union.”

Numsa regional leaders from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, JC Bez, Mpumalanga and Sedibeng defied Jim by convening a central committee meeting recently, the highest decision-making body between national congresses. Jim had written to them to say the meeting scheduled for October 23-25 had been cancelled until further notice.

The letter by Jim followed a ruling by labour court judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje preventing Numsa and the office-bearers from barring delegates from Mpumalanga from attending, participating and voting at committee meetings.

The dispute arises from events at the Mpumalanga regional congress on June 29 and 30. Before the congress, the region’s Ehlanzeni local shop stewards council resolved that local office bearers would identify and nominate delegates from among its members.

After the congress, a shop steward complained directly to Jim that the process used to select delegates from Ehlanzeni structures was unlawful. They alleged that the election of Ehlanzeni council delegates contravened the Numsa constitution, “which in turn called into question the status of the regional congress and the delegates elected at that congress”.

In a letter dated September 4 to all central committee delegates, Numsa president Andrew Chirwa announced that the committee would reconvene without the Mpumalanga delegates.

This prompted Mpumalanga regional chair Nkosinathi Makhanya to approach the courts for relief.

In his ruling, Tlhotlhalemaje interdicted the office bearers from excluding the Mpumalanga delegation and found that Chirwa “on his own or with the general secretary” had “usurped the powers of the CC, acted ultra vires, and put the cart before the horse” and that such conduct “amounts to self-help”.

Numsa is expected to hold its national congress later this month, where a new national leadership will be elected.

The power struggle and counter-suspensions were viewed as threatening the credibility of the union, the backbone of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu).

At its peak before its expulsion from Cosatu in November 2014, Numsa was its largest affiliate with about 360,000 members.

Business Day

The spread reflects the supply and demand for crude oil and petroleum products and refining capacity. With refineries generally located near ports, often far from oil wells, crude oil must be transported to them by tanker or pipeline. Refined products must then be shipped to their destinations. Fuel prices therefore comprise the cost of crude oil, refining and freight.

Historically, the crack spread was relatively small and stable compared with crude oil prices, with negligible inflationary impact. However, Russia’s 2022 Ukraine invasion disrupted refining supply chains, pushing diesel crack spreads to $60/bbl in 2022/23, against a long-term average of $9/bbl, before settling at a new, postwar equilibrium of about $20/bbl. Brent crude reached a high of $130/bbl in 2022, before slipping to $70/bbl.

Since February and the Iran war, refining disruptions have intensified. Brent is trading at about $100/bbl, 80% above pre-Ukraine war levels and in line with 2022/23 prices. The diesel crack spread has however, surged to more than $95/bbl, a 960% increase over the same period. Higher freight and insurance costs have added further pressure at the pump.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war fuel has been the primary driver of South Africa’s inflation, with global refining costs having a greater impact than crude oil prices. Whereas refining accounted for 25% of the basic diesel price in February 2026 (R2.40/litre), by September it comprised 44% (R8.50/l).

After the closure of local refineries Sapref, Enref and PetroSA and the sale of the oil reserves, South Africa now imports 94% of its diesel and 77% of its petrol, according to the Fuels Industry Association of South Africa. This leaves the country with little control over refining costs. SA imports diesel and petrol (distillates) from the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean and petrol from Singapore and the Mediterranean.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war fuel has been the primary driver of South Africa’s inflation, with global refining costs having a greater impact than crude oil prices.

Since February diesel crack spreads have risen 460% to $95/bbl while petrol crack spreads have increased 180% to $40/bbl.

The price differential between petrol and diesel is in part because Ukrainian and Iranian drone attacks on refinery infrastructure have destroyed more diesel-producing capacity than petrol. Ukraine carried out more than 20 attacks on Russian refineries in August, with several more targeted in September.

According to Reuters, Russia recently extended its diesel export ban until end-October, and its petrol export ban until year-end to address domestic shortages

Unfortunately for consumers, petrol crack spreads are also rising and are expected to continue catching up with diesel over the coming months.

Compounding South Africa’s exposure to the sharp rise in crack spreads is its growing reliance on diesel. This is mainly due to increased road freight after Transnet’s decline and greater reliance on backup generators by households, industry and Eskom’s own open-cycle gas turbines.

With falling freight rail capacity, which has dropped to 14.5Mt per annum from a peak of 20Mt in 2015, road freight volumes have risen from 60Mt to 80Mt over the same period. South Africa’s diesel usage outpaces its petrol consumption, making diesel a key channel through which fuel supply shocks feed into core inflation and food.

Crude oil is traded in deep, liquid global markets, while refined products are traded in less liquid physical markets, largely over the counter (OTC), where buyers and sellers negotiate directly rather than on a transparent centralised exchange.

Price discovery relies on agencies (such as Argus or Platts), which report OTC transactions. Further, refined product prices are stickier than for crude, as increased distillate supply often requires actually building additional refineries, whereas crude supply can be adjusted through Opec production quotas.

Given today’s disruption to distillate supply alongside higher freight and insurance charges, spreads could take longer to fall than they did post 2023 (15 months). This would apply even if the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens.

Interest rate hike

Assuming higher-for-longer refining margins as a base case, we expect CPI inflation to average 5.6% over the next six months. Under the new 3% inflation target the South African Reserve Bank will find it harder to look through a prolonged fuel-driven supply-side shock, especially as it feeds through to South Africa’s cost of freight, food and ultimately services.

The South African Reserve Bank could raise rates by a further 25 basis points to 7.5%, either this month or in January.

In the early years of a new inflation-targeting regime, which is where we find ourselves, inflation expectations are particularly vulnerable to de-anchoring, and credibility is costly to lose. Monetary policy should thus remain tighter than under a 4.5% target. We expect rates to stay restrictive for longer, with the Bank cautious about cutting in 2027, even as fuel-driven disinflation takes hold.

• Silberman is economist and macro strategist at Matrix Fund Managers.

Business Day

The ANC remains the largest party nationally, but at about 30% its support has fallen to a level unimaginable a decade ago. The DA, on about 24.5% nationally, leads in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni and has an outright majority in Cape Town. MK is the leading party in eThekwini and 135 councils are hung out of 213.

The ANC has suffered a profound repudiation, but in many contests the DA has not won a mandate to govern alone. It has won an opportunity to govern, with obligations to constituencies and partners beyond its base.

The irony is that the ANC may have let the DA in through the back door, through its own governance failures and through backroom deals that have replaced leadership with manoeuvring.

The DA’s Ashor Sarupen points to the number of black voters who backed the party as proof that old racial boundaries are dissolving. The numbers are not inconsequential, but they need careful reading. Representation and inclusion are not the same thing. The question is not only who boards the candidate bus but also who decides its destination.

There is also a difference between voting against something and voting for something. The DA campaigned on ANC municipal failure, broken infrastructure, corruption and unreliable water, electricity and sewerage services. That resonates across race and class because the consequences are visible, but it is an argument about competence and integrity, not ideology.

A voter fed up with a dysfunctional municipality may vote DA without embracing its economic philosophy or its view of the state. A rejection of ANC failure is not an endorsement of DA ideology. The test is whether competence can serve social and spatial justice.

This matters for the general election due in 2029, when ownership, employment, industrial policy, land and redistribution come into play. The DA should not mistake a protest against the ANC for a conversion to the DA. Nor should the ANC treat liberation as a perpetual licence to govern. Legitimacy must be renewed by changing people’s lives.

Johannesburg needs competence, working infrastructure, revenue collection, clean procurement and consequences for theft. But fixing the potholes is not the same as fixing the map. The city’s inequality is built into its geography ― distance between homes and jobs, the cost of transport, access to land and housing. A city can balance its books and deliver services while leaving apartheid’s spatial architecture intact.

The DA should not mistake a protest against the ANC for a conversion to the DA. Nor should the ANC treat liberation as a perpetual licence to govern. Legitimacy must be renewed by changing people’s lives.

What does competence serve: efficient running of existing arrangements or a more inclusive urban economy? Fiscal discipline and social justice are compatible, but not identical. Tariffs, rates, land release, public transport and cross-subsidisation are political choices. Integrating transport, housing, building affordable homes near work and servicing informal settlements require a municipal state that intervenes rather than waiting for investment to trickle down.

Coalition talks are the first test. The DA must show it can govern beyond its own constituency without reducing coalitions to a share-out of posts. The ANC must confront the possibility that it has become an obstacle to the transformation it once promised.

Smaller parties must choose between shaping policy and extracting power. Johannesburg cannot afford another revolving door of mayors; coalitions need a public compact with measurable delivery and consequences for failure.

The ANC has lost its historical claim to govern. The DA has gained an opportunity to govern by virtue of the ANC’s failures. Neither answers what kind of South Africa should follow. Competence must deliver transformation rather than inequality that is merely better administered.

The back door to power may be open. The road to social and spatial justice remains to be built.

• Cachalia, a businessperson and management consultant who formerly chaired De Beers Namibia, is a former DA MP and public enterprises spokesperson.

Ahead of the summit, there was widespread speculation over whether Britain’s King Charles, the head of the Commonwealth, would use the gathering in Antigua and Barbuda to issue a formal apology for his country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. He did not.

In his remarks to the summit the monarch said: “That shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow.”

King Charles wasn’t alive when slave trade happened, so nobody could reasonably expect him to take personal responsibility for its invention and practice. But it is common cause that Britain benefited from the practice.

It’s understandable why no direct apology was forthcoming. To do so would have opened another door: the call for reparations. Yet even without an apology this call is getting louder.

King Charles missed an opportunity to reset intra-Commonwealth relations. The body, which comprises Britain and its former colonies, is becoming increasingly irrelevant, just like the UK in the wake of its departure from the EU a decade ago.

An apology could have paved the way for a discussion of the future of the Commonwealth in the context of a rapidly changing world.

Unlike his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, Charles is a political monarch. This is not necessarily a bad thing. As head of state he should weigh in on matters of national importance now and again. Slavery and Britain’s exit (Brexit) from the EU are too significant for him to leave to politicians and his subjects.

Already, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expressing what many Britons are feeling about Brexit ― that it was a mistake ― and trying to make amends for this self-inflicted wound.

An explicit apology for slavery by King Charles would have enhanced his stature. By not apologising he has merely kicked the can down the road and given more oxygen to the reparations movement.

There are more imaginative ways of talking about reparations than mere financial compensation. There is no commonly agreed formula to calculate the damage caused by crimes against humanity like apartheid, slavery and Nazism.

However, an apology and acknowledgement of harm is a meaningful start to a journey of healing. This has been done in Rwanda and South Africa, through the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Though imperfect, the processes allowed the two countries to move beyond their painful pasts.

The victims of slavery aren’t simply looking for financial compensation; money alone will not make them forget what their parents, grandparents and great-great-grandparents went through. But at least it will help give them closure.

Like Brexit, slavery was man-made. Man can correct his mistakes. Just as Burnham has an opportunity to fix his predecessors’ mistakes, so King Charles could do his bit to heal the wounds inflicted on victims of slavery by his forebears.

He doesn’t have to wait for the next Chogm in two years to make things right. As king he has many speaking opportunities that offer him an opportunity to issue an unreserved apology.

The UK is already doing a lot to assist its former colonies through aid, trade, debt relief and investment. But more could still be done for countries that were directly affected by slavery, especially in the areas of innovation, education and health.

Business Day

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Stats SA’s quarterly labour force survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2026, due out on Tuesday, is likely to illustrate that unemployment remains high as the various sectors of the economy navigate an environment of high input costs due to the US war against Iran, which has roiled global oil markets this year.

In what labour federation Cosatu called a “beyond depressing” report, the jobless rate jumped to 33.6% in the second quarter from 32.7% in the first three months of the year. Young South Africans again bore the brunt of the scourge, with youth unemployment increasing 1.5 percentage points to 47.4% between the two quarters.

“The [third quarter] QLFS is likely to show a modest deterioration in the unemployment rate. The operating environment remained challenging during the quarter, with higher oil and fuel prices increasing input, transportation and distribution costs for businesses, placing pressure on profitability and weighing on business confidence,” economists at Nedbank said in a commentary.

“Against this backdrop, firms may have adopted a more cautious approach to hiring, delaying expansion and recruitment plans.”

Investec economist Lara Hodes was more optimistic, predicting a modest easing to 33% in third quarter unemployment, though she added that jobs growth would be subdued for the rest of this year as elevated uncertainty weighed on hiring decisions.

Later on Tuesday, Stats SA will publish September manufacturing production numbers, which economists expect to bear further testimony to the industry’s extremely difficult year on the back of steep fuel price increases and subdued demand, among other ills.

Output is likely to have declined further in September by 4% year on year after August’s 4.3% contraction, Hodes said, noting that the revised Absa manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for the month remained subdued at 48.7, below the neutral 50-point mark, indicating continued pressure.

The manufacturing sector has been under pressure for years, and Stats SA’s recent rebasing of South Africa’s GDP whittled its contribution to national output to 11.9% from the previously calculated 12.4%, pushing it down to the country’s fourth largest industry from third position.

On Thursday Stats SA will release September production data for the mining sector, which slumped 12.7% year on year in August — with platinum group metals, coal and iron ore leading the retreat — and fell 5.4% month on month.

In their forecast, economists at Absa pencilled in a month-on-month increase of 2.3% for September but noted that the degree of uncertainty is high, given the volatile nature of the mining data series.

The closure of Valterra’s precious metal refinery operations for maintenance in the third quarter presents a downside risk to the bank’s forecast.

“Our estimate would leave mining output down 10.7% year on year in September compared with a 12.7% decline in August,” Absa’s economists wrote in their latest weekly economic commentary.

Stats SA will on Thursday also release the latest data on perinatal deaths in South Africa, detailing the number of stillborn babies as well as early neonatal deaths, which occur in the first week of life.

Business Day

It is a fascinating concept, and one that offers an interesting perspective on something far closer to home: the power of individual choices. In a country of millions, it is easy to believe that one vote cannot possibly make a difference. What impact can a single ballot really have? Yet when thousands of people reach the same conclusion and choose not to participate, their collective absence can influence the outcome just as much as the votes that are cast.

Sometimes the biggest impact comes not from what we do but from what we choose not to do. I have lost count of how many times I have visited a voting station, or how often I have encountered people who choose not to vote. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. Yet on November 4, when South Africa’s local government elections took place, I again met people who had decided not to participate.

Their reasoning? “My vote won’t make a difference.” Immediately, the little soldier in me jumped to attention. My instinctive response was “Then you cannot complain when things go wrong!” Their response? “But I do not complain.” And that is when I have to resist the temptation to launch into a quick educational speech! Only to discover that some had never even registered to vote.

What struck me was the absence of a particular profile. Young and old, across cultures, genders and income groups. From professionals to blue-collar workers, this mindset seems to know no boundaries. And it got me thinking. What happens when an entire community begins to believe that the individual voice does not matter?

Democracy is about more than politics. It is about participation, responsibility and recognising that our individual choices have collective outcomes. My natural fix-it mode kicked in. But how do we move people from feeling powerless to believing that they have a part to play? Perhaps we first need to understand the psychology behind the words: “My vote will not make a difference.”

Is it apathy? Disappointment? Distrust? Or have people simply stopped believing they can influence the world around them? Perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking someone why they did not vote, what if we asked, “What would make you believe your voice matters?”

We have traditionally been told that religion, politics and money are subjects best avoided around a braai. But perhaps we have become so good at avoiding difficult conversations that we have forgotten the value of having meaningful ones.

Change does not necessarily have to begin with a political debate. It can start with a simple conversation, with listening rather than lecturing, and with encouraging people to recognise that participation matters.

It starts by teaching our children that their voices carry both value and responsibility. By showing how neighbours working together can improve a park, make a street safer or support someone in need. And by reminding ourselves that citizenship does not begin and end at the ballot box.

Imagine if every person in Stellenbosch asked themselves one simple question: “If everyone in my community approached life the way I do, what kind of Stellenbosch would we create?” It is a question that reaches far beyond voting. It touches how we treat our neighbours, care for our environment, support our communities and take responsibility for the world we leave behind.

It starts by teaching our children that their voices carry both value and responsibility. By showing how neighbours working together can improve a park, make a street safer or support someone in need. And by reminding ourselves that citizenship does not begin and end at the ballot box.

And the ripple effect does not stop at the borders of your local community. The same principle applies to communities across SA and around the world. And the same principle applies to our financial lives. As a wealth manager I often see a similar mindset when people approach their financial futures. Saving can wait until next year. A small monthly contribution will hardly make a difference. There will be a better time to start.

But time has a way of turning seemingly insignificant decisions into substantial consequences. Consider financial planning. One postponed contribution may appear inconsequential. But when that decision is repeated over several years the opportunity cost can become significant.

This is where the power of compounding comes into play. Starting early, contributing consistently and allowing investments sufficient time to grow can make a substantial difference to capital accumulated over the long term. The earlier we start, the more time our money has to work for us. And even modest contributions, maintained consistently, can build towards something meaningful. My favourite saying is to aim to make “money babies”.

Voting and financial planning are, of course, very different responsibilities. One is a democratic right and the other a financial decision. But both highlight an important underlying principle: small individual actions can have consequences far greater than we might initially appreciate.

In both cases, waiting for the perfect moment or assuming that our individual contribution is too small can mean missing an opportunity to influence the future. Nor can we leave everything to someone else. We cannot expect others to take responsibility for the direction of our communities, just as we cannot leave our financial futures entirely in someone else’s hands.

Seeking professional advice, having conversations about our goals and taking the first step towards a plan are ways of turning good intentions into meaningful action. You have the steering wheel to control your destiny.

I believe every person can make a difference, not necessarily through grand gestures but through the everyday choices we make. How we participate, how we treat others and how willing we are to take responsibility all contribute to the bigger picture.

Perhaps the real question is not whether one vote can change anything. It is what happens when thousands of people believe theirs cannot. One voice may seem small. Collective silence is powerful. And perhaps creating a better future, whether for our communities or ourselves, begins with something as simple as believing:

I matter. My voice matters. And so does yours.

Brown is executive wealth manager at Anchor Capital.

As we have just learnt from events on opposite sides of the Atlantic, if political freedom does not automatically confer freedom from error, it remains the best means of delivering what most people decide is the necessary correction.

It’s not very efficient, but efficiency is not the thing.

In an email just a few days ago I told a colleague that I believed “the virtue of democracy is precisely its imperfection”, and that we can all have a go at participating in preserving the imperfection as a guarantee against having to accept that one paramount ideal decided by someone, decides what’s best for everyone.

There is always an ideal, and we all routinely berate voters — other voters — for making what we might think are flawed, mistaken or even stupid choices. But they doubtless think the same of us and our choices.

Democracy’s primary advantage (the primary advantage of free societies) is that nobody is ever completely happy, and so the argument persists. And, as I said to my colleague, “if the argument persists, the freedom usually does too”.

(It often strikes me that participating is what’s most meaningful, in the sense that we take part without anticipating that we will automatically get our way and so jointly agree in advance to voluntarily surrendering a great deal of authority to whoever is actually chosen.)

I am sure that in Texas, for example — or anywhere else in the US — few voters needed to waste any time on figuring out what kind of change they wanted and chose it without much fuss.

That it’s not so clear for us is probably a measure of our long history of doubt and mistrust, though I’m not convinced mistrust is necessarily South Africa’s problem so much as scepticism or uncertainty on the part of so many of those who have not quite felt the realness of a “better life for all” in these 30 years of its rumoured proximity.

Even so, in a free society — in which steadily growing numbers have agency, demand and exercise choice (what to eat, where to live, what to read, what career to pursue, who to surrender authority to) and feel it’s worth working at their goals and expect nothing less of the office-bearers and public officials they elect or pay — it’s the possibility of the future, far more than any increasingly outdated historical soreness, that matters.

This is invariably overlooked, chiefly by those with the most to lose.

As my colleague Hermann Pretorius pointed out just the day before last week’s election (responding to criticism of polling by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) and others by ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri), credible polling “offers the ANC something considerably more valuable than estimates of its electoral fortunes”. That is, “evidence of a widening distance between the policies pursued by the ANC and the priorities expressed by ordinary South Africans, including the party’s own supporters”.

IRR polling as far back as 2016 “found that 84% of black respondents preferred a political party promising faster economic growth and more jobs, against just 7% favouring one concentrating on land expropriation for redress”.

“Perhaps most revealingly,” Pretorius wrote, “these preferences extended into the ANC’s own remaining electoral base. Among self-identified ANC supporters 73% favoured merit-based appointments, 65% preferred value for money procurement and 79% opposed the Expropriation Act.”

As they once did for the National Party, free citizens will make the ANC appreciate the costs of overlooking their real interests.

• Morris is head of media at the South African Institute of Race Relations.

He revealed that the government had spent R290bn on SOEs since 2013, R38.4bn of which had gone to the “national carrier”, SAA. Pretoria would therefore have to “consolidate some of our SOEs and let go of those that are no longer considered strategically relevant”.

That was almost exactly five years ago. Since then I am not aware of even a single SOE that has been “let go” by the government. Instead, in August Godongwana issued a R1bn guarantee to SAA to support the airline’s capital requirements.

At the time I cautioned that we needed to guard against moving from one extreme, where the mantra was “bail out SOEs because the developmental state demands that”, to another where we do not fund or capitalise any SOE because of “tough love”. Instead, we had to assess the situation of each SOE individually and respond accordingly.

When it came out of business rescue in April 2021 SAA had zero debt, with R2.5bn in working capital. While the airline reported a profit of R162m last year, in reality it had experienced an R1bn operating loss, according to aviation analyst Guy Leitch.

In the past two months SAA has staggered salary payments to its employees, indicating that the airline has ― at the very least ― a cashflow problem. Some reports have gone as far as to suggest the airline is not a going concern, an allegation that has been dismissed by SAA.

I have previously spelt out, based on my doctoral study of the airline and its Kenyan and Ethiopian counterparts, that a state-owned SAA subject to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) was not a viable proposition. It will not succeed commercially for as long as it is wholly state-owned. What SAA desperately needs to become a viable airline again is not just a strategic equity partnership but majority ownership by a private sector player. That way, should the government want it to continue as a “flag carrier” it could retain a minority stake.

That is simple logic in the cut-throat aviation industry. Many formerly state-owned airlines have gone that route across the world. Even such historic brands as British Airways, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are no longer fully owned by their respective governments ― they have long since been privatised ― and Britain, France, Holland and Germany are much wealthier than South Africa. The same thing happened here in Africa in 1996 when the Kenyan government listed Kenya Airways on the stock exchange but retained equity in it.

The most successful African airline, Ethiopian Airlines, is an aberration in this regard, only because the Ethiopian government adopted a hands-off approach from inception, apart from providing start-up capital, and left its board to run the airline as though it were privately owned.

It is a great pity that after three years of promising talks, in the end the Takatso deal, which would have seen Harith General Partners owning 51% of the airline, collapsed because agreement could not be reached on SAA’s value. That deal, which would have precipitated a legal amendment regarding the airline’s ownership, could have breathed life into a comatose SAA. I am sure I was not alone in hoping for the consummation of that deal.

Now Harith is in bed with FlySafair, SAA’s most formidable competitor, which has cornered the domestic and regional market. That is likely to compound the national carrier’s challenges even further, following the huge injection of capital into FlySafair from Harith at a time when SAA is hobbling along.

If there was ever an asset the government should let go of, it is SAA, which is already a bit-part player in the domestic market. The department of transport must amend the legislation that restricts foreign ownership of the national carrier to 20% and up to 49% for local ownership. The time for misplaced national pride and ideological purity is long over. What is required now is pragmatism.

Sadly, the indecisive ANC-dominated national government and its gung-ho deployees have so far missed three wonderful opportunities to secure the national carrier’s future. The first was when then chair Dudu Myeni refused to sign a potentially lucrative memorandum of understanding with Emirates.

Next came an approach by Ethiopian Airlines, which wanted a strategic partnership with SAA. Ethiopian walked away when the then department of public enterprises insisted on that partnership being run by SAA and not by Africa’s most successful airline. The third opportunity was the Takatso deal, which was allowed to collapse, paving the way for Harith moving on to purchase the privately owned competition.

That was then. Unfortunately, the present-day SAA ― with its lack of scale, leased aircraft and its financial handicap ― is unattractive to any foreign suitor. However, it remains possible for the government to approach an experienced, reputable and cash-flush international airline to take over SAA as a subsidiary ― even if it is at a giveaway price. The priority should be to save the national carrier rather than to profit from its sale.

When I conducted interviews for my thesis early in 2020 a former SAA board member who had previously served as a senior executive at the airline told me he no longer flew SAA. “Today,” he said, “SAA is sustained mostly by government people and [passengers] who are eternal optimists.”

That was before Covid-19 hit our shores and before SAA was placed in business rescue. The damage to the SAA brand since then dictates that the airline can no longer survive on its own.

*Nyatsumba, a turnaround strategy expert, business rescue practitioner, chartered director and author, is MD of KMN Consulting.

Last month Brazil confirmed Newcastle disease on a turkey farm in the southern state of Santa Catarina. After the outbreak some countries have suspended all imports from Brazil, while others have only applied regional restrictions.

On October 28 the department of agriculture decided against countrywide restrictions, opting instead to restrict imports from areas affected by the outbreak. Trade from the rest of Brazil can continue, but only under strict veterinary certification requirements.

This was the right move, even though Newcastle disease is a highly contagious viral disease of birds that warrants serious controls. The certificates agreed between South Africa and Brazil provide it. Birds intended for fresh poultry meat exports must come from premises with no cases in the past six months, including in a 10km radius. Poultry that doesn’t meet those conditions simply will not enter the country. That is a more precise control and it works because it strictly targets the source of the risk.

Bear in mind that the local flock has further protection. Broiler chickens and long-living birds in South Africa are also vaccinated against Newcastle disease. And South African producers don’t import day-old chicks or hatching eggs from Brazil. We have enough breeder hens to maintain normal production, so we believe the risk of contagion to our national flock is low.

We don’t expect major disruption on store shelves, either. South Africa imports about 18,000 tonnes of poultry meat from Brazil monthly. Because the restriction is regional rather than nationwide, imports from unaffected areas of Brazil can continue, helping to limit shortages and price increases.

Proportionate restrictions are better than blunt ones. A blanket ban would have raised costs and added little protection. In 2024 the department restricted the entire Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul after just one reported Newcastle disease case, which had real consequences. We welcome a more targeted approach this time. It protects animal health and keeps supply steady, which is what food security is all about.

The disease of greatest concern to the South African industry is actually highly pathogenic avian influenza. The 2023 outbreak, the worst yet, killed 45% of broiler breeder hens and cost the industry R10bn.

Import restrictions for avian influenza are more severe, and rightly so. We continue to call for mass vaccination against bird flu and for compensation for producers whose birds are culled.

We support safe trade that is fair and based on evidence. Regionalised restrictions for Newcastle disease meet that test. We will keep a keen eye on developments in Brazil, but whatever happens we will welcome the same proportionate, evidence-led approach when the next threat arrives at our door.

Credit where it’s due: well done to the department of agriculture.

Izaak Breitenbach

CEO: Broiler Organisation, South African Poultry Association

Midterm results signal shift in US policy towards Israel

The Democratic earthquake in the US midterms rejected the Iranian war and Israel’s role in it. The Zionist lobby has lost control of American foreign policy, and Israel is now, in effect, on its own in a Middle East where its enemies are uniting and have superior weaponry. This is precisely the set of circumstances that led to the demise of the Crusader state in the 1200s.

In the aftermath of the recent inconclusive Israeli election, Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc was unwilling to form a coalition with the Palestinian parties unless they sold out and became Zionists. The boot is now on the other foot, for if Eisenkot fails to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the State of Israel’s fate is effectively sealed.

Removing Netanyahu and his lieutenants will not be easy, as prejudice against Palestinians is widespread and elements of the Masada Mob would rather die than relinquish the levers of power, but at least a singular state of Israel-Palestine might survive. However, the window is closing fast, and Eisenkot must display a level of decisive leadership he has so far concealed.

James Cunningham

Camps Bay

South Africa at a standstill on BEE, race-based policies

Peter Attard Montalto’s most recent column was as balanced and well-reasoned as ever (“Madness all around”, November 5). However, to suggest that the South African government was moving away from BEE and other race-based policies of economic exclusion and legislatively endorsed property confiscation (just not fast enough for the US) is delusional.

Left to its own devices, with the present political configuration South Africa cannot self-correct.

In the 1980s apartheid was also slowly being dismantled by the then government ― over a few more generations. Until the US Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, that is, after which suddenly apartheid could be dissolved in a few years after all.

Stuart Meyer

Via Business Day online

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South African real estate investment trusts (SA Reits) are extending their lead over equities and bonds, as stronger balance sheets and growing distributions help restore investor confidence after years of pressure from higher interest rates.

The sector has outperformed equities in four of the past five months, maintaining its momentum despite the South African Reserve Bank’s September interest rate increase.

SA Reits delivered a total return of 2.4% in October, taking their gains for the year to 6.5%, ahead of bonds at 5.7%. Equities, by contrast, have lost 3.6% over the same period.

The resilience reflects a stronger financial position across the sector, with improved balance sheets helping listed property companies absorb higher borrowing costs, said Merchant West Investments head of listed property Ian Anderson.

“SA Reits had another good month, beating equities in four of the past five months and leading both equities and bonds this year. A large part of the explanation is the strength of balance sheets,” Anderson said.

The improving performance of the bond market has also provided a more supportive backdrop for listed property. South Africa’s long bond yield eased to 8.72% in October, while the medium-term budget policy statement confirmed government debt had peaked.

The Treasury reinforced the shift in sentiment by cutting weekly fixed-rate bond issuance by R600m and announcing a bond buyback programme. Bond yields are an important consideration for Reits because they influence property valuations and the returns investors demand from income-producing shares.

However, the improving market conditions do not necessarily mean the sector is cheap by every historical measure. Anderson cautions against using the long-term yield differential as a straightforward valuation benchmark, arguing that the composition of the sector has changed since 1998, when listed property companies were predominantly invested in domestic property.

Larger listed property groups now have substantial offshore exposure, making comparisons with the historical average less meaningful.

“The long-run average is no longer a fair benchmark,” he said.

Over the past five years, the yield differential has averaged minus 181 basis points, a measure against which Anderson considers the sector slightly undervalued.

Investor appetite is also signalling renewed confidence in the sector. Fairvest increased its accelerated bookbuild from R500m to R1.25bn after the offer was oversubscribed, with proceeds earmarked for recent acquisitions and further retail property opportunities.

SA Reit Association CEO Joanne Solomon said the willingness of investors to provide fresh capital reflected confidence in the sector’s prospects.

“Investors continue to support our members with fresh capital on tight terms, as this month’s upsized and oversubscribed bookbuild shows,” she said.

The appetite for listed property is being matched by a recovery in shareholder payouts. Distribution growth reached 11.09% over 12 months, its strongest level since 2017 outside the distorted comparisons of 2021 and 2022, and more than double inflation of 4.4%.

Solomon said lower bond yields and temporary fuel levy relief from November could provide further support, particularly for retail-focused Reits.

“Lower bond yields underpin Reit valuations. Fuel levy relief from November also puts money back in consumers’ pockets, which supports the retail tenants at the heart of so many of our members’ portfolios,” she said.

Anderson expects mid to high single-digit distribution growth across most companies in the 2027 financial year, with low gearing and disciplined debt hedging helping protect balance sheets against interest rate pressures.

The Democrats are projected to win at least 54 Senate seats to the Republicans’ 44 (with two undecided) and 254 House seats to the Republicans’ 162 (with 19 undecided).

Trump is a delusional president who has acted like a naked emperor, constantly musing about running for an unconstitutional third term. He has fiddled while Washington burnt, touting grand projects such as an Arch of Triumph and a White House ballroom even as millions suffered a cost-of-living crisis and his majority in both houses of Congress crumbled around him.

Trump has also been a master of chaos and cruelty, enacting the largest cuts to social spending for the poorest Americans, with 10-million people expected to lose their state healthcare by 2034. He also successfully pushed tax cuts of $1-trillion for the richest 1% of Americans, with 114 large corporations paying no taxes in 2025.

This electoral defeat was also in many ways an overwhelming rejection of the hateful, white supremacist Trump-led Maga movement’s efforts to portray America as a Christian, white-heritage country.

These polls decisively proved that racists cannot turn back the clock of history in the world’s most culturally diverse melting pot. Instead, the US elected its first Muslim senator, its first Native American senator, its first female Native American governor and its first openly gay senator.

Also elected were Texas’s first Latino senator and governor, California’s first Hispanic governor, and Georgia’s first black female governor. Hakeem Jeffries is also likely to become the first black speaker of the House. Trump-instigated efforts to gerrymander electoral districts in Texas, North Carolina and Ohio in favour of Republicans backfired spectacularly.

Just two years after Trump’s 2024 presidential victory many supporters have developed buyer’s remorse. Democrats thus scored unprecedented victories in traditional Republican strongholds such as Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maine and Iowa.

The 46% of Hispanics who backed Trump in 2024 plummeted to 30% as his ICE storm troopers brutalised and deported their relatives and friends. Trump’s 24% black male vote similarly collapsed to 12%. A majority of the 45% of adult voters identifying as independents supported the Democrats, as did 70% of young people.

This election outcome further represents a huge defeat for heartless, avaricious Trump-supporting Big Tech executives who sought to buy a Republican victory. Elon Musk spent more than $400m supporting Republican candidates, with half of this amount disbursed to Texas, where he relocated his businesses to escape California’s taxes.

The South African-born trillionaire has received more than $1.6bn in tax incentives and more than $100m in government grants from the outgoing Republican administration. The popular backlash against the building of electricity-guzzling data centres by tech giants also hurt the Republicans.

Economic fragility at home resulting from the reckless tariffs of a directionless Trumponomics, with a deeply unpopular war in Iran, drove up petrol and diesel prices. Both have proved to be the president’s undoing. The most expansive tariffs in a century alienated friends and foes alike, without notably returning jobs and manufacturing to America. Instead, they have harmed low-income families, farmers, and small businesses.

Americans have now unequivocally voted to check Trump’s excesses, and Democratic-led congressional investigations are expected to probe how he raked in $2.2bn in his first year in office and started a ruinous war with Iran. In the end, Trump has become a lame duck two years before the end of his monarchical presidency.

• Adebajo is professor and senior research fellow at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship.

Business Day

Story audio is generated using AI

As much as 80% of Africa’s annual export potential to the Caribbean remains untapped, offering big opportunities for export growth if trade and investment is actively promoted and facilitated.

Annual trade in goods and services between the two regions could reach up to $1.65bn (about R27bn) by 2030, excluding mineral fuels, according to a new report launched by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on the sidelines of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.

The report came out a day after Washington excluded South Africa as a beneficiary of the US African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa) preferential trade programme, which offers duty-free access to US markets for qualifying countries.

The move, effective January 1, has intensified the debate over whether Pretoria is doing enough to explore alternative export markets in an increasingly protectionist global trading environment.

The ITC/Afreximbank report identifies business opportunities across several priority sectors, including processed food and animal feed, chemicals, minerals and metals, apparel and textiles, leather and footwear, tourism, transport services and creative industries.

In findings based on trade and export potential analysis, detailed sector assessments and a survey of 1,175 businesses and business support organisations across the two regions, it says while Africa and the Caribbean share deep historical, cultural and social ties, these connections have only partially translated into sustained economic and commercial relations.

In 2022 the ITC published another report highlighting the untapped potential for strengthening trade between the two regions, and the latest one says geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions, climate-related shocks and growing concerns about food, energy and economic security have heightened the importance of diversified trade partnerships.

The observation comes as South Africa pursues stronger economic ties outside the US and Europe, including more balanced trade with fellow Brics members such as Brazil, India and China.

The report does note that South Africa, alongside Algeria and Nigeria, together account for almost 60% of African exports to the Caribbean, with the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica being the principal destinations. The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago account for most Caribbean exports to Africa, with Morocco, Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast the main destinations.

“The low level of bilateral trade does not appear to reflect a lack of complementarity between African supply and Caribbean demand. Rather, the evidence points to a combination of market access, connectivity, information and institutional constraints that raise the costs and risks of doing business in relatively distant and unfamiliar markets,” the report says.

“Neither region benefits from preferential access to the other. African exporters face high tariffs in Caribbean markets for horticultural products, vegetal products and selected manufactured goods, while Caribbean exporters face high tariffs in several African agricultural and manufacturing sectors.”

Freight costs between Africa and the Caribbean are among the highest faced by either region. African exports to the Caribbean face an estimated ad valorem freight rate of 19.8%, while Caribbean exports to Africa face costs of 21.8%.

For African exports the high ad valorem rate partly reflects the importance of bulky, relatively low-value mineral and metal products. For Caribbean exports the evidence points more directly to structural connectivity constraints, including limited direct shipping routes, low cargo volumes and weak transport integration.

The ITC’s export potential indicator projects that under the right conditions Africa’s exports to the Caribbean could reach $539m annually by 2030, of which only about 20% is currently realised, while the Caribbean’s export of goods to Africa could get to $499m a year, with about 82% of this potential already realised.

“This distinction has important policy implications. For Africa, a significant share of the opportunity lies in helping firms with productive capacity overcome market information gaps, compliance costs, weak commercial networks and other trade frictions, while positioning them to take advantage of future demand growth,” the report says.

“The scope for additional exports of Caribbean goods to Africa is more limited, suggesting a stronger case for targeted interventions focused on specific products and markets rather than broad-based trade promotion initiatives.”

Business Day

That’s how I felt when I got to the voting booth last Wednesday morning. The one in two registered voters who decided to show up were treated, nationally, to a choice of 546 parties.

That’s enough political representation to donate almost three (2.8, to be exact) parties to every state in the UN list of recognised countries in the world. We have so many registered political parties in South Africa we can afford to send three to every country on the planet.

Democracy die-hards call that a good thing. This cynical old hack calls it an expensive but effective way to wangle your way into an underserved king-making position in one of the country’s 257 municipalities. Why start a business when you can start a racket like this?

Democracy, and apathy, which in itself is a democratic right, spoke. Every municipality in this country will be led either alone or by a coalition of the main political players. The largest may well be sidelined if the maths allows, but broadly speaking, by last Friday one could get a “sense” of where things were going.

It is the same with your fitness journey. You can waste your money on every specialist advertised on the board or spread it carefully between the ones that will make the biggest impact for you.

Who are the typical specialists one finds in the broader fitness and wellness space?

Biokineticist, physiotherapist, nutritionist, dietitian, endocrinologist, podiatrist, cardiologist, exercise physiologist, massage therapist, sports psychologist, physical therapist, chiropractor, general practitioner, orthopedic surgeon, personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, group fitness instructor, and much more, including ones with about as much science behind them as distance quantum applied kinesiology to realign muscle imbalances over Microsoft Teams.

Their job is to provide paid services to the newbie, narcissist, gym bro, gym rat, influencer and resolutionist, though you normally find only the last demographic hogging the machines after the holidays.

The sobering truth is that besides getting medical clearance — all the GPs reading this are grinning ear to ear — you technically do not need a single one of those specialists. But there is an important caveat: while you don’t need them, if you actually want to make meaningful progress or excel in a physical activity, you would do well to engage a few.

Let’s start with the absolute fundamentals. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, this is the Water Cooler’s pyramid of gym support that has personally, observationally and anecdotally shifted the needle meaningfully.

You may not need a bio unless you are doing highly specialised training (though add his or her number to your contact list). The physio and chiro serve an incredibly important role, but again, keep them on speed dial. You will at some point need rehab and prehab and this will be your go-to trio.

What is absolutely fundamental? A suitably qualified and experienced personal trainer or strength coach and an appointment with a sports nutritionist or certified dietitian.

The three levers that will determine your success in the gym, outdoors, or in the pool, are:

• Exercise: you need to do the right exercises properly, in the correct sequence, with a suitable intensity and frequency, with progressive overload. That’s your trainer. You may get to a point where you learn this all yourself, but you will always need to go through phases of supervision where you will be corrected.
• Diet: the internet is full of advice, but a specialist will help you design an eating protocol that is enjoyable, designed to fuel your exercise, and will result in positive improvements to your body composition.
• Sleep and recovery: you must rest and prioritise sleep, and — you guessed it — your physio or chiro on speed dial, and the odd massage therapy session, will go far in helping that recovery.

You will be referred to the medical specialists on that list by your GP when your overall health is monitored and your symptoms demand it. And if that happens, take the medical advice over any other “gym stakeholder”.

Business Day

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi led from start to finish to win the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, denying Marc Marquez a chance to seal the MotoGP title under the lights at the Lusail International Circuit after the Ducati rider finished second.

Marquez needed to win the race while Jorge Martin had to finish outside the points to seal an eighth premier-class title but his Aprilia rival finished seventh, taking the championship fight to the penultimate round of the season in Portugal.

Marquez has a 60-point lead over Martin ahead of the next Grand Prix in Portimao while Bezzecchi, who crashed out of Saturday’s sprint in a duel with Marquez before making amends in the race, is 74 points behind.

“It feels amazing. I’m very happy. It was the performance we deserve,” said Bezzecchi, who became the first rider to win 12 races at 12 different circuits.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend for us. I’ve been super quick and super comfortable on the bike. A shame about yesterday but it’s part of the game. To bounce back like this makes everything even better.”

Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez finished third while his teammate Ai Ogura was fourth. KTM’s Pedro Acosta was in contention for a podium early in the race but tyre pressure problems forced him to drop back and he finished sixth.

Bezzecchi shuts the door

Aprilia’s polesitter Bezzecchi had the perfect start off the line and the Italian shut the door when Marquez attempted to overtake on the inside of turn one, where they had collided in Saturday’s sprint.

Marquez then found himself fighting Aprilia bikes all around him as Trackhouse rider Fernandez moved past him to drop the reigning champion down to third.

Bezzecchi and Fernandez were soon more than a second clear of Marquez by lap two as the Ducati rider decided not to take any risks early on, with title rival Martin down in ninth place.

But as the gap between the top two and Marquez steadily increased, an impatient Acosta overtook his future Ducati teammate to move up to third.

However, Acosta was clearly struggling with tyre pressure, turning back and signalling Marquez to move back to third so he could slot in behind his compatriot and take advantage of the Ducati’s slipstream.

Though Martin managed to move up to fifth, little changed in the top six positions but Marquez suddenly picked up the pace on lap 13 by setting the race lap record at Lusail as he set his sights on Fernandez.

With three laps to go, Marquez made his move and surged past the Trackhouse rider on the main straight, earning a roar of approval from the stands.

But it was too late to launch an attack on Bezzecchi, who was more than three seconds ahead and took the chequered flag.

“I was very clever about my strategy. I was just trying to manage the race in the first five laps. It didn’t matter if Bezzecchi got away,” Marquez said.

“My race was with Martin especially. But then Acosta let me pass because he had a tyre pressure problem.

“I tried to control my pace. I saw that in one part of the race I was super fast ... Third position was OK, but I saw that Fernandez was struggling. So you never know, I attacked and [I have] four points more.”

South Africa’s Brad Binder did not finish.

Reuters

In an operational update on Friday, the retailer posted a 7.1% increase in sales from its South African supermarket operations for the four months, compared with growth of 6.4% across the group’s continuing operations.

Shoprite’s South African supermarket operations include Shoprite, Usave, Checkers, Checkers Hyper and LiquorShop.

In the three months to September, Shoprite’s South African supermarket operations grew sales 5.3 percentage points faster than the rest of the market, according to market researcher NielsenIQ.

The comparison includes retailers such as Pick n Pay and its discount offering Boxer, Spar, Woolworths, Pep, pharmacy chains Dis-Chem and Clicks, Food Lover’s Market, Makro and online retailers.

According to the statement, the group maintained sales growth across its two main supermarket divisions despite low selling price inflation.

The group said internal selling price inflation was 0.7% for the four months, in line with the 0.6% reported for July, with its price-fighting Shoprite brand still experiencing deflation.

Checkers and Checkers Hyper recorded the strongest sales growth.

The group’s on-demand digital commerce platform, Sixty60, which allows customers to order groceries and other products for delivery, increased sales 33.4% for the four months.

The growth comes as retailers continue to develop their online shopping and delivery services alongside their physical stores.

The non-South African supermarket business, which trades in seven countries outside South Africa, increased sales 7% in rand terms and 4.3% in constant currency.

The group’s other operating segments recorded a 1.5% decline in sales, partly because of the closure of 51 stores following the previously announced mutual termination of a franchise agreement during the second half of its 2026 financial year.

Even with the decline in sales, Shoprite said trading profit growth in its OK Franchise division was positive following the store closures. The division ended the period with 578 stores after opening a net five stores.

The group opened a net 71 stores during the four months, 61 of them in its South African supermarket division, which opened 71 stores and closed 10.

The openings included 12 Shoprite supermarkets, 11 Usave stores, eight Checkers supermarkets and one Checkers Hyper.

The division also opened 21 LiquorShops and 18 stores in adjacent retail formats, including 10 Uniq Clothing by Checkers stores and seven Petshop Science stores.

Its pharmacy business also grew, with sales across Medirite, Medirite Plus and pharmaceutical distributor Transpharm up 17.6%.

Medirite and Medirite Plus sales grew 9.7%, while Transpharm rose 21.3%. The pharmacy operations ended the period with 112 in-store dispensaries and 25 standalone Medirite Plus pharmacies.

“The business remains well-positioned from a cost management perspective, including in respect of lease liability finance charge growth, while strong cash generation continues to support lower net borrowing costs,” Shoprite said.

Shoprite plans to release its 2027 interim sales update ahead of its first-half results at the end of February.

Shoprite’s shares closed 1.80% lower at R336.66 on Friday.

The group said on Friday that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) for the quarter to end-September rose 26.9% to Rwf42.2bn (about R470m), while profit after tax was up 81% at Rwf13.2bn.

For the nine months to end-September, ebitda rose 29.1% to Rwf112.7bn and profit after tax was 130.3% higher at Rwf30.3bn.

The group said the nine-month ebitda margin expanded by 3.1 percentage points to 43.1%, above its medium-term guidance range, reflecting robust service revenue growth and the benefit of its expense efficiency programme, which offset inflationary cost pressures.

Service revenue grew 20% year on year to Rwf259.4bn, led by the fintech business. MoMo revenue grew 29.1%.

CEO Monzer Ali said the company delivered a strong top-line performance, supported by sustained growth in its subscriber base.

Mobile subscribers increased 7.5% year on year to 8.7-million. Active data subscribers increased 15.9% to 2.9-million, supported by higher smartphone adoption and an improved network experience, while active mobile money (MoMo) users grew 12% to 6.5-million.

“Our growth was diversified, with data, enterprise and fintech emerging as important contributors to overall performance. Data benefited from growing digital adoption and usage, enterprise maintained positive momentum, while fintech continued to scale through increased adoption of MoMo services and higher transaction volumes,” he said.

This was achieved as Rwanda’s economy maintained strong momentum in the first half, when real GDP expanded 9.7% year on year, supported by broad-based growth across all major sectors.

Ali said performance in the nine months benefited from robust economic growth, which supported subscriber and revenue growth, and from a moderating depreciation of the franc, which contained dollar-denominated costs.

“This was achieved despite elevated inflation and tighter monetary conditions, which constrained household spending and added to cost pressures,” he said.

He said the National Bank of Rwanda’s eKash system went live on July 14, routing domestic interoperable transfers between bank accounts and electronic-money wallets through a unified instant-payment rail, with customer fees capped at Rwf20 for transactions below Rwf10m.

“While the impact on our Q3 performance has not been material, it remains early in the adoption cycle and we continue to monitor customer behaviour, transaction volumes and pricing dynamics closely.

“While we expect the regulated tariff to moderate revenue per interoperable transaction over time, we see eKash as a structural enabler for the broader digital-payments ecosystem,” he said.

The group will provide a further update on the system’s anticipated effect on its connectivity and fintech businesses with its annual results.

Looking ahead, the company expects inflation to ease and the franc’s depreciation to moderate, with GDP growth forecast at 7.8% for the year. It expects to sustain growth in service revenue and profit after tax, supported by cost management.

It reaffirmed its medium-term guidance of “mid-teens” service revenue growth, an ebitda margin of 40%-42% and capital expenditure intensity of 7%-10%.

London — Henry Pollock scored two tries off the wing as fired-up England secured a record 45-22 bonus-point victory over Australia in the Nations Championship at Twickenham on Sunday.

England’s fourth win in nine matches this year was a welcome boost for coach Steve Borthwick after a dismal Six Nations campaign and their 12th triumph over the Wallabies in their last 14 meetings.

“I am really happy. We have only come together in the last week and prep time has been short but we have put on a great performance,” England centre and man of the match Henry Slade told ITV.

“It is nice for us to get some points on the board and to do it so early on in the competition is really pleasing.”

England started fast and winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso finished a slick passing move to touch down after 90 seconds but the try was chalked off for a forward pass.

Hooker Jamie George finished off a driving maul to score his 18th international try and, after Australia scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan kicked a penalty, Feyi-Waboso’s powerful surge broke open the defence and flanker Ollie Chessum crashed over in the corner.

Australia prop Angus Bell was shown a yellow card for a hip-drop tackle and England took full advantage with another powerful forward drive from a lineout and prop Joe Heyes barrelled over the line.

England sensed a fourth try but a loose pass from scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet was intercepted by Australia winger Max Jorgensen who sprinted over from long range and Lonergan’s conversion cut the hosts’ lead to 19-10 at the interval.

Back-row forward Pollock, replacing the injured Feyi-Waboso, made ground down the left with his first touch and another swift passing movement set Tommy Freeman clear on the right, his inside pass finding Van Poortvliet who touched down.

England continued to monopolise the ball and with the Wallabies tiring another siege on their tryline ended with the ball in Pollock’s hands and he gleefully went over before indulging in his trademark celebration to the crowd.

Two minutes later the blonde forward finished off another flowing move down the right to claim his eighth international try and extend England’s lead to 38-10.

Australia regrouped and grabbed two consolation tries when replacement centre Filipo Daugunu darted over in the left corner and flanker Jeremy Williams took advantage of a lineout error to score.

England, however, had the last word, replacement scrumhalf Ben Spencer adding their seventh try from an interception to rack up their highest score against the Wallabies.

Experienced lock Eben Etzebeth has been called up to the national squad and will join the Springboks in France on Monday, while uncapped flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed will return to South Africa on Sunday due to a shoulder niggle.

Etzebeth, the most capped Bok with 147 Test appearances, was ruled out by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’s initial touring squad for the second phase of the Nations Championship due to injury. However, he is now fit and has been recalled to the squad in place of Ahmed.

The 20-year-old Ahmed, one of six uncapped players in the squad, was sidelined with a sore shoulder which saw him miss most of the training sessions in the build-up to the Boks’ 66-7 victory against Italy in Turin on Saturday.

“We are very sad for Yaqeen after earning his first call-up to the national squad, but we feel it will be best for him to return to South Africa to recover,” said Erasmus on Sunday.

“After being with us for a week, he has a good idea of how we operate and has more insight into our systems. We are confident that the experience will benefit him immensely as a player going forward.

“With enough backline cover in the squad and a number of versatile players among them, we opted to call up Eben, who will not only bring vast experience to the group at this vital stage of the Nations Championship but also valuable leadership skills, especially with two important matches against France and Ireland in the next two weeks before the Finals Weekend of the tournament.”

Erasmus will name his match 23 to face France on Monday.

Bengaluru — Carlos Alcaraz avenged his loss to Ben Shelton in the US Open last eight as he edged the American 7-6(5) 7-5 to win the Paris Masters on Sunday, clinching his ninth ATP 1000 title.

World No 3 Alcaraz controlled the contest from the baseline to become the first Spaniard to win the tournament since David Ferrer in 2012, while Shelton was left frustrated by an erratic forehand.

“Today, it was one of the toughest challenges we have in tennis right now, facing Ben Shelton,” said Alcaraz, whose US Open title defence was derailed by eventual finalist Shelton in a four-and-a-half-hour thriller in September.

“He is doing better and better with every tournament, so it’s going to be even tougher facing him. So I’m just really happy that I found the way.”

The first set remained deadlocked until the tiebreak, where US Open finalist Shelton overshot the baseline three times on his forehand, allowing the Spaniard to take the set.

World No 4 Shelton capitalised on two double faults and wayward topspins from Alcaraz to go 3-2 up in the second, and extended the lead with two aces in the next game.

But Alcaraz fought back with a break of his own to make it 4-4, landing two cross-court winners as Shelton netted a forehand and went long with another.

With Alcaraz leading 6-5, Shelton stumbled again while serving to stay in the match, overshooting two forehands before the seven-times Grand Slam winner clinched victory with a perfectly timed backhand down the line.

“It’s something I’ve been chasing for a long time,” Alcaraz said after finally winning the Paris Masters on his sixth attempt.

The Australian Open champion has now won three titles since the heartbreak at Flushing Meadows as he looks to end the year on a bright note at the ATP Finals starting next Sunday, followed by the Davis Cup finals later this month.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

By Steven Scheer

Former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot said on Sunday he will work to form a wide government as quickly as possible, but his path to power was uncertain after a deadlocked election that failed to dislodge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Isaac Herzog on Saturday gave Eisenkot the first opportunity to try to form a new government after the October 27 election left both Eisenkot and Netanyahu short of the majority needed to govern.

Herzog officially handed Eisenkot the task on Sunday at a meeting at the president’s residence, starting the clock on what Eisenkot said would be an “extraordinarily complex” process.

“We are in a state of emergency, approaching a point of no return for the State of Israel,” Eisenkot said. “We must form a national emergency government. This will require creative and unconventional political steps.”

Eisenkot said Israeli democracy was at a vulnerable moment at a time when it faced immense challenges, with Herzog citing a threat of attack from Iran, the need to progress towards peace in Gaza and negotiations with Lebanon and other neighbours.

“There is great urgency for new leadership, leadership that people can look in the eye and trust,” Eisenkot said.

His potential pathways to power include trying to form a minority government with Arab party support for key issues; forming a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties that he and his allies have shunned in the past or forging a unity government with Netanyahu. All three options face formidable obstacles.

Ongoing negotiations

Eisenkot said he will call on all parties to join who meet his main principles. These include recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; a duty of national service for all to strengthen the military and expand its ranks and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation and a commitment to destroying its military and governing capacity.

“I am convinced that it is possible and right to form a new government quickly, one that will win a large majority in the Knesset,” Eisenkot said, referring to Israel’s parliament.

Eisenkot now has 28 days plus a possible 14-day extension. If he fails, Netanyahu will likely get his shot at forming a government. Should he also be unable, new elections could be called.

Herzog, who consulted with all parties, said Eisenkot received the “clear and unequivocal support” of a majority of legislators on who has the better chance of forming the next government that will win the confidence of the Knesset.

Netanyahu’s Likud won the most seats of any single party with 27 in the 120-seat Knesset, but Netanyahu’s wider religious-nationalist coalition garnered only 53 in total, short of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament.

Eisenkot’s Yashar party emerged as the second-largest party with 21 seats, while his coalition, spanning four centre-left to right-wing Jewish-led parties, won just 48 seats. Two parties representing Israel’s Arab minority won an unprecedented 19 seats.

Netanyahu called for a unity government of all Zionist parties to preserve a Jewish state while giving no indication that he would be prepared to serve under Eisenkot’s leadership.

“This is the will of the people and the need of the hour,” he said in a statement, ruling out a coalition government with Arabs, who make up 21% of Israel’s population.

Potentially making Eisenkot’s job tougher is the position of one opposition leader, Avigdor Lieberman of the Israel Our Home party, who has ruled out a unity government with Netanyahu or a minority government that has backing from Arab parties.

But Lieberman has softened his stance on sitting with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties as long as they agree to support a law under which ultra-Orthodox men serve in the military.

“Given the current reality, in order to prevent further elections and bring an end to the Netanyahu era, there is no choice but to make difficult decisions and resolve issues where flexibility is possible and common ground can be found,” Lieberman said.

Reuters

As the vote counting and capturing process hit 99% earlier on Sunday, five metros were yet to have an outright winner in terms of seats won. Only the City of Cape Town has won a majority, with the DA retaining the city.

Watch it live.

• Stream courtesy of IEC

TimesLIVE

London — Brighton & Hove Albion’s stunning start to the season continued with a 2-0 home victory against 10-man Brentford that lifted Fabian Huerzeler’s side above Manchester City into second place in the Premier League table on Sunday.

Diego Gomez’s superb strike and a Pascal Gross penalty in the first half allowed Brighton to cruise to a win that means, after 10 games, the south-coast club are Arsenal’s closest pursuers.

Liverpool won 3-1 at Crystal Palace to go fourth, but Chelsea suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat away to Sunderland, whose first league victory since August lifted them off the bottom.

Bournemouth are up to seventh, as Evanilson scored for the fifth consecutive Premier League game in a 2-1 victory at Ipswich Town.

Brighton are continuing to provide ample evidence to suggest their lofty position is not a false one, and, while they were helped by Igor Thiago’s red card midway through the first half, they beat Brentford at a canter.

It is their best yet start to a top-flight season, and they head into the international break on 22 points, with Arsenal on 27 after their 1-0 win at home to Hull City on Saturday.

Brighton went ahead in the 15th minute when Gomez seized on a clearance at the edge of the area and struck a superb left-foot shot on the turn into the top corner.

Brentford striker Thiago then got involved in a tussle with Chema Andres, and after a VAR check, the Brazilian was sent off.

The hosts doubled their lead in the 42nd minute when Gross dispatched a penalty high into the net after Keane Lewis-Potter had held Luka Vuskovic.

Liverpool bounced back from last week’s defeat at home by Arsenal with Alexis MacAllister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak all on target at Selhurst Park.

Eddie Nketiah scored a consolation penalty for Palace in added time, but pressure is mounting on manager Pierre Sage, whose side will head into the international break bottom of the table.

Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris will be breathing a little easier, though, after his side upset Chelsea.

Enzo Le Fee struck the only goal from the penalty spot in the 36th minute after Chelsea defender Levi Colwill was adjudged to have pulled Brian Brobbey to the ground.

Sunderland moved up to 18th with eight points, one more than Palace and Manchester United, who host Aston Villa later.

Reuters

Mamelodi Sundowns were left disappointed after suffering a 3-1 defeat to USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.

Sundowns were looking to win the title to add to the MTN8 and the Fifa African Asian Pacific Cup, but it was not to be, as the Algerian side had other ideas.

Despite dominating the match, Masandawana could not repeat their heroics when they defeated Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia at the same venue in September to win the African Asian Pacific Cup. The defeat comes after their exit in the CAF Champions League preliminaries

Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and midfielder Teboho Mokoena made a return to the starting lineup after missing the previous matches due to injuries.

It was a contest between the winner of last season’s Champions League and Confederation Cup, with both looking to win the title to add to the ones they clinched in 2016 and 2023, respectively.

The Brazilians were dealt a blow before the match as midfielder Nuno Santos picked up an injury during the warm-up, with coach Miguel Cardoso opting to bring in striker Cassius Mailula.

However, Alger needed just four minutes to make their mark when Ahmed Khaldi skipped past a challenge on the right side of the box before pulling the ball back for Zakaria Draoui to fire home from close-range and give his side the lead.

Masandawana were forced to make another early change after Bryan Leon suffered what looked like a groin injury and was replaced by Iqraam Rayners in the 16th minute.

Despite being a goal down, Sundowns dominated, but the Algerian side was compact in defence.

It was not long before Masandawana were handed a lifeline on 23 minutes after being awarded a penalty for a handball after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. Rayners stepped up and calmly dispatched the spot-kick to level matters.

As Sundowns continued to dominate, it was the visitors who restored their lead 10 minutes before the interval when Saadi Radouani got ahead of his marker to head into the back of the net after the initial header crashed against the crossbar.

The restart was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to inclement weather. Sundowns continued where they left off in the first half as they searched for the equaliser, while the visitors were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure.

Alger made it 3-1 in the 55th minute against the run of play through Khaldi’s curling shot from outside the box after Sundowns’ defence was caught ball-watching.

Sowetan

The shares closed 13.66% lower at R11.25, their steepest drop since August 2019, wiping out a 10.33% jump on Thursday and valuing the group at about R6.9bn. They have lost more than half their value this year.

Sappi said on Friday its loss for the year to end-September widened to $747m from $177m a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) fell 41% to $294m, while the headline loss per share widened to 69 US cents from 15c.

Sappi said it had been “a difficult and volatile operating environment” and the management responded to persistent macroeconomic headwinds, geopolitical disruptions and cost inflation with a targeted cost savings programme, liquidity management, capital allocation discipline and a focus on driving operational performance.

Higher fuel, logistics and chemical costs due to the Middle East conflict added further pressure, it said.

For the fourth quarter, the group reported an 11% decline in adjusted ebitda to $99m while its loss narrowed to $116m from $194m.

The group said demand for dissolving wood pulp (DWP) remained robust, and pricing recovered in the second half of the year.

In North America, the commercial ramp-up of Somerset Mill PM2 progressed more slowly than initially anticipated. However, focused operational interventions stabilised production and sales volumes lifted during the second half, enabling the asset to make an increasingly positive contribution, Sappi said.

The forestry fair value price adjustment for the year was a loss of $269m, largely attributable to adverse currency movements on rand-denominated hardwood timber prices and persistent fuel cost inflation.

The pulp segment faced several headwinds during the year, with profitability declining year on year, primarily due to lower selling prices early in the year and the adverse exchange rate effect in South Africa.

Pulp segment sales volumes decreased 3%, with DWP sales volumes down 4%.

Average dollar selling prices for the pulp segment remained 6% below the previous year. Profitability was further affected by substantial cost inflation, most notably higher sulphur costs, which hit the Saiccor Mill.

Profitability in the packaging and speciality papers segment remained below historical levels, reflecting the combined effect of the Somerset Mill PM2 ramp-up, subdued demand across several packaging markets and significant input cost inflation, while average selling prices remained broadly flat year on year.

In North America, earnings were hurt during the first half by lower operating efficiencies and the slower-than-anticipated PM2 ramp-up, though operational performance improved in the second half.

Market conditions improved progressively through the year, particularly in North America, while in Europe demand remained subdued across most packaging grades and competitive pressures persisted. Label papers continued to perform well, supported by the ongoing commercial ramp-up of the Gratkorn Mill PM9 investment.

In South Africa, containerboard demand was healthy, underpinned by robust agricultural activity. However, profitability was hurt by continued pressure from low-priced imports, supported by the stronger rand.

The graphic papers segment continued to face structural decline, driven by ongoing digital substitution.

Special items reduced earnings by $405m, comprising mainly impairments of $319m and $26m of costs associated with strategic projects.

Net debt increased to $2.05bn from $1.92bn a year earlier due to cash used by operations.

In response to the weaker earnings environment and elevated leverage, Sappi engaged its lending group during the fourth quarter to ensure continued financial flexibility.

“The suspension of covenant testing under the group’s international revolving credit facility and bank term debt, which was due to expire in March 2027, was extended to June 2027. Sappi and its lenders have also agreed [to] revised leverage covenant thresholds for the period thereafter, which gradually decrease over time and will provide the group with sufficient flexibility and headroom through to December 2027,” Sappi said.

The group said it continued to engage the European Commission on its proposed graphic papers joint venture with UPM. Sappi and UPM formally submitted remedy proposals to the commission on November 4 and Sappi expects a decision early in January.

While the global environment remains uncertain, Sappi said conditions across several key product categories were improving, supported by firmer pricing dynamics.

Taking into account current market conditions, scheduled maintenance shutdowns and the effect of elevated oil prices on raw material and logistics costs, it expects adjusted ebitda for the first quarter of the 2027 financial year to be below that of the fourth quarter.

Business Day

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The ANC in Mpumalanga will for the first time since the dawn of democracy need a coalition to govern in 13 municipalities after winning only three outright in the province.

The party lost control of Victor Khanye local municipality to 10-month-old Service Delivery Party (SDP) led by former ANC Youth League provincial treasurer Thabo Motau and former MEC and ANC treasurer Mandla Msibi.

MK Party, meanwhile, has taken the lead in Mkhondo municipality.

The ANC also lost control of the province’s capital, Mbombela municipality. The only municipalities it won outright are Chief Albert Luthuli, Nkomazi and Bushbuckridge.

After the 2021 local government elections, the ANC attained 58% in the province and only needed coalitions in Steve Tshwete, Govan Mbeki and Lekwa local municipalities. In 2026, however, its support dropped to 43.6%, the lowest in history, and left it seeking coalition partners in 13 municipalities.

Residents of Delmas, where SDP attained 39.53% of the votes, said they only had SDP to vote for after going without water and struggling to find employment under the ANC.

A resident said Motau had initially called the party Delmas First, and they had loved it.

“So this year when he registered it as SDP contesting elections, we had no choice but to vote for his organisation, because he had employed people in his companies and sent some to school while he was not in government.

“We believe now he will fix employment and also give us reliable running water, which the municipality was failing to provide for years,” said Themba Mtsweni, a resident of Delmas.

In Mkhondo, MK Party elections manager Siphiwe Mathebula said they are not keen to work with the ANC, saying that would be a betrayal to the voters.

“We are in talks in almost all the municipalities where we can work together with parties, where if we give our seats to the ANC, they will be the majority to rule.

“But nothing comes for free; it’s a give-and-take situation now going forward as the ANC lost numbers in all the 13 municipalities.

“But in Mkhondo, there’s no way we can work with the ANC. The voters rejected them and voted them out, so aligning with the ANC would be a betrayal of the people of Mkhondo,” said Mathebula.

SDP spokesperson Fukie Mofokeng told Sowetan that though they have not started coalition talks, they are open to anyone to work with at Victor Khanye municipality as long as their agreement will be to deliver services to the people.

“Our aim is not to lead but to serve the people as the organisation. The ANC was rejected by the people of Victor Khanye municipality, but we cannot shut the door for it too,” said Mofokeng.

Mkhondo residents said all they need is water, electricity and permanent jobs regardless of the political party leading the municipality.

“What happened to the ANC was a long time coming because they were disrespectful towards us; now we want to see how the MKP is going to lead, and if they fail, we will remove them too,” said Thabo Mngomezulu.

Rasodi Manyaka from the University of Mpumalanga said the decline of ANC support was due to poor sevice delivery, corruption and the party not telling voters who their mayors would be should they win.

“The inability of the ANC to name exactly who was going to be their mayoral candidates demonstrated to the voters that the organisation was doubtful of the leaders they were putting forward.

“Mpumalanga and other provinces such as Limpopo and the Eastern Cape have traditionally been considered strongholds of the ANC.

“However, the emergence of parties like MK, ActionSA and SDP, including the EFF, has shaken that narrative. The rapid decline of the ANC is reverberating in all provinces, including those once considered to be strongholds of the ANC.”

According to ANC provincial secretary Muzi Chirwa, they will be guided by the national executive committee on how the coalition talks much go.

“We will engage with all the parties and determine the best way forward in favour of community development,” said Chirwa.