A Democratic wave

Opinion polls ahead of the midterms pointed to Democrats having a good night. However, the scale of their gains was far greater than most analysts had forecast, extending beyond traditional battlegrounds deep into Republican territory.

In Texas, James Talarico routed Republican Ken Paxton, becoming the state’s first Democratic senator-elect in 38 years.

In flipping the Senate seat in South Carolina, the party also made history. Democrats have not won a Senate race there this century, and the win by Annie Andrews over Republican senator Darline Graham became another defining upset of the night.

In the Senate race in Ohio, a state Trump won three times, Democrat Sherrod Brown prevailed, while in Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton easily defeated Republican incumbent Roger Marshall. Democrats last won a Senate seat in Kansas in 1932 during the Great Depression.

Democrats were projected by US media outlets to win back control of both the US House and Senate.

Strategists in both parties said the Democrats’ sweeping victories were fuelled by strong turnout of party faithful and independent voters who broke their way in both swing states and Republican strongholds. Democrats also adopted a strategy to field a candidate in every race, even those who only months ago appeared to be long shots.

Those bets paid off, particularly as Republicans fielded candidates who struggled to overcome Trump’s unpopularity and voter anger over high prices.

However, winning back Congress could be a double-edged sword for Democrats.

Voters will likely look to Democrats to address their economic concerns and not only oppose Trump. However, they will be limited in what legislation they can pass as the president retains veto power. Trump could also say Democrats are at the very least equally culpable for the state of the economy.

Trump told media outlets he would accept the election results and was prepared to work with Democrats.

An angry electorate

Trump asked voters to pretend he was on the ballot. They did, and Republicans paid the price.

Early results and exit polls showed an electorate in a sour mood, delivering a strong rebuke of Trump and his agenda as voters expressed deep unhappiness about high prices and the direction of the country.

Many said they feel worse off than two years ago and nearly nine in 10 identified the cost of living as a crucial or major factor in their vote, according to exit polls.

Trump was elected in 2024 on a promise to arrest high inflation, but his tariffs on foreign goods and the war against Iran have worsened the economic situation for many Americans. His response on the campaign trail was to tell Americans to absorb the higher costs even as his popularity sank to record lows.

Nearly two-thirds of voters in the exit polls blamed Trump for high prices, while three-quarters said they were either angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Voters also expressed widespread concern over government corruption.

Rejecting Trump’s picks

It wasn’t only a bad night for Republicans, it was a bad night for Trump personally. He suffered defeats as several candidates he had elevated over the objections of local Republicans struggled in races the party expected to win.

Trump’s handpicked Senate candidates in South Carolina and North Carolina, Graham and Michael Whatley, lost their races, while Paxton in Texas was soundly beaten. Trump’s choices put Republicans on the defensive in states where they had been favoured to win.

The losses are likely to revive questions about Trump’s political instincts, particularly his tendency to prioritise personal loyalty over candidates with broader electoral appeal.

The exit polls showed the coalition of voters that powered his 2024 victory is badly fractured. Republicans recorded sharp declines in support among black men, Latinos and young voters.

Economy outweighs fear

In the closing weeks of the campaign, Trump and his fellow Republicans tried to paint Democrats as dangerous radicals and communists who would destroy the country if elected.

The attacks didn’t work. Voters were far more focused on the price of groceries and fuel and wanted to hear more from Trump about how he would lower costs.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly argued that if Democrats won, “it’s going to be a communist country”. He said Democratic establishments in some states had been replaced by “crazed lunatics and radicals”.

Fear has often worked as a tactic in US elections, but in the end Trump could not persuade voters that Democrats really posed an existential threat to the US.

Goodbye Hispanic honeymoon

Trump’s honeymoon with Latino voters may be over. That’s bad news for Republicans who had been counting on the major group of swing voters for wins from California to Florida.

In Texas, where four in 10 people are Latino, Democrats flipped the governor and Senate seats, media outlets forecast. In heavily Latino southeast Florida, Democrat Pia Dandiya triumphed in the 22nd congressional district despite the district being recently redrawn to favour Republicans.

Latino voters helped lift Trump to victory in 2024, when he won nearly half the Hispanic vote, up from about one-third in 2020. Two years later, many had deserted his party. Economic anger helped drive Republican support among Hispanic voters down to only one in three on Tuesday, from 46% in 2024, exit polls showed.

The victories of Gina Hinojosa, who will become the first Latina governor of Texas, and Xavier Becerra, who will be California’s first elected Latino governor, underscored the importance of the Hispanic electorate.

Reuters

City of Johannesburg deputy mayor and ANC regional chair Loyiso Masuku says she’s casting her vote for the ANC in order to defend the gains of democracy. Masuku, who is also the ANC’s mayoral candidate in Johannesburg, was casting her vote in Mulbarton Primary School.… pic.twitter.com/F7QqVKNE45

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026, 09:00

WATCH | Voting is underway at Mandisa Shiceka School of Specialisation in Kagiso, Ward 7, with voters arriving in numbers. First voter Benard Kunene says he doesn’t want to complain about service delivery without playing his part. He wants the streets repaired and the electricity… pic.twitter.com/rdU657lvit

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 8:42

JUST IN | The voting station at Kanana primary school in Midrand opened more than an hour late. Some residents said they had been queueing since 5am. Our reporter Koena Mashale has more details for you.
Download our App, follow our WhatsApp channel for the latest news. pic.twitter.com/G0zEn2qaXQ

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 08:11

Votes in local polls expected to further weaken ANC grip

South Africans vote in municipal elections on Wednesday, with anger over corruption, crime and failing public services threatening to deal another blow to the ANC.

The party dropped below 50% support for the first time in the 2021 municipal elections, and could plunge below 40% this time, according to polls.

With no other party large enough to take its place, many cities in South Africa are heading for unsteady coalition governments that have been partly blamed for failing to deliver basic services, including water and electricity.

Votes in local polls expected to further weaken ANC grip

November 4 2026 08:04

The DA and the ANC supporters have already set up heir stations at the Mulbarton Primary School voting centre in Johannesburg South. The City of Johannesburg deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku is expected to cast her vote at this station. #Elections2026 pic.twitter.com/ranmDJRoAu

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 08:02

Voters have already started queuing at Mulbarton Primary School in Johannesburg South. pic.twitter.com/dCaz8Cs3hS

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 07:58

Hostel voter calls for action against gun crimes

The Saulsville hostel voting station near Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, is a few metres away from the hostel block where there was a mass shooting in an illegal tavern late in 2025 in which 12 people were killed.

Long-time resident Pheyi Ngobese pleaded for action against crime in the area.

Hostel voter calls for action against gun crimes

November 4 2026 07:58

Cost of living is top concern for Saulsville voters

As local government elections kick off this morning, at the Motsweding combined school voting station in Saulsville, west of Pretoria, voters had begun lining up at 5am.

Madumetja Mothabele was eager to cast his vote.

“I woke up at 4am and arrived at 5am. I wanted to be here early and I became number one in line. We want service delivery and lights, and our rent is very expensive,” he said.

Cost of living is top concern for Saulsville voters

November 4 2026 07:51

Your X has a reason. Is it the pothole that rattled your car, the tap that ran dry, the uncollected waste, or the lights that went out? Let us know which municipal service guarantee or concern will carry the most weight when you cast your vote. The comment section belongs to you. pic.twitter.com/MUQEiTw7KV

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 07:08

ELECTION DAY: Sowetan wants to hear from you!

Send us a voice note, videos and images on 071-556-4784.

ELECTION DAY | Make your vote count. You could be voting because you want to reward council officials who have done a great job in your area or maybe you want change. Sowetan would like to hear from you. Cast your vote and send Sowetan a voice note, video or images sharing your… pic.twitter.com/1JUlzuqTYf

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 7:00

KZN parents urge voters to ‘behave’ at school stations

Vee Gani, head of the Parents Association of KwaZulu-Natal, has urged voters to “behave” peacefully at school voting stations and protect facilities children depend on.

Gani said voters should take disputes to Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials respectfully, warning violence could leave schools damaged and disrupt learning during matric exams.

KZN parents urge voters to ‘behave’ at school stations

November 4 2026 6:50

Today, the ballot box takes centre stage. Cast your vote, then join The Political Arena for live conversations, exclusive interviews and real-time answers on what this election means for you. Every cross counts, and we’re watching every count. Live on the Sunday Times, TimesLIVE,… pic.twitter.com/OHbHNh9Shp

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 4, 2026

November 4 2026 6:46

‘Your vote, your voice’: South Africans urged to turn out for local government elections

The government has encouraged South Africans to exercise their right to vote in the local government elections on November 4.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) concluded its two-day special voting process on Tuesday, with a total of 1,425,942 special votes cast across Monday and Tuesday ahead of the main election day.

‘Your vote, your voice’: South Africans urged to turn out for local government elections

November 4 2026 6:00

Low turnout, coalition chaos looms as voters lose faith

The battle for control of SA’s municipalities is expected to end in another round of coalition horse-trading, with more hung councils projected and growing numbers of disillusioned voters potentially staying away from the polls.

There is a lot at stake as millions head to cast their ballots on Wednesday, experts say.

Political analyst Tessa Dooms warned that the elections were likely to produce more coalition governments than ever before, with smaller parties and independent candidates potentially holding the balance of power in municipalities across the country.

“In 2021, we ended up with about 70 hung municipalities where coalitions needed to be formed,” she said. “In 2026, it’s estimated that we will have many more hung municipalities that will have coalitions.”

Low turnout, coalition chaos looms as voters lose faith

November 4 2026 5:30

GHALEB CACHALIA | DA’s diversity faces test beyond the candidate bus

The DA has an appealing proposition for South Africa. It is the country’s most diverse political party with a substantial black following, united not by race but by shared values. The rainbow, it seems, has acquired a corporate colour scheme.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with political diversity. Nor is there anything inherently suspicious about a party organising transport to rallies, feeding its activists or training aspiring public representatives. Politics requires organisation and sandwiches do not, in themselves, constitute a constitutional crisis.

But there is a more interesting question than how many black faces a party can assemble for a photograph. That question is: does racial diversity in the ranks translate to diversity of thought, genuine participation in decision-making and an equitable distribution of political power?

GHALEB CACHALIA | DA’s diversity faces test beyond the candidate bus

November 4 2026 5:00

Agoa fallout exposes ANC-DA foreign policy rift

The US’s decision to withdraw South Africa’s Agoa benefits has exposed divisions between the ANC and DA over the country’s foreign policy, with the governing party alleging an attempt to influence voters as the ANC faces mounting electoral pressure.

The ANC, on the one hand, has questioned the timing of Washington’s decision to withdraw South Africa’s preferential trade benefits from January 2027, suggesting it could be an attempt to intimidate voters and pressure the government to abandon its transformation agenda.

Agoa fallout exposes ANC-DA foreign policy rift

November 3 2026 21:11

Tshwane residents hope their vote will bring clean water, electricity and roads

On Tuesday, it had been two weeks since Gritah Ntuli, 62, had seen a water tanker in the Maheights informal settlement in Bronkhorstspruit, Tshwane, where she lives.

Whenever she needed water to bath or do laundry, she would take her family’s clothes to the stream and wash them there, while also collecting bath water for the whole family.

For drinking and cooking water, she has to reach into her pocket and buy it.

Tshwane residents hope their vote will bring clean water, electricity and roads

November 3 2026 20:14

Political intolerance and protests among threats facing Western Cape elections

Political intolerance, intra- and inter-party conflict, criminal activity and protests have been identified as some of the threats facing voting stations in the Western Cape ahead of Wednesday’s local government elections.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Sizakhele Dyantyi said 33 of the province’s 1,633 voting stations had been classified as high-risk, while the remainder were categorised as medium- and low-risk.

Political intolerance and protests among threats facing Western Cape elections

November 3 2026 20:06

IEC warns political parties to stop campaigning at midnight ahead of polling day

Political parties, independent candidates and their supporters have until midnight on Tuesday to campaign ahead of the 2026 local government elections, with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) warning that all campaigning must stop before voters head to the polls on Wednesday.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya reminded political parties and candidates that the electoral timetable prohibits campaigning after midnight, including door-to-door canvassing, demonstrations and rallies.

IEC warns political parties to stop campaigning at midnight ahead of polling day

November 3 2026 20:04

IN PICS | Special voting continues for millions in local elections

More than 2.5-million voters were approved to cast special votes ahead of the local government elections, with the two-day voting process taking place on Monday and Tuesday.

The second day of special voting got off to a slow start at some voting centres in Johannesburg, where elderly voters were among those expected to cast their ballots.

IN PICS | Special voting continues for millions in local elections

November 3 2026 19:07

IEC concludes special voting as 1.4-million South Africans cast ballots ahead of election day

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has concluded its two-day special voting process with more than 1.4-million voters having cast their ballots ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

The special voting process, which took place on November 2 and 3, provided an opportunity for approved voters who would otherwise be unable to visit voting stations on election day to cast their ballots in advance.

IEC concludes special voting as 1.4-million South Africans cast ballots ahead of election day

November 3 2026 18:55

IEC assures South Africans of credible elections amid attempts to ‘impugn’ the polls

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has assured South Africans that it has done everything possible within its powers to deliver credible local government elections.

This comes as the electoral body says it has picked up attempts from some quarters to malign the integrity of the elections a day before millions of South Africans head to the polls.

November 3 2026 18:13

Five things you need to know from IEC’s election briefing

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has warned against the spread of unsubstantiated election-fraud claims, saying they are fuelling misinformation on social media.

It also reported incidents of intimidation, disruptions and attempted tampering with election materials.

Five things you need to know from IEC’s election briefing

November 3 2026, 18:07

IEC assures South Africans of credible elections amid attempts to ‘impugn’ the polls

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says it can assure South Africans that it has done everything possible within its powers to deliver credible local government elections.

This comes as the electoral body says it has picked up attempts from some quarters to malign the integrity of the elections a day before millions of South Africans head to the polls.

More than 29-million potential voters will have an opportunity to make their preferred choice among the 136,790 candidates, representing a total of 546 political parties across the country.

November 3 2026, 16:30

“Sibagadile, we are watching them closely,” says MKP’s Bongani Baloyi on IEC

Umkhonto weSizwe’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate Bongani Baloyi has issued a stern warning, saying that his party is closely guarding the local elections.

“Sibagadile (We are watching them closely). Our position is to operate from a level of distrust and that’s why we’ve deployed all sorts of mechanisms to protect interest and to protect our vote.”

Baloyi’s party was among those that questioned the integrity of the electoral commission in the previous election, where MKP claimed to have been robbed of votes and their intended two thirds majority.

‘Sibagadile, we are watching them closely,’ says MKP’s Bongani Baloyi on IEC

November 3 2026, 16:25

KZN election officer fired for using party-branded car to carry ‘sensitive’ election material

A KwaZulu-Natal presiding officer was dismissed on Tuesday for transporting sensitive election material in a party political branded vehicle.

In an update on special votes on Tuesday, Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) provincial electoral officer Ntombfuthi Masinga said the presiding officer from Hammarsdale was seen boarding an e-hailing taxi branded in party colours.

“On investigation, it was established that the e-hailing taxi did belong to the presiding officer concerned and was driven by her son,” she said.

KZN election officer fired for using party-branded car to carry ‘sensitive’ election material

November 3 2026, 16:15

IEC cannot confirm reports of dress-code restrictions at KZN voting station

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says it has no information to report on allegations of a strict dress code being enforced at the Dlamini Tribal Court voting station in eDumbe, northern KwaZulu-Natal, where women were reportedly turned away for wearing trousers.

The allegations emerged during the second day of special voting for the 2026 local government elections after reports by the SABC that women, including an SABC journalist, had been prevented from entering the voting station because they were wearing pants.

IEC cannot confirm reports of dress-code restrictions at KZN voting station

November 3 2026, 16:10

Mokonyane rejects ANC blame for Gauteng water crisis

ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane has rejected attempts to blame the party for the water crisis gripping parts of Gauteng, arguing that the problem lies with an unreliable water supply system and the various entities responsible for its management.

Mokonyane said the crisis should not be placed at the ANC’s doorstep as residents head to the polls in the local government elections, insisting it was a national problem requiring interventions beyond individual municipalities.

Mokonyane rejects ANC blame for Gauteng water crisis

November 3 2026, 16:05

34 election misinformation complaints as candidates, supporters face arrests: IEC

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has warned political parties and their supporters against spreading unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, saying misleading social media posts are threatening the integrity of the local government elections.

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission’s information integrity hub had identified increasing attempts to undermine confidence in the electoral process, particularly through social media platforms.

November 3 2026 16:03

EXPLAINER | What voters can expect at polling stations

As South Africans head to the polls on Wednesday for the 2026 local government elections, voters can expect a series of steps before casting their ballots.

From presenting the correct identification document to ensuring ballot papers are valid, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has outlined a process aimed at making voting easier while safeguarding the integrity and secrecy of the ballot.

IEC assistant manager Mmakgabo Ramatlhodi said voters will first encounter a queue walker who helps manage queues and direct voters at polling stations.

EXPLAINER | What voters can expect at polling stations

November 3 2026, 16:00

WATCH | MK Party’s Bongani Baloyi casting his vote in Sandton on Tuesday. https://t.co/C0rQjkUsGV

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 3, 2026

November 3 2026 15:25

Why Rustenburg is one of the most hotly contested municipalities

Rustenburg’s economic significance makes it one of the most important municipalities to watch in Wednesday’s local government elections, but attention is focused on major metros, says political analyst Prof André Duvenhage.

Duvenhage, from North-West University, warned that sluggish economic growth, poor service delivery and deteriorating infrastructure continue to undermine municipalities such as Rustenburg in the North West.

“We have major challenges. One of the biggest is the failure to create sustained economic growth and development. Statistics show that over the past decade growth has remained below 1%,” he said.

Why Rustenburg is one of the most hotly contested municipalities

November 3 2026 14:30

WATCH | Shortly after casting her vote in Mogale City, ANC’s Nomvula Mokonyane addressed key issues, including the water crisis in Johannesburg and across the country, as well as the decision by US President Donald Trump’s administration to remove South Africa from AGOA beneficiary status.

WATCH | Shortly after casting her vote in Mogale City, ANC’s Nomvula Mokonyane addressed key issues, including the water crisis in Johannesburg and across the country, as well as the decision by US President Donald Trump’s administration to remove South Africa from AGOA beneficiary status.

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 3, 2026

November 3 2026, 13:25

Police arrest Limpopo voter for taking photo of marked ballot

A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly photographing his marked ballot paper at a voting station in Limpopo, with police searching for a second suspect accused of the same offence.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said the incidents occurred at Chuchekani Primary School voting station in the Humulani settlement in Lulekani on Monday.

Mashaba said the first incident was reported at about 10am when a 32-year-old voter allegedly photographed his ballot paper after voting. The presiding officer confronted him and informed him that photographing a marked ballot paper was against electoral rules.

Police arrest Limpopo voter for taking photo of marked ballot

November 3 2026, 12:30

‘People must vote or nothing will be done’

For some elderly voters at the Joubert Park Lapeng Child and Family Resource Centre in Johannesburg, voting is more than a right; it is a tradition and an opportunity to help secure a better future for the next generation.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, Sowetan’s sister publication, John Masuku, who lives in Hillbrow, said he was voting because he wanted to see improvements in his community, particularly the condition of the roads.

He said the roads and robots where he stays don’t work, and he finds it hard to cross a busy road. “I’m voting because I need the roads to be fixed. I’m old now, and sometimes I can’t cross the road alone because they are always busy, so I ask my grandchildren to help me cross,” he said.

‘People must vote or nothing will be done’

November 3 2026 12:11

MALAIKA MAHLATSI | Years of Joburg rot is now rubbish on our pavements

On Tuesday morning, one day before millions of South Africans head to the polls to cast their votes in the 2026 local government elections, I walked through the streets of my neighbourhood in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.

Every street was lined with overflowing bins and half-open refuse bags. Flies and insects have congregated on driveways and entrances to complexes, estates and business premises.

The stench, including from the uncollected waste of numerous restaurants located in the neighbourhood, is paralysing. One day before elections, in the middle of a debilitating heatwave, the northern suburbs of Johannesburg resemble dystopian slums.

MALAIKA MAHLATSI | Years of Joburg rot is now rubbish on our pavements

November 3, 2026, 12:O8

Two arrested in Limpopo for allegedly removing election posters, burning political party T-shirt

Limpopo police have arrested two suspects in two separate cases involving election-related offences, including the alleged unlawful removal of election posters and intimidation.

Two arrested in Limpopo for allegedly removing election posters, burning political party T-shirt

November 3, 2026, 11:40

WATCH LIVE | IEC briefs media on first day of special voting

The Electoral Commission of South Africa is briefing the media on Tuesday about day two of special voting.

WATCH LIVE | IEC briefs media on first day of special voting

November 3 2026, 11:10

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS | It is a quiet morning at Lapeng child and family resource centre, a voting station in Joubert Park, Joburg. The voting centre is relatively empty, with very little activity as the special voting process gets under way for the second day. Download our App,… pic.twitter.com/JqGEzEBo0e

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 3, 2026

November 3 2026, 10:35

WATCH | The morning has been quiet at the Joubert Park, Lapeng child and family resource centre, where elderly voters are expected to cast their special votes, with no long queues.

View this post on Instagram

November 3 2026 08:00

GCINA MTENGWANE | When democracy multiplies parties but not purpose

On Wednesday South Africans will face the most crowded local election ballots in the country’s democratic history.

About 546 political parties are contesting. That is about 60% higher than the 325 parties that took part in 2021. Nearly 137,000 candidates are competing for just over 10,500 council seats. These numbers express a constitutional right to form and join political parties.

They also reflect a citizenry that has grown restless with the established order.

GCINA MTENGWANE | When democracy multiplies parties but not purpose

November 2 2026 16:10

THE POLITICAL ARENA | Voter anger or apathy: Will South Africans turn out to demand change?

With South Africa’s November 4 local government elections just days away, voters face a critical choice: how to hold political parties accountable for failing services, and whether changing their vote can reshape the country’s metros.

In this episode of The Political Arena, Business Day political editor Hajra Omarjee is joined by Sowetan editor Sibongakonke Shoba, TimesLIVE and Sunday Times digital politics editor Lizeka Tandwa, and Sunday Times senior political reporter Kgothatso Madisa to examine voter apathy, shifting political loyalties and the battle for control of local government.

November 2 2026 15:40

IEC has over 700 cases of election-related disinformation

The spread of misinformation and disinformation has emerged as a growing concern ahead of South Africa’s local government elections, The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has received more than 700 complaints about election-related disinformation as voters prepare to go to the polls on Wednesday.

IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said some complaints involved content circulating on social media platform X, including photographs manipulated using AI. However, he said the incidents had not significantly disrupted the electoral environment.

IEC has over 700 cases of election-related disinformation

November 2 2026 15:19

Ballot boxes stolen as special voting begins in KZN

Ballot boxes and a training module were reported stolen from Amahlongwa Community Hall in Zambeni, the IEC said in its KwaZulu-Natal special voting update on Monday.

The IEC said replacement election material was delivered and the voting station was operational.

Ballot boxes stolen as special voting begins in KZN

November 2 2026 13:10

RECORDED | IEC briefs media on first day of special voting

The Electoral Commission of South Africa is briefing the media on Monday about day one of special voting.

November 1 2026, 18:02

Surprise! You’re an EFF candidate

The EFF has been dealt an embarrassing court blow after the Electoral Court found that the party nominated a man as its ward councillor candidate without his consent.

The court ruled that Sivuyile Jacquin Tshikila was not an EFF candidate in Ward 03 in the Raymond Mhlaba local municipality in the Eastern Cape. It ordered the IEC to ensure voters could not cast their ballots for him during the local government elections on Wednesday.

The judgment comes a few weeks after the ANC won a court fight for the inclusion of its 181 candidates whose names were not submitted by the party to the IEC for elections.

Surprise! You’re an EFF candidate

November 1 2026 17:50

‘The ANC is still mighty’ | Ramaphosa vows party will defy critics at polls

President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed suggestions that the ANC is on a downward spiral, telling supporters in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape that the party is gaining momentum ahead of Wednesday’s local government elections.

Addressing supporters at the party’s final push to win over voters at the Siyanqoba rally at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Sunday, Ramaphosa said the ANC would use the November 4 elections to prove its critics wrong.

“We are three days away from a very important election. Many people are saying the ANC is on its downward spiral. What I am seeing here is that the ANC is going higher and higher, and on November 4 we are going to show those that say ANC is going to lose,” he said.

‘The ANC is still mighty’ | Ramaphosa vows party will defy critics at polls

November 1 2026, 17:45

‘We will take them out’ | Ramaphosa threatens to remove underperforming councillors and mayors

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that ANC councillors and mayors who fail to serve communities or misuse public funds will be removed from their positions, saying the party wants ethical, capable and accountable leaders in local government.

Addressing supporters at the ANC’s final rally ahead of elections at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, Ramaphosa said the party expects its elected representatives to prioritise service delivery, responsible spending, and economic development rather than treating political office as a personal entitlement.

“We want to place emphasis on making sure that we get accountable and capable and ethical people who are going to be elected because we want municipalities that are properly run municipalities that use public money responsibly and municipalities that will also maintain infrastructure and support economic development,” he said.

‘We will take them out’ | Ramaphosa threatens to remove underperforming councillors and mayors

November 1 2026, 17:40

Zuma returns to stage, promises MK Party will ‘take back our country’

MK Party president Jacob Zuma told thousands of supporters who braved extreme heat at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu on Sunday that the MK Party will soon take over the land and lead many municipalities.

“In a few days we will be taking back our country,” Zuma said.

“In a few days we will be taking over our land. We will be in charge of many municipalities. No matter what other people can say and do, we are ready.”

Zuma, 84, was addressing the MK Party’s final Sithatha Omasipala rally ahead of Wednesday’s local government elections.

Zuma returns to stage, promises MK Party will ‘take back our country’

Story audio is generated using AI

By Elizabeth Howcroft and AJ Vicens

Hackers used a bogus job interview and software hidden in an advertisement to compromise the computers of two Binance software engineers before using a third’s computer to drain $6.3bn worth of crypto in last week’s record heist, the exchange said on Tuesday.

In its initial report on how hackers pulled off what could be the largest-ever financial theft, Binance detailed a multi-stage hacking endeavour that began in June and set off a series of security breaches culminating in the theft on Thursday.

Even as Binance scrambled to lock down its system and freeze withdrawals after detecting the attack late on Thursday, the hackers were still making off with crypto from the exchange nearly four hours after the first theft, Binance said.

The FBI has blamed a North Korean hacking group, a claim North Korea has rejected. Binance has said it is repaying all customers whose funds were stolen.

The attack has raised questions about how hackers breached the world’s largest crypto exchange after years of North Korea-linked attacks, which have grown in ambition and frequency, and renewed questions about the vulnerability of digital assets to cybercrime.

Cybersecurity experts and government officials have for years warned about North Korean and other hackers using phoney job interviews to target employees at companies of interest, said Michael Barnhart, a researcher with cybersecurity firm DTEX. Fake job interviews are a well-known hacking technique.

Binance said it had detected and prevented 57 suspected North Korea-linked cyberthreats in 2026. That shows Binance is “just getting barraged”, Barnhart said.

“This should not have happened, and we apologise for the concern, disruption and uncertainty it caused our users, partners and the wider industry,” Binance said in its report.

Left exposed

Binance said the attack began in June when an employee on its wallet developer team downloaded a tool from the internet that hackers had tampered with. The exchange said it detected this afterwards, replaced the device and changed credentials, but the employee’s role and those of others on the wallet team were exposed.

A person familiar with the incident said the tool’s malicious version had been placed in an advertisement, which meant it appeared higher in a search engine than the real version.

Then in September, a second software engineer seeking a new job downloaded a “malicious code repository” onto the person’s computer after interviewing for what they thought was a legitimate role, including meeting virtually with the CEO of a fictitious company, Binance’s report said.

On October 20, the attacker used the compromised computer plus an internal AI tool to gain control of the wallet developer’s system and that of a second wallet developer.

Nine days later, the attacker used the second wallet developer’s computer, with stolen credentials from the first wallet developer, and triggered a malicious script to launch the attack.

A limited number of engineers at the company have direct access to wallets — which store or trade crypto — the person familiar with the hack said.

Crypto removed in minutes

The attack unfolded quickly on October 29, removing 233.46 million XRP — a cryptocurrency — from five Binance hot, or internet-connected, wallets to an attacker-controlled address in just four minutes, before attackers withdrew other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, the exchange said in its report.

Binance said it received an internal alert about large transfers and began investigating. It moved to suspend withdrawals, freeze affected tokens and remove unauthorised permissions, resulting in about $2.85bn of frozen assets, but suspending withdrawals alone could not stop all unauthorised asset movements.

Attackers used 50 signing transactions to manipulate the account, while Binance said it was forced to build new procedures to revoke authorisations, slowing its response.

The final unauthorised transfer was at 2356 GMT, Binance said, nearly four hours after the attack began.

Binance said as a result of the hack, it was increasing investment in AI-enabled detection and working on establishing a security research fund and targeted initiatives with leading AI companies.

Reuters

The absence of US tariff-related costs that hit earnings a year earlier will also help.

Operating profit for the world’s biggest automaker in the July-September quarter is predicted to surge 18% to 992-billion yen ($6.3bn), according to the median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by LSEG.

Revenue was predicted to rise 8% to 13.4-trillion yen.

Global sales of Toyota and Lexus vehicles fell 4% to just over 2.5-million units during the period, hit hard by a 22% decline in China and a one-third drop in the Middle East.

But the Japanese automaker saw higher-margin electrified vehicle sales in North America jump more than 30% to almost 430,000 vehicles, although overall sales volumes in the US rose less than 1%.

“With gasoline prices rising, there is demand for more fuel-efficient hybrids,” said Yuya Takahashi, an analyst at Marusan Securities. “The key is how many of those more profitable hybrids are being sold.”

Toyota’s performance in China, the world’s largest auto market, is likely to remain a key concern for investors as fierce competition from domestic brands amid a rapid shift to EVs is challenging its gasoline-powered and hybrid-heavy lineup.

The pain was visible at supplier earnings, with Denso last week reporting a more than one-third drop in operating profit in Asia for the six months through September, hit by weaker vehicle sales in China and higher material costs.

Investors will also be watching Toyota’s growing investments in factory automation, vehicle software and autonomous driving.

Toyota has estimated it could cost 1-trillion yen annually from 2028 to modernise its factories as it steps up automation and robotics deployment.

Reuters

Presenting third-quarter results, Vigna said Ferrari was “very satisfied” with the company’s first fully electric model, with first deliveries due at the end of this year.

“Everything we plan to sell next year is already fully allocated,” Vigna told journalists, adding that client test drives, scheduled for next year, would help further boost demand.

Vigna declined to provide specific figures about 2027 sales targets for the Luce, a model that drew fierce criticism at its launch in May for its unconventional design.

“We have no critical issues, neither on manufacturing nor on the demand side,” Vigna said. “Obviously the car is more complex because it has many new parts and many new technologies.”

Asked about further EV models, Vigna said the company was working on them to achieve its target of having 20% of its range made up of fully electric vehicles by 2030.

Reuters

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The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended that Gauteng High Court judge Portia Phahlane face a tribunal to investigate a complaint of gross misconduct that could lead to impeachment.

A gross misconduct finding by a tribunal and endorsed by the commission could lead to a recommendation of impeachment to be voted for by parliament.

Last year, Gauteng deputy judge president Aubrey Ledwaba lodged a complaint against Phahlane after she was arrested and charged with corruption.

The complaint arose from corruption allegations that Phahlane, who was appointed to the bench in 2021, had presided over litigation in a succession battle at the International Pentecost Holiness Church and received bribes to influence her decisions.

The JSC on Tuesday announced its decision to recommend to chief justice Mandisa Maya to appoint a tribunal to investigate the complaint.

“The JSC resolved that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that judge Phahlane is guilty of gross misconduct as contemplated in section 177(1)(a) of the Constitution (removal from office). The complaint warrants referral to a tribunal for consideration,” the JSC statement reads.

“Thus, the commission... resolves to request the chief justice to appoint a tribunal to investigate the complaint which has been lodged by then acting judge president Ledwaba against judge Phahlane.”

The complaint was first heard before the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC), which in May decided to recommend a tribunal investigation to the commission. It indicated that “there can be no denying that if the allegations in the indictment are established, they would prima facie indicate that the respondent is guilty of gross misconduct.”

Phahlane’s co-accused in the corruption case, Bhekumuzi Sandlana, has been accused of facilitating bribes to the judge to rule in his favour.

The JCC report found that Phahlane was designated to case-manage the matter for trial. The report notes that unless the parties agree, a judge who has managed a case is not permitted to preside over that case’s trial.

In the corruption case, Sandlana allegedly offered a bribe to Phahlane to rule in his favour, which she accepted.

In 2022, Phahlane allegedly made an offer to buy a house for R6.5m in Hartbeespoort, North West. Shortly thereafter, an amount of R2m was deposited into the trust account of a conveyancer by a company linked to the church.

Phahlane denies all the allegations.

The JCC, led by retired justice Chris Jafta, noted in its report that the allegations strike at the core function of the judiciary and destroy public confidence in the administration of justice.

“Regrettably, if the current allegations are true, it has now breached the last line of defence, the judiciary,” said the report.

“We have not imagined that a day like this would ever come, where we are called upon to consider allegations of corruption against one of us, a fellow judge.”

“These allegations are highly damaging to the judiciary, which heavily relies on public trust and confidence for a proper administration of justice.”

Business Day

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said Democrats would send legislation he considered “insane” to his desk and he would veto it.

“They’ll send over things that are insane, and I’ll veto them,” he said. “And after a few months of vetoes, they’ll call and they’ll say, ‘How do we get this stuff done?’ and we’ll work together.”

Trump said the war in Iran had weighed on Republican candidates, even as voters backed his handling of it. “I think a part of it was Iran, but at the same time people understood the importance of what I’ve done with Iran.”

Reuters

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Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) faces an unexpected leadership transition after the death of group CEO Jebb McIntosh, who spent nearly five decades at the JSE-listed motor group and was instrumental in building the business.

The company announced on Tuesday that McIntosh died on November 2. He had served on the board since co-founding the group with Maldwyn Zimmerman in 1976 and was appointed CEO in 1999.

His death comes after CMH had begun making changes to its senior leadership structure, with plans for McIntosh to reduce his involvement in the group’s daily operations and head of motor retail and distribution Charles Webber to assume greater responsibility.

In an earlier announcement, the company said McIntosh would remain CEO while Webber took on a more significant role, effectively positioning him as co-CEO, Business Day reported. However, the company had not provided a date for McIntosh’s eventual departure or clarified the full succession arrangements.

Webber has been with CMH for 25 years, having joined the group in 2000 as dealer principal of its Umhlanga Toyota-Lexus dealership. He was twice named the group’s dealer principal of the year and joined its motor executive committee in 2005.

In 2024, he was promoted to CEO of the motor retail and distribution division, overseeing brands including Toyota, Nissan, Stellantis and Mahindra.

The latest announcement does not specify whether Webber will now take over as group CEO or outline any further changes to the executive structure after McIntosh’s death.

The leadership transition also follows plans for long-time chief financial officer (CFO) Stuart Jackson to step down. Company secretary Priya Govind was appointed CFO designate.

Jackson, 72, has served on the board since 1986, while McIntosh, who was 79, had been one of the company’s longest-serving directors.

CMH operates about 43 motor dealerships representing 29 vehicle brands across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Its rental business, First Car Rental, has a fleet of more than 7,000 vehicles and operates through 50 branches across SA, employing more than 400 people.

The group, valued at about R2.6bn, is one of Durban’s few JSE-listed companies.

CMH chair James Dixon said McIntosh remained actively involved in the business until his death.

“Up until the moment that he passed, Jebb was having a typical day in the office, directing the activities of his beloved CMH,” Dixon said.

He said McIntosh had left an enduring legacy and would be remembered for his business acumen, attention to detail and ability to handle complex situations.

Business Day

Last month the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) appeal committee directed KeyHealth to pay for AstraZeneca’s Ultomiris, which is used to treat paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria. The 15-year-old’s treatment is expected to cost more than R7.3m in the first year and R6.1m a year thereafter.

The BHF, an industry association for medical schemes and administrators, said the case underscored the need for a sustainable, industry-wide approach to covering the extremely high treatment costs associated with some rare diseases.

It has proposed a voluntary risk-pooling mechanism called EquiAxis, in which participating medical schemes would share the costs of qualifying high-cost treatments through a collective funding mechanism. Work on the project is ongoing.

“Rare conditions requiring exceptionally expensive treatment can place disproportionate pressure on an individual scheme, particularly one with a smaller membership base. Sharing these risks across many schemes would spread the financial impact more widely and make treatment costs more predictable,” said BHF MD Katlego Mothudi.

Medical schemes already pool risk between members, which means covering extremely expensive medicines directly would push up the cost of contributions for all members, he said.

Discovery Health executive head for policy and regulatory affairs Roseanne Harris said setting up a separate vehicle to fund rare diseases would still lead to an increase in costs for medical scheme members.

“The problem with a rare disease fund is the money has to come from somewhere ― you are still asking medical scheme members to fund these high-cost treatments. It redistributes the risk but it doesn’t create affordability. The cost of these treatments is the real issue,” she said.

While MediCheck, which represents the child’s family, said the ruling set a precedent for other patients with prescribed minimum benefit (PMB) conditions, the BHF said it was an administrative decision confined to an individual case.

PMBs are a basic basket of care that all medical schemes must cover for all their beneficiaries, regardless of which option they join. The appeal committee overruled KeyHealth’s argument, upheld by the CMS registrar, that an explanatory note in an annexure to the PMB regulations only requires schemes to meet the level of care provided in the public sector. It ruled that treatment for PMB conditions must be covered in full.

KeyHealth is a medium-sized medical scheme with 78,000 beneficiaries. It has notified the CMS that it intends to appeal the committee’s ruling.

Business Day

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The US decision to remove South Africa from its preferential trade programme is expected to have a limited additional impact on vehicle exports, as punitive tariffs have already driven an 83.2% decline in shipments to the US market.

This is the view of automotive industry body Naamsa, which said the proposed termination of South Africa’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will add to uncertainty in the bilateral trade relationship but is unlikely to worsen the industry’s existing export challenges.

South African vehicle exports to the US fell from 24,682 units in 2024 to just 4,136 in 2025, after the introduction of 25% tariffs on imported vehicles under section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act in April last year. Tariffs on automotive components followed in May.

The tariffs apply independently of Agoa eligibility and have substantially eroded the commercial value of the preferential access previously enjoyed by South African manufacturers.

Naamsa said the Agoa termination, effective January 1 2027, would not close the US market to South African automotive products. Exports would remain possible, although subject to the applicable US tariff regime.

Mercedes-Benz South Africa is the car manufacturer most exposed to the effect of US tariffs, with almost all locally manufactured vehicle exports to the country comprising C-Class models built at its KuGompo City plant in the Eastern Cape.

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that the newly facelifted C-Class will be manufactured locally, though the factory’s longer-term future remains uncertain amid US trade barriers and declining export volumes.

Other major exporters, including Ford and BMW, have reduced their exposure to the US market, focusing instead on Europe and other international destinations. BMW South Africa previously exported large volumes of X3s to the US from its Rosslyn plant, but exports of the new-generation model are now largely destined for markets elsewhere. Ford South Africa exported a small number of Rangers to the US in 2025.

Agoa has generated R28.6bn in export revenue for South Africa’s automotive industry, with 24,681 vehicles exported under the programme, according to Naamsa.

The industry body said the programme had helped strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries over several decades, supporting manufacturing integration and the development of local supply chains.

The automotive industry remains a big contributor to the domestic economy. Vehicle and component exports reached a record R291bn in 2025, while the sector contributes 5.2% to GDP and sustains about 498,000 jobs across the formal economy.

Naamsa said manufacturers were exploring alternative export markets, including Canada, while South Africa could also leverage existing trade arrangements with the EU, UK and African markets.

However, it cautioned that diversification would take time and could not replace the value of established markets and long-standing investment partnerships.

“The US remains an important trading partner, and preserving commercially viable access is in the interests of both economies,” it said.

Naamsa said it would continue engaging with the department of trade, industry & competition and other stakeholders, providing economic analysis and industry evidence to support discussions aimed at securing a sustainable trade outcome.

Democrats were also on track to take control of the US House of Representatives after flipping eight Republican seats in states including Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina, and showing strength even in solidly conservative districts.

In Texas, Democratic state representative James Talarico withstood a barrage of outside spending to defeat scandal-plagued Republican attorney general Ken Paxton in a state that voted for Trump by 14 percentage points two years ago.

In South Carolina, a state Trump carried by nearly 18 points in 2024, paediatrician Annie Andrews triumphed over Republican senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, senator Lindsey Graham.

In both races, Trump elevated Paxton and Graham ahead of more established candidates despite clear liabilities. Paxton has been at the centre of a litany of controversies, including his 2023 impeachment and securities fraud charges, while Graham’s admitted inexperience drew negative headlines.

Trump campaigned heavily for both Republican candidates as part of a late election blitz that included more than two dozen rallies, and the president told his supporters repeatedly to “pretend I’m on the ballot” in an effort to fire up his base.

On Tuesday night, as it grew clear Republicans were in danger of losing their congressional majorities, Trump wrote on social media: “I wasn’t on the ballot and if I was, we would have won in a landslide. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The Democratic wave underscored voters’ deep frustration with Trump’s stewardship of the economy and his decision to launch a war against Iran in February, which sharply drove up fuel prices. In poll after poll, voters expressed anxiety about the cost of living and anger at the way Trump has handled the issue.

Along with Democrat Roy Cooper’s win in North Carolina’s Senate race, the party has flipped three of the four seats it needs to capture a Senate majority, assuming it holds its own seats in Michigan and Minnesota.

Democrats held onto Senate seats in Georgia and New Hampshire, both races that were once considered competitive but moved out of reach for Republicans amid Trump’s declining approval ratings.

A rebuke for Trump, says winner

“In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the man named President Donald J Trump,” incumbent Democratic senator Jon Ossoff, the projected winner in Georgia, told supporters at a victory party.

In Florida, Republican senator Ashley Moody fended off Democrat Angie Nixon but was ahead by only about three percentage points in a state Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, according to a vote count compiled by Reuters and USA Today, further evidence that even solidly Republican states were shifting dramatically toward Democrats.

Democrats held onto three House districts in Florida that Republican lawmakers had redrawn earlier this year, all of which backed Trump by at least nine percentage points.

According to exit polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets, including major television networks and the Associated Press, half of voters nationwide said they saw the 2026 midterm elections as an opportunity to rebuke the president, and three-quarters said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way the country is headed.

In addition, 70% of voters surveyed said they want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the president.

Trump deploys election monitors

Legal observers and Democrats have warned that Trump, who has long falsely claimed that US elections are rigged, may attempt to challenge Tuesday’s results if Republicans lose.

The justice department said it had deployed 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states in what it called the largest Election Day monitoring effort in history.

Democrats criticised the plan as potential voter intimidation. In about two-thirds of the jurisdictions the department listed, voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 presidential election, a Reuters analysis found.

Election officials in several states reported no issues with the monitoring effort. New Mexico’s secretary of state’s office said it had received reports of federal monitors asking “unusual questions” in one county, and the justice department offered assurances the conduct would be addressed.

Reuters

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Johannesburg is South Africa’s most important economic centre, home to the country’s largest concentration of businesses and financial institutions. What happens to Johannesburg matters not only for its residents but also for the whole country. Yet over the past decade the city’s decline has increasingly undermined its economic potential. Failures in municipal government have made Johannesburg an increasingly difficult place in which to do business, invest, find employment and build a secure family life.

Joburg residents are getting poorer. The city’s economy has barely grown for more than a decade. When population growth is taken into consideration average per capita GDP in the city has fallen from R99,858 in 2013 to R95,737 in 2023 (in real terms). By the second quarter of this year the city’s official unemployment rate had reached 35.9%, the highest of any metro and above the national rate of 33.6%. During the one-year period ending in June 2026, Johannesburg lost about 90,000 jobs while Cape Town added 57,000.

Johannesburg’s economy cannot grow while the city’s dysfunction continues and worsens. When roads deteriorate, transport costs rise and supply chains become less efficient. When electricity and water systems fail, firms incur additional costs to maintain operations and absorb production losses.

Municipal dysfunction therefore acts as an implicit tax on economic activity, raising costs while services deteriorate. In Selby, prolonged water shortages have left factories unable to operate and hundreds of factory workers without permanent or full-time work.

Johannesburg cannot expect to retain the businesses and entrepreneurs it has, let alone attract the investment and the skills it needs, while conditions continue to deteriorate. You have to stop falling before you can grow.

Yet rather than focusing on actions designed to attract private investment the present Johannesburg administration has proposed a growth strategy that looks to the state to reshape the economy via grand plans and expensive ribbon-cutting projects. Its recently approved economic growth strategy proposes almost 30 projects, with an estimated total cost of R111.47bn over five years. These include an R1.5bn international convention centre in Lanseria, a R2.14bn film and clothing cluster, and a R546m biodiesel production plant. The city expects private investors and donors to provide 98% of the funding.

Even if the money could be raised, these projects would require considerable capacity to plan, co-ordinate and oversee. Yet the strategy itself explicitly recognises that its ambitious programme of new economic development projects can only be successfully adopted by a city with substantially more resources and administrative capacity than Johannesburg presently possesses. It nevertheless presents its plans as realistic and implementable.

Similarly wrong-headed is the Johannesburg Township Economies By-Law, gazetted in late 2025. It requires township businesses to register with the city by January 17 2027. The stated aim is “to support township enterprises”, but the approach creates new red tape obstacles for the very businesses it is meant to help.

Johannesburg needs a different approach. There is no alternative but for the city to start by fixing the basics. Restoring reliable services, beginning to reduce the city’s enormous infrastructure backlog, rebuilding municipal institutions, combating corruption and stabilising its finances must be the priorities. Businesses and investors need a city that works.

Restoring reliable basic services would do more than prevent further economic decline. It would jump-start growth by allowing Johannesburg’s existing economy to become more productive and create new opportunities for businesses and workers. Instead of losing an average of 20.6 hours every three months to power outages, the equivalent of two and a half working days, businesses would be able to operate with fewer disruptions, increasing production and serving more customers.

Reliable services would make it easier to establish new businesses. Established companies may be able to afford to compensate for municipal failure, but the same is not true of smaller businesses and start-ups. Reliable electricity, water and roads would free up household income, with the benefits extending particularly to poorer households who cannot outsource municipal failure.

These improvements would reinforce one another. As businesses become more profitable and expand they create jobs, increase demand for goods and services, and generate opportunities for other businesses. This would encourage further investment, as businesses are more likely to invest in areas where others are already doing well. A focus on turning around municipal failure will therefore lead to an upward growth spiral.

Of course, Johannesburg has a number of other major challenges that also affect the city’s growth prospects, including crime, housing and public transport. But the hard truth is that important and pressing as these challenges are, they have to wait until Johannesburg has got the basics of city government working effectively. From the day after the November elections the new government must be ruthlessly focused on its top priorities.

South Africa has had to spend much of the past decade fixing what the ANC government broke. It has devoted far less energy to developing a realistic strategy for future growth, including for the role of large metros and, in particular, its most important city. Johannesburg must devote all its energies and resources to restoring its institutions, infrastructure and services. But the city also needs to consider how it will grow over the next decades.

What will drive future investment, employment and prosperity? How can the city build on its strengths through a growth strategy that encourages enterprise, attracts investments and opens up opportunities for everyone?

The new mayor should appoint a task force to develop an economic vision for the city, supported by practical proposals for implementation. The task force should be small ― five to eight leaders drawn from across society, supported by a small secretariat and funded from the city’s economic development allocation. It should report within one year. Its proposals need to be ambitious and inspiring enough to shape the future while realistic about resources, institutions and capabilities.

The task force will need to ask hard questions. What would have to change for Johannesburg to once again become a leading centre for mining, finance and technology? Can the city become the professional services hub for the continent? The country is making far too little progress on deregulating, eliminating the red tape that holds back growth. Why not start with Johannesburg? Why not let Johannesburg lead the way with more privately run special economic zones, some with exclusions from existing legal obligations on business, to test whether this would raise employment growth rates?

How can large companies interested in helping Johannesburg move from small projects to a more fundamental contribution? A possible model is the Columbus partnership in the US state of Ohio, which created a successful and stable business-government partnership at the city level. And if the city worked with the leading companies and business organisations headquartered in the city, could they together help push the national and provincial government to enact reforms more quickly?

The focus on fixing what is broken is the right and essential priority for Johannesburg’s next government. This challenging process ought to be accompanied by serious thinking about the city’s future and how to build a more dynamic economy that is an essential prerequisite for faster and more inclusive growth.

• Bernstein is executive director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE). This article is based on ‘Joburg needs faster growth’, the sixth report in Johannesburg Matters: Fixing South Africa’s Growth Engine, a new CDE series.

Tesla has marketed supervised full self-driving (FSD) software to prospective buyers in South Korea for years, often collecting lump-sum payments of 9.043-million won (R112,000).

FSD can be used on about 20% of Tesla vehicles registered in South Korea — those manufactured in the US, Tesla Korea country manager Seo Young-deuk said in parliamentary testimony last month. Those cars meet US vehicle-safety standards that South Korea recognises as part of a free trade agreement, according to the forthcoming complaint to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), seen by Reuters.

The complaint to the regulator, which also handles antitrust, has not been previously reported.

However, most Tesla vehicles in South Korea are manufactured in China, where no such agreement exists. Tesla only recently started the process for obtaining FSD certification for China-made vehicles, despite charging customers for the software for more than three years.

Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. A KFTC official said the agency launched a probe earlier this year into Tesla’s advertising of its FSD system and has received written responses from the company, but declined to provide further details.

Fair trade commission investigating

It is unclear how many South Korean customers purchased FSD subscriptions on ineligible vehicles, but Tesla has sold more than 170,000 Shanghai-produced vehicles in South Korea since 2023, according to Tesla data sent to South Korea’s national assembly.

“Tesla generated substantial revenue by selling an expensive driver-assistance system to mass-market buyers who cannot use it for even a single day,” said Choi Young-suk, who leads automotive issues at the advocacy group Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty.

Tesla continued to market FSD as sales of ineligible China-manufactured Teslas surged in South Korea in recent years. Sales of FSD-incompatible Teslas made in China grew more than fivefold in South Korea from 2023 through last year, when 99% of new Teslas sold in South Korea could not legally use FSD, according to data Tesla submitted to the national assembly.

Despite years of promises from CEO Elon Musk that all Teslas would soon become fully driverless vehicles, FSD is not autonomous and requires active human supervision.

Tesla has sought to expand FSD’s reach beyond North America, particularly in Europe, where the company has waged a pressure campaign against European regulators.

Tesla sales surge in South Korea

Tesla surpassed BMW this year as South Korea’s top imported car brand, according to South Korean import data.

It sold FSD for one-time payments for years ahead of the service’s activation last year, before shifting to a monthly subscription of 150,000 won (R1,857) in August.

The complaint alleges Tesla promoted FSD last year as “coming soon” and posted a demonstration video filmed in South Korea without clearly disclosing the technology could only be used in a small fraction of Teslas being sold.

The company knew those limitations but continued to market the software to all customers, the complaint said.

Tesla Korea manager Seo testified during an October 8 parliamentary hearing that the company had not formally requested FSD testing from the transport ministry. Two weeks later, Tesla applied for certification.

The ministry said FSD does not comply with local safety rules, including requirements for drivers to keep their hands on the wheel, according to a statement it sent to a lawmaker, reviewed by Reuters. The transport ministry could not be reached for comment.

The consumer group accused Tesla Korea of deceptive marketing and asked the KFTC to issue a temporary cease-and-desist order on marketing FSD for ineligible vehicles, impose administrative fines and refer the case to state investigators.

A Seoul court last month dismissed a lawsuit filed by Tesla owners seeking refunds for its FSD option, which was not activated in South Korea until late last year.

The court rejected their claim that Tesla had failed to deliver the driver-assistance system, saying regulatory and legal restrictions had limited the company’s ability to roll out further functions.

Reuters

The recall affects 1,896 vehicles sold between 2021 and 2025.

According to the supplier, the affected vehicles are fitted with an Electric Hydraulic Power Steering Pump (EHPS), which may have an electrical connection susceptible to high resistance. This could result in a warning indicating the loss of power steering assistance or a “Service Power Steering”.

In certain circumstances, high-resistance electrical activity may take place in the area of the EHPS connection, causing overheating of combustible materials, which may potentially lead to a fire.

The NCC has urged consumers to take their vehicles to the nearest authorised Jeep dealership for inspection and the necessary repairs, which will be carried out at no cost. Consumers can also check whether their vehicles are affected by using the VIN check facility on the Jeep website.

TimesLIVE

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The leadership of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), one of South Africa’s largest unions, is in limbo after regional and national leaders suspended each other in a power struggle over control of the metalworkers’ union.

In scenes reminiscent of the 2021 power struggle between then ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and party leader Cyril Ramaphosa, when Magashule attempted to suspend Ramaphosa before being suspended himself, Numsa’s national office bearers and regional leaders have suspended each other in less than a week.

The power struggle and counter-suspensions are 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.

The national office bearers announced last Thursday that their special national executive committee (NEC) 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 on Tuesday that their own executive committee, which met on Monday, 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 regional leaders’ special national executive committee meeting 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”.

The central committee meeting resolved to strip the national office bearers, including general secretary Irvin Jim and president Andrew Chirwa, of their powers and replaced them with a task co-ordinating team.

“The special national executive committee expressed serious concern about the conduct of the national office bearers, particularly the failure to respect and implement decisions of the central committee and the resulting disruption to the effective functioning of the union,” the Numsa statement announcing the outcomes of the committee meeting says.

“The executive committee believes that the continued disregard for constitutional decisions, the undermining of elected regional leadership and the emergence of competing centres of authority have contributed significantly to the organisational instability experienced by Numsa.

“After considering these matters, it resolved that the general secretary, comrade Irvin Jim, comrade Mbuso Ngubane and the remaining national office bearers be suspended forthwith from their respective duties, pending investigations into allegations of misconduct, in terms of Chapter 3(c)(v) of the Numsa constitution.”

It said the purpose of these measures was to safeguard the integrity of the union, protect its constitutional structures and ensure accountability for conduct that may have undermined organisational stability and democratic worker control.

“The committee further resolved that suspensions imposed by the national office bearers without proper constitutional authority must be lifted.”

Business Day has reported that the Numsa regional leaders had consented that the powers to suspend or implement disciplinary actions against them rested with the regional executive committee.

This after Jim and Chirwa wrote to the regional leaders on Monday, the day the regional leaders held their special national executive committee, saying the national office bearers remained the legitimate leadership, and called on them to withdraw the notice and cancel the “purported meeting, including any adjournment or reconvening of it; if proceedings have commenced, cease conducting them as a meeting of Numsa’s NEC and refrain from adopting or implementing purported decisions in that capacity”.

The national office bearers held their own special NEC last week where they resolved to suspend the regional leaders who held a central committee meeting and suspended the national office bearers, replacing them with a task co-ordinating team.

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.

At the central committee meeting (October 23-25), the regional leaders, including Andile Bloko, Nkosinathi Makhanya and Andile Nqilingwane, resolved to strip the national office of their delegated powers and functions.

“The special national executive recognises that Numsa is confronting a serious organisational challenge that requires decisive, collective and constitutionally grounded intervention. The union’s recovery cannot be achieved through factional manoeuvring, intimidation, the manipulation of constitutional provisions or the undermining of democratically elected structures. It requires honesty, accountability, organisational discipline and respect for the collective decisions of the membership.”

Numsa national spokesperson Mbali Ngwenda has been approached for comment, which will be added once received.

Business Day

Last week’s $6.3bn heist against Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange with enormous financial resources and sophisticated security systems, makes clear the threat is real and increasing rapidly, aided by the use of AI. The likelihood of such an attack knocking on Africa’s door one day is not beyond the realms of possibility.

The KPMG report follows several others highlighting the continent’s vulnerability to cybercrime, including a study by Check Point Software last year which found that cyberattacks on African organisations had surged well above the global average.

This leaves the continent increasingly exposed to sophisticated cybercriminals, including state-sponsored groups and organised criminal networks.

And yet there is not much evidence that African countries, individually or in unity, are sufficiently alive to the dangers.

In South Africa, where the government is grappling with myriad problems, including dysfunctional municipalities that have failed to provide basic services to millions of increasingly angry residents, fortifying the country against cyberattacks appears to rank relatively low among national priorities.

And yet recent global events make clear that increasing our armour against cybercrime deserves significantly more attention.

KPMG’s report coincided with a scramble by companies and governments worldwide, including South Africa’s presidency, to patch critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a widely used programming language, after a cybersecurity firm reported millions of hacking attempts following their disclosure.

Interpol’s 2026 African cyberthreat assessment report says the continent experienced an intensification of cyberthreats driven by rapid digital transformation, persistent capacity deficits, and the increasing exploitation of emerging technologies — particularly AI — last year.

This has created an environment in which criminal actors operate with greater speed, scale and sophistication, often exploiting jurisdictional fragmentation and institutional gaps to evade detection and prosecution.

It says South Africa accounted for 92% of all ransomware detections, with incidents affecting critical infrastructure such as the national weather service and national carrier SAA.

It warns that despite having the most mature regulatory frameworks, including South Africa’s Cybersecurity Act and Mauritius’ Digital Transformation Blueprint, the Southern African region’s institutions remain vulnerable to the speed and scale of AI-enabled attacks.

Binance is still standing after last week’s $6.3bn theft and the billions more that customers have withdrawn since the heist. That amount would be devastating for any African nation, including South Africa.

The amounts that the country is already losing to cybercrime are not to be sniffed at either.

The South African Banking Risk Information Centre’s 2025 annual banking crime statistics report reveals that losses from digital banking crime increased to R2.4bn last year from approximately R1.9bn in 2024.

The Communication Risk Information Centre earlier this year revealed that cybercrimes cost local telecoms operators more than R5bn in 2025.

These rand amounts might seem like small change relative to Binance’s $6.3bn blow, but these are losses an economy like ours, with all its pressing needs, cannot afford to brush aside.

The gravity of the threat requires a co-ordinated public-private sector response, instead of the piecemeal responses that we have seen so far, particularly in the banking sector.

And we certainly need more than the mere 45% of African company executives making the financial sacrifice needed to combat the ever-evolving enemy we face.

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The Constitutional Court’s recent ruling in the Salungano Group matter has sparked concern about the future of business rescue in South Africa, particularly the implications for creditors who provide finance to companies after business rescue proceedings have commenced.

The court, in a well-reasoned and well-written judgment, ruled that post-commencement creditors do not have the right to vote on the adoption or rejection of a business rescue plan.

While some have warned that this could have a negative effect on the process of business rescue generally and discourage lenders from providing much-needed funding to financially distressed businesses, I am of the view that these concerns are overstated.

On the contrary, there is far more reason for reassurance than for any concern for the future of business rescue and obtaining post-commencement finance.

Business rescue is here to stay

The reality is that many companies face financial distress, sometimes more than once during their existence. When this happens they generally have three options: face liquidation, enter business rescue or resolve their financial difficulties informally, including through a compromise with creditors. It will pertain to whether or not a lender of monies post the commencement of business rescue can vote on a business rescue plan.

Business rescue has been part of South Africa’s legal and commercial landscape for more than 15 years. It is a well-entrenched and firmly established process that provides for financially distressed companies to restructure their affairs, recover, continue operating (the classic rescue), and failing this, pay a higher dividend to creditors than they would receive on liquidation (known as the alternative rescue).

It will prevail whether or not a post-commencement financier has a vote on the adoption or rejection of a business rescue plan. Certainly, the Constitutional Court’s judgment does not, and will not, change that. I remind all who hold a different view that this is not the first court decision that has caused concern to those involved in Chapter 6 business rescue proceedings, and it will not be the last.

What really matters to post-commencement financiers?

I have yet to encounter a post-commencement financier who provided finance to a company in business rescue and expressed concern about, or even raised the question of, whether or not they would be entitled to vote on the business rescue plan, or agreed to make that loan on condition they can have a vote on the business rescue plan.

I would encourage others working in this field to ask themselves the same question. If their experience mirrors mine, why should the fact that these financiers cannot now vote on a business rescue plan suddenly affect their willingness to advance funding?

Creditors such as banks and financial institutions generally lend money to companies on the strength of security held over the company’s assets. In most cases this security takes the form of mortgage bonds, special notarial bonds or perfected general notarial bonds. It is often these same creditors who advance post-commencement finance to financially distressed companies, with the additional funding secured under their existing arrangements.

Even where the bonds have been fully utilised, these institutions may advance further funding under the additional finance provisions of their bonds. This has certainly been my experience in practice. The decision to provide post-commencement finance is therefore driven primarily by commercial considerations, risk and the security available to the lender (to manage that risk), rather than whether or not a lender has a vote on the business rescue plan.

A positive development for SA business rescue

With an increasing number of foreign investors looking to invest in companies undergoing business rescue, I regard this judgment as good news. It brings South Africa’s approach more closely into line with jurisdictions that are recognised for their well-respected, established restructuring and turnaround frameworks, including the US, UK, Singapore, Japan and India.

Rather than viewing the judgment as a setback, we should recognise that business rescue is and will remain an important and valuable tool used by financially distressed companies to preserve economic activity and for safeguarding employment.

To the gloom-mongers and doomsayers I say, chin up and let’s continue our important work of promoting, growing and turning around financially distressed companies, preserving the jobs that depend on them and, in some cases, creating new employment opportunities. Long live business rescue.

• Strime is joint CEO of Fluxmans Attorneys and head of its business rescue & insolvency department.

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Imagine telling a personal finance assistant to protect your savings from a weakening currency. It monitors exchange rates, compares accounts and, with your permission, moves part of your balance into dollar stablecoins.

For you that might look like prudent housekeeping. Across millions of households, similar decisions could become a funding problem for domestic banks. This is a possible next chapter in dollarisation: software making currency substitution a routine financial habit.

The IMF has identified the underlying risks. In August remarks on emerging markets it warned that stablecoins can make foreign currency more accessible and that shifts toward reserve investments abroad can tighten domestic credit conditions. It also noted that AI could accelerate adoption.

The additional hypothesis is about speed and co-ordination. Households already seek dollars when inflation erodes savings or confidence weakens. An authorised agent could lower the effort involved, checking conditions repeatedly and acting within preset limits.

A banking system might consequently face persistent, automated withdrawals without a dramatic queue outside a branch. But the accounting matters.

Buying stablecoins does not automatically destroy bank deposits. If a customer buys tokens from another domestic resident the money may simply move between accounts. Issuer reserves may also remain in banks.

Bank for International Settlements analysis emphasises that the funding consequences depend on reserve composition and how money moves through the system. Retail deposits can become more concentrated wholesale funding, with different costs and stability characteristics.

The concern for emerging markets is sharper when transactions redirect funding abroad or shift deposits away from banks that cannot readily replace them.

Banks under pressure could raise deposit rates, seek alternative funding or adjust lending. Businesses and borrowers might then face higher costs or tighter access to credit, depending on the scale of outflows and policy responses.

A household could protect its purchasing power while its employer finds financing harder to obtain.

AI would not need to cause the original loss of confidence. It could accelerate responses to inflation, depreciation or unattractive deposit returns.

The potential feedback loop deserves attention: automated conversions increase demand for dollars, currency pressure strengthens the case for further conversions, and more agents respond.

That sequence is a scenario, not evidence that an AI-driven bank run is under way. Exchange controls, transaction costs, wallet access and customer permissions could all constrain it.

Nor are stablecoins equivalent to guaranteed dollar deposits. Their value depends on reserve quality, redemption arrangements and intermediaries. Conversion fees can erode savings. Products offering additional yield introduce risks beyond simply holding a dollar-linked token.

An agent comparing headline returns could overlook those differences unless its rules explicitly account for them.

There is also a co-ordination problem. Different assistants may use similar data, providers or financial thresholds. If many users authorise comparable responses, supposedly independent decisions could cluster around the same shock.

For policymakers, blocking a payment technology would not resolve the reasons people want another currency. More credible monetary policy, competitive savings products and dependable domestic payments could reduce that incentive.

The IMF also cautions that clear evidence of stablecoin-related banking disintermediation remains limited and that outcomes differ across countries.

The useful indicators would therefore be verified conversions from domestic deposits, the destination of corresponding funds, changes in bank funding costs and the role of automated instructions.

Token transaction volumes alone cannot establish capital flight. The predictive question is whether saving becomes an always-on optimisation process that domestic banks struggle to retain.

AI could improve household financial decisions while making deposits less predictable. A country’s next funding shock might begin with thousands of reasonable instructions: protect my savings, find a better return, move the money.

• Muchena is founder of Proudly Associated and author of ‘Artificial Intelligence Applied’ and ‘Tokenized Trillions’.

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Nepi Rockcastle plans to grow its property portfolio to €12bn-€13bn (about R223.4bn) in the next five years as it steps up acquisitions and expands beyond its traditional central and eastern European markets.

The JSE-listed property group outlined the ambition at its 2026 Capital Markets Day in Warsaw, Poland, where the group set out a growth strategy built around acquisitions, developments, active asset management and renewable energy.

Nepi’s portfolio is valued at €8.4bn, suggesting targeted growth of up to 43%.

The group’s move into Spain takes it beyond its central and eastern European stronghold into a market ranked among Europe’s strongest for consumer spending, broadening its exposure to Western European retail.

CEO Marek Noetzel said the group had spent two decades building a leading retail property platform in Central and Eastern Europe, supported by in-house expertise, relationships with retailers and a disciplined investment approach.

“Our focus remains on acquiring and developing the right assets, creating value through active management and maintaining the financial flexibility to act quickly when attractive opportunities arise,” he said.

The group plans to drive growth through acquisitions and new developments, while extracting more value from its existing shopping centre portfolio, it said.

Over the past five years, it has invested almost €500m in refurbishments, extensions and improving its retail and leisure offerings. The aim is to strengthen dominant shopping centres, attract retailers and respond to changing consumer preferences.

Additionally, the group intends to deploy capital into higher-quality assets and markets with stronger growth prospects, using acquisitions and selective disposals to sharpen its portfolio and improve returns.

The group acquired MegaPark Barakaldo, near Bilbao, Spain, for €252m in August, establishing a foothold in the Iberian market.

It also has identified property development, including extensions and the repositioning of existing centres, as a growth driver, alongside solar energy generation to supplement income and reduce electricity costs across its portfolio.

CFO Eliza Predoiu said the group had raised €3.6bn through diversified funding sources over the past five years, enabling it to finance acquisitions and developments while maintaining its balance sheet.

The group kept its debt levels comfortably below its 35% limit, retaining room to fund further acquisitions while maintaining its investment-grade credit rating.

The group maintains a dividend payout ratio of 90%, balancing shareholder distributions with the need to retain capital for growth.

“We managed to deliver attractive returns to our shareholders while preserving the necessary resources in-house to grow,” Predoiu said.

Competition from online retail up

Nepi Rockcastle’s expansion comes as shopping centre landlords face changing consumer habits and growing competition from online retail.

The group attracted 354-million visitors to its shopping centres in 2025 and employs more than 680 people.

The group’s development pipeline includes projects valued at about €800m, adding to its growth prospects alongside acquisitions and upgrades to existing shopping centres.

While Nepi made inroads into Spain this year, Hammerson has also strengthened its presence in Ireland by acquiring the remaining 50% stake in Ilac Shopping Centre.

Meanwhile, Vukile, which has enjoyed a purple patch in the Iberian market through Castellana and built a strong portfolio through a string of acquisitions, has turned down three European acquisition opportunities this year, as it tests new waters in Italy.

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Supermarket Income Reit is returning to the equity market for the second time in four months, seeking to raise £50m (about R1.1bn) to finance a new wave of grocery property acquisitions as it pushes ahead with plans to double its portfolio.

The UK- and JSE-listed group said on Tuesday it had identified six deals involving 12 properties, including convenience stores, supermarkets and a distribution centre. The £65.2m (about R1.5bn) acquisitions will expand its grocery property portfolio and diversify its tenant base.

The latest fundraising comes just four months after the group raised £100m (about R2.3bn) in July, which, with debt, helped finance £222m in grocery property acquisitions in six weeks.

CEO Rob Abraham said the group was proceeding with acquisitions after successfully deploying the previous fundraising.

“Having successfully deployed the proceeds of our July fundraising, we are now capitalising on a further pipeline of high-quality, earnings-enhancing acquisitions,” he said.

Much of the latest deal pipeline is tied to Sainsbury’s, one of the UK’s largest supermarket groups. Supermarket is buying seven convenience stores directly from the retailer in an off-market transaction for £19m. The stores will be secured by new 15-year leases with inflation-linked rental increases, it said.

The group is also acquiring a half-share in a distribution centre in Darlington through a sale-and-leaseback deal with Sainsbury’s. The warehouse is Argos’s principal northern distribution facility and is considered critical to its operations.

Argos will continue using the warehouse, with Sainsbury’s backing the lease. The deal offers the Reit an initial return of 8%, with room to increase rental income over time, it said.

The remaining acquisitions include a grocery-anchored development in Woking let to Waitrose, a Sainsbury’s store in Essex and a Tesco convenience property in Surrey. The Woking property offers scope to renegotiate its expired grocery lease, creating an opportunity for SUPR to improve returns through active asset management.

The acquisitions reflect the group’s strategy of moving beyond traditional large-format supermarkets into smaller convenience stores and logistics facilities, while securing long-term rental income from established grocery operators.

The group owns 140 grocery properties across the UK and France, valued at £2.2bn at end-September. The portfolio generates annual rental income of £144.4m, with 82% of leases linked to inflation.

It expects the acquisitions to lift earnings in the first full year while keeping the impact on its asset value per share small and reducing operating costs, it said.

The group expects its loan-to-value ratio to remain at about 45% after the fundraising and additional borrowing, in line with its maximum target.

Abraham said the acquisitions would diversify the portfolio while supporting its longer-term growth ambitions.

“They represent another important step towards our ambition of doubling the size of the portfolio and delivering long-term returns for shareholders,” he said.

The group said the share issue would include a placing to institutional and qualifying South African investors, while its retail offer would be limited to UK investors.

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At its reconvened congress on October 12-14, union federation Cosatu passed a “super” resolution to support both the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the local government elections. The federation has committed its enormous organisational infrastructure and mobilisation machinery to give equal support to both alliance partners.

With Cosatu in choppy waters in recent years and its future uncertain, the federation has been rethinking its role in South Africa under an ANC majority government. In its September commission report, Cosatu committed to building the tripartite alliance. Because of the principle of trade union independence, it also sees itself as the leader of civil society.

In the federation’s view it is the centre around which South Africa’s civil society and the mass democratic movement, made up of hundreds of organisations since the 1980s, will eventually gather.

The super resolution is vague about Cosatu’s relationship with the ANC, which takes a dim view of the SACP’s decision to contest the local government elections on its own. The federation’s 15th national congress declaration speaks of a “socialist axis”, signalling Cosatu’s closeness to the SACP, which puts far less weight on its future relationship with the ANC.

This reflects the grievances against the ANC, including its choice of partners in the government of national unity, its approach to the budget and the austerity measures that have come with it in recent years.

Academic writing often points to the differences, and sometimes the contradictions, between political society and civil society. Political society is made up of the parties in the parliamentary system that are directly responsible for running the state. Civil society is made up of the organised groups that sit between the household and the state. The two are in constant tension.

Cosatu places itself in civil society, the space from which it hopes to shape the direction of South African society. In other words, of the three alliance partners it is now the only one that would, at least on paper, stand apart from the trappings of the state. Backing two alliance partners that are now contesting elections separately while holding on to its role as leader of civil society is a minefield.

The resolutions and declaration of the recent congress did not get into the nuts and bolts of how the alliance should work to avoid the problems of recent years, and holding independent organisations to a common programme is a Herculean task. The hope among its leadership is that Cosatu will not overstretch and isolate itself but instead find ways to influence the policies of both the ANC and the SACP.

Backing two alliance partners that are now contesting elections separately while holding on to its role as leader of civil society is a minefield.

The shift in Cosatu’s electoral strategy comes alongside another significant change: the gender profile of its leadership. Women now make up 67% of the national office-bearers committee. This means women will carry the lion’s share of Cosatu’s internal and external work going forward, including policy and research, worker education, organising and affiliate support, and international relations. Does the feminisation of Cosatu’s leadership explain the shift in electoral policy?

The government policies Cosatu most often criticises affect women’s reproductive labour, much of it unpaid, in ways the federation has failed to articulate. Yet women are rising within Cosatu and the wider union movement at a time when society has turned increasingly misogynistic, a sign of regression and paralysis on many levels.

The task facing the new female majority Cosatu leadership is to find new approaches to union organising and worker education, including leadership succession planning, as a key part of revitalising South Africa’s union movement.

• Musi is an independent labour analyst and organisational facilitator.

Throwaway line to get the tourists to return to their hotels? As a way to clear the bar at closing time, it was an unbeatable gambit. But it turns out it was true; our night ended with a pair of elephants strolling down the main drag of Victoria Falls town, past a smart restaurant called Three Monkeys.

And herein lies the essence of Zimbabwe’s bustling tourist mecca. It’s still wild and adventurous, with the charm and excitement of a dusty frontier town, but it’s also developing at a quick gallop.

That quick gallop includes the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium. It’s still being built and will host four matches in the 2027 Cricket World Cup. The tournament is in October and November; it’s a sweltering time along the Zambezi River, and those lads are going to need their hats and sunblock. But what a place to play — or watch — a game, the crack of a ball on willow, the thunder of the falls and the trumpet of the elephants.

Zimbabwe as a whole is emerging from the woods. Bloomberg recently reported that an economic turnaround was taking hold, quoting David Cowan, Citigroup’s chief Africa economist. Annual inflation, which averaged about 736% in 2024, was expected to drop to 8% this year, and Zimbabwe was expected to achieve a cash budget surplus, Cowan was reported as saying.

And Harare said it was on track to meet the economic goals set by the IMF under the staff-monitored programme struck earlier this year. The 10-month programme was approved in April, and Zimbabwe passed the first review in July.

In September, the central bank cut its benchmark lending rate to 27.5% from 30%, citing relatively stable inflation. That came after a five percentage-point rate cut in June. Annual inflation was 3.7% in September, up from 2.9% in August, the lowest since 1980.

More recently, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe said in September that mineral export earnings, excluding gold and silver, more than doubled to $4.735bn in the first nine months of the year, driven by lithium and stronger commodity prices. Mineral export volumes increased by 23.4% to 4.738-million tonnes.

Signs of growth are all over Vic Falls. Driving into town from the airport, we passed a new skate park, with cool young things effortlessly showing off their skills. Surfing — yes, surfing, alongside crocs — the rapids of the Zambezi River is also luring fearless folk. Check out Sam Bradford on Instagram for some maniac activities.

The town wears its title of Africa’s adrenaline capital well.

And it’s adding good food and excellent vibes to the menu of things to do. Goat (previously Mama Africa Restaurant) is a surf-shack-style hangout that features live bands and serves excellent coffee from Victoria Falls Coffee Company, with which it shares space. The company roasts its own beans. Its signature is Ngwenya, a single-origin Zimbabwe coffee that comes from a small estate in Chipinge, in the Eastern Highlands.

Goat is a celebration of the “daring men and women [who] pioneered the [Zambezi] rapids with their rafting and kayaking skills, from the original daredevils to the present-day guides”. Décor includes grand photos of the surfers and kayakers, and barbershop posters. Foodwise, expect a fusion of Western and African cuisines.

Other things we saw that are worth a visit: the aforementioned Three Monkeys restaurant and The Smokehouse, where we had our nightcaps and which serves The River Brewing Co beers. Try a River Lager, a light lager made with baobab fruit. For the less beer-venturous, Zambezi lager is Zim in a glass. For gin, head to the nearby Victoria Falls Distillery. It has a slick big-city wine bar feel and serves charcuterie and cheese boards.

Shopping must be done in the Elephant Walk, which we did, followed by a wander through the sculptors’ market. Just a wander for us, mind you: it’s not cheap, and everything is priced in dollars.

For entertainment, you can see a high-energy production of Simunye: The Spirit of Africa. We ventured to The Boma — Dinner & Drum Show at Victoria Falls Safari Collection. A fabulous evening all round, and easy to roll home to our sumptuous villa at Albida, on the estate. With sore hands, we drummed our full hearts out.

Victoria Falls town was once a single-attraction stopover: arrive, see the falls, have a meal and leave the next day. But it has become, and is still expanding into, a top-drawer, multiday destination. There are good restaurants, boutique hotels, art spaces and safari-style lodges.

“We’ve witnessed a complete evolution in how people experience Victoria Falls,” agrees Anald Musonza, sales and marketing director of Victoria Falls Safari Collection. “There’s been incredible investment in the town’s infrastructure, culinary scene and bespoke accommodations. The sheer variety of experiences — from river cruises and canopy tours to cultural experiences such as our own Boma Dinner & Drum Show and MaKuwa-Kuwa Restaurant — means you simply can’t do it justice in 24 hours.”

Victoria Falls town was once a single-attraction stopover: arrive, see the falls, have a meal and leave the next day. But it has become, and is still expanding into, a top-drawer, multiday destination.

There’s an estimated 4,000-4,500 beds in the town, ranging from the larger legacy hotels to intimate boutique lodges, luxury tented camps and self-catering villas. “It points to a major diversification of the market,” says Musonza.

Historically, the average length of stay in Vic Falls hovered around two nights, “but we are now seeing that stretch to three or four nights for leisure travellers as the destination’s offerings have expanded”.

When it comes to those offerings, the falls and the rainforest are the undisputed crown jewels, but sunset river cruises, helicopter flights and cultural dining experiences follow closely behind, he says. There’s also kayaking, river rafting, bungee jumping …

Then there are the national parks and the private game reserves. We did a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana (it’s just 85km away), with a river cruise, lunch and a game drive, and plenty of pachyderms to fill our camera roll.

We also visited Stanley and Livingstone Game Reserve to see the black rhino. A game drive in Zambezi National Park may bring lion, buffalo, giraffe and antelope.

Victoria Falls Safari Collection opened its luxury offering, Albida, in September “to answer a very specific, growing demand for luxury and absolute privacy … We recognised a gap in the market for a truly intimate, high-end retreat,” says Musonza.

There are only 13 private villas, set in the woodland, each with their own plunge pool and views onto Zambezi National Park. It’s all about space, privacy and being part of nature. Albida is a fully all-inclusive offering: your activities are included in the price, including a Flight of Angels helicopter flip and daily spa visits. No pain, no fussing with extras. It also features a butler service and bespoke itineraries for each guest. And really good food, too.

• The writer was hosted by Victoria Falls Safari Collection.

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A recent article on Henry Jeffreys’ Substack account attempted to make a case for the proposition that grape varieties are an imperfect way of classifying wine. That is nothing short of apostasy in new world wine-producing countries, but it’s the superhighway to heaven as far as the French are concerned.

Part of what led Jeffreys to this heresy was a tasting with Hazendal’s Kiara Scott Farmer in London. In the course of the evening he sampled some excellent but atypical wines she had made: a sauvignon blanc and a Pinotage-carignan combo. She explained she had chosen an unconventional approach to their vinification because the way they typically emerge from conventional processing doesn’t appeal to her.

Scott Farmer’s Hazendal wines inspired Jeffreys to suggest that “the distinctive character of grapes owes as much to how and where they are grown and what happens in the winery as to the unique character of the grape itself.”

This is slightly different from arguing why Mosel rieslings taste different from those grown in Alsace or Eden Valley and closer to one explaining why barrel-matured sauvignon blanc from Bordeaux is unrecognisably different from an unoaked bottling from New Zealand’s South Island.

Siblings, not twins

A recent vertical tasting of the last 10 vintages (2016-2025) of Beaumont’s Hope Marguerite left me pondering about how factors other than site affect the final wine.

Beaumont Family Vineyards, established by Raoul and Jayne Beaumont in Bot River in the 1970s, has been producing Hope Marguerite since 1996 — initially from a single block, then later with fruit from a second, comparably well-established vineyard. So Hope Marguerite is not strictly “single vineyard” wine, though the two blocks are close enough to each other and are farmed by the same team in the same way: they are siblings, just not Siamese twins.

Given the authenticity of the site, the same winemaker — Sebastian Beaumont, whose mantra is “elegance over power” — and the same viticultural practices for the past decade, it would be safe to assume that the different vintages of Hope Marguerite would bear more than a passing resemblance to each other.

Winemaking is the art of the possible: ideally it should incorporate annual climate differences. The cellar regime was largely the same, except for a new press in 2020. Beaumont would have a conception of how his wine should look and would plan the timing of the harvest with a view to getting the best approximation of that result.

Nuances

Only — admittedly to my palate — it’s not how it turned out. While most of my tasting notes include words like “limey” and “tight” — the former a reflection of where on the ripeness spectrum the grapes were harvested, the latter a reflection of the winemaker’s chosen style — there are many, often different, nuances to each wine.

The 2016 was evolved, almost earthy, plush and generous. The 2017 was austere, tangy, still restrained. The 2018 was equally spartan, but it was a victim of the worst year of the drought. The 2019 appeared riper and more generous, the higher sugar hidden by the higher acidity. The 2020 (and the more recent vintages) were creamier, which Sebastian Beaumont attributes to the benefits of the new press. The 2023 is simply splendid, the 2025 (just released) is supple and seductive but years off its peak.

Over the decade the alcohol levels have ranged from 12.5% to 13.5%, the residual sugar from 2.4g/l to 8.3g/l. Contrary to what Jeffreys is suggesting, the most obvious common factor is the Chenin Blanc; the second is Sebastian Beaumont’s careful engagement with the impact of Bot River’s climate to obtain wines that are restrained but not flimsy.

However, except for the contribution of the age of the vineyards (planted in 1974 and 1978), I’m not sure there’s an identifiable presence of site in the wines. I can see the artist’s vision in the painting. His presence is evident in the colours and the brushstrokes; it’s not always in the image on the canvas.

Business Day

The group, which operates schools in South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Ghana and Ethiopia, has identified further expansion of Rosebank International into African markets as one of its strategic priorities.

CEO Geoff Whyte said in a capital markets day presentation that the group would prioritise countries where AdvTech already operates as it seeks to grow its international schools business.

The strategy includes expanding its existing schools, increasing student capacity and developing its tertiary operations in markets outside South Africa.

AdvTech entered Ethiopia in 2024 through the acquisition of Flipper International School, which operates five schools in Addis Ababa. The schools have about 3,000 students and 450.

The group said the acquisition was a “good fit with [our] existing mid-fee African model”, which focuses on providing education at prices below those charged by premium private schools.

Expansion projects

AdvTech has since increased capacity at Flipper’s Lancia campus through relocation, adding space for 450 more students. It is also introducing its technology and teaching systems across the schools.

In Kenya, the group is expanding its Makini school network, which it bought in September 2025. Student numbers at Makini Runda have increased from 1,160 at the time of acquisition to 1,470.

AdvTech is undertaking a redevelopment project at the school that will increase its capacity to 3,150 students. The work includes additional classrooms, computer and science laboratories, robotics facilities, libraries and sports facilities.

The group is also expanding Makini Statehouse, where renovations are under way to increase capacity from 280 to 575 students. The project is expected to be completed in January next year.

Its existing Crawford International School in Nairobi has also been expanded, from 900 to 1,300 students in 2025.

AdvTech’s tertiary expansion is another part of its African growth plans.

Rosebank International University College in Ghana opened in January this year, marking the group’s entry into the country’s tertiary education market. The institution has capacity for 350 students, with plans to accommodate up to 900.

Enrolments ‘running ahead’

AdvTech said enrolments at the institution were “running ahead of business case” during its first year of operation.

Additional facilities and classroom space are being added to meet demand. The group has also set a target of achieving full university status for the Ghanaian institution in 2027.

Beyond expanding physical campuses, AdvTech plans to take its distance learning offering into other African markets from Ghana.

The group has been growing its online tertiary qualifications in South Africa and says its next strategy includes using its Ghana operation as a base for expansion into other African countries.

Its longer-term priorities also include expanding Rosebank International into new African markets, while continuing to add schools in countries where it already operates.

The expansion comes as AdvTech continues to increase the proportion of its business generated by education. In its 2026 half-year breakdown, education accounted for 87% of group revenue and 96% of operating profit, compared with 81% and 94%, respectively, in 2024.

The group’s international schools operations contributed 6% of revenue and 8% of operating profit in the first half of 2026.

Business Day

Recent developments, including the decision to strip national leaders of their powers and the subsequent attempt to overturn it, have exposed divisions in one of South Africa’s prominent trade unions. Whatever the eventual outcome, the situation invites a broader conversation about accountability, internal democracy and leadership renewal.

Trade unions were built through the sacrifices of ordinary workers who stood together against exploitation and injustice. Their strength came from the factory floor, where workers elected representatives to speak on their behalf. Union leadership was not intended to become a permanent entitlement. It was a responsibility entrusted to individuals expected to advance workers’ collective interests.

There is nothing inherently wrong with serving as a union official for many years. Experience brings institutional knowledge, continuity and an understanding of the struggles workers face. But when leadership becomes a lifelong career, difficult questions arise about succession, accountability and whether fresh voices are being given an opportunity.

One wonders what ordinary Numsa members make of these developments. While leaders contest positions and constitutional powers, workers continue to face retrenchments, rising living costs, workplace grievances and uncertainty about their jobs. Who is speaking for them while their representatives fight among themselves?

These questions matter because workers do not join trade unions to participate in leadership battles. They join because they need protection, representation and a collective voice in workplaces where the balance of power often favours employers. Every hour spent on internal disputes is an hour that could otherwise be directed towards addressing the challenges confronting members.

Perhaps workers are not necessarily tired of trade unions. Perhaps they are questioning whether some leaders have become too comfortable in positions originally entrusted to them by the membership. There is a difference between loyalty to a union and loyalty to an individual. Unfortunately, the two can become blurred when personalities begin to overshadow the institutions they lead.

These questions matter because workers do not join trade unions to participate in leadership battles. They join because they need protection, representation and a collective voice in workplaces where the balance of power often favours employers.

The world of work is also changing. Automation, outsourcing, insecure employment and technological advancement are reshaping industries and the expectations of employees. Younger workers entering the labour market face challenges that require unions to rethink how they organise, communicate and remain relevant.

For many of these workers, the historical reputation of a union leader may carry less weight than the practical benefits of membership. They want to know whether their union can protect their jobs, negotiate better conditions and respond when they experience unfair treatment. They also want to see opportunities for younger members to participate meaningfully in leadership and decision-making.

This is why leadership renewal should not be viewed as a threat to experienced officials. It should be part of building sustainable organisations. A union that develops capable shop stewards, encourages open debate and allows leadership transitions demonstrates confidence in its own democratic foundations.

Numsa’s difficulties should therefore encourage reflection across the labour movement. Are unions developing the next generation of leaders? Can ordinary members question decisions without fear of victimisation? Are leadership elections genuinely democratic, and do members have sufficient influence over the direction of their organisations?

South Africa still needs strong trade unions. Workplace inequality, exploitation, unfair labour practices and economic insecurity have not disappeared. If anything, changing employment arrangements makes effective collective representation increasingly important.

But trade unions cannot demand accountability from employers while appearing unwilling to confront difficult questions about accountability in their own structures. Their credibility must begin with the democratic principles they expect others to respect.

The real question is not who emerges victorious from Numsa’s leadership contest. It is whether workers will emerge with a stronger voice and greater confidence in the institutions established to represent them. Trade unions belong to workers, not to those who occupy their offices.

• Nkwenkwe, a researcher and author, is a PhD candidate in industrial relations.

Business Day

South Africa has a population of more than 63-million people. For businesses supplying food, clothing, furniture, household goods and services that should represent an enormous domestic market.

Yet population size alone tells us remarkably little about the strength of consumer demand. There is an important distinction between having 63-million potential customers and having 63-million people with the financial means to participate meaningfully in the economy.

South Africa’s official unemployment rate reached 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026. Broader measures of labour underutilisation paint an even more disturbing picture.

Every unemployed person is not necessarily without purchasing power. Families share incomes, social grants provide essential support and informal economic activity contributes to household survival. But none of these can substitute for the purchasing power generated by productive, sustainable employment.

Consumer spending is one of the clearest indicators of an economy’s underlying health. Businesses do not expand simply because the population is growing. They expand because customers can afford to buy what they produce or sell.

There is an interesting apparent contradiction in the latest figures. Despite South Africa’s economic difficulties, real retail sales increased by 3.3% in August compared with a year earlier.

It would therefore be wrong to suggest that consumer demand has disappeared. But a few months of improved retail sales cannot disguise the structural weakness of an economy in which millions of working-age people remain unemployed and many employed households struggle to make ends meet.

The consequences extend far beyond retailing. Weak purchasing power limits the expansion of manufacturing, discourages investment, restricts business formation and ultimately reduces the economy’s capacity to create employment.

It becomes a vicious circle: inadequate employment restricts consumer demand, while insufficient demand discourages the investment needed to create employment. Breaking that circle requires more than temporary relief for household budgets.

It requires a sustained expansion of productive employment, particularly in the private sector. That in turn depends on reliable infrastructure, functioning municipalities, competitive operating costs, investment confidence and a regulatory environment that encourages businesses to grow.

South Africa cannot consume its way to prosperity without first expanding its capacity to produce and earn. The country’s growing population should be one of its greatest economic assets. Instead, too many potential consumers remain economically marginalised.

The challenge is not simply to put more money into circulation. It is to enable more South Africans to earn it. A growing population creates potential demand. A growing employed population creates a market.

David Wolpert

Sydney, Australia

Reading between the lines of wealth management advice

Your esteemed publication gives me much pleasure, but nothing gives me as good a laugh as the pages in which various investment advisers and asset managers explain their particular formula that enables them to choose exactly those shares that will outperform the rest and make us rich.

Blithely ignoring analysis that reveals that about 80% of them fail to outperform passive investment in index trackers, they plough ahead, telling us about their “complete toolbox of wealth saving lessons” and their “modelling which allows us to work out what a share is worth today” (“This is not a time to be a fool”, November 2).

With amazing perspicacity they predict that the bull market in tech shares cannot last forever and there will be a correction (“Protect the downside, participate in the upside”, also November 2). Wow!

In the past 10 years the Nasdaq 100 (hi-tech shares including AI) has gone up by about 500%. During this period it has four times dropped 20% or more. If you are a long-term investor the response should be “so what?”. Of course it will correct again. And go up again. Do we need to pay an asset manager fees to tell us that?

I have even cracked their code. When they write “It takes immense courage to swim against the tide”, it means “we did not do as well as many of our competitors, because we put you into safer shares.” Keep ‘em coming!

Jonathan Schrire

Via email

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businessday.co.za. Letters of more than 200 words may be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.

Business Day

The ANC, on the one hand, has questioned the timing of Washington’s decision to withdraw South Africa’s preferential trade benefits from January 2027, suggesting it could be an attempt to intimidate voters and pressure the government to abandon its transformation agenda.

The DA, on the other hand, has blamed the exclusion on the ANC’s foreign policy and what it describes as the diplomatic failures of international relations minister Ronald Lamola.

Both parties are key members of the government of national unity currently running the country. They also run some metro councils together in coalition with some smaller parties.

The competing positions come as the Ipsos Khayabus “Pulse of the people” survey shows the ANC at its lowest level of support, with the DA gaining ground as the political landscape becomes increasingly fragmented. The uMkhonto we Sizwe party registered 12%, and the EFF 10%, leaving no party with a national majority.

The Agoa dispute has added an international dimension to the parties’ competing election messages, exposing divisions over how South Africa should balance its domestic transformation policies with its economic and diplomatic relationship with Washington.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ANC rejected what it described as the weaponisation of Agoa against South Africa’s economic transformation agenda, saying the timing of the announcement alongside special voting raised concerns about attempts to influence the country’s democratic choices.

“The announcement’s timing during special voting, alongside economic misinformation, deepens concern about attempts to intimidate voters and undermine democratic choices,” the party said.

The ANC accused AfriForum, Solidarity and the DA of contributing to international pressure against South Africa through their opposition to transformation policies including broad-based BEE, land reform and employment equity.

WATCH | “He must not irritate us”: ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane slams FF Plus leader Corné Mulder and other critics who blame the ANC for South Africa’s AGOA exclusion. pic.twitter.com/h9rAazIDR9

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) November 3, 2026

Trade labour federation Cosatu has estimated that South Africa’s exclusion from the preferential trade programme would hit agriculture and manufacturing sectors the hardest, with estimates of about 3,000 job losses, or almost 10,000 overall.

“We’re particularly concerned about jobs in the agricultural sector, especially in the Western Cape, Limpopo and Northern Cape, where a lot of citrus farmers and other farmers export to the US,” says spokesperson Matthew Parks.

“We’re also concerned about job losses, and we’ve seen some already over the past year and a half because of the fluctuation of tariffs from the US.

“But I think it’s important not to create too much alarm, because it doesn’t mean you can’t export to the US; you can continue to export to the US.

“This just means that you lose about three-and-a-half percent of the reduced tariff regime towards the US. So you’re three and a half more expensive, in other words, for customers in the US.”

The DA, however, described South Africa’s exclusion as avoidable, blaming Lamola’s handling of relations with Washington and what it called the ANC’s ideological approach to foreign policy.

The party argued that the government’s relationships with Russia and Iran, with its domestic transformation policies, had contributed to South Africa being viewed with suspicion by liberal democracies.

It also accused the ANC of undermining economic growth through BEE legislation and said its refusal to engage with the DA on domestic policy reform in the government of national unity had contributed to the breakdown in relations.

The DA’s criticism of the ANC’s transformation policies and foreign policy positions overlaps with arguments advanced by AfriForum and Solidarity in their engagements with the Trump administration.

Both organisations have lobbied US officials over land reform, affirmative action and employment equity, arguing that these policies discriminate against minorities. Their campaigns have also promoted claims of persecution of white Afrikaners and targeted attacks on farmers and included calls for sanctions against South African political leaders and government officials.

The South African government has rejected allegations of a white genocide, while available evidence does not substantiate claims of a systematic campaign to eliminate white South Africans. AfriForum and Solidarity have continued to press their case in Washington, arguing that the government’s policies and foreign relations warrant intervention.

North-West University Business School economist Raymond Parsons said the withdrawal would have a limited effect on the economy as a whole, though the motor and agricultural industries would bear the brunt, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

PSG Financial Services chief economist Johann Els similarly cautioned against overstating the direct impact. About 7% of South Africa’s goods exports went to the US in 2025, worth about $16.5bn. Of these, about $1.6bn entered under Agoa preferences, representing about 0.7% of total goods exports.

Els said the bigger concern was the potential damage to business confidence, investment and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Less than 1% of our total goods exports currently enter the US under Agoa. This is not insignificant for the businesses and workers affected, but the bigger concern is the signal it sends to investors and the potential impact on confidence, investment and our broader relationship with the US.

“We should not confuse South Africa’s large share of total Agoa trade with the much smaller share of our own exports that depends on Agoa,” Els said.

The American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa (AmCham SA) said it noted the announcement by the US Trade Representative’s office with disappointment. It said the removal applies only to South Africa and Rwanda, and that Agoa itself remains in force, having been reauthorised to end-2028.

AmCham stressed that losing Agoa removes a tariff preference but does not stop trade. Citing analysis by XA Global Trade Advisors, it put South Africa’s net preference at about 3.5%, with annual duty savings of less than R2bn concentrated in a few companies.

The motor industry carries the largest employment risk, it said, while citrus, wine, table grapes and nuts are the most affected agricultural lines.

Business Day

There is, of course, nothing wrong with political diversity. Nor is there anything inherently suspicious about a party organising transport to rallies, feeding its activists or training aspiring public representatives. Politics requires organisation and sandwiches do not, in themselves, constitute a constitutional crisis.

But there is a more interesting question than how many black faces a party can assemble for a photograph. That question is: does racial diversity in the ranks translate to diversity of thought, genuine participation in decision-making and an equitable distribution of political power?

Here the DA’s elaborate machinery for selecting candidates deserves scrutiny. In August the party announced that its candidate selection process for the local elections had involved seven stages, including screening, assessments, online courses and tests.

In 2024, Helen Zille described an 11-stage process. The DA regards this as evidence of rigour and merit. Fair enough. Nobody wants municipal councillors who cannot distinguish a balance sheet from a shopping list.

Yet a test of competence is not necessarily a test of political conviction, and nor is a test of ideological conformity a guarantee of good government.

What, precisely, are these aspiring representatives being tested on? Their understanding of constitutional government, municipal finance, accountability and the practical business of delivering services? Or their ability to reproduce the party’s preferred answers on economic policy, the state, redistribution and the proper limits of government?

These are not interchangeable things. One tests whether a person can think; the other, whether they have learnt the approved response. Whether they grasp the implications of the approved mantra is another matter.

The distinction matters particularly in a party that presents itself as a home for South Africans of different backgrounds and experiences. If a prospective councillor arrives with a different understanding of poverty, unemployment, land, public services or the consequences of market failure, is that a contribution to be debated or a deviation to be corrected?

The political economy of advancement also deserves examination. For a person with limited resources the opportunity to participate, acquire organisational experience and perhaps secure a paid position can be significant. That is true across political parties.

The question is whether advancement rewards public commitment and independent judgment or depends on mastering the institutional language and ideological preferences of those who control the gates.

In this arrangement the packed lunch is not the scandal. It’s the metaphor. The journey from the bus to the branch, from the branch to the candidate list, and from the candidate list to the council chamber is where the real test lies.

The question is whether advancement rewards public commitment and independent judgment or depends on mastering the institutional language and ideological preferences of those who control the gates.

A party may sincerely believe its economic prescriptions are correct. It is entitled to make that case. But a black activist who repeats those prescriptions is not necessarily evidence that the party has embraced a wider range of political experience. The activist may be a committed liberal, a pragmatic local organiser, a sceptic who has been persuaded by evidence, or simply someone who wants to get on. We should not presume to know which without asking.

Nor should the DA be permitted to settle the argument by pointing to the racial composition of its rallies. A crowd is not a caucus; a membership card is not a measure of influence; and representation is more than the opportunity to stand behind the lectern while somebody else writes the speech.

The proper questions are measurable. Who gets nominated? Who gets elected? Who holds senior organisational positions? Who shapes policy? And can representatives challenge the party line without finding their prospects diminished?

The DA may well have made real strides in broadening its support; its electoral reach is certainly not confined to white voters. But diversity is not simply a matter of who gets on the bus. It is about who gets to drive, who chooses the destination and whether anyone is allowed to question the route.

If the price of the journey is learning to say precisely what the driver wants to hear, the party might consider whether it is cultivating independent public representatives or merely producing well-trained passengers.

• Cachalia, a businessman and management consultant who formerly chaired De Beers Namibia, is a former DA MP and shadow public enterprises minister.

Research by Stellenbosch University economists Prince Changole and Willem Boshoff found that merger cases raising public interest concerns take markedly longer to decide. These delays add significantly to the cost of doing business.

South Africa’s merger regime has included public interest considerations since the Competition Act of 1998. Amendments made in 2018 went further, giving public interest the same weight as competition issues.

In plain language, this means a large merger will only be approved if it is shown to have no negative effect on competition (consumers and prices), but also if it has no negative impact on any public interest aspect (or if sufficient conditions have been imposed to remedy public interest harm).

In principle, a merger that raises no competition concerns can therefore still be blocked on public interest grounds, though no large merger has yet been prohibited on that basis.

These conditions cause delays, but one may reasonably argue that in a country with such high unemployment and inequality, large mergers should be scrutinised for their effect on the public interest. The conditions typically imposed on large mergers include a moratorium on retrenchments for a set period, local procurement targets, investment commitments and, in some cases, a share ownership scheme for workers from historically disadvantaged groups.

But two recent high-profile cases indicate a novel interpretation of what can be included under public interest conditions. These decisions by the competition authorities seem to indicate a shift in the boundaries of public interest commitments in large merger adjudication.

The Competition Tribunal approved Canal+’s takeover of MultiChoice in July 2025. Canal+’s only previous activity in South Africa was licensing audiovisual content to local broadcasters, MultiChoice among them, and the transaction therefore raised no classic horizontal overlap concerns that would normally cause concern for a competition regulator. However, in addition to the usual employment conditions an additional condition was imposed ― that Canal+ obtains and maintains a secondary listing on the JSE.

The second case followed a year later. In July 2026 the commission recommended approval of Hellenic Bottling Company’s (HBC’s) $2.6bn acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. The tribunal approved the merger as recently as September.

HBC had no operations in South Africa before the transaction so there was no competition overlap to assess. And yet the conditions also include a secondary inward listing on the JSE. This is in addition to other public interest conditions dealing with retrenchments and investment.

What makes these two cases interesting is that they seem to be a further extension of the competition regulator’s approach to impose a comprehensive set of public interest conditions on parties to a merger.

This raises serious questions. The first is whether the Competition Act allows the authorities to impose a listing requirement at all. In its Vodacom-Maziv judgment in August last year the Competition Appeal Court was emphatic that section 12A(3) confines the public interest inquiry to five enumerated factors: “The legislature did not provide for an unenumerated list of public interest concerns.”

A stock exchange listing does not fit neatly into any of the public interest factors listed in the Competition Act. One could argue that it promotes a greater spread of ownership or helps national industries compete in international markets. But if there is no substantial lessening of competition, as in both of the cases referred to above, any condition imposed has to answer a merger-specific public interest harm. It is hard to identify which competition or public interest harm a JSE listing remedies.

The second question is whether a listing condition will lead to increased investment. The JSE’s long decline in listings, with delistings steadily outpacing new listings, is a real concern. But using merger control to stem this tide is not an effective strategy. A secondary inward listing typically raises no new capital and commits the buyer to no additional investment in South Africa; it simply makes shares that already trade elsewhere available in Johannesburg, where trading in them is often thin. Nor does it address the reasons South African companies delist in the first place, such as low valuations, the cost of compliance and weak growth prospects.

Broader view

One has to take a broader view of the investment challenges faced by South Africa, and the problem is that the country already has a high regulatory burden compared with other countries. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development’s (OECD’s) 2025 assessment found South Africa’s economy-wide product market regulation more restrictive than that of any OECD member. Adding another regulatory hurdle to potential investors will likely have the unintended consequence of deterring investment, rather than encouraging it.

South Africa has been championing the use of public interest commitments for a long time and most companies understand that one has to comply with these as part of merger control. However, shifting the boundaries to include more onerous criteria that could even dampen investment may be just one step too far. A foreign buyer weighing a South African acquisition must now ask not only which employment and ownership commitments will be required, but also whether it will be told where to list its shares.

Stretching merger control to address a problem it was never designed for risks more uncertainty, longer delays and less of the very investment the condition is meant to attract.

• Prof Theron is director of the Centre for Competition Law & Economics at Stellenbosch University.

Business Day

Americans headed to the polls in Tuesday’s midterm elections to deliver a verdict on the first two years of President Donald Trump’s second term, with surveys and nonpartisan analysts favouring Democrats to wrest the House of Representatives from Republicans while control of the Senate remains uncertain.

The battle for the Senate is unfolding across nearly 10 closely contested statewide races, most in Republican strongholds.

History is against Trump’s Republicans: the sitting president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterm elections since World War 2. Trump’s approval rating is hovering near his all-time lows, dragged down by deep voter frustration over the war with Iran and the resulting rise in fuel prices.

There is little doubt this year’s election is all about Trump, the central US political figure for most of the last decade. Trump himself has told his supporters repeatedly to “pretend I’m on the ballot”, a message Democratic leaders have happily echoed.

In a television interview on Tuesday morning, he boasted of what he billed as his achievements in Venezuela and Iran and declared optimism for fellow Republicans in an election he has said should be treated as if he were on the ballot himself.

“I think the results are going to be better than you think,” he told Fox News, adding that he would be watching the results come in later on Tuesday night at the White House, where he is hosting a viewing reception.

In remarks that appeared aimed at swaying largely Democratic-leaning voters unhappy with US support for Israel, Trump said that Washington would stop $4bn in annual funding to Israel after the end of this year.

US policy toward Israel has been a particular focus in Michigan, where progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is running a closely watched campaign for the Senate.

The president has sought to energise his base with more than two dozen campaign rallies since the start of October, the vast majority in states he easily won in 2024, underscoring the extent to which Republicans are playing defence.

Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist.

“The Democrat Party has nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history,” Trump said on Monday during a speech in Washington.

But opinion polls show voters are most concerned about affordability and disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue after his sweeping tariff policy and his decision to attack Iran in February increased domestic costs. Republican candidates, meanwhile, have struggled to distance themselves from a president who demands fealty and rarely acknowledges mistakes.

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for election, along with 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats, though the majority of contests are not considered competitive. Democrats must flip at least three House seats and four Senate seats to win a majority in each chamber.

They have little margin for error. The party must defend all of its current seats while winning at least two states that voted for Trump by a double-digit margin two years ago: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

Opinion polls show Democrats either narrowly leading or within striking distance in all of those states.

Michigan test

The Michigan Senate contest between El-Sayed, 42, and Republican former US Representative Mike Rogers, 63, received a fresh jolt on Sunday when Democrat Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost to El-Sayed in the party’s primary election, endorsed Rogers in a surprise reversal.

In addition to the implications for Senate control, the Michigan race represents a high-profile test of whether Republicans’ identity-based attacks – El-Sayed would be the nation’s first Muslim senator — prove effective in a battleground state.

A win for El-Sayed, who has criticised Israel and supports liberal policies such as universal healthcare, would also be seen as a boost for the party’s left wing ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

The Alaska Senate race has been caught up in its own turmoil after the New York Times reported that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, 53, helped recruit a third candidate who shares the first and last name of her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, 61.

Peltola has denied involvement. Trump’s justice department has launched a criminal investigation into the allegations and filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election results, though a judge dismissed the latter effort.

In Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, 37, has his party once again dreaming of winning the biggest Republican state after decades of heartbreak. His scandal-plagued opponent, Texas attorney-general Ken Paxton, 63, has benefited from a nine-figure investment from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars boosting Republicans.

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton, 62, a megachurch pastor, holds a narrow polling lead over Republican Senator Roger Marshall, 66. The state voted for Trump by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century.

And in Maine, Republican Senator Susan Collins, 73, is once again seeking to defy the Democratic leanings of her home state and win a sixth term. She faces Democrat Troy Jackson, 58, a former state senate president who unexpectedly became the nominee after Democratic oyster farmer Graham Platner dropped out amid accusations of misconduct, which he has denied.

Other competitive Senate races are taking place in Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio and South Carolina, all Republican-held seats.

Justice department intervenes

The justice department said on Tuesday it was deploying 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states in what it called the largest election day monitoring effort in history.

Department officials have said priorities include areas with a history of voter access issues and places with competitive races that could be targets of ​voter intimidation.

There are 47 US House races widely seen as competitive, according to a Reuters analysis of the leading election forecasters. If the other contests all proceed as predicted, Democrats would need to win only 13 of the competitive races to secure a majority.

The fight for the House has been waged largely on Republican turf, including some districts Trump carried by double digits in 2024. A Trump-backed Republican effort to redraw districts in several states to make them safer for the party appears not to have yielded the gains the White House expected.

Democrats have warned that Trump, who has long falsely claimed that US elections are rigged, may attempt to challenge Tuesday’s results if Republicans lose.

In addition to its actions in Alaska, the justice department also filed a lawsuit in California to block ballots it says may be invalid, a break from decades of practice meant to insulate elections from political influence. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the administration’s request for an emergency order in the case.

Three dozen governors’ races will also take place on Tuesday, as well as thousands of state-level legislative contests and ballot measures on issues from a tax on billionaires to abortion rights.

Reuters

Phosa, an ANC heavyweight and former Mpumalanga premier, was speaking at the Future of Law Conference hosted by LexisNexis in Sandton, Johannesburg. Among other things, it was looking into the AI phenomenon in the legal and justice sector.

There have been two judgments delivered recently in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in which lawyers cited fake case law. Judges have reported legal practitioners for using AI without disclosing it in court to the Legal Practice Council (LPC) for essentially misleading the court by citing cases that do not exist.

Phosa said the legal fraternity cannot avoid AI, and it has been already used in the profession. “Technology can now produce legal arguments in seconds, analyse complex contracts and process information on a scale previously unimaginable,” he said.

WATCH | Attorney Mathews Phosa warns of 'dangerous' AI hallucinations in courts papers while addressing Future of Law LexisNexis conference in Johannesburg. @Sinesipho_LR https://t.co/pTbxE16hNq

— Business Day (@BDliveSA) November 3, 2026

The government has been grappling with regulating the use of AI, and there is a judicial committee that is looking into a policy to regulate how judges can use AI. This year, judge Ingrid Opperman delivered a judgment about an acting judge who cited non-existent law or incorrect cases, suggesting AI use was a key factor.

Phosa said responsible use of AI is important to lawyers so as not to put their careers on the risk.

Speaking to Business Day after his presentation Phosa said: “If you quote case law that does not exist, you make a statement knowing it is not true as a lawyer, you must be reported to the LPC and charged for unethical conduct.

“There has been an invention of case law that does not exist. That is dangerous.”

Citing non-existent case law can be problematic, particularly when judgments have to be delivered urgently. In existing cases in South Africa in which lawyers used non-existent case law, judges were able to pick up the discrepancies when writing judgements.

“How do you convince a judge with a lie? They are going to check; you will be exposed for the lack of professional ethics. You carry the responsibility that your whole profession may be on the line if you deviate from responsibility and integrity,” he said.

“Lawyers and all of us must just accept that AI is a tool that is imperfect. If we accept those premises, everything that comes out, you need to check it.”

As the government grapples with the regulation of the use of AI, legal bodies such as the LPC and Black Lawyers Association (BLA) have also warned about the reckless use of AI.

Phosa said that with the development of AI, regulation needed to look into protecting confidential information.

“South Africa’s legislative framework, including the Protection of Personal Information Act and the Cybercrimes Act, provides important safeguards. Government, business leaders and legal professionals must ensure that technology is governed responsibly, that information is secure and that citizens have meaningful avenues to challenge unlawful or unfair decisions.”

Africa needed to lead the development of AI tools and not just be consumers in global technology development, he said.

“Africa must not remain a passive recipient of technologies. China is producing AI at a speed we cannot calculate. America is doing the same thing with six companies. Africa must generate AI sovereignty.”

South African universities have been developing different AI tools.

Business Day

Story audio is generated using AI

Petrol prices will remain at historical highs this month as global oil prices stay elevated, while diesel will cost up to R1.20 a litre less from Wednesday as a temporary general fuel levy cut announced in the medium-term budget cushions the impact of the US-Iran war.

South Africa is a net importer of crude oil and finished petroleum products and has felt the effect of global oil supply constraints as the nine-month Iran-Iraq conflict has disrupted flows through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Both 93-grade and 95-grade unleaded petrol will dip by just 1c a litre at the pump, but the wholesale price of diesel, which is not regulated at the retail level, falls by R1.10 for the 0.05% sulphur grade and R1.20 for the 0.005% sulphur grade, the department of mineral & petroleum resources said in a statement on Tuesday.

Domestic fuel prices lag behind international movements by about a month, based on the cost of importing the products over the preceding 30 days, calculated by the state Central Energy Fund (CEF).

The department said that during the period under review, the average Brent crude oil price increased from $101 to $108 a barrel due to uncertainty caused by the conflict, including attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure, as well as high freight and insurance costs caused by ship-to-ship transfers.

“The average international product prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased during the period under review. Middle distillate prices are mainly affected by tight global supply, higher seasonal demand ahead of the winter in the northern hemisphere and the continued Russia/Ukraine conflict,” it said.

The rand depreciated, on average, against the dollar, leading to higher contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 36.93c a litre, 49c and 49.26c, respectively.

In his medium-term budget policy statement to parliament on October 21, finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the general fuel levy, one of several that are built into fuel prices, would be reduced by R3 a litre for diesel and R1.50 a litre for petrol from November 4 until December 1. Thereafter, the relief will continue at a lower amount until January 5, with the diesel levy reduced by R1.50 a litre and the petrol levy by R1 a litre.

For this, the National Treasury has set aside R10bn, adding to the R17.2bn it forfeited in revenue through a similar measure between April and June.

The general fuel levy reprieve will this month be diluted by an increase in the slate levy, a variable charge added to the price of petrol and diesel to recover shortfalls in the slate fund, which the government uses to refund licensed fuel importers for the financial difference between what they actually pay for fuel on global markets and the regulated price at which they have to sell it locally.

The department of mineral & petroleum resources said the combined cumulative petrol and diesel slate balances at the end of September amounted to a negative balance of R15.88bn.

“In line with the provisions of the self-adjusting slate levy mechanism, a slate levy of 135.84c/l will be implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel. The increase on the slate levy will be from 87.66c to 135.84c, resulting in an increase of 48.18 c/l in the price structure of petrol and diesel,” it said.

Despite the latest general fuel levy concession, the latest fuel price adjustment still leaves the price of petrol more than 48% higher at R30.24 a litre in Gauteng than it was before the Middle East war made its impact felt, while the wholesale cost of diesel has soared over 66% to R30.86, according to CEF data.

Business Day

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By Agency Staff

Unilever will overhaul its operating model and cut €1bn in costs by end-2029, it said on Tuesday, as it sharpens its focus on home and personal care after splitting off its food business.

The consumer goods conglomerate has been simplifying its portfolio under CEO Fernando Fernandez, who was promoted to the top job from finance chief last year, to focus on beauty and personal care instead of its slow-growing food business.

Fernandez spun off the ice-cream business last year and in March agreed a deal to merge Unilever’s food division with US spice maker McCormick, expected to be completed by mid-2027.

The savings, to be delivered through organisational simplification, process redesign and technology initiatives, will address costs rising from that deal. Unilever in March said it was expecting €400m-€500m of stranded costs.

“That leaves an additional €500m to be put to work,” said Will James, portfolio manager at Unilever investor Guinness Global Investors. “If you assume that (€500m) drops through straight to the bottom line … that’s probably another 50 basis points on future margins, which is helpful.”

The new operating model, which Unilever will implement progressively during 2027, will cluster the company’s markets into six performance units led by regional presidents, with full profit-and-loss accountability.

The owner of brands including Dove soap, Vaseline, Persil and Hellmann’s mayonnaise said it would then report across three categories — beauty & personal care, home care, and other.

Unilever’s shares, which are up marginally year-to-date, were down 0.9%.

Unilever reaffirmed its medium-term targets of 4%-6% annual underlying sales growth by value, with volume growth of at least 2%, and said it expected to perform in line with that algorithm in 2027.

Unilever is probably being conservative and prudent, said James, adding he expected the company to “put a bit more meat on the bones” at an investor day on Wednesday.

Last week, Unilever reported underlying sales growth ahead of market estimates, driven by higher volumes but warned of price hikes due to a surge in costs linked to the Iran war.

“The key tomorrow is proving recent HPC [home & personal care] momentum is repeatable and broad-based, and laying out the building blocks for post-foods earnings,” Barclays said in a note, adding that the savings programme was another positive.

Reuters

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Former Lotto operator Ithuba says it is meeting with its legal team after winning its legal challenge on the government’s decision to award the National Lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings.

The Pretoria high court voided the deal and referred the awarding of the licence back to trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau for reconsideration.

The declaration of invalidity has been suspended for two consecutive periods of six months:

• The first period affords the minister an opportunity to reconsider and decide on the awarding of the licence.
• The second period allows for the negotiation and conclusion of a new licence agreement and, should the licence not be awarded to Sizekhaya, the implementation of appropriate transitional arrangements.

Tau announced the award of the eight-year lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings in May 2025. The decision was challenged by the EFF and losing bidders Ringeta and Ithuba.

Ringeta was chosen as the initial preferred bidder by an evaluation committee, a decision that was tossed out by the ministerial committee appointed by Tau to evaluate the bid. The committee recommended Sizekhaya, with Ithuba the reserve bidder.

Ithuba, which had operated the national lottery as the third licence holder since June 2015, went to court to block the decision, arguing the minister’s reasons for awarding the licence to Sizekhaya, and his “record of decision”, had revealed irregularities.

Ithuba welcomed the high court ruling. “The judgment vindicates our stance that the appointment of the South African National Lottery operator must be guided by the principles of fairness, transparency and accountability and must comply with the applicable legal and regulatory framework,” the company said.

“Ithuba Lottery is reviewing the judgment with its legal representatives to consider its implications and the appropriate next steps.”

TimesLIVE

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South Africa is preparing targeted support for companies that stand to lose preferential access to the US market after the Trump administration announced plans to withdraw the country’s benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) from January 2027.

In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa dated October 28, US President Donald Trump gave 60 days’ advance notice, as Agoa requires, that he intends to terminate South Africa’s designation as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country effective January 1 2027.

The letter said Trump had determined that Pretoria has not established, or is not making continual progress toward establishing, a system to combat corruption and bribery or eliminate barriers to US trade and investment, as required by section 104 of the act. It also cited certain actions by the South African government on international security and its cooperation with governments of concern to Washington, which it said risk undermining US national security and foreign policy.

Trump pointed in particular to what he described as significant tariff and non-tariff barriers, including those involving agricultural market access, regulatory requirements, investment protections and intellectual property. He said he would keep monitoring whether South Africa makes progress and expressed hope that it could once again become eligible for Agoa benefits.

The South African government has established an expert support desk to assess the exposure of individual companies and determine what assistance may be required, as it seeks to limit the impact on exporters, workers and industries linked to trade with the US.

Trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau said the government had engaged directly with companies that could be negatively affected, but that the consequences would differ across sectors and businesses.

“We’ve established an expert support desk that looks at different companies. We’ve engaged with individual companies that could be impacted negatively,” Tau said in an interview.

“Others would still be able to have access to market. Others need to diversify, so the interventions would be different for the respective companies.”

Trade minister, @TauParks He spoke on the way forward with AGOA as well as a member on ANC’s coalition team that will report to the party’s secretary general post Wednesday’s municipal elections @BDliveSA pic.twitter.com/2txQda0Y5w

— Thando Maeko (@HelloThando) November 2, 2026

The government said it had proactively retained measures introduced in response to US reciprocal tariffs and would continue providing support on a company-by-company basis.

The withdrawal puts a range of South African export industries at risk, including automotive manufacturing, ferroalloys, jewellery, agriculture, chemicals and marine manufacturing. Automotive exports have historically been the largest category, accounting for 41.2% of South Africa’s Agoa exports in 2022. Citrus, nuts and wine have also benefited from preferential access.

In a statement on Monday, the government said it recognised the concern the US decision would create for businesses and communities linked to Agoa-supported value chains. It expressed frustration with the direction of negotiations, saying Pretoria had made extensive efforts to address Washington’s concerns and tabled concessions beyond those agreed in 2015.

The proposals had been submitted through appropriate channels and were designed to respect domestic due process, protect South Africa’s biosecurity and constitutional requirements, and comply with World Trade Organisation rules.

“It is, however, unfortunate that the US is now raising new issues that have not been the basis for discussions as part of the negotiations process that commenced in 2025,” the statement said.

Tau said some of the outstanding trade issues related to sanitary and phytosanitary requirements governing imports of pork and poultry, an area that touches on the agricultural market access concerns raised in the letter. South Africa had made proposals on how to address US concerns while protecting its agricultural sector against the introduction of animal diseases.

He said the government could not arbitrarily change tariffs or make trade concessions without following the required legal and regulatory processes, including investigations by the International Trade Administration Commission where necessary.

The minister also criticised lobbying by Solidarity and other groups in the US, saying their efforts had undermined bilateral engagements.

“We find it unfortunate that there are parties that have left the country, including Solidarity and others that have gone there to campaign negatively against the country,” Tau said.

The government sought to put the withdrawal in perspective, noting that about 89% of South African exports to the US entered under ordinary WTO most-favoured-nation terms in 2025, while about 10% entered under Agoa, down from 28% in 2024. Agoa exports fell to about $1.7bn from $4bn, about 1% of South Africa’s total global exports.

Bilateral trade reached $28.8bn in 2025, and more than 600 American companies operate in South Africa, supporting about 134,600 jobs, the government said. It warned the withdrawal could disrupt value chains, including in automotive and boat manufacturing, where South African producers source inputs from the US.

Business Day

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Township retail specialist Exemplar REITail has lifted its interim distribution by 6.7% for the six months to August, as acquisitions and resilient trading strengthened its performance.

The group has also enhanced the payout with the addition of Leratong City Mall to its management portfolio, taking responsibility for the major retail component of the planned R5bn Leratong Smart City development in Kagiso, Mogale City.

Net property income grew to R533.9m, while rental and recovery income increased to R840.6m, however headline earnings per share decreased to 68.39c.

Meanwhile, the acquisitions of Vosloorus Crossing in Gauteng and Steelpoort Retail Precinct in Mpumalanga expanded the group’s gross lettable area to 501,606m².

The group now has 776,852m² of retail space under management, equivalent to about 78 hectares, which gives it a larger foothold in the township and rural retail market.

Trading conditions remained firm, with vacancies stable at 2.6% and anchor tenant trading densities rising 2.5%. This performance came alongside a 15.1% increase in property operating costs, which outpaced growth in rental and recovery income.

Its loan-to-value ratio stands at 38%.

The group is betting on further growth from its development pipeline. Ntuzuma Mall and KwaMashu Place are expected to open in March next year, while an expansion of Steelpoort Retail Precinct is scheduled for 2028.

“Anchor tenant trading densities rose by about 2.5%, outpacing food inflation of 1%. However, growth has slowed as higher diesel prices push consumers to shop closer to home rather than travel to larger malls,” the group said.

It reaffirmed its guidance for distribution per share growth of 9%-11% in the 2027 financial year, signalling confidence that its expanding township retail footprint will continue to support shareholder returns.

Leratong City Mall, which opened last week, is positioned to benefit from increased foot traffic as the surrounding area develops, with Gauteng MEC for human settlements Tasneem Motara announcing plans to deliver 3,500 homes by end- 2027.

The mall’s opening follows years of planning and anticipation, with the project recorded as a development initiative in 2010.

“Leratong City is a beast. We had just shy of 70,000 people walk through its doors on the Thursday it opened. It is a significant development, not only for our portfolio but also for the broader township retail landscape,” said Exemplar CEO Jason McCormick.

McCormick told Business Day that resilient performance and consistent trading growth are driving appetite in the township retail market, and Exemplar serves as a proxy for the broader township retail market.

He noted that population growth, backyard accommodation, and the cash economy, particularly in metro areas such as Gauteng, contributed to the positive performance of township retail.

“I would not hesitate to say that we have some really strong township assets in our portfolio because we have been cherry-picking the best sites for decades. But stronger growth rates have certainly made people sit up, take notice and listen,” he said.

Banks are throwing their weight behind township retail, with Nedbank CIB Property Finance providing R573m in funding for Leratong City Mall.

“Our investment is in the shopping centre, which we believe has sound commercial fundamentals and an important role to play in supporting retail investment and economic activity in Kagiso,” said Nedbank corporate property finance executive Ricardo Chadinha.

“As a major retail destination, the mall will improve access to goods and services, support local businesses and contribute to job creation during both construction and operations.”

Leratong City became the first township shopping centre in South Africa to receive preliminary Edge advanced certification in September.

The certification recognises the mall’s energy and water efficiency standards, with Nedbank involved in identifying measures to improve resource use.

Business Day

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By Alicja Surdy, Anna Koper, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Joanna Plucińska

At least seven flights and a cruise ship in Europe received bomb threats on Tuesday, causing disruption at airports though no devices were discovered.

At least two flights to Warsaw, two to Sofia, two to Rome and one to Murcia airport in Spain were subjected to the threats on Tuesday, and another flight to Sofia had been threatened a day earlier.

An airport in Warsaw was briefly shut and the Italian Air Force accompanied one of the flights to Rome while an Israel-bound cruise ship was searched for bombs in Greece.

There was no claim of responsibility and officials did not attribute blame. None of the affected airlines responded to requests for comment.

Rhys Jones, analysis output manager at aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions, said that seven confirmed bomb threats in a single day affecting flights was exceptional.

“The lack of clear target state, airline, or route indicates that general disruption to aviation operations is the aim,” Jones said.

Authorities diverted a LOT flight from London that was meant to land at Warsaw’s Chopin airport to nearby Modlin airport, which was closed and then reopened after the plane was searched and no device was found.

Another Warsaw-bound flight, an SAS flight from Copenhagen, landed at Chopin as scheduled. Chopin airport said no device was found and the airport remained operational.

Two flights to Sofia threatened

Bomb threats were made against aircraft travelling from Milan/Bergamo and Dublin to Sofia, Bulgaria’s transport ministry said in a statement. Both landed safely and no explosive devices were found on inspection.

The Bergamo flight was operated by Wizz Air and was carrying 176 passengers, the statement said. The Dublin flight, operated by Ryanair, had 186 passengers on board.

Bulgarian news agency BTA had earlier quoted an interior ministry official as saying a flight from Israel had been affected, but authorities later said it was not the case.

A day earlier, a Wizz Air flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Budapest airport after receiving a bomb threat, Hungarian defence minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said in a Facebook post.

In Murcia in southeastern Spain, parts of an airport were cordoned off on Tuesday after a bomb threat was reported on a Ryanair flight from Manchester.

Officials said the report proved to be a hoax, and the airport resumed normal operations after authorities found no explosives on board. Ryanair declined to immediately comment.

Two other Ryanair flights — one from Lisbon and another from Dublin — were searched at Rome’s Fiumicino airport following bomb threats, said a source from airport operator ADR. The Dublin flight was escorted by the Italian Air Force until it landed.

The alert was cleared and the airport continued to operate as usual with no effects on other flights, the person said.

An explosives detection dog and a diver searched the Panama-flagged Crown Iris cruise ship on the Greek island of Syros after an unknown person said an explosive device had been attached to the boat’s hull, authorities said.

Initial checks found no explosive device with coast guard specialists expected to carry out further inspections before the ship could resume its voyage.

While no country pointed fingers over the bomb threats, they come while European officials have been blaming Russia and Iran for what they describe as “hybrid attacks” and acts of sabotage. Moscow and Tehran both deny any such campaign.

This week, unidentified hackers shut down fridges in supermarkets in several European countries. Some experts said hoax bomb threats could be part of a similar pattern of low-cost, deniable disruption efforts.

“From railways to the food infrastructure that you see happening with the fridges being hacked and all kinds of other operations, it does fit the narrative of Russian state actors who want to disturb Europe,” said Eric Schouten, head of aviation security group Dyami.

Reuters

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Disgruntled National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) regional leaders have hit back at the union’s national office bearers (NOBs), saying they do not have powers to suspend or implement disciplinary action against them, as that power rests with the regional executive committee (REC).

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim and president Andrew Chirwa wrote to the regional leaders on Monday, on the day the regional leaders held their special national executive committee (NEC) meeting, calling on them to withdraw the notice and cancel the “purported meeting, including any adjournment or reconvening of it; if proceedings have commenced, cease conducting them as a meeting of Numsa’s NEC and refrain from adopting or implementing purported decisions in that capacity”.

The regional leaders are expected to brief the media on Tuesday on the outcomes of the special NEC held on Monday.

The NOBs held their own special NEC last week, where they resolved to suspend the regional leaders who held a central committee meeting and suspended the national office-bearers, replacing them with a task co-ordinating team (TCT).

Regional leaders from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, JC Bez, Mpumalanga and Sedibeng defied Jim and convened 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.

At the central committee meeting (October 23-25), the regional leaders, including Andile Bloko, Nkosinathi Makhanya and Andile Nqilingwane, resolved to strip the national office-bearers of their delegated powers and functions.

Last week, the NOBs announced that their special NEC had resolved to suspend the leaders and staff members, including Mncedisi Kwababa, Mziyanda Twani, Mzamo Khoza and Collen Mahlangu, saying they were causing “havoc in the organisation”.

In their letter dated November 2, which Business Day has seen, Jim and Chirwa wrote: “Numsa has already communicated its position: the gathering held on October 23–25 did not comply with the union’s constitution and did not constitute a meeting of its central committee (CC). Numsa rejects its purported decisions, including the purported establishment of your task team and the purported conferral of authority upon it.”

In its response dated November 2, the TCT wrote: “Your letter demands that the meeting be cancelled, yet it does not cite a single provision of the constitution [that] confers on the national office bearers, or on the president and the general secretary acting together, the power to cancel a meeting called to implement a decision of the CC; there is no such provision.

“The constitution confers powers on the structures of the union expressly, and a power it does not confer cannot be exercised by letter. A structure that ranks below the CC cannot undo its decisions, and the national office bearers, who are not a constitutional structure with powers of their own in this respect, can do so even less,” the TCT said.

“The meeting accordingly proceeded as convened, and eight of the nine regions of the union attended it. Each of you is a member of the NEC and was entitled to attend and to put your concerns to the meeting, which is where they belong.”

The TCT said the union constitution confers no disciplinary power on the NOBs, individually or collectively, as the power to suspend office bearers and officials was that of the NEC, “and then only for sufficient cause; the suspension and discipline of shop stewards rest with the REC” and regional office bearers were disciplined by their RECs “under chapter 8(2)(b), on seven days’ notice and after a hearing under chapter 8(2)(d)”.

“The suspensions purportedly imposed through the meeting of October 27 are void, since their stated cause is attendance at the central committee, which the labour court ordered to be convened and the implementation of its decisions, which is what chapter 2(1)(b) requires of every member; a suspension imposed without the power to impose it is void, as the labour appeal court confirmed in Numsa v Ntlokose [2023] ZALAC 32, and it does not prevent any comrade from attending the structures to which he or she belongs. Any comrade disciplined or threatened for attending [Monday’s] meeting will be supported in challenging it, including by seeking costs against those responsible in their personal capacities,” the TCT said.

It said the meeting of October 23 was the continuation of the CC, which the labour court, “on October 22, ordered to be convened with its full membership … You have not asked any court to set aside any of its decisions, and until a competent forum does so, they bind every member, office bearer and structure of the union under chapter 2(1)(b)."

The dispute between the NOBs and regional leaders arises from events at the Mpumalanga regional congress on June 29-30. Before the congress, the region’s Ehlanzeni Local Shop Stewards Council (LSSC) 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, 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 NOBs 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 is expected to be elected.

The regional leaders are expected to brief the media on Tuesday on the outcomes of the special NEC meeting held on Monday. Jim said the TCT was fake, the media briefing unauthorised and that the NOBs were the legitimate leadership.

Business Day

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The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has assured South Africans that it has done everything possible within its powers to deliver credible local government elections.

This comes as the electoral body says it has picked up attempts from some quarters to malign the integrity of the elections a day before millions of South Africans head to the polls.

More than 29-million potential voters will have an opportunity to make their preferred choice among the 136,790 candidates, representing a total of 546 political parties across the country.

Delivering an update on the special votes taking place on Tuesday before the main election day on Wednesday, the IEC’s chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission was confident it would be able to deliver unquestionable elections.

“Can we assure South Africans that everything will go well? The commission has done everything within its means, its ability and within its mandate to ensure that we ready the country for an election which is credible,” said Mamabolo.

“That includes preparation of voting officials, preparation of political parties, as well as the registration of candidates and the eventual printing of ballot papers. All those things, which are within the constitutional and legal purview of the commission, have been done. Now we wait for South Africans to play their role tomorrow.”

Watch the IEC briefing:

Mamabolo said that its information integrity unit has noticed a worrying trend of individuals wanting to cast doubts on the elections, including making untested claims of electoral fraud.

“Over the past 24 hours, the commission’s information integrity hub has identified growing attempts to impugn the integrity of the election process, especially via social media platforms,” said Mamabolo.

“Unsubstantiated election fraud pronouncements by some political party leaders have led to supporters posting videos of presiding officers and staff transferring special vote ballots, after home visits, from the carrying boxes and bags into the main ballot box. The videos are shared without context, alongside claims that something untoward is happening.”

Mamabolo said the commission is pleading with political parties to avoid making “inflammatory” statements which were misrepresenting how the voting process was unfolding.

The IEC has already dealt with some of its officials who were not adhering to the standards.

“Where political parties and candidates pick up aberrations by election officials, they are supposed to use the established reporting mechanisms so that the commission can trigger the appropriate mitigation measures,” said Mamabolo.

“The commission has already acted swiftly against election officials who fell short of carrying out their duties as required.”

Mamabolo said the commission’s digital disinformation reporting and tracking platform, Real411, had registered 34 complaints comprising misinformation/disinformation, incitements to violence, hate speech and harassment.

Most of these were made on X (Twitter) at 58.8%, followed by TikTok 23.5%, while Facebook and WhatsApp each accounted for 8.8% of the complaints.

“The commission has alerted citizens about the identified social posts spreading false information, and it has provided factual information on its social platform accounts. It has also escalated some misinformation and disinformation posts to the social media platforms for takedown,” said Mamabolo.

Mamabolo said the IEC was ready to welcome South Africans who registered to vote and who are on the voters’ roll to its voting stations on Wednesday morning.

“Our desire, and it’s a desire we have made a lot of application towards, is to ensure that South Africans come, spend as little time as possible at the voting station so that they can go and continue with their normal business,” said Mamabolo.

“Come with your ID, register your political choice, and in peace, leave the voting station. That’s really what we’re asking for tomorrow, and as the media, as social partners, as civil society, let’s all get that message out. Don’t interfere with the presiding officer. Party agents, do your work, observe what you need to observe at the points where you are designated to observe.

“Ultimately, an election is supposed to be a joyful occasion when South Africans celebrate themselves as a democracy, as a constitutional democracy; it’s not a day where we must get at each other. It’s a day of joy; let’s make it a day of joy, a day to remark on because we are celebrating the essence of who we are as a people. That’s what an election is about.”

TimesLIVE

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Greenland’s parliament on Tuesday ratified the Arctic island’s security agreement struck earlier this year with US President Donald Trump, though some opposition party members questioned the deal’s economic value.

The US, Denmark and Greenland in September signed the agreement, aimed at ending tensions after Trump’s repeated threats to take control of the strategically located, mineral-rich island, a self-governing Danish territory.

The deal expands the US military’s role in Greenland, paving the way for two new military bases and Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence system, while reaffirming Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.

A majority of MPs had already signalled support for the deal in a first debate last month.

Tuesday’s vote was 16 in favour and none against, with seven abstentions.

The White House in January said Trump was discussing options for acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the US military, alarming governments in Europe and triggering intense diplomatic efforts to calm the situation.

Greenlandic foreign minister Mute Egede said on Tuesday that ratification of the deal was an important step for the island.

“We must accept that peace and stability are no longer something we can take for granted,” Egede told legislators in Nuuk shortly before the vote.

Opposition party Naleraq, the most prominent political voice for Greenland’s independence, questioned the deal’s economic value during the debate.

“We are looking for a better agreement that we can benefit from when we become an independent state. But no economic benefit has been gained from the agreement,” Naleraq chair Pele Broberg said.

The Danish parliament is due to give the bill a first reading on November 11, followed by a second reading and a vote on November 19.

The executive agreement will enter into force once Denmark and Greenland have ratified it and does not require approval from the US Senate.

Reuters

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Premier Soccer League (PSL) chair Irvin Khoza has suggested that the Soweto derby could move to Moses Mabhida Stadium in the future as FNB Stadium comes under scrutiny after Saturday’s crowd-control chaos.

Crowd control remains a big problem at the derby. Despite Stadium Management SA CEO Bertie Grobbelaar outlining plans for the previous derby to curb overcrowding, issues persisted on Saturday.

The venue was overcrowded, with alleged incidents of security staff taking bribes from supporters without tickets to enter the stadium.

Some supporters who arrived just minutes before kickoff were locked out because the stadium was full, forcing a group to push through the gates, creating security and safety concerns.

Khoza said stakeholders involved in hosting matches at the venue were failing to fulfil their responsibilities.

“We went to Durban for the final of Pirates and Chiefs in the Nedbank [Cup]; nothing of the sort happened. Pirates and Sundowns — nothing of the sort happened. Why here?” Khoza told eNCA.

“There are certain role-players who are not playing their part, but I cannot name and shame them on television because I’ve asked for a briefing on Thursday to make sure that if they don’t make up the act, we’re going to name and shame them because they are letting us down.”

Khoza said Moses Mabhida Stadium had been a good host and hadn’t experienced problems with big matches.

“Maybe in the future, instead of going to FNB Stadium, let’s go to Durban because they are good hosts. They do things professionally. All our events are seamless.”

It was reported that because the stadium was too full, 6,000 spectators were locked out of FNB Stadium on Saturday despite having tickets, including some with suite tickets.

Maybe in the future, instead of going to FNB Stadium, let’s go to Durban because they are good hosts. They do things professionally. All our events are seamless.

Irvin Khoza, Premier Soccer League chair

A video circulated on social media also showed angry fans vandalising the barriers and damaging steel gates after being refused entry to the venue.

Grobbelaar could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Moses Mabhida Stadium manager Zakhi Mkhize said the venue was ready to host big matches in Durban, including the derby.

“Moses Mabhida is a soccer stadium that welcomes big match content like the derby,” Mkhize told Sowetan.

“Our stadium is also open seven days a week for permanent staff for maintenance and co-ordination of content. The approach to hosting becomes a city initiative so that all sectors from security, health, communication and governance work cohesively and efficiently to deliver a safe sporting environment.”

Business Day

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Jon Rahm would accept the same punishment that Brooks Koepka received in order to return to the PGA Tour.

That does not mean he will receive the same offer or terms, however, and there is no guarantee the door will reopen to players who bolted for LIV Golf.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said on August 25 that there were no plans to revive the Returning Member Programme.

Rahm, who opted to decline to participate in LIV Golf 2.0, has yet to hold discussions with the PGA Tour about a potential return given the recent birth of his fourth child.

Rahm said he would be willing to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027 should he be required to serve a one-year suspension, which is the same punishment levied to former Masters champion Patrick Reed and others after they left LIV Golf.

“With the PGA Tour, things are a little different,” Rahm told reporters on Tuesday at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. “I haven’t been able to speak to them yet. Until things are finalised, which should be hopefully soon, and then we’ll see.

“I don’t know what is in store for us. We know what they did with Brooks. This is different circumstances. I don’t know what things are going to look like. But it’s a pretty good safety net to have that I can play the DP World Tour next year, and if it comes to that, I’m really excited to play for a full year.”

Koepka was one of four golfers — Rahm included — to be offered the Returning Member Programme by the PGA Tour in January. The programme allowed LIV golfers who had won one of the four Majors since 2022 and had been away from the tour for at least two years to return under specific conditions and financial penalties.

Koepka was the lone golfer of the four to accept the proposal, however. By doing so, the five-time Major champion had to forfeit any player equity shares for the next five years. He also agreed to the request of the PGA Tour to make a $5m donation to charity.

“Most likely, yeah,” Rahm said of returning under similar circumstances. “Why not? Yeah, but it’s a big if. I seriously doubt I get offered the same deal that Brooks did. But yeah, if I got offered exactly the same penalties as him, I probably would do it.”

Rahm, who turns 32 next Tuesday, reached a separation agreement with LIV Golf on October 15 after joining the fledgling league in 2024.

While contract terms never were revealed, it is believed the Spanish superstar signed a contract in the range of $300m and is still owed more than $100m in future guarantees.

He additionally earned more than $106m in prize and bonus money on the course. He won the individual season championship in each of his three seasons with LIV.

“I would say I can only reflect on those three years as a positive,” Rahm said. “It was a wonderful experience. Played a lot of good golf. Obviously, individually and as a team, we did great. As much as I liked the project and the idea on, let’s say, LIV 1.0, I wasn’t thrilled with the changes they were doing to 2.0, and I just wasn’t willing to follow that path. It wasn’t anything special, anything that stood out. I just didn’t like what they were going with 2.0.”

LIV Golf’s future was thrown into turmoil in the spring when officials from the Saudi Arabian group that had been paying the bills said it would stop funding the circuit. BC Partners Credit, an investment firm, is prepared to provide $300m to finance what is being called LIV 2.0, should the league emerge from bankruptcy.

Field Level Media

It will also unpack the overall state of readiness for Wednesday’s local government elections.

Stream courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

Sydney — Point Of Law ran down surprise leader Royal Supremacy on the home straight to win the 166th running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, giving trainer Ciaron Maher his second victory in Australia’s biggest horse race.

The 4-year-old stallion bided his time for the first 2,900m as rank outsider Royal Supremacy opened up a lead of 20 lengths but exploded off the final corner and sprinted home to win the $7.16m handicap by two lengths.

“Please don’t wake me up, it’s an amazing feeling,” jockey Ethan Brown said from the saddle as he brought the 6-1 second favourite in.

“I looked up, and Royal Supremacy was about 20 in front. I thought, ‘oh, God, just stay cool, stay patient, and cut the bend.’ And once he got that clear running, his turn of foot was enormous. He’s going to be a superstar horse if he isn’t already.”

POINT OF LAW WINS THE LEXUS MELBOURNE CUP! 🇦🇺 https://t.co/1yLOy9LDSy

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 3, 2026

Zahrann finished second ahead of Juja Kibo to give Maher, who co-trained the 2022 winner Gold Trip and had seven horses in the race, a sweep of the top three.

Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien prepared five horses for the race but had to settle for a best finish of fourth place through Sons and Lovers.

Favourite Hopewell Rock finished ninth, while Royal Supremacy’s reward for leading for most of the race was fifth place.

Jockey Brown left his home in Alice Springs in Australia’s remote Northern Territory as a teenager to chase his dream and spent six months out of the sport after a nasty fall at Flemington three years ago.

“I was inches from losing my life, but a bit of time off and I realised I wasn’t any good at anything else,” he said. “There was a slow burn inside of me.”

Brown paid tribute to the trust Maher had placed in him by giving him the ride.

“He’s done nothing but support me and backed me, and I buggered up plenty of times on his horses, and he’s just had nothing but faith,” the 27-year-old added.

“He’s one of many people, but he’s believed in me. He showed that by putting me on.”

Maher returned the compliment during the post-race ceremony.

“I could just see how dedicated he was this year,” said the former jockey, who has made a success of importing horses to train and race in Australia.

“He was dialled in, and that was a beautiful exhibition of how to ride a horse in the Melbourne Cup.”

Earlier, Asterix was scratched and trainer Chris Waller fined A$50,000 hours before the race after a stablehand applied a liniment to the gelding’s forelegs without permission from the stewards.

Reuters

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By Colleen Goko

South Africa’s dry taps and power cuts reflect a municipal debt crisis that is squeezing state utility Eskom and straining public finances, with forecasts of more hung councils after Wednesday’s local votes likely making solutions harder to find.

Eskom, the state power utility, says it is owed R122.5bn by municipalities. Households and businesses, in turn, owe municipalities R484.5bn — but only 63.9% is collected, according to National Treasury budget data.

Poor collection leaves many municipalities struggling to pay creditors, including Eskom and the water boards, compounding the financial stress across the public sector.

When asked about the impact of the municipal debts, Eskom told Reuters, “it weighs heavily on the national budget, the sovereign credit rating and borrowing costs”.

Council leadership changes bring uncertainty

Wednesday’s municipal elections could further complicate efforts to tackle the debt pile. No party is expected to win an outright majority in the major metropolitan regions.

Hung councils and coalition negotiations could bring leadership changes just as municipalities face deadlines to comply with the Treasury’s repayment and reform measures.

In July, finance minister Enoch Godongwana froze funding to offending municipalities and imposed a compliance roadmap with deadlines stretching to November 30.

South Africa had 70 hung councils after the 2021 local elections.

“I would not be surprised if that number goes up to maybe 100,” said Louw Nel, senior political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa.

Eskom said municipalities’ financial obligations “remain unchanged even in the event of a new administration taking office”, but acknowledged that any leadership change “brings with it uncertainty”.

Rating agencies’ warnings

S&P Global upgraded South Africa’s sovereign rating in November 2025 for the first time in nearly 20 years, citing among other factors reduced contingent liabilities as Eskom’s finances improved. But it warned that municipal arrears could “pose significant risks” to the state utility’s turnaround.

Moody’s, which changed South Africa’s outlook to positive in May, said the risk of further material contingent liabilities had diminished but flagged growing municipal arrears to Eskom.

Persistent municipal arrears threaten those gains by weakening Eskom’s cash flow, potentially increasing the risk of a need for renewed government support.

The government has provided R663bn in guarantees to state-owned enterprises, more than half to Eskom, according to S&P Global.

“There’s obviously a risk that they might have to tap into the guarantees,” said Jason Lightfoot, senior portfolio manager at Futuregrowth. While that was not his base case, he said distressed municipalities were effectively shut out of commercial funding.

“Municipalities in their own right are unfundable.”

Fragile process

Godongwana’s crackdown showed early results. By the end of July, 38 of 69 municipalities had concluded repayment plans, and R4.2bn had been paid toward outstanding creditor debt. But Eskom says the Treasury’s enforcement measures are “not sufficient alone”.

Of 71 municipalities approved for a government debt relief programme launched in April 2023, only eight are compliant; the remaining 63 are overdue on current-account payments, the utility said.

The crisis extends beyond electricity. In the Free State mining town of Matjhabeng, residents have gone more than 20 days without water. The municipality owes its water board R9.5bn — one of the starkest examples in the nationwide crisis.

The National Treasury said it had no immediate comment.

In July, when the government conditionally released withheld municipal funds, Godongwana said the Treasury had to balance enforcing financial rules with protecting basic services.

“National Treasury recognises that communities should not carry the immediate consequences of failures by municipal institutions,” Godongwana said. “That consideration is central to the decision.”

Reuters

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By Tom Balmforth and Luiza Ilie

London/Bucharest — After seven strikes on cargo ships near Nato members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.

Three days later, on October 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for Nato in the Black Sea that has left littoral member states such as Romania and Bulgaria exposed.

Military analysts said they had little doubt that these were Russian attacks. A naval drone seen on video of the last strike resembled a Russian variant, according to shipping security firm Ambrey.

‘Undeniably an escalation’

“I think it’s undeniably an escalation,” said Sidharth Kaushal, a senior fellow at the London-based Rusi think-tank.

Russia denies targeting Ukraine’s neighbours with drones and says that European governments are the ones escalating the war in Ukraine by supplying military aid.

Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Russia, Ukraine and US to hold peace talks in Abu Dhabi

Moscow — Russia will hold three-way peace talks with Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi from November 10-11, the Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday.

Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will serve as Moscow’s chief negotiator at the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday the US would bring together delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi next week to discuss post-war security agreements and de-escalation.

Many of the ships hit in October were anchored near or sailing to or from a key Romanian canal used by Ukraine for exports. One was in Romanian territorial waters, while the other eight were in its or Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

Iulia Joja, director of the Black Sea programme for the Washington-based Middle East Institute think-tank, said Russia’s attacks were taking into account the West’s aversion to escalation.

“This is about testing these red lines, with full awareness that we will do everything possible to take the most minimal measures,” Joja said, drawing a comparison to Russian drone incursions into Nato airspace in recent years.

A Nato official said Russian actions aimed at dissuading Nato allies from supporting Ukraine were a serious security threat and that the alliance’s commitment to defending all its members, including those on the Black Sea, was “iron clad”.

The official said there was a clear need for cost-effective counter-drone capabilities. The alliance had already committed to investing more than $40bn in counter-drone capabilities in the next five years.

Gas producer

For Romania, the Black Sea is a crucial waterway for trade and home to its offshore Neptun Deep project, which will make it the EU’s largest gas producer next year. Neptun Deep was approached by a naval drone in August.

Bucharest has accused Russia of “systematic” strikes on civilian ships but stopped short of attributing individual attacks, citing the need for forensic evidence. Sofia has not blamed Russia but said some of the attacks seem to benefit it.

The strikes come while Washington is reassessing its military presence in Europe as it focuses on China. The US withdrew 1,000 troops from Romania last year.

“It’s a moment in the transatlantic relationship that Putin likely wants to use,” said a senior Romanian official. “The EU and Nato’s attention is important, and their forces are currently focusing towards the north and the Baltics.”

While Nato has reinforced its “enhanced forward presence” for the Baltics and Poland, Joja said it had not done the same in Romania despite Bucharest’s requests. “Brussels and Washington still don’t seem to have decided whether the Black Sea is fully part of the Nato commitment.”

The Romanian official highlighted Romania’s pressing need for surface-to-air interceptors and radar systems to counter threats.

Joja said the limited availability of cheap interceptor weapons, exacerbated by the war in Iran, was a central problem for the West.

Black Sea shipping

The surge in strikes on Black Sea shipping has strangled a major conduit for exports of grain and oil used by Russia and Ukraine.

The two sides hit 317 merchant and other vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov between May and October, a more than fourfold rise on the 74 vessels they struck in the previous half-year, according to Tomas Alexa, a senior analyst at Ambrey Analytics.

The tempo of attacks has fluctuated before the fifth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February. Ukraine carried out 137 attacks on ships compared with 92 Russian ones in the third quarter, while in October, Russia hit 38 compared with five Ukrainian strikes, Ambrey said.

Grain exports

Ports have been battered and exports have shrivelled, forcing Russia and Ukraine to seek alternative export routes. Russia exported just 0.3-million tonnes of grain in September through the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, down from 4.74-million tonnes in the same month last year, according to Russian export data.

Ukraine suspended operations at its Black Sea ports in late July due to Russian attacks, prompting it to divert volumes to river ports on the Danube and onwards through Romania’s Sulina Canal and southwards through Romania’s section of the Black Sea.

Even with this alternative route, Ukraine’s port exports of grain slumped to 0.81-million tonnes in September compared with 2.1-million tonnes in September last year, government data shows.

Further reducing these volumes remains Russia’s primary goal with testing Nato as the secondary objective, said Andriy Ryzhenko, a naval analyst and former senior Ukrainian naval officer.

Turkish control

Last week’s attack took place as the defence ministers and military chiefs of Romania, Bulgaria and fellow Nato littoral state Turkey met in Sofia to discuss the situation.

The defence minister of Turkey, which is awaiting a response from Moscow and Kyiv on a narrow maritime ceasefire proposal, used the meeting to warn Russia and Ukraine against further attacks.

Turkey controls the transit of warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles under the Montreux Convention.

Several countries, including Egypt, Turkey and India, have pushed for maritime ceasefires to avert fallout from the disruption of shipping while global fuel and grain prices have soared.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Saturday that there was growing international interest in a limited ceasefire.

Russia has rejected the idea of a narrow maritime ceasefire, which it says would provide respite to Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sounded the alarm. “Everyone is talking about diesel and forgetting about grain. In a month or two, everyone will start talking about an agricultural crisis,” he said last month.

Reuters

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The Reserve Bank has revised the discontinuation date for the Johannesburg interbank average rate (Jibar) from the end of this year to May 31 next year to allow more time for the completion of legislative processes relating to the switch to its successor, deputy governor Rashad Cassim said on Tuesday.

The bank last December formally announced the planned cessation of Jibar, the primary short-term money market benchmark reference rate, saying its structural weaknesses, with the sustained decline in the market underpinning it, had created “vulnerabilities that cannot be resolved in the foreseeable future”.

On Tuesday Cassim told a conference of Market Practitioners Group (MPG) — a joint public and private sector body which facilitates decisions on interest rate benchmarks — that market participants needed a legislative solution for tough legacy contracts to be in place before transitioning to the new South African Rand Overnight Index Average (Zaronia).

He said that when the MPG started work on the switch in 2018, it was clear that replacing Jibar, a deeply embedded benchmark referenced across trillions of rands’ derivatives, loans, bonds and other financial contracts, would not be easy.

While some market participants were actively moving to Zaronia, others would make a passive transition, moving automatically on a designated date.

“But we have a whole class of contracts where these strategies are not feasible and contracts cannot be amended before cessation,” Cassim said.

“For this purpose, there are proposed amendments to the Financial Sector Regulation Act that would allow the designation of replacement benchmarks.

“But these amendments are not yet law. They are still working their way through the legislative process, which involves the full parliamentary process and presidential assent. The timelines for this are not certain. We have therefore decided it is too risky to continue with the previously announced Jibar cessation date,” Cassim added.

Ending Jibar without proper legal mechanisms to deal with tough legacy contracts could be “highly disruptive”, he said, adding however that the delay was neither a reversal of the decision to discontinue the instrument nor a reflection of any concerns about Zaronia.

“Indeed, the market has made measurable progress. Zaronia is working well, with a small and stable spread to our policy rate. Furthermore, Zaronia-related derivative exposures have grown to over R18.5-trillion globally as of September,” said Cassim.

“This is encouraging — though we acknowledge that global Jibar derivative exposures still exceed R98-trillion, so there is still a lot of work ahead.”

The Reserve Bank also wants to scrap the prime lending rate, — which commercial banks use as a baseline to charge customers for loans, mortgages and credit facilities — and earlier this year published a paper in which it argued that it is a legacy benchmark no longer needed.

The prime rate is pegged at 350 basis points above the central bank’s policy rate, which is currently at 7.25%.

“The prime lending rate is also part of the next phase of reform. We expect that doing away with prime will make loan pricing simpler and more transparent,” Cassim said on Tuesday.

Business Day

What began in 1996 as a stolen vehicle recovery company has evolved into a leading South African technology and services business, delivering end-to-end solutions that help organisations reduce risk, optimise spend, increase efficiency and make better decisions every day.

Over three decades, South Africa’s business landscape has changed significantly. Businesses are under constant pressure to do more with less while navigating increasing complexity, rising costs and rapidly evolving customer expectations.

Tracker has evolved alongside these changing needs. Today, the company combines connected technology, data intelligence and human expertise to help businesses gain greater visibility across their operations.

From fleet management and video telematics to asset tracking, supply chain visibility and business intelligence, Tracker provides connected solutions that transform data into meaningful, actionable insights.

Built around business outcomes

While technology is at the heart of what Tracker does, the focus has never been technology for technology’s sake. The starting point is understanding what matters most to each customer.

For some organisations, that means improving driver safety and fulfilling duty-of-care obligations.

For others, it is reducing fuel costs, improving fleet utilisation, strengthening compliance, enhancing supply chain visibility or gaining greater operational control.

Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, Tracker works in partnership with businesses to understand their needs and build solutions around the outcomes they want to achieve.

This customer-centric approach has enabled Tracker to serve organisations across industries and fleet sizes, helping them solve real-world challenges with connected technology and actionable intelligence.

From recovery to prevention

Tracker’s reputation was built on vehicle recovery, and that remains an important part of the business today. However, the focus has expanded beyond recovery to prevention.

Modern telematics, AI-powered cameras, real-time monitoring and advanced analytics enable businesses to identify risks before incidents occur.

Fleet managers can receive alerts about unsafe driving behaviour, monitor critical events in real time and access meaningful insights that help improve safety outcomes across their operations.

Video telematics solutions provide organisations with greater visibility into what is happening on the road, helping support driver coaching, reduce risk exposure and strengthen accountability.

The result is a proactive approach to safety; one that helps businesses protect not only their vehicles and assets, but also the people who use them every day. Because while looking after an asset is important, looking after the person is essential.

Turning data into decisions

Businesses generate vast amounts of data every day. The challenge is not collecting the information. The challenge is turning it into something useful.

Tracker’s approach goes beyond data gathering. By combining advanced analytics, AI capabilities and industry expertise, the company helps businesses transform complex information into practical insights that support better decision-making.

Whether it is identifying opportunities to reduce fuel consumption, optimising routes, improving fleet utilisation, monitoring assets, strengthening supply chain performance or enabling faster operational responses, Tracker helps organisations unlock the value hidden within their data.

The goal is simple: provide information in a format that businesses can understand, trust and use to drive measurable results.

Walking our own talk

The benefits of connected fleet intelligence are not only delivered to customers. Tracker uses its own fleet management technology across its operations, giving the business first-hand experience of the challenges and opportunities faced by fleet operators.

This has contributed to improved safety performance, fewer accidents, lower maintenance costs, reduced fuel waste and decreased vehicle misuse.

It is a practical example of Tracker’s belief that technology should deliver measurable business value, not just more information.

Partnering in the journey ahead

Thirty years is a significant milestone, but Tracker remains focused on helping businesses solve today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.

As businesses continue to navigate an increasingly connected and data-driven world, the need for trusted partners has never been greater.

Tracker’s role is not limited to helping recover stolen vehicles. Today, it is about helping businesses operate smarter, safer and more efficiently through a connected ecosystem of technology, services and insights.

For three decades, the company has been caring for and protecting people and their things. Today, that commitment extends across entire business operations, helping organisations gain the visibility, intelligence and support they need to move forward with confidence.

One connected ecosystem. Multiple business advantages. Let’s build a smarter operation together.

For more information, visit the Tracker website.

This article was sponsored by Tracker.

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By Humeyra Pamuk and Susan Heavey

Washington — US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would stop $4bn in funding to Israel after the end of this year.

Speaking to Fox News’ Fox and Friends, Trump said Israel no longer needed the funding and that some Democrats and left-wing politicians were using the US financial support to Israel as a talking point to criticise Republicans.

“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4bn a year, and we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump told Fox News’ Fox and Friends.

“We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. Now we’ll help Israel if they need it,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office on Trump’s remarks.

It was not immediately clear which exact funding Trump meant. A memorandum of understanding that provides $3.8bn in annual US military aid to Israel is approaching its expiration date in 2028, and conversations have been under way on how Washington’s assistance to Israel would evolve beyond that date.

“They can buy whatever they want. They can buy whatever they want. So can Europe. We make the greatest weapons in the world,” Trump added on Tuesday.

Netanyahu said in a May interview with CBS that he hoped to wean Israel off US military support within a decade. In a June letter to a US ​congressman, he wrote that the time had come for Israel “to move from aid recipient to partner.”

US public support for Israel has fallen since the Gaza war began in 2023, particularly among Democrats. A June Quinnipiac University poll found 48% of voters and 66% of Democrats believe the US is too supportive of Israel, up from 16% and 20% when the question was first asked in 2017.

Support for Israel among Democratic voters has plummeted; candidates critical of Israel are winning Democratic primaries and even moderate legislators are increasingly willing to challenge decades of US support for Israel.

“The left uses the $4bn payment that everybody knows about — well, it’s no secret, as a signal of unfairness, and we can’t allow that to happen,” Trump said.

“We were giving them 4-billion, we are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year,” he said. “Why? Because they don’t need it.”

Reuters

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Nearly 8.4-million ticket applications have been received for the India-Pakistan group-stage clash at next year’s Men’s Cricket World Cup, organisers said.

The rivals are set to clash in Johannesburg at the Wanderers on October 10 next year. The final, hosted at the same 34,000-seat venue, trails close behind with almost 8-million ticket requests.

Nearly 3-million fans from 193 countries have applied for tickets in the ballot window, which remains open until November 21, for the tournament co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

More than 120-million total ticket requests have been received for the 14-team showcase that runs from October 2 to November 21.

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A 1997 Ferrari F50 has sold for $18.7m (R310.7m) at Broad Arrow Auctions’ 2026 Las Vegas Auction, setting a record for the most expensive example of the model ever sold at auction.

The sale was the highlight of Broad Arrow’s second annual auction as the official auction partner of Concours at Wynn Las Vegas, held on October 31.

The single-day event generated $92.8m in sales, with 64 of the 84 lots finding buyers. According to the auction house, it was the highest-grossing collector car auction ever held in Las Vegas.

The F50, which had covered just 170km, was accompanied by a collection of original factory accessories. It sold to a bidder in the room for $18,705,000, exceeding the previous auction record for the model by more than $4m.

Ferrari accounted for several of the auction’s other top results, including a 2025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 that sold for $18.54m.

The second model in Ferrari’s limited-production Icona series was offered by its original owner and had covered just 130km at the time of cataloguing. It was finished in Verde Francesca, a Tailor Made paint colour, with a two-tone Nero Alcantara and Mustard Aunde Jeans interior.

After a bidding contest involving collectors in the room and on the telephone, the SP3 sold above its high estimate. The result established a new auction record for a noncharity example of the model.

Other Ferraris also achieved record prices. A low-mileage 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for $8.805m, while a 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista, finished in Giallo Modena yellow with a two-tone stripe, achieved $1.2975m.

The auction also produced strong results for several other high-performance marques.

A 2023 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, one of 80 produced, sold for $4.57m. The car featured a two-tone silver and exposed black carbon-fibre finish, complemented by Havana upholstery.

A 2015 McLaren P1 GTR converted for road use by Lanzante achieved $3.415m, setting an auction record for the model.

A 2019 Koenigsegg Regera sold for $2.645m, while a 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster in Arctic White, with Silver Arrow Tobacco Brown leather upholstery, fetched $747,500. The latter also established a new auction record for the model.

Broad Arrow said registered bidder numbers increased by 63% compared with its 2025 Las Vegas auction, while 35% of participants were bidding with the auction house for the first time.

Business Day

Business Day

Business Day

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By Parisa Hafezi

Dubai — Iran and the US remain far from a deal to end the war, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday, despite intensified diplomatic efforts to avert a return to major conflict after the US midterm elections.

Overnight, the US carried out “defensive” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island, with a US official saying the strikes targeted surface-to-air missiles used against US assets. Another official said the strikes appeared to be limited and did not signal a resumption of major combat operations.

Qatar has stepped up mediation efforts amid fears the conflict launched by the US and Israel in February could reignite after Tuesday’s elections.

“Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington,” the senior Iranian official said, after Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal that has been under negotiation for the past eight days.

“Tehran’s conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened,” the Iranian official cautioned, referring to the strait that is critical for global energy supplies.

Tehran’s conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened.

Iranian official

Qatar said on Tuesday the US and Iran remained committed to mediation efforts and were reviewing proposals put forward by mediators. While the Qatari team that travelled to Tehran had since returned to Doha, talks were continuing, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.

“There are intensive joint regional efforts under way to avoid escalation,” he said, adding that Qatar remained hopeful a deal could still be reached to pave the way for future negotiations.

‘Excessive demands’

The Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said nuclear talks could only start after Iran’s conditions were fulfilled and that Tehran would not accept Washington’s “excessive demands”.

Tehran would respond forcefully, in the region and beyond, to US strikes, the official added.

Oil prices rose by about $1 a barrel on Tuesday, having dropped more than 7% the previous day on hopes that diplomacy was progressing.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they downed a US MQ-9 drone and two Lucas drones in the skies near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the ball was in Washington’s court after Tehran had delivered what he described as a “strong and rational response”.

“The enemy seeks to force the Iranian nation into submission through threats and military action, but they are sorely mistaken; Iran will not submit,” Qalibaf said, adding that Tehran’s response to any miscalculation by the US would be unpredictable and disregard geographical constraints.

Countries across the region have been bracing for the possibility that US President Donald Trump could resume attacks once Tuesday’s midterms are over.

But Trump cast doubt on Monday about whether he would follow through on threats to resume military strikes after the vote, saying he believed Tehran wanted a deal as soon as possible and that such an agreement “could happen”.

Asked by reporters if he was considering striking Iran after the midterms, Trump replied, “No.”

Iran updates targets

The head of Iran’s armed forces general staff, Ali Abdollahi, said Iran’s military was updating its target lists to include US and Israeli material and non-material assets and would respond immediately to any threat, without geographical limits.

Since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the armed forces to respond immediately and without “geographic limits” to any enemy threat, Iranian officials and media outlets have increasingly raised the prospect of striking bases beyond the region that are used to launch attacks on Iran.

Hardline newspaper Kayhan said on Tuesday that US facilities in Britain, Italy, Greece, Romania, Albania and Cyprus could be targeted by Iranian missiles in the event of renewed war.

In parallel with the exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington through intermediaries, regional diplomatic efforts are continuing to prevent further escalation.

Saudi talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that talks with Saudi Arabia were continuing to seek new regional security arrangements that would exclude foreign military involvement.

Last week, top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran, the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations since August. The US-Israeli war on Iran started in late February, and since then, fighting has spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Riyadh said the visit was intended to open negotiating channels to “prevent the return of military escalation”, as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis had intensified.

Houthi attacks on the kingdom escalated as the powerful militia advanced towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping chokepoint that lies on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis have also attacked Saudi oil facilities and airports, including Riyadh’s international airport, disrupting flights and oil exports and drawing Saudi air strikes on Yemen in response.

Impoverished Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the Houthis pushed the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government out of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

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By Amlan Chakraborty

Part entertainer, part enigma, Glenn Maxwell will go down in cricket folklore as the game’s great what-if — a maverick shot-maker whose limited-overs wizardry never extended to red-ball cricket.

Where many of his peers stuck to the batting manual, Maxwell rewrote it with his 360-degree stroke-play, which made field settings a nightmare for rival captains.

It could not be risk-free, but Maxwell cared little as he pulled off reverse hits and cheeky scoops with a gum-chewing nonchalance.

Fans expected spectacle whenever Maxwell walked out with the bat and, more often than not, he delivered it with his unorthodox shots.

The definitive example came at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Chasing 292 against Afghanistan and with Australia reeling at 91/7, Maxwell conjured up an unforgettable 201 not out off 128 balls to complete a chase that had looked impossible.

That sense of occasion was present from his Australia debut, an ODI against Afghanistan in 2012, and it studded his career.

A two-time ODI World Cup winner, Maxwell also hit the winning runs in Australia’s maiden T20 World Cup triumph in 2021 under captain Aaron Finch.

Fittingly, Finch fronted the tributes to Maxwell after a 286-match international career spanning 14 years.

“Without doubt one of the most destructive players the game has ever seen and easily one of the most innovative of our generation,” Finch wrote on Instagram.

“Some of the things you’ve done on a cricket field have been absolutely ridiculous. You’ve played innings that most of us could only dream of and produced some of the greatest moments this game has ever seen. You’ve changed the way the game is played and inspired so many along the way.”

Maxwell’s value was always three-dimensional: explosive batting, savvy off-spin, and electric fielding that saved runs and snared jaw-dropping catches. It made him T20 royalty, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Maxwell, 38, was an IPL millionaire at 25 and earned the nickname the “Big Show” after his first ODI series — a moniker he resented.

“At the start, I thought if I fight it, I’m going to have to live with it even more, so I tried to sort of ride with it,” Maxwell said in 2014. “I’m just trying to shake it off because it’s starting to go too far.

“It’s not about what I’m about. I’m all about trying to entertain and … I just love being out there trying to hit balls for four and six.”

That ability made him a crowd magnet — evident in his 12.4-million followers across social media platforms.

The long run was not without quiet chapters, and Test cricket never became his stage.

Maxwell played only seven Tests in 2013-17, scoring 339 runs at a modest average of 26.

He took a mental health break from the sport in 2019 and recounts the episode in his autobiography in a candid assessment of the struggles that lay beneath his confident exterior.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

By Lewis Krauskopf

New York — Investors are weighing the market implications of a possible shift in control of the US Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, focused on whether a strong Democratic showing could pave the way for greater volatility in asset prices, particularly the AI sector, which has been a main driver for markets.

The midterms come at a fragile time for markets, with a swoon in AI shares causing investor unease that could be exacerbated by the election results. Tuesday’s outcome could hold broad implications for market-sensitive areas including the AI data centre buildout, the US fiscal outlook, defence spending and regulation in areas such as healthcare, banking and cryptocurrencies.

President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has controlled both chambers of Congress during the first two years of his second term. Opinion polls show the Democrats are likely to take the House, while the Senate is too close to call.

“While probabilities increasingly favour a Blue sweep, several tightly contested Senate races leave open some possibility of Republican control of the Senate or, conversely, a greater than expected Democratic foothold in the Senate,” Scott Chronert, US equity strategist at Citigroup, said in a research note. “Equity market reaction is likely positive in the former case and negative in the latter.”

Greater oversight

Strategists at UBS Global Wealth Management have assigned a 50% probability of a Democratic sweep, a 40% chance of Democrats winning the House while Republicans retain the Senate, and a 10% probability that Republicans hang onto both chambers.

“The most visible effects of a change in congressional control would likely be greater oversight of the administration and more difficult fiscal negotiations,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note on Monday.

A Democratic-led Congress could exert greater scrutiny over AI companies, in part due to growing public opposition to data centres, a risk for a market that has been lifted by such investment spending.

While analysts doubt any viable legislation would severely undermine the data centre buildout regardless of the election outcome, they expect a Democratic sweep to lead to investigations into the technology sector.

Many investors have said they are eager to get past the elections, which have hung over the markets for the last several weeks. Since 1970, in midterm election years, the S&P 500 index has gained in every six-month period following the election, according to financial services firm Edward Jones.

Options market

While equity volatility has increased in recent sessions, traders in option markets aren’t bracing for a big stock market move after the election results.

Options on the S&P 500 index are priced for a move of about 0.8% in either direction on Wednesday, slightly higher than the 0.6% average implied daily move over the past month, according to data compiled by Orats, a financial data and analytics platform specialising in options trading, options research, and volatility.

“We could see some volatility come out once there is a clear result, but I wouldn’t assume all that uncertainty disappears Wednesday morning,” said Joe Tigay, portfolio manager at Equity Armor Investments. “Election hedges can expire; geopolitical risk doesn’t have an expiration date.”

Reuters

It will also unpack the overall state of readiness for Wednesday’s local government elections.

Stream courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

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Every year, while we wait for the National Health Insurance (NHI) legal battles to end and implementation to begin, South Africa’s commercial health care system grows more costly and less affordable. Medical schemes, funders and providers have the power to act independently of the government, and they have the responsibility to do so now.

There are two ways forward: build a system structured around universal health care principles — one that reverses shrinking access to a private sector that is vast but priced out of reach by its own inefficiency — or wait for legislation to impose solutions on a system that has already collapsed. The choice remains ours.

Without structural reform NHI can’t fix this. As currently conceived it risks centralising the payment model that created this problem in the first place, just at a larger scale. Pooling funding without changing how providers are paid simply scales the problem: a single, larger purchaser paying per service would not rein in volume, it would underwrite it.

The structural transformation we need does not depend only on legislative change, it can happen within existing frameworks. Value-based contracting can be demanded, and reimbursement structures can be redesigned to reward multidisciplinary teams for good patient outcomes rather than for volume.

The cost of continued inaction is mounting. Medical scheme contributions have risen 6% to 9% annually, far outpacing wage growth, while benefits are cut back every year. Schemes continue to respond not by fixing the system, but by competing for young, healthy members — in effect pricing out the older and the sicker, and children and young adults.

About 20 years ago open commercial schemes held 67.5% of the market. By 2024 that share had fallen to 56.1%, with restricted, government and employer-linked schemes picking up the difference.

Millions of employed South Africans are increasingly caught in the gap: they earn too much for public health care, and too little for private cover. They pay what they can, and hope no-one in their family falls seriously ill.

An underresourced public sector cannot absorb this exodus, but an efficient, affordable private sector could. This is what systemic dysfunction and market failure look like, and every year of delay makes it harder to reverse.

The root cause is straightforward. Fee-for-service medicine, the dominant reimbursement structure, pays lone clinicians rather than teams. This fragments care and rewards reactive, crisis-driven intervention, rewarding volume over outcomes, from admissions and bed days to procedures and tests.

This is compounded by prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs), a regulatory framework that legally obliges schemes to fully cover a defined list of mostly hospital-based conditions.

In effect, hospital care is guaranteed funding by law, while prevention and community-based alternatives are not. Prevention and good health promotion become economically irrational. Teamwork and co-ordination break down.

The root cause is straightforward. Fee-for-service medicine, the dominant reimbursement structure, pays lone clinicians rather than teams. This fragments care and rewards reactive, crisis-driven intervention, rewarding volume over outcomes, from admissions and bed days to procedures and tests.

The system fragments — not because of poor management or insufficient funding, but because the underlying incentive structure actively discourages what would make health care affordable and effective.

For more than a decade we have been successfully implementing value-based care, now delivered through our population medicine programme, the value care team, proving structural reform is achievable. Rather than paying clinicians for individual services, GP-led multidisciplinary teams receive a monthly fee, adjusted for patient complexity, to deliver holistic care to active member populations.

Providers are no longer rewarded for maximising volume; they are rewarded for working in a team that optimises people’s care and outcomes. With fees tied to measurable, regularly reassessed health outcomes, the team is paid for keeping people well, not for doing less.

This is what happens when incentives align with outcomes. Prevention becomes financially viable: care co-ordinators visit patients at home, educate families about their loved one’s condition and help build support systems around them. Early intervention becomes possible. Patients with chronic conditions have continuity of care rather than navigating disconnected services while their health deteriorates. This is what universal healthcare looks like in practice — not in theory, not in policy papers, but in clinical work serving real patients, delivering real results.

Some will argue it is premature to restructure the private sector while the shape of national health reform remains unsettled. The opposite is true. Whatever form universal health care eventually takes, it will have to buy care from somebody, and this will only be as good as the providers from whom it buys.

Clinicians already organised into co-ordinated teams, paid for outcomes and accountable for the populations they serve, will be ready on day one; those working alone and still billing per item will not.

Building value-based models now is not competing with that reform. It is preparing the ground for it. Trust in whatever comes next will be built the same way, through tangible improvements, not abstract debate.

Some will say these changes first need regulatory permission. They don’t. Nothing stops a funder from contracting differently, or a group of organised clinicians from agreeing to be paid differently. We already do this every day. Funders can write outcome measures into provider contracts and pay for co-ordination and prevention, not consultations alone.

Some will say these changes first need regulatory permission. They don’t. Nothing stops a funder from contracting differently, or a group of organised clinicians from agreeing to be paid differently.

Clinicians can accept payment that follows results rather than activity. The PMB framework dictates what must be covered; it does not dictate how care is paid for. Every scheme that renews a fee-for-service arrangement without questioning what it is buying has made a choice. So has every provider group that accepts it. Neither can credibly blame the government for a status quo they keep signing.

A universal health care system will eventually arrive; in what form we don’t yet know. That uncertainty cannot paralyse us. The system can be transformed using what’s already in place — the proof exists. What is missing is the willingness to act.

Waiting for legal clarity is not caution; it’s a stalling tactic, a choice to accept a shrinking sector, increasingly out of reach for a growing share of our people. That choice has consequences.

The only remaining question is whether those with the power to lead will do so, or whether they will continue to hedge their bets.

• Dr Ruff, an internal medicine specialist and rheumatologist who was head of clinical risk management for Discovery Health, is a co-founder of health care management company PPO Serve.

Business Day

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By Agency Staff

Football’s world governing body will grant its council members access to key documents concerning the defunct Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

Fifa scrapped the $20bn World Cup sell-off plan earlier this year only days after making it public, amid a backlash that imperilled president Gianni Infantino’s leadership.

Fifa secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom sent a letter to the global body’s council members on Monday inviting them to register their interest in reviewing the documents under specific conditions at the group’s Zurich headquarters, the person said.

The move came on the day of a deadline European football’s governing body Uefa had set for Fifa to answer questions about Infantino’s presidency, as European federations press for reforms and oppose his re-election.

BREAKING: FIFA to partially release documents relating to World Cup sell-off plan

Sky's @RobHarris reports ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4k0A3betpM

— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 2, 2026

Multiple federations demanded sweeping reforms of Fifa in the aftermath of the failed proposal, with Swiss-Italian Infantino having previously proposed an independent review of the organisation’s decision-making processes.

Last month, Uefa sent a letter to Fifa seeking answers about Infantino’s presidency, including questions over FFE and the Fifa Peace Prize, setting a November 2 deadline for a response.

“Fifa viewed Uefa’s two-week deadline to respond to more than 100 questions as unfeasible, given their recent focus on organising a new youth World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan,” the person said.

Fifa has maintained it would respond to council members in due course, and the invitation to view key documents is only to council members

Source

“The organisation is also preparing for an extraordinary congress on 23 November to determine the hosts for the 2031 and 2035 Fifa Women’s World Cups. The ongoing legal action in the US has also created legal boundaries.

“Fifa has maintained it would respond to council members in due course, and the invitation to view key documents is only to council members.”

Infantino’s re-election prospects strengthened significantly a little more than a week ago when the head of Asian football endorsed him for a fourth term. The move left Europe increasingly isolated in its opposition to the Fifa chief.

Infantino will stand for re-election in March 2027, with a November 18 deadline looming for potential candidates to submit their nominations.

Reuters

Djokovic has been waiting for a record 25th Major title since winning his last Grand Slam crown at the 2023 US Open.

The former world No 1 reached the Australian Open final and Wimbledon semifinals but exited early at the French Open and the US Open.

“This year the focus shifted to feeling well on the court rather than playing well, to be honest, because for most of the tournaments I played, I didn’t play many, it was health-wise a big struggle,” Djokovic told reporters.

“It had nothing to do with my preparation or whether I’m training enough, because I see there are a lot of people who love to express expert opinions on knowing exactly what’s happening with me, but they don’t.”

Djokovic won his 102nd career title in Beijing last month before going out early in Shanghai and Basel.

The 39-year-old is 11th in the race to Turin standings, with the top eight qualifying for the season finale, though world No 2 Jannik Sinner’s absence through injury improves Djokovic’s chances.

“Whenever I felt better on the court, and lately that’s been the case, we’re getting closer to solving what I have been going through in the past 12 months,” Djokovic said.

“So right away, my performance level, my enjoyment on court, my feeling, is great and I play better. Beijing was the best week of the year other than Australia and I thought I played pretty well in Basel, as well.

“Of course that was a tight match to lose, but just trying to enjoy the last couple weeks of the season and on the court feeling better primarily. Then the performance will come. We’ll see after that.”

The November 2-8 Paris Masters tournament will be followed by the ATP Finals from November 15-22.

Reuters

The Proteas won the Test, which concluded on Saturday, by 176 runs to wrap up a 2-1 series win.

South African batter Marques Ackerman attempted to review a caught decision but was told by umpires Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough that he was past the stipulated 15 seconds to do so.

Prince was seen shouting at the umpires that Ackerman had signalled he would review within the time allowed. Verreynne, who was not playing in the match but had 12th man duties, told Ackerman to remain on the field of play, delaying his exit.

Prince and Verreynne were found to have breached article 2.8 of the ICC code of conduct for players and player support personnel, which relates to showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match. Each also had one demerit point added to their records. If a player or official reaches four demerit points in a 24-month period, they face suspension.

South Africa moved to the top of the world Test rankings with the series victory.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

By Stephen Nellis

San Francisco — Apple warned on Monday that the cost of memory chips would continue to rise, pressuring gross margin for the crucial holiday quarter, but said it had taken steps to lock in supplies.

Shares, little changed in after-hours trading after fourth-quarter results beat expectations, fell 4% during a conference call after executives outlined the weaker outlook, but later pared losses to a 2% decline. Early demand for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and higher prices boosted the quarter.

Apple said it expects gross margin of 45%-46% in the quarter ending in December, down from 47.9% in the fourth quarter. It forecast services revenue growth of 8%-9%, below analysts’ expectations of 10.7%.

The results come as Apple experiments with a string of firsts under new CEO John Ternus, who took over in September. After nearly two decades of launching most new iPhones each autumn, Apple this year is spacing them out, with iPhone Pro and Duo models shipping this year and other models expected next year.

Apple also released a bevy of new non-iPhone products this quarter, including its first touchscreen laptops and first smart-home hub. The steady drumbeat of releases, analysts said, is meant to smooth out Apple’s yearly revenue cycle, which for decades showed a huge holiday-quarter boom that petered out by late summer.

Apple in recent weeks has grappled with customer reports of cracked screens on the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, which sold out within hours online and spurred lines at stores last month.

Fourth-quarter sales were $114.48bn, above analyst estimates of $113.39bn, according to LSEG data. Profit was $2.10 per share, above estimates of $1.99 even when excluding 5c from tariff refunds.

Demand for iPhone Duo units

In an interview, Ternus said “a very small percentage” of iPhone Duo units had been returned for display issues and that Apple is replacing them. He said the company is overall unable to meet demand, with no timeline for catching up.

“Duo is constrained as of today,” Ternus said. “The ramp is going well... but at this point, we’re not able to predict when supply and demand will be in balance.”

Fourth-quarter iPhone sales, which included iPhone 18 Pro models but not Duo, were $57.58bn, above estimates of $56.54bn, according to LSEG data.

The staggered launch strategy comes as Apple faces headwinds from an AI-driven memory-chip price spike that could dampen the margin boost Apple derives from storage upgrades.

“The big question for Apple moving forward will be how well they can weather the significant component price increases that have slowed their PC and smartphone competitors,” said Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research. “The new iPhone Duo looks to be a big hit, but the company has to solve the screen glitches and ramp up its manufacturing output.”

MacBook prices

As it launched the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple also raised iPhone 17 prices by $100 and increased some MacBook prices, softening the blow of rising memory costs.

“We did see higher memory costs as compared to the June quarter, which was partially offset by the benefit of carrying inventory and lower costs on certain non-memory components,” Ternus said. “These price increases provided some offset.”

Fourth-quarter gross margins were 47.9%, above estimates of 47.5%, according to LSEG data.

On the investor call, CFO Kevan Parekh said Apple expects memory costs to keep rising into next year. Asked whether Apple had signed a long-term supply agreement, COO Sabih Khan did not directly confirm a deal but said Apple is working closely with memory suppliers and that its purchasing commitments increased by $33bn during the quarter.

Shares of memory-chip maker Micron rose more than 1% in after-hours trading on Monday, and shares of chip-manufacturing equipment makers KLA Corporation and Applied Materials also rose.

Apple also pointed to Siri AI, which runs partially in Google’s cloud, as a factor impacting margins. The company plans to charge more for iCloud+ subscriptions to offset AI costs, though it has not rolled out specific pricing.

“There are going to be some usage limits on features that rely on server-side models, which include Siri AI and intelligent photo editing,” Ternus said.

Mac sales were $10.79bn, above estimates of $9.61bn. Services revenue was $31.57bn, in line with estimates of $31.5bn. iPad and wearables sales were $6.23bn and $8.30bn, both below estimates. Chinese sales were $17.54bn, below the $18.58bn analysts estimated, according to Visible Alpha data.

Reuters

Alcaraz split the four Grand Slams with Sinner in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but injuries to the top two this year left the door open, with Zverev winning the French Open and US Open.

With Shelton reaching the Flushing Meadows final, Alcaraz expected no shortage of genuine contenders for the big titles.

“Preseason is really important,” Alcaraz said after his Vienna Open triumph on Sunday.

CARLOS ALCARAZ ESTÁ TOTALMENTE LOCO.

NO HAY OTRA EXPLICACIÓN. pic.twitter.com/Im2HDo2Q6b

— Tiempo De Tenis (@Tiempodetenis1) November 1, 2026

“I can tell you players are taking pre-season really seriously, those weeks of training hard to be in good shape.

“Sascha [Zverev] showed us what he’s capable of doing. The best player of this year. He deserves to be there. Let’s see if he’s going to continue to do the great things he’s been doing this year in 2027.

“Shelton reached his first Grand Slam final and I think he’s ambitious and hungry for more next year. A few others also playing great and they’re going to try to practice at their best to be at their best next year.

“I don’t like to say it’s going to be Jannik and me and the rest. Let’s see who’s going to be there. I’m pretty sure a lot of players are going to show up.”

Alcaraz won his seventh Grand Slam title at the Australian Open before a wrist injury kept him out for more than four months. Since returning at the US Open, he has won titles in Tokyo and Vienna.

He will look to finish the season on a high at this week’s Paris Masters and the ATP Finals from November 15.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said the incidents occurred at Chuchekani Primary School voting station in the Humulani settlement in Lulekani on Monday.

Mashaba said the first incident was reported at about 10am when a 32-year-old voter allegedly photographed his ballot paper after voting. The presiding officer confronted him and informed him that photographing a marked ballot paper was against electoral rules.

A second incident was reported at about 1.40pm when another male voter allegedly photographed his marked ballot paper. When confronted by the presiding officer, he reportedly became aggressive, verbally insulted her and left the voting station.

At about 1.50pm, one of the voters allegedly posted an image of his marked ballot paper on his social media status.

Mashaba said the presiding officer reported both incidents to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), which advised her to open a case with police. The case was reported after the voting station had closed, by which time both suspects had left the premises.

Mashaba said the 32-year-old suspect was arrested on Tuesday and was expected to appear in the Lulekani magistrate court on Wednesday.

Police are searching for the second man.

TimesLIVE

The full-scale concept of the Kia EV4 GT uses automotive modelling clay and clay from the courts where Nadal won a record 63 men’s clay singles titles. The Spaniard won a total of 92 ATP Tour singles titles across all surfaces.

Kia presented the tribute to Nada at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.

“Rafael’s determination and resilience have inspired tennis players and fans around the world, and those values have been central to our partnership since 2004.

“This tribute celebrates Rafael’s remarkable achievements and the journey we have shared. Through tennis and our wider sporting partnerships, Kia aims to bring people together and inspire future generations.” said Soohang Chang, CEO of Kia Europe.

Clay modelling remains an integral and tactile way to judge proportions, surfaces and finishes in vehicle development, despite digital evolution, according to Kia. This creative method is uniquely combined in the EV4 GT hatchback concept. The orange-red surface and white detail lines reflect a tennis court’s hues.

Bespoke details on the clay model reference Nadal’s career milestone, including his 63 clay-court singles titles, a record 50 consecutive sets won on clay, and the five seasons in which he finished as world number one.

Kia’s relationship with Nadal began in 2004, when Kia Spain started supporting the emerging star.

“For more than 20 years, Kia has been by my side throughout my career, through all the highs and the challenges,” says Nadal.

“Receiving this tribute, created from the material that has defined so much of my journey, is incredibly meaningful. It is a special reminder of everything we have shared, and I am honoured by this gesture.”

Reuters

I should admit I don’t generally “get” poetry. Most of the time it is too deep. I do tend to agree with AH Auden, though, that poetry “makes nothing happen”.

The last time I was brave enough to recite a poem in public was in response to someone’s recitation of a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī. I read the first line of Philip Larkin’s This be the Verse. It did not go down well; we were in a serious situation during the Fees Must Fall period of 2015-16, which demanded grown-up seriousness.

I am going a long way around to saying we change poses, positions and perspectives to meet the faces we meet.

I hold a view of the world that I have difficulty explaining to myself. One perspective I have assiduously rejected, though, is that of Herbert Spencer, mainly because of the certainty of the things he said, but especially for his social Darwinism.

The man coined the phrase “survival of the fittest”. He believed social relations could be likened to the functioning of a human body, and that all the atoms, cells and organs, and other things that make up the human body, are like all the different parts of society that worked together, and if one part fails then all the others fail too.

It has a nice ring, that statement. But everyone knows there are some organs you can lose and continue to survive. I lost most of my left lung as a teenager, and there are several parts of my body that have since infancy been held together by staples, screws, scar tissue and good luck.

In recent months, filled with bile and self-defeat, as the English poet Tony Harrison wrote in his poetic dedication to 19th-century poet John Keats, I have thought the world was sick. Last month I wrote somewhere that the “moral heart has been ripped from the chest of humanity”.

That is absurd, of course. It works well only in a poetic way. There is no actual “moral heart” beating in “the chest of humanity”. I had to pull back from Spencer’s biology as a structural reality to explain the world. Social Darwinism justifies inequality and influences right-wing arguments that empathy was bad for humanity, and that poor people somehow deserved their lot.

It ignores the way that culture (writ larger than race or ethnicity) shapes social outcomes, and what we believe to be true and false. Whenever I read that we (journalists and public intellectuals) have to “defend the truth”, I am reminded that US President Donald Trump created an entire social media platform to defend truth.

How, then, does one explain the state of the world? Here is a moving image of the world. There are various permutations of violent conflict, targeted political kidnappings, assassinations, protest and rioting, destruction, oppressive militarism and policing, and mass displacement in France, Palestine, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, Sudan, Somalia, Britain, Indonesia, Serbia, Albania, Germany, the US, on The Steppes, and in Japan.

Over the past year we have had reports of extrajudicial killings and the kidnapping and targeted assassinations of political leaders from Venezuela to Iran. Rape continues to be used as a weapon of war (and in times of peace, as reports of sexual violence by US soldiers on Japanese girls and women have illustrated over the past two decades at least).

There is evidence of an AI bubble that is ready to burst, and talk of the US using a tactical nuclear bomb on Iran. How, then, does one explain or understand the world? Well, we can explain it any way we like.

Maybe the world is sick. Maybe we are going through Giambattista Vico’s cycle of development, which is followed by an inevitable reset. Maybe the second law of thermodynamics applies; that total entropy necessarily increases. Maybe we have to accept the idea of a Great Inversion (the integration of high-tech into human life) and look again at the likelihood that we are at the end of an epoch.

I draw a line only at end-times explanations; it’s a face I cannot prepare, never mind the faces I meet.

• Lagardien, an external examiner at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, has worked in the office of the chief economist of the World Bank and the secretariat of the National Planning Commission.

Business Day

According to the latest adjustment announced by the department of mineral and petroleum resources, both grades of petrol will decrease by just 1c/l. This will take the price of 95 octane petrol in Gauteng to R30.24/l and 93 octane petrol to R29.87/l. At the coast, 95 octane petrol will cost R29.37/l.

Diesel users will receive more substantial relief, with the wholesale price of 0.05% sulphur diesel falling by R1.10/l and 0.005% sulphur diesel by R1.20/l.

The inland price of 0.05% sulphur diesel will reduce to R30.85 and that of 0.005% diesel to R31.60.

At the coast, 0.05% diesel will cost R29.98 and 0.005% will be R30.83.

The reductions come after finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced a temporary cut in the general fuel levy during his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on October 21. The measure reduces the levy by R1.50/l for petrol and R3/l for diesel.

The relief will apply from November 4 to December 1, when the general fuel levy will fall to 279c/l for petrol and 116c/l for diesel.

However, the benefit has been largely eroded in the case of petrol by higher international product prices, a weaker rand and an increase in the slate levy.

The department said international product prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased during the review period between October 2 and October 29.

The rand also weakened against the US dollar, averaging R16.55 over the period, compared with R16.21 previously. This added 37c/l to the basic fuel price of petrol and 48c to diesel.

A further factor was the increase in the slate levy, which is used to recover accumulated under-recoveries in the fuel pricing system. The levy rises by 48c/l to 135.84c/l for both petrol and diesel.

The maximum retail price of liquefied petroleum gas will also increase by R1.83/kg, taking the inland price to R39.64/kg and the coastal price to R36.39/kg.

Business Day

As Western Cape premier, in 2012 Helen Zille utilised the extremely limited oversight powers available to a province to institute a commission of inquiry, colloquially termed the Khayelitsha commission, into policing in the Khayelitsha area. This was strongly resisted by the SAPS and only commenced after litigation.

During the commission witness after witness referred to a lack of human resources for policing. The commissioners, Vusi Pikoli and Kate O’Regan, wanted to understand whether this lack was evident everywhere, or whether it was particular to the Khayelitsha area. To this end, allocations of officers to police station level in the Western Cape were made available to the commission.

Analysis of these allocations revealed township and Cape Flats areas had far lower per capita allocations of officers than other police stations in the province. Harare, one of three police stations in Khayelitsha, had the lowest per capita allocation of all. This meant an inverse relationship was found between murder rates and policing rates — areas with higher murder rates had lower policing rates. How is this possible?

This is the result of the formula employed by the SAPS to determine the theoretical allocations to police stations, which used reported crime figures and a range of weighting factors.

The problem with this approach is rates of reporting of crime vary considerably: surveys commissioned by the provincial government found affluent suburban areas had high rates of reporting crime, in the region of 70%, while more deprived areas had low rates (about 25%).

Furthermore, the weighting factors more likely found in suburban areas outnumbered factors more likely found in township areas by two to one. Thus, the formula by design decided suburban areas needed more per capita policing than township areas.

On average, police stations were allocated 67% of the theoretical, with some priority stations — those with the highest number, not rate, of murders — allocated 100%. Despite this, the outcome was still that poorer, township areas with high murder rates were given the lowest allocations. Calculations suggested upward adjustments would need to be in the 100s of police officers to bring these areas in line with other areas.

The commission recommended the SAPS change its allocation process. Three years passed and little changed. Then the Social Justice Coalition, Equal Education and the Nyanga Community Police Forum took the SAPS to the Equality Court, and won. The SAPS was ordered to consult and adapt its formula.

Despite this, adjustments in allocations have not been of the scale necessary. This would almost certainly require the establishment of additional police stations as the worst areas, such as Nyanga and Mitchells Plain, also serve large populations numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

During this protracted legal process Alan Winde became premier of the province in 2019, after a short stint as community safety MEC. Winde set the province a target of halving the murder rate by 2030. While a comprehensive set of crime prevention interventions in schools and communities falls more easily into the provincial ambit, Winde recognised additional policing would need to be part of the package.

As the SAPS failed to make the necessary adjustments, and the province had no direct powers of policing, he sought to bolster policing via municipal law enforcement. National legislation outlaws the external funding of municipal metro police, but no such limitation applies to law enforcement exercised as an incidental function of the municipal power to make by-laws.

The provincial Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (Leap) was established in 2019, with the province funding the training and deployment of an additional 1,000 law enforcement officers in Cape Town, exclusively in high murder rate areas. Law enforcement training in other municipalities has also been funded.

Though they have limited powers compared to SAPS and metro police, Leap officers provide visible policing and regularly confiscate illegal firearms and dangerous weapons. Unfortunately, single digit conviction rates for unlawful possession of firearms in places such as Athlone, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Grabouw — all high murder rate areas — are evident; all such cases are processed by the SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority.

In addition, much to the dismay of the city, the courts have been treating firearm offences lightly: the Athlone court recently granted R5,000 bail for those arrested by metro police for unlawful possession of AK47s, and sentences seldom involve imprisonment.

Deployment of Leap officers works best when there is good co-operation with the SAPS, which has extensive powers. Initially this was not forthcoming, but both recent government of national unity (GNU) police ministers, Senzo Mchunu and Firoz Cachalia, have encouraged greater co-operation.

Furthermore, since April 2026 Operation Prosper has seen the deployment of military personnel to further bolster numbers in high murder areas. A recent double murder in Military Road near Lavender Hill saw a response within minutes and the suspects arrested, with all these agencies co-operating.

The data from Western Cape forensic pathology, which records weekly homicides, is unequivocal that most Leap and Operation Prosper areas are so far showing a reduction in the number of homicides compared to equivalent periods of earlier years. Whether that is attributable to their presence or other factors is, of course, not known. However, as we are in the part of the year where murders usually rise, the lived experience of people right now would not reflect that change, and murder and violence remain unacceptably high.

What of Winde’s goal to halve the murder rate? In the Western Cape, using SAPS figures for July to June 2018/19, the murder rate was 71 per 100,000. For July to June 2025/2026, it was 57 per 100,000. This is a 20% reduction since 2018/19. This was not only a result of population growth, but also due to an actual reduction in the number of murders.

The murder trends since 2019 have been dramatic. Lockdown saw an unnatural decrease, followed by a soaring increase thereafter across South Africa, a trend that only began to temper from mid-2024. The Western Cape had a more muted increase.

Though the country has seen a recent reduction in murder numbers, the number is still larger than that recorded in 2019. Nevertheless, the equivalent murder rate calculations for South Africa excluding the Western Cape show the murder rate going from 34 per 100,000 to 33 per 100,000.

Thus, though the murder rate of the Western Cape remains extremely high and higher than the rest of the country, progress has been made in bringing it down. For the rest of the country, after increases and decreases, it is pretty much where it was in 2018/19.

For further reductions to occur in the Western Cape policing must on a permanent basis recognise the Cape Flats needs more, not only equal policing. Whether that involves fixing the SAPS and its allocation system, or increasing the powers of sub-national policing (“devolution”) is a debate that will continue.

The prosecuting authorities and the courts will have to step up too — single digit firearms conviction rates and a lax approach to automatic weapons possession are unacceptable. Non-policing interventions — the whole of society approach that has accompanied the reductions thus far — must be maintained and extended.

South Africa as a whole managed to halve the murder rate between the late 1990s and 2010. It can be done again, but it requires the co-operation of all levels and functions of government. This seems to have become more possible since the advent of the GNU.

• Redpath is a senior researcher at the Dullah Omar Institute. She provided expert evidence to the Khayelitsha Commission and in SJC v Minister of Police. She serves on the provincial safety advisory committee of the Western Cape.

Business Day

This was despite October being the first full month following September’s interest-rate increase. Higher fuel costs also failed to put a dampener on sales.

According to figures from industry body Naamsa, sales were 10.4% higher than in October 2025. Sales for the first 10 months of 2026 totalled 554,081 vehicles, an increase of 12.3% from 493,427 a year earlier, leaving the market on course to finish the year well ahead of last year’s performance.

These purchases are unfolding against a challenging household cost environment. Two interest rate increases this year have taken the prime lending rate to 10.75%, while fuel prices have surged to record-high levels, driven largely by international oil market shocks and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

“Customers are still making careful decisions about what they can afford, and a stronger overall sales figure does not mean that pressure on household budgets has eased,” said Brandon Cohen, chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada).

Last month’s growth was driven mostly by passenger car sales, which reached 45,084 units, a 13.6% increase over October 2025. The car rental industry accounted for 21.4% of these sales.

Rental purchases ... reflect different needs from those of a family replacing its car or a small business buying a bakkie. For retailers, understanding who is buying is as important as knowing how many vehicles have been sold

Brandon Cohen, National Automobile Dealers’ Association chair

Light commercial vehicle sales, including bakkies and minibuses, increased by 2.2% to 13,689 units. Medium commercial truck sales rose 0.9% to 770 units, while heavy truck and bus sales increased by 8.1% to 2,347 units.

Dealerships accounted for an estimated 78% of October’s sales, compared with 81.4% reported in September. Rental companies’ share increased from 13.8% to 16.5% of all sales.

“Rental purchases were an important part of October’s sales result as we approach the year-end travel period,” said Cohen. “These purchases reflect different needs from those of a family replacing its car or a small business buying a bakkie. For retailers, understanding who is buying is as important as knowing how many vehicles have been sold.”

Rising fuel bills are also encouraging more hybrid and electric vehicle sales. Cumulative sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which include hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, reached 22,389 units in the first nine months of the year, already 34% above the full-year 2025 total. Plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles now account for just over half of these sales, with traditional hybrids making up the rest.

Toyota retained its dominant market leadership in October with 14,495 domestic sales. In second place was Suzuki Auto, which set a new monthly sales record of 7,292 units, surpassing its previous record of 6,890 units set in October 2025. In third was Volkswagen (6,515), followed by Ford (3,353), Hyundai (3,207), GWM (2,919), Chery (2,754), Kia (2,233), Isuzu (2,123) and Jetour (2,102) rounding out the top 10.

Best-selling vehicles in October

1. Toyota Hilux — 3,820;
2. VW Polo Vivo — 2,580;
3. Ford Ranger — 2,381;
4. Suzuki Swift — 2,344;
5. Chery Tiggo 4 Cross — 1,924;
6. Toyota Corolla Cross — 1,723;
7. Isuzu D-Max — 1,644;
8. Toyota Starlet Cross — 1,611;
9. Hyundai Grand i10 — 1,430;
10. Haval Jolion — 1,343;
11. Kia Sonet — 1,317;
12. Suzuki Ertiga — 1,234;
13. Suzuki Fronx — 1,118;
14. Toyota Vitz — 1,091;
15. Toyota Starlet — 1,081;
16. VW Polo — 991;
17. Toyota Urban Cruiser — 939;
18. Toyota Fortuner — 894;
19. Toyota Rumion — 777;
20. Jetour T2 — 753;
21. VW T-Cross — 739;
22. Omoda C5 — 726;
23. GWM P-Series — 666;
24. Jetour Dashing — 646;
25. Tata Tiago — 645;
26. Mahindra XUV 3XO — 615;
27. Toyota Hiace — 600;
28. VW Polo Sedan — 563;
29. Suzuki Baleno — 556;
30. Renault Triber — 551.

• Source: Lightstone/Naamsa

Business Day

The company said on Tuesday in its production report for the nine months to September, the Boshoek smelter, near Rustenburg in North West province, began restarting in September, followed by Wonderkop, in the Marikana area, in October. Production at the two operations is expected to ramp up through the fourth quarter.

The restarts come as South Africa’s ferrochrome industry grapples with high electricity costs and competition from lower-cost international producers. Electricity costs for the industry had risen by more than 900% since 2008, putting pressure on the competitiveness of local smelting operations.

The two smelters were suspended in May 2025 as the economics of operating them came under pressure. Their prolonged closure contributed to a 46% fall in Merafe’s attributable ferrochrome production to 61,000 tonnes in the nine months to September, from 112,000 tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

The electricity agreements followed months of negotiations between the ferrochrome industry, Eskom and government to support struggling smelters in a sector regarded as strategically important to South Africa’s mining and industrial economy.

In January, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved a temporary electricity tariff for the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome. The interim reduction provided some relief but was insufficient to make restarting Boshoek and Wonderkop commercially viable.

Eskom subsequently agreed to a negotiated tariff of 62c/kWh for the two producers. Nersa approved the revised tariff in May, and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture finalised its electricity pricing agreement with Eskom in June. The three-year arrangement applies to the participating producers.

The lower electricity tariff addresses one of the industry’s main cost pressures. South African producers still face competition from China, which has overtaken the country as the world’s leading ferrochrome processor, partly because of lower electricity costs.

Merafe’s chrome ore production fell 7% to 658,000 tonnes in the nine months to September, from 710,000 tonnes in the same period last year. The company attributed the reduction to lower mine production and less ore processed through its concentrators.

Platinum group metals (PGM) concentrate production fell 8% to 10,200 ounces, mainly due to lower primary mine production and changes in feed mix.

Business Day

The Chinese marque’s first car was the L4 compact SUV, measuring 4,406mm in length, which made its South African debut earlier this year in three models priced from R300,000 to R420,000.

The larger Lepas L6 was introduced more recently as a more premium offering in two variants: the L6 Javan for R469,900 and the L6 Pantera for R499,900. Both come with a five-year/150,000km warranty, a 10-year/1-million-km engine warranty and a five-year/75,000km service plan.

At 4,554mm in length, the L6 competes in one of the market’s most intensely contested segments against crossover rivals such as the Toyota Corolla Cross, Chery Tiggo 7, Haval Jolion Pro and Omoda C5. The Volkswagen Tiguan and Toyota RAV4 are also potential alternatives, albeit at considerably higher prices.

The L6 is a roomy family car, with comfortable accommodation for four to five adults. Despite being larger than the L4, its boot is slightly smaller, at 435l compared with 458l. It accommodates a decent amount of luggage, with a further 71l storage compartment beneath the load floor. The boot expands to a generous 1,255l with the rear seats folded.

Apart from being slightly larger than the L4, the L6 has distinctly more upmarket interior finishes, with soft-touch surfaces instead of the smaller model’s more budget-focused hard plastics. The soft-touch surfaces add to long-distance comfort, particularly when resting your elbows, while the leatherette seats look classy with their elaborate stitching and are very comfortable.

The cabin has the typically minimalist look of many of its Chinese peers, but interesting textures and shades add character and prevent the interior from looking drab.

Perched on the dashboard is a tablet-like 13.2-inch infotainment display that controls most cabin functions. With its high-definition graphics and logical layout, it is generally intuitive to use and has shortcut buttons for the climate control system and other frequently used features.

As is typical of Chinese cars, the Lepas L6 offers a host of premium features at an accessible price, the sort of bang for buck that gives legacy brands nightmares as they struggle to compete on price and see their market shares eroded.

Both versions of the L6 come with an impressive array of toys, including a 540° HD surround-view camera, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 50W wireless smartphone charging pad, artificial leather seats, panoramic sunroof, electric tailgate, electrically adjustable front seats and automatic headlights.

The range-topping L6 Pantera tester adds a few more bells and whistles, including heated and ventilated front seats, an eight-speaker Sony premium audio system and multi-colour ambient lighting. Its additional safety equipment includes lane-keeping assist, high-beam assist, seven airbags (one more than the Javan) and adaptive cruise control.

It is a formidable list of luxuries for the price.

The Lepas L6 shares its mechanicals with the L4, including a 1.5l turbocharged petrol engine paired with a dual-clutch automatic transmission sending power to the front wheels. Eco, Normal and Sport modes allow drivers to tailor the car’s responses to the journey, but all-wheel drive is not available.

With outputs of 108kW and 225Nm, the car performs with reasonable gusto, particularly on the open road, where it has an easy cruising ability and perky overtaking prowess. In urban stop-start driving, however, the dual-clutch transmission doesn’t always make a happy partner with the turbo engine. Pulling away on an incline can be awkward, with initial lag followed by a power spurt that sometimes causes wheelspin.

Despite this occasional throttle and transmission calibration issue, the L6 is a refined experience overall, with no untoward wind or engine noises intruding into the cabin. It is also reasonably economical. The tester averaged 7.4l/100km, close to the manufacturer’s claimed 7.2l/100km.

The ride is comfortable, with the Lepas L6 tackling bumps without jarring, and the build quality seems very solid. Its ground clearance of 158mm is relatively modest for an SUV, but the handling is car-like and the crossover takes corners neatly. With decent visibility and very light steering, it is easy to manoeuvre in the urban hustle.

Verdict

The Lepas L6 Pantera follows a well-established Chinese-car formula, combining a modern, well-equipped cabin with a turbocharged 1.5l engine and competitive pricing. As usual, the caveats concern long-term reliability and resale values, which remain untested.

It is competitively priced in a crowded market and makes a more convincing proposition than the smaller Lepas L4, particularly with its more premium interior and generous specification. Its power outputs are relatively modest compared with some rivals, but it doesn’t feel underpowered and its better-than-average fuel economy is a strong drawcard with petrol prices what they are.

The throttle calibration behaviour is not enough to undermine what is otherwise a well-rounded family crossover offering plenty of features for the money.

Lepas L6 1.5T Pantera vs rivals

• Chery Tiggo 7 1.5T Executive, 108kW/210Nm — R457,900
• Changan Uni-S 1.5T CE, 138kW/300Nm — R469,900
• Jetour Dashing 1.5T Prime, 125kW/270Nm —R479,900
• Lepas L6 1.5T Pantera, 108kW/225Nm — R499,900
• GAC GS3 Emzoom 1.5T R Style, 130kW/270Nm —R499,900
• Haval Jolion Pro 1.5T S Ultra, 130kW/270Nm — R500,450
• Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 XR, 103kW/172Nm — R518,400
• Jaecoo J7 1.6T Vortex, 145kW/290Nm —R519,900
• Hyundai Tucson 2.0 Premium, 115kW/192Nm — R559,900
• VW Tiguan 1.4TSI, 110kW/250Nm — R664,500
• Toyota RAV4 2.0 VX, 127kW/203Nm — R799,900.

Business Day

The government of national unity formed by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his ANC lost its outright parliamentary majority in the 2024 national elections has been credited with accelerating economic reforms and improving investor confidence.

But last month ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula called for a review of the DA’s continued participation in the government of national unity after the second-largest party opposed the ANC’s case at the Constitutional Court over the inclusion of its candidates in six municipalities in this week’s elections.

Added to that, any possible flare-up in tensions during the municipal coalition negotiations that are certain to ensue after Wednesday’s elections could also affect how those parties co-operate at national level.

Moody’s, which recently applauded the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) tabled by finance minister Enoch Godongwana as credit positive, will look for an electoral outcome that signals the continuation of South Africa’s current positive fiscal trajectory, senior vice president at Moody’s Ratings Lucie Villa said.

“Everything is from the prism of whether we see signs that the new coalition mode that South Africa is experiencing is one that can function well from a credit perspective, which is making sure that the ministry of finance can continue its mandate of fiscal consolidation,” she told Business Day.

“Yes, we look at elections, but what is important is to look at different political events in the year to form a trend, rather than just one event taken in isolation against the rest. It’s always a question of whether the people who are making the decisions that are credit positive are going to remain in place and have the mandate to do that. That’s all that matters to us.

“If the coalition is shaken, but there is no possibility in any way to reverse some of the measures taken, and it takes them a few additional months to then form another coalition that is again in line with the reform agenda that we’ve seen, you may even argue it’s a good test of the fact that coalition regimes in South Africa are working.

“I think there would be more of a threat if there was a change in policy direction, whether it is part of a new coalition or whether it is part of a shaken coalition and they feel they can’t continue the agenda. But any signal that there is a U-turn in the policy direction would be negative,” Villa added.

Moody’s, which revised its outlook on South Africa to positive from stable in May, is scheduled to give its next review on November 27, as is S&P Global. Fellow ratings agency Fitch will publish its own on December 11.

Though some economists see a ratings upgrade next month as unlikely, Bank of America in a recent viewpoint said, “We view Moody’s as the most likely agency to act, with a potential upgrade to Ba1, while an S&P upgrade to BB+ remains a closer call.”

Villa said the National Treasury’s commitment to reining in government debt and the Reserve Bank’s razor-sharp focus on containing inflation had probably made South Africa the most resilient country in Sub-Saharan Africa to the Middle East conflict, which has pushed global oil prices sharply higher.

“It is a very large, deep economy with a very sophisticated financial sector, and where we’re seeing the highest quality of institutions in terms of dealing with the inflationary impact,” she said.

With its outlook on positive, Moody’s could make a call on the country’s rating as early as the November review.

“In general, with a nonstable outlook, whether it is positive or negative, we tend to resolve it within the next 12 to 18 months. If we were to do it by the end of the year, that would be relatively soon compared to what is the normal,” Villa said.

“The positive outlook was in May. So it will reach 12 months in May next year, and 18 months in the second periodic review of 2027. We can use any of those dates, whether it’s the November one, whether it’s the first one in 2027 or the next one, or even maybe wait until 2028. The moment we feel it’s ready, we just act.”

Business Day

Three days later, on October 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for Nato in the Black Sea that has left littoral member states such as Romania and Bulgaria exposed.

Military analysts said they had little doubt that these were Russian attacks. A naval drone seen on video of the last strike resembled a Russian variant, according to shipping security firm Ambrey.

“I think it’s undeniably an escalation,” said Sidharth Kaushal, a senior fellow at the London-based RUSI think tank.

Russia denies targeting Ukraine’s neighbours with drones and says that European governments are the ones escalating the war in Ukraine by supplying military aid. Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Analyst says Russia is testing red lines

Many of the ships hit in October were anchored near or sailing to or from a key Romanian canal used by Ukraine for exports. One was in Romanian territorial waters, while the other eight were in its or Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

Iulia Joja, director of the Black Sea programme for the Washington-based Middle East Institute think-tank, said Russia’s attacks were taking into account the West’s aversion to escalation.

“This is about testing these red lines, with full awareness that we will do everything possible to take the most minimal measures,” Joja said, drawing a comparison with Russian drone incursions into Nato airspace in recent years.

A Nato official said Russian actions aimed at dissuading Nato allies from supporting Ukraine were a serious security threat and that the alliance’s commitment to defending all its members, including those on the Black Sea, was “ironclad”.

The official said there was a clear need for cost-effective counter-drone capabilities, but that the alliance had already committed to investing more than $40bn (R666.4bn) in counter-drone capabilities in the next five years.

Black Sea a crucial waterway

For Romania, the Black Sea is a crucial waterway for trade and home to its offshore Neptun Deep project that will make it the EU’s largest gas producer next year. Neptun Deep was approached by a naval drone in August.

Bucharest has accused Russia of “systematic” strikes on civilian ships but stopped short of attributing individual attacks, citing the need for forensic evidence. Sofia has not blamed Russia, but said some of the attacks seem to benefit it.

The strikes come at a time when Washington is reassessing its military presence in Europe as it focuses on China. The US withdrew 1,000 troops from Romania last year.

“It’s a moment in the transatlantic relationship that Putin likely wants to use,” said a senior Romanian official. “The EU and Nato’s attention is important and their forces are currently focusing towards the north and the Baltics.”

While Nato has reinforced its “enhanced forward presence” for the Baltics and Poland, Joja said it had not done the same in Romania despite Bucharest’s requests.

“Brussels and Washington still don’t seem to have decided whether the Black Sea is fully part of the Nato commitment.”

The Romanian official highlighted Romania’s pressing need for surface-to-air interceptors and radar systems to counter threats.

Joja said the limited availability of cheap interceptor weapons, exacerbated by the war in Iran, was a central problem for the West.

Nearly 400 vessels hit in past year

The surge in strikes on Black Sea shipping has strangled a major conduit for exports of grain and oil used by Russia and Ukraine.

The two sides hit 317 merchant and other vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov between May and October, a more than fourfold rise on the 74 vessels they struck in the previous half-year, according to Tomas Alexa, a senior analyst at Ambrey Analytics.

The tempo of attacks has fluctuated ahead of the fifth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February.

Ukraine carried out 137 attacks on ships compared with 92 Russian ones in the third quarter, while in October, Russia hit 38 compared with five Ukrainian strikes, Ambrey said.

Grain exports slump

Ports have been battered and exports have shrivelled, forcing Russia and Ukraine to seek alternative export routes.

Russia exported just 300,000 tonnes of grain in September through the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, down from 4.74-million tonnes in the same month last year, according to Russian export data seen by Reuters.

Ukraine suspended operations at its Black Sea ports in late July due to Russian attacks, prompting it to divert volumes to river ports on the Danube and onwards through Romania’s Sulina Canal and southwards through Romania’s section of the Black Sea.

Even with this alternative route, Ukraine’s port exports of grain slumped to 810,000 tonnes in September compared with 2.1-million in September last year, government data showed.

Further reducing these volumes remains Russia’s primary goal with testing Nato as the secondary objective, said Andriy Ryzhenko, a naval analyst and former senior Ukrainian naval officer.

Zelensky warns of food crisis

Last week’s attack took place as the defence ministers and military chiefs of Romania, Bulgaria and fellow Nato littoral state Turkey met in Sofia to discuss the situation.

The defence minister of Turkey, which is waiting for a response from Moscow and Kyiv on a narrow maritime ceasefire proposal, used the meeting to warn Russia and Ukraine against further attacks.

Turkey controls the transit of warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles under the Montreux Convention.

Several countries, including Egypt, Turkey and India, have pushed for maritime ceasefires to avert fallout from the disruption of shipping at a time when global fuel and grain prices have soared. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Saturday there was growing international interest in a limited ceasefire.

Russia has rejected the idea of a narrow maritime ceasefire that it says would provide respite to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sounded the alarm.

“Everyone is talking about diesel and forgetting about grain. In a month or two, everyone will start talking about an agricultural crisis,” he said in October.

Attacks on cargo vessels off the coast of Nato members Romania and Bulgaria have surged in recent weeks, the latest fallout from the escalating fighting between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Here is a list of attacks on vessels and other major incidents near the two western Black Sea states in recent weeks.

Cargo vessels

October 5 — The Royad Mammadov general cargo ship, flying the flag of St Kitts and ​Nevis, was struck 55km south of the Romanian town of Sfantu Gheorghe. Two crew members died.

October 6 — Togo-flagged general cargo vessel Alfa Watan sank after it was hit by a drone about 70 nautical miles off eastern Bulgaria’s coastal town of Byala. Twelve crew members were listed missing.

October 6 — Palau-flagged general cargo vessel Able was struck in the same attack, also within Bulgaria’s economic zone. Two people were injured.

October 13 — Ukraine-owned, Malta-flagged general cargo ship and dry bulk grain carrier Chelsea 3 was hit by three drones and damaged about 18 nautical miles off Bulgaria. All its crew members were rescued.

October 13 — Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship HS Dignity sank off the Bulgarian village of Krapets, which lies near the Romanian border. Five crew members were rescued and 11 were missing.

October 14 — Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J was hit by a drone roughly 8-10 nautical miles southeast of Sulina, within Romanian territorial waters. All its crew members were rescued.

October 15 — San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader was hit 13 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina canal, 1 nautical mile outside Romanian waters. Seven crew members were listed missing.

October 23 — Comoros-flagged ore and oil cargo carrier Khoryv capsized and sank 13 nautical miles from Romania’s flagship Black Sea port of Constanta. All its crew were rescued.

October 28 — Greece-owned, Liberian-flagged Contship Jet container vessel was struck by three naval drones and later sank in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. The ship, whose crew were rescued, had been on its way to the Romanian port of Constanta.

Neptun Deep and Constanta Port

August 26 — A naval drone was spotted just a few hundred metres from Romania’s Neptun Deep offshore gas project, prompting Bucharest to scramble F-16 fighter jets to destroy it. Neptun Deep, jointly owned by OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria’s OMV, and Romanian state producer Romgaz, will make Romania the EU’s largest gas producer next year.

August 11 — Romanian army divers destroyed two Gerbera-type drones that were drifting in the country’s Black Sea exclusive economic zone near Neptun Deep.

June 5 — A maritime drone self-detonated in Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta near an oil terminal, without causing casualties. Ukraine said the drone belonged to it, but that it had lost control of it due to Russian electronic warfare jamming.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

With South Africa set to hold its much-anticipated local government elections on Wednesday, here is what voters need to know before heading to the polls.

Speaking to Business Day on Monday, Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) electoral registrations and liaison manager Kgosietsile Tshoke outlined what the more than 29.2-million registered voters need to do before casting their ballots:

• Check your voting stations where you are registered. SMS your ID number to 32810;
• Check that you have your correct ID document. Only a green bar-coded ID, Smart Card or valid temporary ID certificate allowed;
• Arrive on time. Voting stations open at 7am and close at 9pm;
• Protect the secrecy of your ballots by not taking pictures of how you voted;
• Respect the Electoral Code of Conduct;
• Respect other voters’ political choices and affiliations;
• Respect and take orders from the presiding officer or electoral staff;
• Report any irregularities to the staff or police officers stationed at the voting station.

Tshoke appealed to voters to not attempt to influence others not to vote or to vote for a specific party:

• Don’t spread mis-and disinformation;
• Don’t take pictures of your ballots to show how you voted. Your vote is your secret;
• Don’t attend any rallies or partake in any political activity on election day;
• Don’t bring any weapons or arrive under the influence of alcohol at the voting station;
• Don’t destroy posters or materials of other parties. 

The IEC has said 2.6-million people were expected to cast their votes on Monday and Tuesday, with the commission having deployed 127,000 officials to oversee the special voting process.

📊 View Live Election Results Dashboard

Business Day

Speaking at the group’s AGM on Monday, CEO Ockert Janse van Rensburg told shareholders said the operating environment has been characterised by economic uncertainty and structural change within the automotive industry.

The group, which operates as an integrated, non-manufacturing provider of vehicle products, services, and mobility solutions, benefited from new-vehicle demand in South Africa and the UK, which supported volume growth, while the continued shift towards Chinese brands and new energy vehicles further reshaped the automotive industry.

He said the economic environment remains challenging across the group’s markets. Based on its trading performance for the financial year to date, revenue for the six months ending December is expected to be broadly in line with the prior comparative period. For the six months ended December 2025, the group reported revenue of R57.6bn.

In September, Business Day reported that Motus, which sells one in every five new cars sold in South Africa, said its move to increase the number of Chinese brands in its showrooms has yielded results as consumers continue to gravitate towards these brands, alongside Indian cars.

This strategy delivered strong results, with sales of Chinese and Indian brands in the group’s South African operations increasing more than 200% compared with the previous year.

The group said the momentum was also evident in its international operations, where sales of Chinese brands increased by more than 300% in the UK and 44% in Australia.

Janse van Rensburg said at the AGM that the economic environment remains challenging across the group’s markets. Based on its trading performance for the financial year to date, revenue for the six months ending December is expected to be broadly in line with the prior comparative period. For the six months ended December 2025, the group reported revenue of R57.6bn.

He said the South African new vehicle market remains strong, supported by greater brand choice, competitive pricing and demand for more affordable vehicles.

The group maintained its 20% passenger vehicle market share, supported by Motus Importer volumes, which grew ahead of the market.

“Pre-owned volumes continue to grow, supported by the enhanced use of our in-house valuation technology and the strengthening of our retail footprint. A shift in vehicle mix towards entry-level and lower-priced vehicles is moderating the benefit of strong volume growth.”

Vehicle Rental continues to operate in a highly competitive market with utilisation rates in line with the group’s expectations. Mobility Solutions’ annuity-based income is expected to grow, benefiting from higher vehicle sales.

Aftermarket Parts is being impacted by softer demand as pressure on consumers’ disposable income persists. International operations

He added that the group’s international operations continue to face challenging economic conditions. UK Retail revenue is benefiting from improved passenger vehicle demand and annuity-based aftersales income in the Commercial Division.

Its heavy commercial vehicle volumes remain subdued, though recent growth in the order book is an encouraging indicator of potential future sales volumes, he said.

Australia Retail has been impacted by the rapid shift toward Chinese and new energy vehicles, as well as margin pressure. Aftermarket Parts is expected to remain challenged by consumer affordability constraints, resulting in weaker demand and margin pressure in the group’s retail stores, while its wholesale performance remains resilient.

The strengthening of the rand against major currencies is negatively affecting the translation of the international operations’ performance within the group results.

“The first quarter highlighted both the benefits of Motus’ diversified business model and the challenges created by the rapid transition taking place across the automotive industry. As the trading conditions in the geographies we operate in continue to evolve, Motus is well positioned through its diversified geographic footprint, broad brand portfolio and multiple revenue streams,” he said.

The group continues to see opportunities emerging from changing consumer preferences, the increasing adoption of new energy vehicles and the expansion of annuity-based income streams across the group.

“Supported by a strong balance sheet and experienced management team, we remain confident in the group’s ability to strengthen earnings resilience and capitalise on opportunities as they emerge,” he said.

Business Day

While the ruling is specific to this case, it may strengthen the hand of other patients fighting for access to treatments their medical schemes deem too expensive.

The dispute centres on KeyHealth’s decision to provide only partial cover for AstraZeneca’s ravulizumab as a treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria, which is classed as a prescribed minimum benefit (PMB), and imposing a series of conditions on the family’s membership.

The child’s treatment with ravulizumab, branded Ultomiris, is expected to cost about R7.3m for the first year and R6.1m a year after that.

PMBs are a minimum basket of care that all medical schemes are legally obliged to cover for all their members, regardless of which option they belong to. The extent to which schemes can impose limits on this obligation has been fiercely contested for more than a decade, with schemes pushing back against requests for costly treatments they deem unaffordable.

In a ruling handed down on October 29, the CMS appeals committee directed KeyHealth to provide full cover for the child’s treatment with ravulizumab without conditions.

“The statutory architecture is clear: once a condition is classified as a PMB, regulation 8(1) (of the Medical Schemes Act) imposes an absolute, non-negotiable obligation on the scheme to fund its diagnosis, treatment and care in full,” the committee said in its ruling.

It dismissed KeyHealth’s argument that it was only required to provide cover to the level offered by the public sector, which does not provide ravulizumab, saying the minor should not be penalised by the state’s out-dated medicines list.

Ultomiris was registered with the European Medicines Agency in 2019 but only approved by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority in May.

The committee found that the child’s condition had progressively deteriorated on supportive care and that KeyHealth was obliged by regulation 15 (h) of the Medical Schemes Act to provide alternative treatment without financial penalty, co-payments or compulsory option upgrades.

The appeals committee overturned the CMS registrar’s decision on August 3, upholding KeyHealth’s position, which was that it would provide 50% cover for ravulizumab provided the child’s family agreed to a series of conditions.

These included switching to a more expensive plan, committing to remaining members of the scheme until end-2027, and agreeing to a review of funding if the child was admitted to hospital.

KeyHealth is a medium-sized medical scheme, with 78,000 beneficiaries by end-2025.

The appeals committee said KeyHealth was in a “robust” financial position in 2025, as it reported a solvency ratio of 46.1%, well above the statutory requirement of 25%, and a net surplus of R249.1m.

The office of the CMS registrar said it had received notice from KeyHealth that it intended to appeal the ruling with the CMS Appeals Board. It declined to comment on the implications of the ruling, given the pending appeal.

KeyHealth had not responded to Business Day’s request for comment at the time of publication.

MediCheck CEO Mark Hyman, who represents the child’s family, said he would seek a declaratory order from the high court to compel KeyHealth to immediately comply with the appeal committee ruling.

Business Day

Financial services group 27four’s Investment Management South Africa 2026 report — based on a survey of 102 investment managers^* — shows R391.6bn in private debt strategies and R238.1bn in private equity strategies.

Together, these represent R629.7bn in assets under management, equivalent to nearly 8% of the R8.38-trillion reported by survey respondents.

Notably, private debt accounts for approximately 62% of this combined total, making it substantially larger than private equity.

Both provide capital outside traditional listed markets, but their investment models, borrowers and sources of funding vary.

Private debt has become a substantial source of finance

Private debt strategies account for 4.7% of total surveyed assets, compared with 2.9% in private equity strategies.

The distinction matters. Private equity generally involves acquiring an ownership stake in a business. Private credit provides financing that must be repaid, giving businesses access to capital outside conventional banking channels.

27four’s report also reveals significant concentration within private credit. In its detailed analysis of fund exposures, the four largest funds account for approximately 90% of the total examined, with the largest alone representing about 52%.

This points to a market where a handful of large lending platforms operate alongside smaller, specialist private-credit managers.

The borrower profile is revealing. Eighty percent of managers in the detailed analysis identify established small and mid-sized businesses as their primary borrowers, yet only 15% report average loan sizes below R15m.

This is principally institutional lending to established businesses, rather than small-ticket lending to start-ups or micro-enterprises.

The financing supports business expansion, acquisitions, infrastructure investment and refinancing.

Geographically, private credit is overwhelmingly domestic. Managers report an average allocation of 89% to South Africa, 10% elsewhere in Africa and just 1% to global markets.

Private credit’s strong domestic focus means that its performance is closely linked to the health of the South African economy, particularly the ability of local businesses to generate cash flow, service debt and repay their loans.

Infrastructure is the heavyweight of private equity

Private equity presents a different picture.

Infrastructure equity accounts for 49% of assets but is pursued by only 35% of managers. In contrast, traditional private equity accounts for 30% of assets but is pursued by 62% of managers.

The contrast is significant: infrastructure commands the largest share of capital, while traditional private equity attracts the greatest number of managers.

Infrastructure investments generally require larger commitments over longer periods. Traditional private equity spans a broader range of businesses and transaction sizes, including the mid-market.

The size of participating managers also varies substantially. More than two-fifths manage less than R1bn, while 15% oversee more than R10bn. The median manager has R1.7bn under management, compared with an average of R7.5bn.

This difference reveals an industry comprising many relatively small firms alongside a limited number of substantially larger investment platforms.

Foreign investors are becoming major backers of private equity

One of the report’s most striking findings is the growing contribution of offshore investors to private-equity fundraising.

Before 2010, foreign investors accounted for just 4% of fund commitments. For funds raised between 2021 and 2026, that share increased to 39%.

The shift is particularly pronounced in infrastructure, where offshore investors account for 49% of recent commitments.

Traditional private equity has experienced a similar change, with foreign commitments increasing from 0.2% before 2010 to 36% in the latest period.

Foreign investors now provide nearly R4 in every R10 committed to private-equity funds in the report’s latest fundraising period, and almost half of infrastructure commitments.

Retirement funds: bridging the gap between capital and investment

South Africa faces a substantial infrastructure financing gap, yet one of its largest pools of long-term capital remains minimally invested in private equity.

According to Financial Sector Conduct Authority data cited in the report, retirement funds held R3.65-trillion in assets in 2024, with just 0.8% allocated to private-equity funds, against a regulatory ceiling of 15%.

The disparity raises an important question: are retirement fund trustees and their advisers adequately equipped to assess private-market opportunities, or are concerns about risk, liquidity and complexity discouraging investment?

Private equity and infrastructure investments require specialist expertise in valuations, fund structures, long investment horizons and the realisation of returns. Trustees must weigh these considerations against their fiduciary duty to protect members’ retirement savings.

The tension is significant. South Africa urgently needs capital for infrastructure and productive investment, but retirement funds cannot be expected to finance development at the expense of appropriate risk-adjusted returns.

The priority is not to push trustees towards higher allocations, but to strengthen their ability to evaluate private-market investments. Better investment knowledge, sound governance and access to credible opportunities could help unlock long-term capital without compromising the interests of retirement fund members.

The real test for private capital

The growth of private markets creates an opportunity to rethink how South Africa finances its economy. But expanding the industry is not, in itself, an economic achievement.

The distinction lies in what the capital enables: businesses that can expand, infrastructure that improves productivity, and investments that generate sustainable returns.

This requires more than willing investors. It requires viable projects, credible managers, disciplined investment decisions and the ability to turn long-term commitments into measurable outcomes.

Private capital cannot substitute for the reforms needed to make South Africa investable. But where those conditions exist, it can help turn economic potential into productive assets.

Ultimately, the success of private markets should be measured not only by assets under management, but by the value created for investors, businesses and the wider economy.

Download the full ‘Investment Management South Africa 2026′ report from the 27four website.

This article was sponsored by 27four.

^{*About the research: The ‘Investment Management South Africa 2026′ report incorporates the 27four DEI Index. The survey covers 102 participating investment managers reporting R8.38-trillion in assets under management. The R391.6bn private-debt and R238.1bn private-equity figures are drawn from the survey’s overall asset-allocation data. Private-market reporting includes invested capital and uncalled commitments. Figures describing manager concentration, borrowers, fundraising and investment practices are drawn from the relevant detailed respondent samples and do not necessarily cover every manager contributing to the overall totals.}

Since 1930, the German premium brand has provided bespoke wheels to various popes. Other global automotive brands have provided the Vatican with various wheels.

The exhibition also features a Benz Patent Motor Car from 1886, and one of the current Mercedes-Benz S-Classes, which were on the road on the “140 Places” tour on six continents until mid-October.

The Popemobiles on show include the following: Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460; Mercedes-Benz 300 d Landaulet; Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet; Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL Pullman Saloon; Mercedes-Benz 230 G; Mercedes-Benz S 500 long Landaulet; Mercedes-Benz ML 430 and Mercedes-Benz ML 500.

1930 Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460

The company’s first gift to the Vatican for the use of Pope Pius XI was a Nürburg 460 Pullman limousine, lavishly appointed with a single seat for the pontiff with high-quality silk brocade, selected woods and metals and an artistically designed headliner.

1960 Mercedes-Benz 300 d Landaulet

Pope John XXIII used a 300d landaulet with an extended wheelbase, a centrally located, electrically adjustable seat, rear controls for air conditioning and radio, and rear side windows that can be completely removed for public appearances. It also features steps that automatically deploy when the rear doors were opened.

1965 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet

The 600 Pullman landaulet that was handed over to Pope Paul VI features widened rear doors, a raised roof and an individually adjustable individual seat. Other equipment include a cooling system and an intercom system for communication with the driver.

1967 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL Pullman

Pope Paul VI’s used the 300 SEL Pullman limousine with a wheelbase extended by 650mm and larger rear doors. It was based on the iconic six-seater limousine which were mainly used to transport high-ranking guests of the Vatican.

1980 Mercedes-Benz 230 G

The Mercedes-Benz 230 G that was developed for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Germany in 1980 would be a game changer. It was the first Popemobile to feature the concept of a high transparent dome that protects the Pope from the elements while increasing visibility of the Pope.

The long-wheelbase G-Class with a pearlescent paintwork, gold-coloured trim elements and a white interior, including air conditioning, would spawn the 1982 Mercedes-Benz 230 GE Papal mobile with similar design protocols.

1997 Mercedes-Benz S 500 long Landaulet

During Pope John Paul II term the company would introduce a classic landaulet based on the S500 of the vintage. It’s equipped with an electro-hydraulic soft top and a single seat in the rear.

2002 Mercedes-Benz ML 430

Pope John Paul II also benefited from the new ML 430 SUV, which transferred the concept of the original G-Class with a larger and transparent dome, large windows that surround the pontiff’s seat and also painted in pearl white with a white interior.

In December 2012, an ML 500 was handed over to Pope Benedict XVI using a further development of the well-known and domed concept, but with enlarged rear construction for easier entry and egress.

2024 Mercedes G 580

The late Pope Francis would be the custodian of a new era of papal car when the company presented a special Mercedes-Benz G 580, the first all-electric Pope mobile.

Business Day

The battle for the senate is unfolding across nearly 10 closely contested statewide races, most in Republican strongholds.

History is against Trump’s Republicans: the sitting president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterm elections since World War 2. Trump’s approval rating is hovering near his all-time lows, dragged down by deep voter frustration over the war with Iran and the resulting rise in fuel prices.

The Democrat Party has nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.

US President Donald Trump

There is little doubt this year’s election is all about Trump, the central US political figure for most of the last decade. Trump himself has told his supporters repeatedly to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” a message Democratic leaders have happily echoed.

The president has sought to energise his base with more than two dozen campaign rallies since the start of October, the vast majority in states he easily won in 2024, underscoring the extent to which Republicans are playing defence.

Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist.

“The Democrat Party has nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history,” Trump said on Monday during a speech in Washington.

But opinion polls show voters are most concerned about affordability and disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue, after his sweeping tariff policy and his decision to attack Iran in February increased domestic costs. Republican candidates, meanwhile, have struggled to distance themselves from a president who demands fealty and rarely acknowledges mistakes.

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for election, along with 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats, though the majority of contests are not considered competitive. Democrats must flip at least three House seats and four Senate seats to win a majority in each chamber.

A Democratic House or Senate could launch investigations into what Democrats describe as self-dealing by the Trump administration and demand concessions to approve legislation.

A Democratic Senate would also have the power to block Trump appointments, including US Supreme Court nominations if vacancies arise.

But while Democrats have put Republicans on the defensive on much of their home turf, they have little margin for error. The party must defend all of its current seats, including a tight race in Michigan, while winning at least two states that voted for Trump by a double-digit margin two years ago: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

Opinion polls show Democrats either narrowly leading or within striking distance in all of those states.

Michigan race roiled by cross-party endorsement

The Michigan Senate contest between progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, 42, and Republican former US Representative Mike Rogers, 63, received a fresh jolt on Sunday, when Democrat Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost to El-Sayed in the party’s primary election, endorsed Rogers in a surprise reversal.

In addition to the implications for Senate control, the Michigan race represents a high-profile test of whether Republicans’ identity-based attacks — El-Sayed would be the nation’s first Muslim senator — prove effective in a battleground state.

A win for El-Sayed, who has criticised Israel and supports liberal policies such as universal healthcare, would also be seen as a boost for the party’s left wing ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

The Alaska senate race has been caught up in its own turmoil, after the New York Times reported that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, 53, helped recruit a third candidate who shares the first and last name of her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, 61.

Peltola has denied involvement. Trump’s justice department has launched a criminal probe into the allegations and filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election results, though a judge dismissed the latter effort.

In Texas, Democratic senate candidate James Talarico, 37, has his party once again dreaming of winning the biggest Republican state after decades of heartbreak. His scandal-plagued opponent, Republican attorney-general Ken Paxton, 63, has benefitted from a nine-figure investment from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars boosting Republicans.

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton, 62, a megachurch pastor, held a narrow polling lead over Republican US senator Roger Marshall, 66. The state voted for Trump by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century.

And in Maine, Republican US senator Susan Collins, 73, is once again seeking to defy the Democratic leanings of her home state and win a sixth term. She faces Democrat Troy Jackson, 58, a former state senate president who unexpectedly became the nominee after Democratic oyster farmer Graham Platner dropped out amid accusations of misconduct, which he denied.

Other competitive senate races are taking place in Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio and South Carolina, all Republican-held seats.

Trump’s justice department intervenes

There are 47 US House races widely seen as competitive, according to a Reuters analysis of the leading election forecasters. If the other contests all proceed as predicted, Democrats would need to win only 13 of those 46 races to secure a majority.

The fight for the House has been waged largely on Republican turf, including some districts Trump carried by double digits in 2024. A Trump-backed Republican effort to redraw districts in several states to make them safer for the party appears not to have yielded the gains the White House expected.

Democrats have warned that Trump, who has long falsely claimed that US elections are rigged, may attempt to challenge Tuesday’s results if Republicans lose.

In addition to its actions in Alaska, Trump’s justice department also filed a lawsuit in California to block ballots it says may be invalid, a break from decades of practice meant to insulate elections from political influence. The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected the administration’s request for an emergency order in the case.

Three dozen governors’ races will also take place on Tuesday, as well as thousands of state-level legislative contests and ballot measures on everything from a billionaires’ tax to abortion rights.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has warned municipalities to stop spending hundreds of millions of rand on water tankers, and instead to use the money to fix ageing water infrastructure.

The remarks were made during the release of the SAHRC report on water and sanitation service delivery in Gauteng on Monday.

The report follows the commission’s provincial inquiry into water and sanitation service delivery held in May 2026, after it received complaints from residents and community organisations about recurring water interruptions, leaking pipes, sewage pollution and failing infrastructure.

SAHRC chairperson Henk Boschoff said water tankering had become a costly alternative to fixing the infrastructure failures that leave communities stranded without running water.

Boshoff accused some municipal officials and service providers of benefiting financially from the continued use of water tankers.

This comes after he released the findings of the report that stated that the City of Tshwane had spent R47m on water tankering in the 2021/2022 financial year. This surged to R777m in 2024/2025 before dropping to R326m in 2025/2026.

The commission said the amount spent on tankering required particular attention, especially when the city was also losing about R1.7bn worth of water annually.

He said municipalities were spending large amounts of money on water tankers instead of investing in long-term solutions that would ensure residents had access to running water.

“Stop spending money on water tankering. I understand the need for water tankering in cases of emergency, but we know why this system of water tankering has been implemented in our municipalities,” Boshoff said.

He said the money spent on tankering could have been used to upgrade infrastructure and improve water supply to communities.

Tshwane

Although the commission acknowledged that Tshwane’s informal settlements created a genuine need for alternative water supplies, it warned that tankering should not become a permanent replacement for proper water infrastructure.

Boshoff also raised concerns about the possibility of municipal infrastructure being deliberately damaged by officials and service providers to create opportunities for water tanker contracts.

“What is more concerning is that municipal infrastructure is also being sabotaged by service providers, by municipal officials,” he said.

Such practices allowed certain people to benefit because municipalities would then have to procure water tanker services.

Ekurhuleni

The commission found that Ekurhuleni municipality continued to experience water supply problems.

The commission raised concerns about staff shortages and financial and governance weaknesses.

“We found that Ekurhuleni is experiencing recurring reliability constraints associated with insufficient water availability, high demand, low reservoir levels, electricity failures and municipal infrastructure limitations,” Boshoff said.

Joburg

In Johannesburg, the commission found that although recorded domestic water service points met the prescribed minimum water access standard, residents continued to experience unreliable supply because of ageing infrastructure, high demand and water losses.

The city was losing 44.8% of its water, valued at about R2.82bn.

Boshoff also raised concerns about wastewater management and the city’s R27bn infrastructure renewal backlog.

The commission found that access to water in Emfuleni was widespread but not universal, with some communities, particularly informal settlements, still relying on alternative water supplies.

Residents also experienced interruptions, low water pressure and infrastructure failures. Wastewater treatment and pollution remained serious problems.

“Overall vacancy rate 62%, 22% senior management level, 50% in the finance unit. Surely you cannot be serious about service delivery if this is the state of affairs,” Boshoff said.

Merafong

In Merafong, residents were not receiving water and sanitation services at the prescribed minimum standard.

The commission found that 41% of the municipality’s water was being lost through leaks, costing about R143m.

Wastewater management was also a serious concern, while poor financial management and a lack of technical capacity were affecting service delivery.

“Water losses of 41%, valued at about R143m, substantially exceed National Treasury’s guideline range of 15% to 30%. There’s no management here,” Boshoff said.

Mogale City

Although Mogale City’s water distribution system was generally functional, residents continued to face challenges with water availability and reliability.

Wastewater treatment and pollution were identified as the municipality’s biggest problems.

“The municipality received a Green Drop score of 29.9%, placing its wastewater services performance within the critical range,” Boshoff said.

Recommendations

The commission recommended that the department of water and sanitation, Gauteng Cogta and the metros of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni work together to develop guidelines for the planning and management of road-based water distribution networks.

It said such arrangements could be used as a medium-term solution where necessary but should not become a permanent substitute for sustainable infrastructure.

Boshoff said the release of the report was not the end of the commission’s work but the beginning of efforts to ensure that municipalities and other responsible institutions acted on its recommendations.

He warned that the commission would continue monitoring municipalities and hold them accountable for improving services.

TimesLIVE

This is according to Discovery Insure, the group’s vehicle insurance arm.

At the heart of the matter are people increasingly being distracted while driving in ways that cause them to take their eyes off the road, thus pushing up the probability of road accidents, Robert Attwell, CEO of Discovery Insure, told Business Day.

“The insights are really incredible. We now know that phone usage has overtaken speeding as the number one reason for motor vehicle accidents.

“You would remember 10 years ago driving down to Durban there was the ‘Arrive Alive’ sign that said ‘speed kills’. That sign should be updated to say ‘put your phone away, using your phone actually kills’ on South African roads.”

To illustrate, Attwell said, “you would see this when you sit at a red robot. Often, the light turns green, but no-one moves, because everyone is on their phones. And the guy in front hasn’t realised that he should start driving.”

The insurer has found that the nature of risk on the road is influenced by five behaviours: drinking and driving, cellphone use while driving, excessive speeding, aggressive driving and lack of vehicle care.

It leads to the three key causes of crashes: distracted driving, loss of vehicle control, and reduction in vehicle safety, which make up 60% of all motor fatalities.

This is according to a recent study done by Discovery and Johns Hopkins University.

As in other parts of Discovery’s business, the insurance arm is incentivising good driving behaviours. The financial services has premised much of its strategy on driving positive behaviours such as healthy living, financial literacy and good driving.

The logic is simple: the more people behave in these positive ways, the less likely they are to succumb to chronic conditions or become involved in road accidents, which works to reduce the rate of claims made by customers.

To make this happen, the company has introduced an AI platform to monitor and reward positive driving behaviour.

Using vehicle telematics and related data sources, the company tracks drivers and suggests better behaviours, rewarding the outcome, if positive.

For instance, “we know that whenever you leave work, you normally pick up your phone just outside of the office. And we can pick up that that is dangerous. We can then say, for the next two weeks, if you just don’t pick up your phone, you can get an additional reward,” said Attwell.

Discovery said it has already seen an uptick using the new platform.

“Over and above the behaviour change we already see in our programme, we saw a lift of between 3% and 10% across all of the behaviours we track on our programme for clients who receive the right goal at the right time on a very personal level,” said the company.

Business Day

The Tripoli-based High Council of State — parliament’s rival in the west of the divided country — has not yet commented on the east’s vote on Abu Khazam.

According to the eastern parliament’s spokesperson Abdullah Bliheg, 78 of the 90 members present voted in favour of confirming Abu Khazam’s appointment and accepting Issa’s resignation. Parliament held the session in the southern city of Sebha for the first time, according to Musbah Doma, the second deputy speaker.

Issa had taken up the post as CBL governor in 2024 after the parliament and the High Council of State agreed to his appointment, ending a dispute over control of the central bank that had led to the removal of the former governor.

But Issa submitted his resignation in August to the two legislative chambers without publicly explaining his reasons.

Libya has since 2014 been divided between rival eastern and western governments that emerged after the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, with the east controlled by the parliament, which installed its own administration under Osama Hamad in Benghazi.

An internationally recognised government of national unity, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, governs from Tripoli.

The eastern parliament had already given Abu Khazam, a CBL board member, its backing last month to serve as temporary governor.

In an incident in October that has not been fully explained, the central bank condemned what it called a forced entry into its headquarters in the governor’s absence, and it said it held “all those involved”, and particularly the ministry of defence, responsible for any consequences.

The bank later deleted that statement and said Abu Khazam had formally taken over in a “cordial” handover attended by representatives of both legislative chambers, adding that bank operations continued “normally and systematically”.

On Monday, Dbeibah met with Abu Khazam to discuss Libya’s financial and economic challenges, including “measures to support the stability of the Libyan dinar exchange rate and strategies to tackle economic challenges,” the government’s media office said in a statement.

Reuters

After the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, Redefine has spent years selling noncore assets, recycling capital and strengthening its balance sheet. CEO Andrew König said the groundwork is paying off as the group moves from stabilisation to growth.

Redefine reported a 7% increase in dividend per share to 49.06c for the year to end-August, while headline earnings per share nearly doubled to 72.97c. Distributable income per share rose 7% to 56.08c, marginally above the top of its guidance range.

Its share price closed 1.74% higher at R6.42 on Monday, valuing the group at about R45bn.

Redefine’s South African office vacancies fell to 9.5% from 13%, below the South African Property Owners Association’s national average of 11.8%.

König said the group is better positioned to absorb external shocks, including the fallout from the Middle East conflict, which could push up fuel prices, squeeze consumer spending and weigh on economic activity. The group expects its loan-to-value ratio to remain around 40% in the 2027 financial year, with cash reserves and undrawn credit facilities providing a further buffer.

“We are in a very good financial position to weather any difficulty that may arise from an ongoing Middle East conflict,” König said.

The group reported a loan-to-value ratio of 38.8%, down from a peak of 50% during the Covid-19 pandemic, when balance sheet pressure forced the board to withhold its dividend in 2020.

Its Polish portfolio is also a bigger earnings driver, contributing more than a quarter of distributable income, up from just under a quarter a year earlier. Its EPP Core portfolio is almost fully let, while vacancies in its European logistics assets have fallen to 1.5%.

Redefine has earned its recovery narrative. But it is also a leveraged bet on the euro-rand exchange rate and Polish retail. For local shareholders, currency movements will be critical.

Gareth Elston, Golden Section Capital MD

König said the war in Ukraine had done little to dent the Polish portfolio’s operating performance, with its assets remaining largely fully let, although the conflict continued to weigh on institutional investment activity.

Redefine’s retail and industrial portfolios are also showing firmer fundamentals, with vacancies low in both sectors. Retail renewal reversions improved to 3% from 1%, while industrial vacancies stand at 2.8%, as demand for well-located logistics space remains strong, it said.

Office renewal reversions narrowed to -12.3% from -12.9%, and the group is targeting single-digit negative reversions in the year ahead. However, the recovery remains uneven, with demand concentrated in premium, well-located buildings rather than the broader office market.

Redefine said it had spent the past six years restructuring its finances and restoring its capacity to fund growth. Interest cover improved to 2.3 times, while cash and undrawn facilities stood at R7.3bn. Cash generation remained strong across its South African and Polish operations.

It refinanced R13.5bn of debt, including a €323.9m (about R6bn) five-year refinancing at EPP, which reduced its debt margin by 56 basis points. Overall borrowing margins narrowed to 1.7%.

Looking ahead, the group expects a tougher operating environment in the 2027 financial year amid economic headwinds, pressure on consumer spending and the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates. It is guiding for distributable income per share growth of 3%-5%.

Golden Section Capital MD Gareth Elston said the group delivered its strongest results in years, but warned that its growing Polish exposure leaves shareholders increasingly vulnerable to currency movements. With Poland contributing almost 30% of distributable income, he said the group’s recovery story carries a significant bet on the euro-rand exchange rate and Polish retail.

“Redefine has earned its recovery narrative. But it is also a leveraged bet on the euro-rand exchange rate and Polish retail. For local shareholders, currency movements will be critical,” he said.

Mazi Asset Management portfolio manager Kopano Makhu said Redefine’s results reflect improving operational momentum in South Africa, particularly in retail and industrial, alongside progress in strengthening its balance sheet and simplifying its Polish joint ventures.

“Guidance for distributable income per share growth of 3% to 5% in the 2027 financial year is slightly below our forecasts. We see risks around office rental reversions, while currency strength continues to weigh on net cash flows from Poland,” he said.

Business Day

Story audio is generated using AI

The high court in Pretoria on Monday reviewed and set aside trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau’s awarding the national lottery licence to Sizekhaya.

However, it suspended the declaration that the licence agreement was invalid for two consecutive six-month periods, allowing time for the award to be reconsidered and any transition to be managed.

The ruling followed a review application brought by Ithuba Lottery and Ringeta Consortium challenging the award.

The court also declared invalid the licence agreement concluded between Tau, the National Lotteries Commission and Sizekhaya, and referred the award back to Tau for reconsideration.

“In taking the decision to award the licence afresh, the minister is directed to disregard the report of the ministerial committee and the recommendations made by it,” the court ordered.

The first six-month period allows Tau to reconsider the award. The second allows him to negotiate and conclude a new licence agreement and make transitional arrangements if he decides not to award the licence to Sizekhaya.

In response to the judgment, Sizekhaya Holdings said it was disappointed but noted the court had made no adverse findings against it on any of the grounds raised by Ithuba and Ringeta.

“The decision concerned a technical issue in the licence award process, which has been referred back to the minister for reconsideration.”

Sizekhaya said the national lottery continues to operate as normal.

“The court expressly suspended its order to protect the public interest. It recognised the good causes funded through the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, including old-age homes and children’s homes, depend on the lottery running without interruption,” Sizekhaya said.

It said tickets can still be bought, games will be drawn as scheduled and prizes will be paid out in the usual way.

“Sizekhaya remains committed to running the National Lottery with integrity and to maximising contributions to good causes across South Africa.”

TimesLIVE

Jury selection began last week for the trial, the second in Los Angeles state court over claims brought by young people who say they became addicted to social media after Snap, Meta Platforms, TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use.

The plaintiffs had previously settled with Meta, TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube.

A Snap spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Our ultimate goal is to hold these social media companies accountable for how their actions have impacted millions of children across the country, and these settlements allow us to keep building toward that goal,” John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, attorneys representing K.D.B. at trial, said in a statement.

The trial was set to be the first for Snap in the sweeping litigation over social media’s impact on teens, after the company settled the other cases that had been scheduled for trial. The company’s CEO, Evan Spiegel, had been expected to testify.

Plaintiffs S.J., a 16-year-old girl from Illinois, and K.D.B., an 18-year-old from Mississippi, say they began using YouTube as early as age 3 and the other platforms around age 9, developing compulsive habits they blame on features such as autoplay and infinite scroll.

The companies have rejected claims their platforms were designed to addict young people, and say they have taken action to make the apps safe places for young people to express themselves.

Social media companies face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts by individuals, school districts, municipalities and other government entities alleging the companies knowingly sought to addict children to their platforms, contributing to a youth mental health crisis involving anxiety, depression and suicide.

In the first case to go to trial, which ended in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube had been negligent and awarded a young woman $6m (R100m) in damages.

The next two teens whose cases were selected for trials either settled or dropped their claims against the companies.

The first school district chosen for trial settled with all of the companies.

In August, Meta struck settlements worth up to $18bn with nearly every state and US territory to resolve lawsuits brought by attorneys general over the platforms’ harm to teens. As part of those deals, the company agreed to make changes to how Instagram and Facebook work for teens. The deal conditioned $5bn of the payout on the states reaching similar settlements with Snap, TikTok and YouTube.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

President Donald Trump has notified the US Congress and the governments of South Africa and Rwanda of his intention to terminate the countries’ eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade preference programme effective January 1.

In a statement, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said that after an annual review, led by his office, of Sub-Saharan African countries’ eligibility for the trade pact, “President Trump found that the governments of Rwanda and South Africa are engaging in practices that are inconsistent with Agoa’s eligibility criteria.”

The trade pact gives qualifying African countries duty-free access to US markets.

“These concerning and pervasive practices include, but are not limited to, barriers that undermine American trade and investment and practices that pose a threat to US national security and foreign policy interests in the region,” Greer said.

“In South Africa, the Trump administration is deeply concerned by barriers to US trade and investment, corruption and threats to US national security and foreign policy interests. The Trump administration is working to ensure our African partners take the necessary steps to meet the eligibility criteria.”

Last week, minister of trade, industry & competition Parks Tau said South Africa had done all it could to ensure it stayed in the pact, telling the National Economic Development & Labour Council that the US remained a valued trading partner.

He said the government was confident the US would acknowledge, recognise and “favourably respond to the very generous offers that South Africa has made during our ongoing negotiations over the last year or so”.

“This is what is in the best interest of our two nations … as well as of partners in the African continent. Whatever the outcome, our economy will remain stable, our exporters will keep trading, and the government stands ready to support our economy, particularly the hard-working South African business community and their employees, who are the backbone of our society and communities,” added Tau, who met Greer in Washington DC last month.

He said that in the last year alone, more than $5bn in investment commitments had been made by US companies, demonstrating increased investor confidence in South Africa, which supplies 12 of the 50 minerals Washington considers critical.

Agoa allows eligible African manufacturers to gain duty-free access to the world’s largest consumer market for selected products, including vehicles, clothing and agricultural goods.

On Monday, labour federation Cosatu said it was deeply concerned about the impact South Africa’s expulsion from Agoa would have on thousands of agricultural and manufacturing jobs.

“We have already seen many jobs lost at factories and companies in Cape Town, Atlantis, Malmesbury and Tulbagh, among others. We have seen the devastation it threatens to these workers’ and farmers’ abilities to take care of their families,” Cosatu said in a statement.

“Given South Africa’s already dangerously high unemployment rate and weak economic growth, it is important that South Africa’s government utilise the next 60 days before this exit comes into effect to negotiate a favourable set of solutions to avert this potential blow to the South African economy and jobs.”

The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) said the exclusion was a blow to the industry.

“This will be a loss not just for us, but the US consumer will lose too. Citrus trade between SA and the US has always been mutually beneficial. Our citrus is complementary to their production. Our fruit helps keep American consumers in the citrus category during the US off-season.” CGA CEO Boitshoko Ntshabele said.

In September Trump signed a law extending the pact to 2028, but this fell far short of the 15 years South Africa had pushed for. Whether the country would remain a beneficiary was also in doubt due to its frosty diplomatic relations, partly over legislation Washington says discriminates against the white minority.

First enacted in 2000 as part of a push by the US to shift its engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa away from traditional aid and emergency relief toward trade-led economic development and investment, Agoa was extended for 10 more years in 2015. The pact expired in September 2025 after Congress failed to agree on a renewal, but Trump signed legislation in February this year extending it to end-2026.

Earlier this year, the department of trade, industry & competition submitted a defence of its eligibility for Agoa despite its upper-middle-income country status to the office of the US trade representative, pushing for a 15-year extension of the duty-free pact.

It argued that a short-term renewal or lack of certainty over Agoa “harms both South African and US trade and investment and undermines predictability in trade”.

Some of the South African companies that have made big investments in the US include Sibanye-Stillwater and Sasol, the latter’s $12.6bn investment in the Lake Charles Chemicals Project in Louisiana being the largest investment by an African company in the country.

The office of the US trade representative has accused South Africa of maintaining high tariffs on US poultry, wine and spirits, while providing preferred access to the EU, and of imposing unjustified animal health restrictions on US pork products.

South African passenger vehicles, relevant vehicle parts, steel and aluminium are subject to a 25% tariff under section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. South Africa was also hit with a 12.5% section 301 tariff from July, though products already subject to section 232 are exempt from it.

The business sector says as a result vehicle export earnings to the US fell to R8bn in 2025 from about R17.7bn in 2024.

Trump retains the authority to determine Agoa eligibility annually.

Business Day

The reforms are the government’s latest attempt to toughen the rules after the number of arrivals surged following Britain’s departure from the EU, with post-Brexit immigration policies leading to an influx of healthcare workers and students from around the world.

But government efforts to toughen the rules sparked a backlash from unions and parts of the governing Labour Party, leading home secretary Shabana Mahmood to soften the standard qualifying period for those working in the health and care sector from 10 to five years.

While high earners will be granted the right to settle in three years, the toughest restrictions were reserved for those who arrive by small boats across the channel.

“Those who contribute most will settle fastest,” Mahmood said. “Those who don’t play by the rules will be refused or wait longer.”

Backlash concessions

Previously legal migrants had to wait for five years before they could be granted indefinite leave to remain, which allows people to live and work in Britain permanently and be entitled to some welfare benefits.

But the government had argued that changes were needed because around 350,000 lower-skilled workers and their dependants who arrived after Brexit were expected to become eligible for settlement in the coming years.

Under the new rules, most people will now have to wait 10 years before they can apply to settle permanently in Britain.

However, workers in the care sector will still be able to apply after five years if they meet certain criteria, such as having a high standard of English, no criminal record and a record of paying national insurance.

Those who earn more than £125,000 or those with certain visas will be able to settle in three years. Anyone arriving illegally via a small boat will have to wait up to 30 years.

The changes come in response to voter demands for lower immigration, and after Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party led the argument for stricter migration controls.

They are also designed to ward off a rebellion from Labour MPs.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

We finally have the outcome of the US review of the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa), and South Africa has been excluded or “graduated out”.

While we are now in a different political climate, such conversations about South Africa’s eligibility to be part of Agoa have been happening for a while. For example, in 2014 the focus for some was on the fact that South Africa is in fact an upper-middle-income country and should therefore have graduated from Agoa to a full bilateral trade agreement with the US some time back.

Of course, we had our own complications, both due to our membership of the Southern African Customs Union, which meant we couldn’t sign bilateral trade agreements without the region’s agreement, and because we lobbied to keep benefiting from the unilateral approach (Agoa).

Looking back, if we had found a way to graduate out of Agoa as we were pressured to do then, and had started the conversation about a trade agreement then, we would have been in a different situation now.

Of course, countries with trade agreements were not spared the drastic changes in US trade policy under the Trump presidency; we even see those changes affecting countries such as Canada.

Beyond these historic events there was confusion about what graduating from Agoa would actually mean. Some seemed to think it would mean a complete ban from the US market, which is certainly not the case.

Simply put, South Africa’s exclusion from Agoa means the country faces an additional most favoured nation tariff of about 3.4% on top of the range existing tariffs the US administration has added to various countries.

A range of South African products currently enter the US market at a 12.5% tariff (the so-called Liberation Day tariff). Without Agoa these tariffs rise to 15.9%, slightly reducing the competitiveness of some South African products in the US market.

One could argue that while this will be a challenging path, it will not necessarily be as catastrophic as obstacles we have faced in the past, when we were hit with far higher US tariffs and still managed to compete.

Consider agriculture. In 2025 the South African farming sector faced tariffs of about 30%, yet agricultural exports to the US remained strong. Our agricultural exports to the US totalled $504m last year, down 3% from the previous year.

During the higher “Liberation Day” tariffs some South African agricultural exporters took advantage of the 90-day pause in the second quarter of 2025 and exported higher volumes than usual. After this pause, exports cooled in the third and fourth quarters.

Notably, South Africa’s agricultural exports to the US fell 11% in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, to $144m. In the last quarter of the year South Africa’s agricultural exports to the US fell sharply, by 39% to $81m.

So far this year South Africa’s agricultural exports to the US have been relatively strong, increasing by 56% between the first quarter and the second, to $123m. The decline in US tariffs, from 30% to 12.5%, was admittedly a major contributor.

The US remains an important market for South African agriculture, accounting for about 4% of our agricultural exports, mainly citrus, berries, grapes, raisins, wine, fruit juices, apples, pears, apricots and nuts.

The issue of South Africa’s graduation from Agoa must be viewed in context, and won’t be catastrophic. This is not to understate the impact some industries may feel as the increase in tariffs reduces their competitiveness.

Above all, this should serve to remind us of the need to work hard to diversify South Africa’s export markets to growing regions such as Asia and the Middle East.

But export diversification must be framed correctly; it is not a replacement for the US, EU, UK, Africa and other markets. These remain key, and we must work to retain our access to them.

• Sihlobo is presidential envoy on agriculture and land, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa and a senior fellow in Stellenbosch University’s department of agricultural economics.

Business Day

Aspen’s wholly owned subsidiary, Aspen Global, will sell Ovestin’s European commercialisation rights and related intellectual property for €197m (about R3.7bn), plus an estimated €4m for related inventory.

Aspen said on Monday it expected to realise a profit on disposal of about R2bn.

At 1.30pm Aspen’s share price had gained 1.61% to R160.55.

The assets contributed R756m in revenue, R521m in gross profit and R238m in profit after tax to Aspen in the 2026 financial year. Their net asset value was R1.6bn at end-June.

Aspen said the price represented “a strong multiple for an asset outside of the group’s emerging markets focus”, and the cash proceeds would give it further flexibility in allocating capital.

Ovestin is an established women’s health product containing oestriol, a form of oestrogen, used to treat vaginal symptoms associated with menopause. Its European business has been part of Aspen’s international pharmaceutical portfolio.

The disposal is part of Aspen’s broader portfolio reshaping as it places greater emphasis on its emerging-markets business. In May, the group completed the sale of its Asia-Pacific business, excluding China, for gross proceeds of R28bn, recording a profit on disposal of R2.4bn.

Aspen has identified its emerging-market commercial pharmaceutical operations as a priority while seeking to generate value from assets outside this focus.

The company said the proceeds of the Ovestin disposal would be allocated in line with its capital allocation model, with share buybacks remaining its preferred means of returning capital to shareholders.

Under a separate 10-year manufacturing and supply agreement, Aspen will continue supplying the active pharmaceutical ingredient and cream formulation of Ovestin to Ennogen in Europe. The agreement may be extended by mutual consent.

The transaction also includes a five-year facilitation services agreement under which Aspen Global will receive €1m a month to help Ennogen integrate and support the acquired business. A transitional distribution services agreement lasting up to three years will carry fees of 4% of net sales.

Completion of the deal is subject to Ennogen’s funding arrangements becoming unconditional. The full €197m is payable on completion.

Founded in 2011, Ennogen is a pharmaceutical and medical device company with a primary focus on European markets. It has its head office in Dubai and offices in the UK and Ireland. Its portfolio spans therapeutic areas including pain management, respiratory medicine and dermatology.

Ennogen did not consent to the names of its beneficial owners being disclosed in the announcement, Aspen said.

Business Day

A report titled Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2026, released last week, estimated funding will include about $1.3bn a year in grants and affordability subsidies, alongside $1.6bn a year in equity, debt and receivables financing. These are rounded annual estimates.

In this context, off-grid solar products refers to small solar-powered lights, household solar kits that combine panels and batteries to power lighting and appliances, and solar-powered equipment such as water pumps. These products can provide electricity to homes, farms and businesses without a connection to the main electricity grid, particularly where extending the grid is expensive or impractical.

The cost of these products remains a barrier to wider access. At least $4.2bn in subsidies will be needed to make off-grid solar affordable for people without electricity who lack a cheaper option, according to the report. About a third of households without electricity worldwide can afford an entry-level solar home system through a pay-as-you-go arrangement, while another third would struggle to pay for one. The subsidy estimate does not fully account for higher costs in less developed markets.

Extending access to remote communities presents another challenge. According to the report, serving these areas costs companies about 23% more than serving densely populated areas, making it more expensive to supply households far from the main grid.

The market is growing, with companies included in Gogla’s sales data selling off-grid solar products estimated to reach 149-million people in 2025, up 26% from 118-million in 2023. The figures cover participating companies and qualifying products, rather than the entire global market.

Keeping products working after purchase is another challenge. A survey cited in the report of 458 customers in Kenya, Madagascar and Nigeria who had finished paying for their solar home systems at least two years earlier found 95% of quality-verified products were still working four or more years after purchase. However, 38% of customers had experienced at least one technical problem, and only 36% of those said the repair or replacement had been satisfactory. The findings point to gaps in repair services that can affect the long-term value of solar products for households.

The investment challenge comes as the World Bank Group and African Development Bank pursue Mission 300, an initiative to connect 300-million people to electricity across sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Reaching that target will require funding to expand access, help low-income households afford solar products, and ensure they remain usable after purchase, the report indicated.

Business Day

This is why, for the first time in more than a decade, I did not bother to watch the medium-term budget policy statement broadcast. If the National Treasury does not care about the country’s most urgent priorities — growing the economy and reducing the world’s third-highest unemployment rate — what is the point of watching the budget?

Godongwana started by providing South Africa’s equivalent of Davos with a long list of lame excuses for the failure to grow the economy. These were mostly shocks that every other country has faced. But 154 emerging and developing countries cruised to an annual average GDP growth rate of 4.4% in 2009-25.

Malaysia had its version of state capture under former prime minister Najib Razak, who is now in prison, but the country clocked an annual average GDP growth rate of 4.4% during the same period. Malaysia now has an unemployment rate of 2.9%.

Cyril Ramaphosa has been president for almost nine years. Blaming state capture for the failure to grow the economy is like blaming apartheid. We are dealing with a uniquely South African crisis of epic macroeconomic policy incompetence. What is so difficult about growing the economy and reducing the unemployment rate?

Godongwana’s narrative was that the Treasury has achieved its primary budget surpluses and that we must now debate how to grow the economy. The highlight of a memorable panel discussion that no-one who attended will ever forget was when the livid former statistician-general Pali Lehohla repeatedly told Godongwana, “Your neoliberal economic policies are not working.”

Political analyst JP Landman flogged the dead horse of Operation Vulindlela reforms, which involve the deregulation, liberalisation, privatisation and withdrawal of the state from network industries — electricity, water, transport and telecommunications.

After six years these reforms have failed to lift GDP growth or reduce the unemployment rate. About 90% by value of the investments that will flow from the reforms relates to renewable energy. Electricity is part of the electricity and gas sector, which accounts for 2.7% of GDP. In the quarterly labour force survey utilities were shown to employ only 103,000 people — 0.6% of total employment. It is illogical to expect such a small sector, which does not create real jobs, to lift the whole economy.

Also, every year since 2012 the Treasury has said it will stabilise the debt ratio in three years. Every subsequent year it has extended the date for stabilising the ratio. In 2023-24 the Treasury had its first primary budget surplus.

The debt stock was R5.3-trillion and the debt ratio was 73.9% of GDP. By 2026-27, after four years of primary budget surpluses, the debt stock will have soared by R1.1-trillion to R6.4-trillion, and the debt ratio will be 78.2% of GDP. The Treasury is chasing its own tail, as John Maynard Keynes, the father of macroeconomics, once said.

The idea that you can stabilise the debt ratio without achieving higher GDP growth is absurd. The lesson of the past 32 years is that the economy grows and creates jobs when the government spends on its people and infrastructure, as it did in 2003-08, when the economy grew by 4.5% a year and created 3.1-million jobs.

The time has come for the Treasury to stop its suicidal and counterproductive “austerity on steroids” policies and increase investment in the economy.

• Gqubule is an adviser on economic development and transformation.

Business Day

That honour went to justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, she who famously painted her nails during parliamentary hearings on the Nkandla scandal, who now found herself touched on her well-manicured studio by a tweet from journalist Karyn Maughan.

The offending tweet was fairly mild, suggesting that “whether you believe in a higher power or not, Joburg collapsing in real time right before a municipal election could not be a clearer sign of why you need to vote. And vote wisely.”

It was also entirely devoid of specific mention of the ANC or, indeed, any explicit connection between the ANC and the collapse of Johannesburg. In other words, it was a tweet that would have been gratefully ignored by the average politician.

But Kubayi has never been accused of being average, and she lunged for her keyboard without even waiting for the polish to dry, telling Maughan that “when we remind you that you are not neutral and have views against the ANC, don’t cry foul”.

Honestly, who needs opposition spin doctors trying to create an unbreakable mental association between the ANC and urban blight when whole ANC cabinet ministers will do it unasked and for free? No, compared to Kubayi, Mbalula was a polished sophisticate, a man so sure of himself and his role that I was briefly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

For example, when I looked at his silly little cap, was I looking at nothing but a cynical prop, or was I rather seeing some brilliant damage control? I mean, if you as the ANC know Mbalula is scheduled to make sounds into a microphone, do you let him speak as secretary-general of your party, or do you drape some camouflage over his head and hope that a few hundred thousand people mistake him for a talking plant and not hold any of it against you?

Even his denial — that “the ANC has never done anything wrong; it’s some people who bring problems”— held up under scrutiny. Because, of course, Mbalula is quite right: the ANC cannot do anything wrong, just as it cannot do anything right, because it is just a very large collection of memoranda and minutes and legal agreements and photos and emails, and they can do nothing except lie quietly in filing boxes.

It is people who animate the ANC and give it form in the real world, acting for good or ill in its name or, as Mbalula correctly stated, bringing problems. Unfortunately, though, he gave us no indication of who these people are.

Which means, alas, that sensible voters will have to treat the ANC with extreme caution: the party may be as pure as the driven snow, but Mbalula has confirmed to us that it is riddled with unnamed villains, which means the only sure way not to elect scoundrels into high office is to vote for nobody in the ANC. It’s very sad, I know, but unless you got this all from a talking shrub, these are simply the facts.

For the supporters of Jacob Zuma’s pension fund, there were no such fears, as the MK party faithful turned out in large numbers to celebrate Zuma’s first public appearance since his recent health crisis and be reminded by Msholozi what democracy is all about.

Which means, alas, that sensible voters will have to treat the ANC with extreme caution: the party may be as pure as the driven snow, but Mbalula has confirmed to us that it is riddled with unnamed villains ...

Explaining to his followers that he had “made a very big call to the South African people to take back the country”, the former president revealed that “we are going to make South Africa a country among countries”.

Big calls, indeed: it would definitely be good to see South Africa as a country among, you know, other countries, while I think we can all agree that returning to a Zuma-run administration would, in fact, take the country back. A long, long way.

But if these two goals didn’t fire up your inner democrat, Zuma had a third, even more important one. “More than anything,” he said, “vote for MK, and I will be very happy.”

More than anything, folks. More than water in taps and working streetlights. More than clinics and community centres. On Wednesday, the highest call we can answer is to make Jacob Zuma feel nice in his tummy.

• Eaton is an Arena Holdings columnist.

Last Friday, the high court ordered Agrizzi to pay the state R1,666,582,825 after the court’s confiscation inquiry, a proceeding conducted to determine financial benefits from crime, after he was convicted of money-laundering and corruption in 2025 related to the multimillion-rand Bosasa corruption scheme.

Agrizzi, who was self-represented during the inquiry, told Business Day he cannot pay the R1.67bn and would appeal the judgment.

“Can I afford the R1.67bn? There is absolutely no way, absolutely no way. It is a joke to think that I must pay for what the enterprise did; all I did was to earn a salary. I was not the shareholder,” he said.

Agrizzi entered into a plea deal with the state after he was charged with three counts of corruption and one count of money-laundering and pleaded guilty to such.

He gave evidence of the Bosasa corruption scheme, which spanned years and involved securing government tenders by paying millions in bribes. The state alleged the unlawful activities in which Agrizzi was involved at Bosasa amount to R1.6bn.

“The R1,666,582,825 is not money I received. The state’s own heads of argument describe it as the value of the contracts the department of correctional services awarded to Bosasa. I was Bosasa’s chief operating officer, an employee. I was never a director or a shareholder of Bosasa. The contract payments were made to the company, not to me,” he said.

Judge Papi Mosopa in his judgment said evidence in the proceedings went far beyond the charges, including evidence of Bosasa bribing union officials, who in return secured the contract of canteen services in the mines.

According to the state, under the leadership of former Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson, a deeply entrenched system of corruption was designed to illicitly secure and maintain government contracts worth millions. It is the state’s case that R75m in bribes was reportedly paid between 2000 and 2016 to secure contracts worth over R2.3bn.

Agrizzi said he did not have a legal presentation during the court hearing because he “simply cannot afford an attorney”.

While he admitted the role he played in the scheme in the plea deal, Agrizzi said he was unhappy that politicians implicated in the state capture commission report were not facing prosecution.

“I went to the Zondo commission to try and assist and stop the corruption that was happening at Bosasa. Perhaps, just maybe, it is because I reported on Andile Ramaphosa’s dealings and Cyril Ramaphosa’s dealings with Bosasa that this vehement attack is on me,” he said.

“I think the most important thing is what has happened with the Zondo commission. What has happened to the people that should actually be charged? Surely that is where we should be looking. Nothing has happened to the bigwigs, the politicians that are walking around so freely, which Zondo in his report said they should be charged.”

Mosopa found that Agrizzi did not make full disclosure about his properties. He also found Agrizzi’s pension was not protected in the legal process.

“I fully agree with the defendant that he was not the only person involved in the corrupt activities of Bosasa, but that on its own does not exonerate him because he was charged and convicted of acting in concert in furtherance of a common purpose. His pension money was generated as a result of his involvement in a criminal entity and cannot be shielded by the law,” the judgment reads.

Agrizzi denied not disclosing to the NPA the sale of his property in Italy for about R18m.

“I needed money, and I needed to sell it. I gave the balance of the money to my daughter to look after me and my wife because my health is no good.”

Business Day

The decision comes as South Africa’s criminal justice system faces a crisis of confidence following allegations of criminal infiltration and political interference in law enforcement with the Madlanga commission investigating the conduct of senior police officials and the police ministry itself operating under an acting minister.

Cachalia has already submitted a memorandum to the cabinet seeking approval for Mkhwanazi’s appointment.

“The completion of the decision requires the cabinet’s process and a parliamentary process,” Cachalia said.

He said the need to communicate action to the public and strengthen the police service had informed his decision to announce that he had made a choice.

“My decision doesn’t in any way prevent the cabinet from exercising its mind,” he said.

The Hawks have been without a permanent national head since the retirement of Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya in May 2025.

A two-year process to find a replacement for former Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya has yielded no suitable candidate, prompting acting police minister Firoz Cachalia to recommend Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi for the job before Cabinet approval has been secured. pic.twitter.com/nnyKKjBQVB

— Thando Maeko (@HelloThando) November 2, 2026

Mkhwanazi, who joined the South African Police Service as a student constable in 1993, has spent much of his career in specialised policing, including heading the Special Task Force before being appointed KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner in December 2018. He previously served as acting national police commissioner in 2011.

His July 6 2025 media briefing, in which he alleged that criminal syndicates had infiltrated law enforcement and intelligence structures and that senior political and police figures had interfered in sensitive investigations, prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish the Madlanga commission of inquiry.

The commission, chaired by acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was tasked with investigating the veracity and extent of the allegations, including claims of organised crime, the manipulation of investigations and the victimisation of officials resisting criminal influence.

Cachalia said the appointment formed part of a broader effort to strengthen the police service’s response to organised crime, including increased funding and strengthening the leadership of metropolitan anti-gang units.

He said he had engaged with the national police commissioner before making the announcement and would not have proceeded without that engagement.

Cachalia said the decision was intended to provide greater certainty in the fight against organised crime and rebuild public trust in the police service.

“We’re criticised for being indecisive. We’re criticised for having too many acting appointments. We’re criticised for not filling vacancies ... I need to stabilise the DPCI [Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] and build the DPCI into a main vehicle for fighting organised crime.”

Business Day