SA packed a Swiss Army knife of headlines this week — billion-dollar mining deals, Walmart’s entry, and Goldman’s JSE optimism, but also a weak GDP print and a contract killing that shocked the insolvency sector
Rule of law under fire
The insolvency sector remained in shock this week after Friday's brazen killing of Bouwer van Niekerk, whod received death threats while probing a company harvesting millions of rand in client money without an authorised licence.
Kabelo Khumalo was relentless in reporting this story, getting the NinetyOne CEO, Hendrik du Toit, to use this platform to call out contract killing as a direct assault on the rule of law that will further tarnish SA’s image as a safe, friendly emerging market.
Khumalo also reached out to the FSCA for an update on their investigation into NTC Global Fund, and found that the regulator has tapped foreign regulators to unravel the pyramid scheme tied to NTC and its crypto arm.
We called this episode the latest test of our national character in our editorial. SA’s redemption depends on whether we can defend the people who make accountability possible.
The economy limps
This week’s GDP numbers, as eloquently explained by Jana Marx, quantify the pain of delayed redemption. The economy expanded just 0.8% in the second quarter, well below population growth and suggesting a contraction in real per-capita GDP. Anaemic fixed-capital formation and export bottlenecks keep the real economy in first gear.
Markets bet on growth
On the JSE, however, bulls are sizing up domestic cyclicals as if a growth turbocharger were in the works, as Hilary Joffe reported on Goldman Sachs’s comments. The result is a classic Business Day riddle: market valuations sprinting while fundamentals stumble.
Perhaps Goldman Sachs is on to something. For one thing, the government’s new Code of Good Practice on dismissals slashes procedural red tape for small firms, designed to spur hiring and investments, as Khumalo reports. If it delivers even a fraction of the growth punch the JSE is already pricing in, bulls will have more than wishful thinking on their side.
Transformation debates
Meanwhile, Tshediso Matona, commissioner of the broad-based BEE commission and one of our guest essay writers this week, argues that slow GDP growth and entrenched poverty feed off each other. His argument that BEE is a strategic investment to drive skills development, enterprise support and wider ownership is cogent. That unlocks latent capacity and boosts per capita GDP, which makes sense, depending on who you speak to.
In a letter to the editor, Business Day reader Willem Cronje counters that quotas at senior posts undermine merit, contrasting DA’s equality of opportunity stance with the ANC’s focus on outcomes, and argues that merit-based competition at top roles drives growth.
Big corporate plays
In corporate trenches:
- Anglo American’s proposal of an all-paper tie-up with Canada’s Teck to force a $50bn-plus copper powerhouse was one of this week’s biggest local and international company news stories. With world-class finesse, Khumalo laid out how the deal could deliver on CEO Duncan Wanblad’s rallying cry to chase the setting sun and discover what lies beyond the edge. Still, Wanblad would be wise to refrain from popping the champagne. The party could still be gatecrashed by majors like Glencore, BHP or Rio eager for copper, a major caveat raised in our editorial.
- Standard Bank’s SA unit has a new boss. David Hodnett’s appointment reinforces the R2-trillion lender’s tradition of promoting from within and reaffirms its home market focus, as Khumalo reported.
- Walmart will hoist its blue and yellow banner with its own stores in SA before year-end, Nompilo Goba reports, “so-whatting” the article as a sign of one of the biggest names in the the full-on onslaught on the SA retail market, dominated by Shoprite. Suppliers, strap in: this is a salvo in a price war no-one can afford to lose.
A moment of hope
It would be remiss of me if Bafana Bafana isn’t mentioned. These players, written off as a “bunch of losers” not that long ago, have shown grit and grace on the field, demonstrating that, against all odds, they can play inspiring football. A 1-1 draw with Nigeria leaves Bafana top of Group C on 17 points, as reported by Mahlatse Mphahlele. A win against Zimbabwe next month will all but clinch their 2026 World Cup spot with a match spare. Dare to dream.
Until next week. Every story is your business
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