The prognosis that the South African economy is in dire straits is pretty obvious even to the untrained eye. The solution to the country’s present predicament is also pretty much understood. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently produced a comprehensive view which deserves to be considered. The IMF identifies three key ailments as causes […]

The implications of proposed tax law amendments for 2017 – published this week by the National Treasury – have confused and concerned many South Africans working abroad. Jerry Botha, Managing Partner of Tax Consulting, has kindly answered several queries sent to SAPeople: 1. SAPeople follower: Is it true that SARS is in the process of adjusting […]

Disgraced UK PR firm, Bell Pottinger, has until the close of business today to respond to the DA’s complaint that it has violated the Public Relations and Communications Association’s (PRCA) Professional Charter and Code of Conduct, by which the company is bound. And South Africans in the UK are urged to attend a picket at […]

Tesla boss Elon Musk has tweeted photos of the new Model 3 Tesla, the company’s first electric car for the mass market with a price tag of $35,000 (almost half a million rand – R467,000). The South African expat tweeted “production unit 1 of Model 3 is now built and going through final checkout” before posting […]

“I have had a passion for farming since secondary school” On the outskirts of Simon’s Town, Einstein Sibanda has established a two hectare free range poultry project. Sibanda, who is originally from Zimbabwe, started farming in December 2016 on the lower slopes of Rocklands Farm. He found out about the land — which is home to a Christian […]

PRETORIA – Employment has decreased by 48 000 jobs to 9.644 million in the formal non-agricultural sector in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter of 9.692 million in December 2016. Releasing the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) for the first quarter of 2017 in Pretoria on Tuesday, Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali […]

PRETORIA – The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has confirmed a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 in a broiler breeder site in Mpumalanga. The department said the affected farm has been quarantined and culling of the affected animals has been completed. “The department is conducting forward and backward tracing to trace movement of all […]

The Reserve Bank in South Africa says it has been advised to bring urgent review proceedings to court to have the remedial action announced by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane set aside. “The Reserve Bank has consulted its legal team and has been advised that the remedial action prescribed by the Public Protector falls outside her […]

PRETORIA – Government is allowed to recover R1.125 billion in misappropriated public funds from Absa Bank and its predecessor Bankorp. This follows a proclamation by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Monday when she released a report into misappropriate use of public funds pre democracy. The Public Protector investigated the matter after the complainant, Advocate Pual […]

On 28 September 2016, the shareholders of South African born international brewer, SABMiller, approved the company’s acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InBev for $104 billion (R1.5 trillion). The deal paved the way for the creation of what is now by far the world’s largest brewing company. For a company that started out selling beer to miners in […]

JOHANNESBURG – Moody’s Investors Service today downgraded the ratings of 10 South African regional and local governments (RLGs) and three government-related entities (GRIs) and changed the outlooks to negative. At the same time, Moody’s affirmed their national scale ratings. The rating actions conclude the review for downgrade that commenced on 4 April 2017, Moody’s said in a […]

South Africa has been ranked fourth on the latest Africa Investment Index, by Quantum Global Research Lab. Botswana claims top spot as the most attractive economy for investments flowing into the African continent, according to the 2016 Africa Investment Index. Botswana’s position is based on a number of factors, including improved credit rating, current account ratio, import cover and […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Barclays’ plan to sell its African business and pull out of the continent are being hindered by South Africa’s political upheaval and credit-rating downgrades, according to banking sources and fund managers. The British bank gave itself 2-3 years to sell its controlling stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa when it announced the plan […]

PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa’s new finance minister signalled on Saturday he would oversee a redistribution of wealth to the country’s black majority, as a row over the sacking of his predecessor laid bare bitter divisions within the ruling ANC party. Saying the country was poised at a “polarised and contentious” moment, Malusi Gigaba promised […]

The call for radical economic transformation has grown louder following President Jacob Zuma’s 2017 State of the Nation Address. Accompanying these calls is a line of argument that says “white monopoly capital” is to blame for the fact that the majority of black South Africans remain marginalised from the mainstream economy 22 years after apartheid […]

After recently strengthening and becoming the second best performing currency in the emerging markets, the Rand plummeted today to become the worst performer. This shocking drop follows the Presidency’s confirmation earlier on Monday that President Zuma has recalled Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his Deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, to cancel their UK and US investment trip to […]

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma has instructed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his Deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, to cancel the international investment promotion roadshow to the United Kingdom and the United States and to return to South Africa immediately. Gordhan, who was already in London, was meant to embark on a non-deal international investor roadshow in the two countries, […]

Clare Wiese-Wentzel shares an interview with her father – South African retail tycoon Christo Wiese – on what defines happiness, what doesn’t matter and what keeps him grounded… A few years ago (OK, if I were to give away my age and be brutally honest, I would confess it was about 14 years ago), I found myself working […]

Joburg is the leading destination in Africa on the Fortune 500 List, according to a new report released by global business research company, Infomineo. The company, which specialises in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), says the region has become increasingly important for the majority of global Fortune 500 countries. The report focuses on multinationals looking at entering, […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Airbnb expects to maintain its rapid growth in Africa this year and double its customer numbers to 1.5 million, its Chief Executive Brian Chesky and regional head told Reuters on Friday. The number of people using the online room rental service on the continent rose by 143 percent to about 765,000 […]

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is nearing an agreement to buy a majority stake in Chevron Corp’s South African assets, which are estimated to be worth $1 billion, two people familiar with the transaction said. The sources said Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, was the last bidder remaining, and close […]

In one week Florence Mudzivo’s life has changed radically for the better… thanks to knocking on the right door (and to hard work, perseverance and the kindness of South Africans!). The 53-year-old Zimbabwean widow sadly lost her husband in 2011 and was left alone to single-handedly provide for her four children and one grandchild. With […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s BT has appointed Jan du Plessis, chairman of miner Rio Tinto as its next chairman, taking over from Mike Rake who has led the telecoms group for 10 years. BT said on Thursday that du Plessis would join its board as a non-executive director on June 1, and become chairman on […]

Brand South Africa is in Australia on a “charm offensive” to woo South African expats living ‘down under’ – who are apparently the most negative about SA – to rather fly the flag for South Africa and become ambassadors for their former homeland… Brand SA – which is responsible for promoting a positive reputation for […]

A Sky News investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has found children as young as four not only working, but working under extremely dangerous conditions… to mine cobalt, an essential ingredient in lithium ion batteries used in smart phones and laptops. Eight-year-old Dorsen tells Sky his mother is “already dead and I have to work […]