As investors pour into Africa, chasing returns from resources, agriculture and the goods and services demanded by its growing and increasingly wealthy population, the need for good quality information is growing too. However, countries and companies remain opaque and this makes it very difficult for investors to decide where to put their money. That is […]

With President Jacob Zuma signing the new Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act into law, it is clear that the battle over the land is heating up. The latest change to the legislation will, among other things, change the cut-off date for lodging a claim for restitution and change the rules around the appointment, tenure, […]

UPDATE: News out earlier today raised hopes that the five-month strike on the platinum belt would soon be over but, according to Eye Witness News (EWN), the Association of Mineworkers and Contruction Union (AMCU) have rejected the deal and the strike continues … This morning we wrote that Reuters was reporting that the end to […]

South Africa is often lambasted for its labour relations environment and it has become common cause around SA boardrooms that if you want business to hire more people you, paradoxically, have to make it easier to fire them. This is borne out by several studies. The World Economic Forum, for example, placed it in 147th […]

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor Gill Marcus says that the solution to South Africa’s current poor economic performance must come from within, and that difficult conditions globally are no longer the main cause for the slowdown at home. In her written speech delivered to the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) in Johannesburg this morning, Marcus acknowledged the […]

South Africa’s benchmark Kagiso purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 44.3 in May, the lowest it’s been since September 2009. It fell from an already dismal 47.4 in April. When the PMI, which is compiled by the University of Stellenbosch-based Bureau for Economic Research (BER), comes in below 50 it shows that the economy is shrinking […]

Labour unrest, slow growth in developed countries, high levels of youth unemployment and low levels of consumer and business confidence all pose challenges for the South African economy, but the country remains an important regional hub for mining, the automotive sector and financial markets. The latest Africa Economic Outlook report for 2014 paints a picture of […]

Today’s inauguration of President Jacob Zuma, which marks the start of his second and final term as state president, will be attended by around 20 000 people who will feast their eyes and ears on the best pageantry that South Africa has to offer. But amidst all the pomp and ceremony that marks one of the biggest days […]

Finance minister Pravin Gordhan has promised a continued focus on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) when the African National Congress (ANC) is returned to power after this month’s general elections. The ANC is expected to win a sizeable majority again this year, as it has done in every election since 1994. Even the most optimistic opposition […]