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JSE faces mixed Asian markets, while rolling blackouts continue

The JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Thursday morning, with no major catalyst to give direction, while locally rolling blackouts have intensified. Eskom has moved to stage 4 load-shedding from stage 2, and this is expected to persist for the rest of the week, dealing a further blow to SA’s…

3 Sep 2020 1AM 1 min

Lockdown day 160: Pictures of the day

A round-up of the best pictures from day 160 of the national lockdown

2 Sep 2020 5PM 1 min

US blacklists ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda over Afghanistan war crimes probe

Washington — The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, over her investigation into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Pompeo also said Phakiso Mochochoko, the head of the ICC's jurisdiction, complementarity and co-operation division, had…

2 Sep 2020 5PM 2 min

GIULIETTA TALEVI: Seaside home sales boom, as SA’s cities at a crossroads

The freshness of a week away from the city has been quite staggering and, I’d say, necessary for most of us after what feels like months of relentless slog and grim getting-on. It’s also helpful when you start really losing perspective on SA — though, arriving back to a powerless…

2 Sep 2020 5PM 3 min

XHANTI PAYI: Labour unions fit for the moment?

The nature and structure of our economy have changed fundamentally as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we try to reimagine this — and especially the future of work — we have to consider a key stakeholder: the labour sector. In particular, we have to ask whether unions have…

2 Sep 2020 4PM 4 min

STEPHEN VAN COLLER: Stealing from SA’s future

As companies around the world struggle with Covid-19, I can’t help but draw parallels between managing a company in crisis, and a country in crisis. Strictly speaking, financial systems are a zero-sum game and so you have only a few levers to pull when faced with a crisis. I read…

2 Sep 2020 3PM 5 min

EDITORIAL: ANC is lavish on rhetoric, meagre on action

The bold outcome of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, suggests the governing party is well aware that it’s been placed on notice by a corruption-fatigued electorate.On paper, the party’s promises look good: those facing corruption cases must step aside from their government posts,…

2 Sep 2020 3PM 3 min

EDITORIAL: Trigger-happy thugs

SA politicians have a history of exhorting the police to violence. In 2008, deputy safety & security minister Susan "Bang-Bang" Shabangu told officers to "kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You must not worry about the regulations."It was a sentiment echoed by police minister Nathi Mthethwa…

2 Sep 2020 2PM 1 min

Dear Mr President: End the political errors and insincerity

Dear Mr President,I hope this finds you well after your small triumph in seeing off the hyenas who wished to use the weekend’s meeting of the ANC’s national executive council to attack you.The desperate attempt at scapegoating by your predecessor did not do justice to the ink spilt on it…

2 Sep 2020 2PM 1 min

A bad week for Andile Lungisa

A good week Local hit song Jerusalema has not only held its ground on home turf, but has become a global sensation, giving South Africans reason to celebrate. The smash gospel hit by Master KG, featuring Nomcebo Zikode, achieved a phenomenal milestone last week when it reached 100-million views on…

2 Sep 2020 2PM 1 min

WHO recommends cheap and readily available steroids as Covid-19 treatment

London — Treating critically ill Covid-19 patients with corticosteroid drugs reduces the risk of death by 20%, an analysis of seven international trials found on Wednesday, prompting the World Health Organisation (WHO) to update its advice on treatment. The analysis — which pooled data from separate trials of low dose…

2 Sep 2020 1PM 3 min

EDITORIAL: Don’t bank on a consistently stronger rand

For the rest of us, according to Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda, the “flood of money means that the disconnect between equity markets and the real world is set to continue for some time to come”. He was responding to dovish comments from some of the world’s…

2 Sep 2020 12PM 3 min

Joburg may have to cut frequency of waste collection to trim costs

Johannesburg is considering reducing the frequency of waste collection in some areas in a bid to cut costs amid low revenue collection. Africa's wealthiest city could also see increased water interruptions and load-shedding. In a statement released by Joburg's finance department on Wednesday the city said revenue was undercollected by…

2 Sep 2020 12PM 2 min

London Marathon goes ‘virtual’ with times recorded on an app

London — More than 45,000 people have signed up to run the first “virtual” London Marathon in October after the actual race, already postponed from April, was cancelled last month due to the risk of coronavirus spread. A multi-lap elite race, headlined by Kenyan world record holders Eliud Kipchoge and…

2 Sep 2020 11AM 1 min

UK’s economy has rocky road ahead

London — Bank of England (BOE) policymakers painted a gloomy picture of the UK’s economic outlook, warning that the nation faces a long road back from the hit of the pandemic. Governor Andrew Bailey told legislators on parliament’s treasury committee that the risks to growth remain to the downside, while…

2 Sep 2020 11AM 1 min

Lesotho should prioritise affordable internet access for all its people

In 2018 a study commissioned by the Lesotho Communication Authority (LCA) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) found that mobile phone penetration in Lesotho was at 78.65%, while internet penetration stood at only 30%, with 83% of rural dwellers not using the internet at all. In urban areas, half of…

2 Sep 2020 11AM 5 min

Public servants getting away with doing business with the state

It is criminal for public service workers to do business with the state, but the number of those caught doing so seems not to scratch the surface of the extent of corruption in the state. It is a criminal offence for public servants to conduct business with organs of the…

2 Sep 2020 11AM 4 min

Zimbabwe high court frees protest organiser on bail

Harare — Zimbabwe’s high court granted bail on Wednesday to an opposition politician detained after calling for anti-government protests in July over corruption and the worst economic crisis in more than a decade. Jacob Ngarivhume was arrested along with journalist Hopewell Chin’ono on July 20, on charges of inciting violence…

2 Sep 2020 11AM 1 min

Investors should weigh hit of high government debt on markets

After a big decline between February and June, consensus forecasts for global growth have stabilised, recent data suggests. Global equity markets have therefore continued their recovery path, fuelled by central banks lowering rates and the gradual reopening of some economies after lockdowns. Though the pace of central bank monetary policy…

2 Sep 2020 10AM 5 min

A fishy donation puts Namibia’s Hage Geingob on the spot

New allegations about corruption and patronage in ruling party Swapo will have left most Namibians feeling they’re not getting value for money from the country’s generous public funding of political parties. "The regulation of party-political finance is a mess," says Graham Hopwood, director of the Institute for Public Policy Research…

2 Sep 2020 10AM 4 min