BizNews Radio (OLD)
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
R500bn and the fight against Covid-19 - President Cyril Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Government is putting an extraordinary budget in place of R500bn, which is 10% of the country's Gross Domestic Product to fight the coronavirus. This would include the reprioritisation of R130bn within the current budget. The rest of the funds will be raised from local sources,…
People will loot or go back to work if lockdown continues – GG Alcock
GG Alcock is uniquely tapped into the informal economy in the townships and has long been a firm believer that it needs to be acknowledged for the entrepreneurial spirit it brings to South Africa. He warned at the beginning of the lockdown that it would be dangerous to deprive the…
Clem Sunter on lifting lockdown: Diving into depression vs fresh Covid-19 spike
Clem Sunter is one of South Africa's most respected strategists, making an indelible mark on the birth of the new South Africa which followed his High Road scenario of negotiated settlement rather than the Low Road of political turmoil. In this in-depth interview with BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg, Sunter -…
Illegal cigarette industry explodes under Covid-19 lockdown with help from police: Yusuf Abramjee
Mr Yusuf Abramjee, head of Tax Justice SA, has campaigned tirelessly for the South African government to bring to book the hardened criminals and dirty tobacco industry companies that have made huge sums on the backs of taxpayers. Although law enforcers were making some headway in pursuing charges in the…
Paul O’Sullivan, David Shapiro, GG Alcock: SAA collapse is VERY, VERY BAD for SA
South African Airways (SAA) was at the centre of the state capture scandal, sucking up billions of rands of taxpayers’ funds under former President Jacob Zuma’s friend Dudu Myeni. Corruption and mismanagement have played a key role in pushing SAA towards collapse. The finger of blame has been pointed at…
Swedish scientist says strict lockdowns are wrong and can't be maintained - Prof Johan Giesecke
The country that has gone against the trend of locking down their citizens to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is Sweden. It is facing a rash of criticism for their approach, but their scientific adviser, an eminent virologist, professor Johan Giesecke insists that lockdowns are not the right policy to…
Could dogs be trained to sniff out Covid-19 cases?
Man's best friend has been used to sniff out drugs at airports and even to detect cancers. Now the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Disease in the United Kingdom has started a programme to train dogs to sniff out cases of Covid-19 on carriers that may not have other…
CR slams theft of Covid-19 parcels for the poor, looks to fix SA Inc; tributes pour in for Marc Wainer; oil plummets
In today's news headlines: * South Africa’s government is considering a range of proposals to help the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including the potential sale of a R100bn ($5.3bn) social-impact bond, says Bloomberg; * Tributes are pouring in for property doyen Marc Wainer, founder, former…
Inside Covid 19: What comes after lockdown ends; Stanford's sceptical Dr B; Clem Sunter; Virus sniffing dogs - Ep 21
In Episode 21 of Inside Covid-19 we look the end of a lockdown that costs SA R13bn a day, considering how that's likely to happen; also, the Stanford University prof whose research suggests Governments have massively overreacted to the virus; a counter of sorts from SA’s leading scenario planner Clem…
David Shapiro, Alec Hogg: After Wall Street’s best run in 80 years, what's next for SA?
World markets have suffered as Covid-19 containment measures have shut down economies and, in turn, profit prospects for publicly listed companies. But, in a sudden turn of events, US stocks have been powering up. As BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg notes: Wall Street has had its best two weeks in 80…
Covid-19 is 'probably' only as deadly as the flu - Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
A Stanford professor of medicine who also has a doctorate in economics, prof Jay Bhattacharya has questioned the conventional wisdom on the death rates from Covid-19 that governments all over the world are using to model their responses. He said it is likely to be orders of magnitude lower than…
‘Community isolation’ a better lockdown solution for poorer communities – Dr Jakkie Cilliers
For many people who live in townships; self-isolation is not really a viable option as people live so close together. It is very difficult for 10 people who live in a tin shack; to stay inside and to avoid their neighbours. Added to this is the fact that they can’t…
Rational Radio in full: Shapiro/Alcock on what happens after lockdown; A new way for SAA; Making respirators in PMB
This week's full Rational Radio show features the regular in-virtual-studio guests David Shapiro and GG Alcock discussing the impact of Covid-19 on the formal and informal sectors. Plus fascinating interjections with Paul O'Sullivan on an alternative plan to closing South African Airways; and an update from Ian Ambler, co owner…
Inside Covid-19: Two month medical aid holiday; Jakkie Cilliers' reality check for SA; How Covid-19 started - Ep 20
In episode twenty of Inside Covid-19, a two month medical aid holiday for hundreds of thousands of companies, individuals; reality check of how the lockdown is affecting poor people; evidence that Black Americans and Brits are harder hit by Covid-19; and an in-depth report on how the coronavirus made the…
Covid-19 could kill 300,000 in Africa, 50+ SA deaths; Cape gangsters feed poor; SA banks to help small business
In today's news headlines: * The Covid-19 pandemic will likely kill at least 300,000 and risks pushing 29 million into extreme poverty across Africa, the UN Economic Commission for Africa warns; * The number of Covid-19 deaths in SA now exceeds 50. There have been more than 3,000 confirmed cases…
Will Covid-19 kill shareholder-first capitalism?
As people start to consider what it may look like when lockdowns lift, some are asking whether shareholder capitalism can survive Covid-19. Increasingly, workers are demanding better treatment from their employers and governments are attaching strings to business bailouts. With the fragility of even huge global businesses exposed by the…
Here’s how SA is getting ready to lift lockdown - Covid-19 strategy insider
For a chilling picture on what the Covid-19 containment plan is doing to South Africa, listen to B4SA and Brand South Africa heavyweight Stavros Nicolaou. He pulls no punches, pointing out that for the economy there is “no good news, only degrees of bad news”. From a health perspective, a…
SA can survive Covid-19 - IMF: Business leaders donate pay to CR anti-Covid battle; mines get back to work; Vodacom; MTN
In today's news headlines: * South Africa is resilient enough to overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as long as its policies are recalibrated toward economic growth once the crisis has passed, according to the International Monetary Fund; * Business leaders across industries are following President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet in taking about a third…
Inside Covid-19: In-depth with B4SA's Nicolau, Zoom's CEO; Gradual lockdown easing; Free consults; Germany - Ep 19
In episode nineteen of Inside Covid-19, the first easing of the lockdown in South Africa; in-depth interviews with the leader of Business4SA's Covid-19 public healthcare stream and with the founder of the suddenly popular video conferencing company Zoom; a good start for the free online consulting service; and lessons from…
Covid-19 lockdown partially lifted with mines allowed to operate at 50%; ban on cigarettes, alcohol remains
The National Command Council on Covid-19 has announced that the government will start a gradual lifting of the lockdown. It includes allowing mines to start operating at 50% of capacity with strict safety measures imposed. Other sectors of the economy that will be opened, include companies that keep essential technology…