BizNews Radio

In the latest edition of the NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn, Lauren Evanthia, the Founder of the Organic Humanity Movement (OHM), talks about fears that the National Shutdown this week could spark unrest with African National Congress (ANC) SG Fikile Mbalula accusing former President Jacob Zuma of fuelling anti-immigrant violence: “..when we reach a point when…systems start to crumble because of government failure and the lack of ethical leadership, what happens is that society starts to take over. And it takes over in a very chaotic way because we don't have a replacement for government failure on such a large scale.” Commenting on the SG’s defence of the ANC Speaker of Parliament over her handling of the Phala Phala matter, she fumes: “..people can hide behind parties...the party politics in South Africa is in my opinion the number one biggest stumbling block towards our progress as a nation”. As for tenderpreneur Cat Matlala cutting a plea deal and turning State Witness, Evanthia charges: “…these commissions of inquiry that keep on happening are just a distraction to the fact that we're not actually going for solutions in this country. Those with power are not implementing solutions.” Also on the agenda is new Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, under fire already because Cape Town has lost its clean audit status, and the former leader of the party, John Steenhuisen, is spewing bile because he feels betrayed by his erstwhile friend.

The Zynga founder and OpenAI investor can't understand why analysts cap consumer AI at $500 billion in what he sees as a $6 trillion market - he thinks that gap is exactly where the real opportunity lies. Oil spiked as Iran struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz mid-negotiation, OpenAI stalled its IPO, and African Bank posted a near-billion-rand loss. Back home, who is behind the assassinations of candidates and councilors during South Africa's voter registration weekend, and what does it mean for the elections ahead?

African Bank swung to a loss of nearly a billion rand after a four-year spree of buying and bolting together three banks to build a full-service lender, and the bad debt charge is still climbing. The contrast is brutal: a focused platinum-and-chrome miner, Tharisa, is printing cash with profit up more than sixfold, and the very morning African Bank’s loss landed, Tharisa was locking in fresh funding for its next mine. Anglo American, meanwhile, is reshaping itself around copper, selling out of coal and much of its South African portfolio while holding on to iron ore, and what that signals for local investors is the real question.

In the latest edition of The Electoral Road Show, Chris Steyn and elections analyst Wayne Sussman talk about Ekurhuleni finally managing to pass a R71-billion budget thanks to the Democratic Alliance (DA) supporting the African National Congress (ANC). Sussman warns: “...we know the Freedom Front did far better in Ekurhuleni than the City of Johannesburg in 2021. And they could also say, look, the DA and the ANC are the exact same, there's no difference, vote for us. We will stand up to the ANC. So on the one hand, the DA is saying they're acting in the residents' interest, they're acting in service delivery' interests, but critics of the ANC and DA will paint another picture.” Sussman also analyses the results of last night by-elections in which both the ANC and the DA held wards with “the DA laying down a marker to the Freedom Front in the Northwest, and the ANC certainly making a big point with its strong showing in Bushbuckridge”. As for the spate of killings of politicians and activists over the past registration weekend, he says “it is plausible that these might be politically motivated hits”.

South Africa made World Cup history as Bafana Bafana beat South Korea to reach the knockout stages for the first time ever. Oil slides for a fourth straight session on Iran deal oversupply, and Micron surges 11% on AI chip demand. The bigger question hanging over the morning: what has President Ramaphosa still not told South Africa about the Phala Phala money - and can the truth stay hidden?

Bafana Bafana are one result away from making World Cup history — but the path to the Round of 32 is complicated. With one point from two games and South Korea standing in their way on Thursday morning (3 AM SA time), Hugo Broos' men still have multiple routes through. The question is: how likely is each one? In this video, we break down every scenario that could see South Africa advance — from the clean path (win and you're through) to the long shots that would have the whole country refreshing standings tables in the early hours. We look at what the betting markets say, what Opta's numbers tell us about Bafana's actual performance level, and what the BizNews AI Predictor — our new data-driven match analysis tool — makes of South Africa's chances against South Korea. ⚽ Every qualification scenario explained 📊 Opta xG data, betting odds, and deep stats unpacked 🤖 The BizNews AI Predictor verdict: South Korea 56% | Draw 31% | South Africa 13% 🇿🇦 Can Bafana make history? The alarm is set for 3 AM. Let's talk about it.

Nedbank confirmed its guidance this morning, and its East Africa deal is weeks from closing - a transformation most investors are still underpricing. Grindrod's Port of Maputo posted extraordinary volumes, but the share may already be priced for perfection. A small coal miner no one follows just disclosed an 1,800% earnings swing, and the full story has not landed yet.

Three politicians - an ANC councilor and two aspirants from rival parties - were gunned down in a single evening as South Africa's 2026 election year turns violent, and a commentator warns the worst may still be ahead. Steenkamp Kraal's rare earth processing milestone gives the West its clearest shot yet at breaking China's grip on critical minerals, while semiconductor stocks shed more than 10% overnight on fears AI data center demand is cooling. Plus the US Senate breaks with Trump on Iran in a 50-48 vote.

Election year 2026 is turning deadly and dirty. In his latest interview with Chris Steyn, political commentator Solly Moeng slams the Speaker of Parliament for not opposing President Cyril Ramaphosa's urgent bid to stave off his impeachment inquiry. “I for one should not be surprised if the Speaker would have been called into some meeting somewhere with the political party leadership that deployed her…to say: listen, this is the way we want this thing to go.” He also laments the spate of political killings that has seen an African National Congress (ANC) councillor and two aspirant councillors, one from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and one from BOSA gunned down in one night. “... there are of course people who also see these as opportunities for a job to climb up and to access the feeding through as it were. Either way it's a very risky position because sometimes people are even killed by their own comrades, their own people from the same political party, wanting to occupy the position.” Lastly, Moeng reveals why he left ActionSA despite being brought back to South Africa by its leader Herman Mashaba after he had been forced out of the country by the ANC.

We explore a toughening economic climate as South African consumer confidence drops and central bank indicators flash red. Discover why the market is blindly punishing value, dragging down Sibanye Stillwater’s debt-free gold business despite solid restructuring plans. We also highlight Attacq’s resilient property portfolio and Steenkamp Kraal’s historic rare earth processing breakthrough. Finally, we head global to unpack Andy Burnham’s sudden political rise in the UK and SpaceX’s dramatic post-IPO market slide.

Today's BizNews Daybreak covers the US granting Iran a 60-day oil sale license following Switzerland peace talks. Tech stocks retreat as Alphabet slips 5% and Qualcomm eyes a $4 billion Modular acquisition. In the UK, Keir Starmer resigns as PM, clearing the path for Andy Burnham. Plus, the ISS warns of Mexican drug cartels in South Africa, Naspers reports surging core earnings, and Nouriel Roubini turns bullish on US productivity.

Following the recent R1-billion drug bust at Beitbridge, there is renewed focus on the warning by KZN Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that South Africa could become another Mexico or El Salvador if politically- and police-connected drug cartels were not dealt with. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) shares the findings of the ISS' latest drug study. “On the operational level, we're sitting with severe challenges. We've got most of the senior commissioners of police that are being arrested or suspended or so on. So we've got a power vacuum there and so on… one of the biggest challenges is the severe disinvestment in your capability in the police, intelligence-wise, as well as operational. We do not have boots on the ground. We do not have sufficient equipment and infrastructure…. ” Els details the ISS’ recommendations, and expresses optimism that with the appointment of General Mkhwanazi as Head of the Organised Crime Desk, “there might be some improvement now”.

Good numbers, wrong catalyst. That's the Monday verdict on the JSE. Naspers flagged core earnings growth of up to 28% and still lost ground, sitting 37% off its 52-week high. Standard Bank reported resilient five-month earnings but moderated from a 12% first-quarter pace — sell-the-news into a stock already up 8% in a fortnight. Herriot acquired three Gauteng office blocks in a related-party deal worth R129 million. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer resigned as British prime minister two years after a landslide victory, gold held above $4,200, and US-Iran talks continued. The message: in a nervous market, strong performance is necessary — but not sufficient.

This episode of BizNews Daybreak covers the US-Iran preliminary nuclear agreement, an FDA panel's approval of Moderna’s new mRNA flu vaccine, and upcoming Fed inflation data threatening further interest rate hikes. Domestically, Lauren Evanthia discusses a proposed South African cabinet reshuffle and John Steenhuisen's political demotion. Finally, we analyze the massive capital drain from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic listings, Amazon’s Prime Day ecosystem strategy, and Dan Dicker’s warnings on critical global oil stockpile drawdowns.

“..We need to reach a point where the people as individuals and as a population are stronger than governing systems, and those governing systems can't be in a position to control; they need to simply govern, build infrastructure, fix roads - not have control and power over people.” That is the call from Lauren Evanthia, the founder of the Organic Humanity Movement (OHM) on the NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn as they talk about major developments in the past week: two ward councillors being gunned down in the space of an hour on voter registration weekend; former President Jacob Zuma firing his once powerful daughter, Duduzile, and MKP former spokesperson, her close ally; President Cyril Ramaphosa pondering the Democratic Alliance's (DA's) Cabinet reshuffle requests that sees its former leader, John Steenhuisen, demoted to a deputy minister's post; and Deputy President Paul Mashatile - who is on a working visit in China - seemingly ready to step into presidential shoes while Ramaphosa is doing everything possible to avoid impeachment. They also talk about more corruption being exposed in the South African Police Force (SAPS) with twenty police officers in the Western Cape charged with alleged links to the taxi industry, and Nelson Mandela Bay being ranked the 3rd most violent city in the world.

In the latest Electoral Road Show with Chris Steyn and analyst Supremo Wayne Sussman, he dissects the Democratic Alliance’s big Cabinet reshuffle, particularly the ministerial demotion of former party leader by the new leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, as well as the posts now allotted to the Willie Aucamp, David Maynier, Yusuf Cassim and Gauteng veteran Jack Bloom. “I think that Hill-Lewis had no choice and the DA had no choice but to move and act against Steenhuisen. Because it must have been looking at its polling and worrying about the Afrikaans voters. ...these new ministers and deputy ministers will have to show their mettle…and the DA will hope that it can arrest decline, certainly amongst Afrikaans voters, but also the voters it's been losing to the Patriotic Alliance.” Analysing the latest by-election results, Sussman describes EFF support “totally collapsing” in Buffalo City where it came close to being the second biggest party in 2024. As for Jo’burg Mayor Dada Morero first elevated and then removed as municipal intervention convenor for the province, Sussman says: “I think this says less about Dado Morero and more about the state of the ANC in Gauteng: that the infighting is vicious, that the contestation and competition is as fierce as ever, and this is not a good sign for the ANC a few months out of the Local Government Election.”

Alec Hogg opens with a thesis from Merrill Lynch veteran Dr. Duarte de Silva: South Africa's abandoned gold mines and tailings dumps — written off at $300–$800/oz — are generating margins above $3,000 per ounce at today's prices. The Witwatersrand Basin still holds as much gold as has ever been extracted from it. Yet exploration spend has collapsed 95% from its 2006 peak. On the JSE: Wesizwe Platinum surges 90% as its year-long trading suspension lifts; Pan African drifts lower despite a sound Australian acquisition; Fortress Real Estate impresses on logistics; Alexander Forbes delivers flat earnings on strong revenue; and Bell Equipment executes a textbook CEO handover. Globally: the ECB raises rates, Belfast burns, and OpenAI flags Chinese disinformation targeting US data centres.

In the latest Electoral Road Show with Chris Steyn, Elections Analyst Wayne Sussman describes how Gayton MacKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance (PA) is continuing to march onwards and upwards “weakening” both the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape. In the latest by-election, the PA won 53% of the vote in Malmesbury Wesbank. “This used to be the safest DA municipality in the country. And in 2024, the Patriotic Alliance burst through that wall by winning the seat off the DA.” Sussman also comments on GOOD and Rise Mzansi joining forces behind mayoral hopeful Brett Herron; the ANC’s elevation of Dada Morero to intervention convener for Gauteng’s troubled municipalities; the late President Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla eyeing a mayoral chain in the Eastern Cape; and Buffalo City Mayor Princess Faku coming under fire for taking officials on overseas trips to China and Germany while the municipality is struggling financially. “Next week we have two Buffalo City by-elections…It'll be interesting to see whether this issue, this debacle, hurts the ANC because both of the seats are ANC seats.”

Fears of an agenda to disarm private citizens are growing along with jaw-dropping allegations of criminal activity by top cops. In his latest interview with Chris Steyn, Jonathan Deal, the founder of Safe Citizen, warns that the public is not properly and fully informed on public safety, and takes viewers through the implications of proposed changes to firearms ownership and training regulations for ordinary citizens, as well as for the private security industry. “...for many South Africans, a lawfully-owned firearm, either in their own hands or in the hands of the security industry, is actually their mainstay of security, particularly in the absence of the ability of the State to look after them. I can't understand why a government that itself is beleaguered on so many levels in the South African Police Service would go and meddle and fiddle with things where the public at least have some measure of protection, even if they're providing it themselves.” Meanwhile, he expresses grave concern about more and more allegations of criminal activity involving top police officers emerging at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. “Certainly, it appears that the government has lost control of this critical environment. Personally, my view is that…that our police service has become politicised. It is used as a political football.”

A top South African cop, Major General Feroz Khan of Crime Intelligence, and a tobacco kingpin, Mohamed Sayed, plotted to “f….up well known anti-crime activist and Tax Justice SA Founder, Yusuf Abramjee. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Abramjee details a litany of shocking revelations in a 750-page bundle released by the Madlanga Commission. Abramjee vows not to be silenced. “General Khan has been subpoenaed to appear before the commission on the 1st of July. And I'm sure that he will come clean. He has to come clean because we cannot allow this lawlessness. We cannot allow this collusion. We cannot allow this intimidation to continue….You cannot be a policeman and a criminal.” Abramjee points out how revelations at the Madlanga Commission again show how rotten the criminal justice system is, but warns: “I believe it's only the tip of the iceberg. We have a major problem within the police service and also other arms of the criminal justice system. And we need to make sure that the recommendations and the suggestions coming out of the Madlanga Commission are implemented.”

BizNews editor Alec Hogg unpacks a day when geopolitics, markets and history collided. SPAR's SA operating profit collapsed 73% — yet the stock rallied on relief. Afrimat's Competition Tribunal disposal barely moved the needle. MTN laid out its Ambition 2030 strategy and the market sold the news. Then the big stories: US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, Bill Gates faced Congress over his Epstein ties, and SpaceX set a fixed IPO price of $135 — with $250bn of demand for a $75bn raise. Friday's listing could be the most consequential in a generation.

A six-year delay, constitutional criticism, and allegations of misleading the court - Rob Rose’s investigation into South Africa’s Competition Tribunal raises serious questions about accountability and economic governance. In this hard-hitting discussion with Alec Hogg, Rose unpacks how regulatory paralysis, questionable decision-making, and a lack of consequences are undermining business confidence and investment. From stalled competition cases to broader failures across state institutions, this conversation explores why efficient, credible regulation is essential for economic growth and South Africa’s future prosperity.

In this episode of BizNews Daybreak, US forces strike Iran after a helicopter downing, SpaceX's IPO sees massive demand, and IBM bets billions on quantum computing. In South Africa, the Competition Appeal Court slams egregious six-year delays crippling corporate deals, while Johannesburg's bleak budget exposes critical cash shortages and severe utility infrastructure backlogs. Finally, we highlight the suspension of 14 senior police officers over corrupt tenders and take a look at China's multi-billion-dollar push to expand its domestic AI data center network.

In his latest interview with Chris Steyn, political commentator Solly Moeng comments on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s poor handling of the immigration (and other) crisis; the mysterious social media campaign to position Freedom Front Plus Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald as a future president; questions about the R30 million “donation” to Rise Mzansi, the party that has an MP chairing the Ramaphosa impeachment committee; unholy links between General Feroz Khan of Crime Intelligence and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Commander-in-Chief Julius Malema; 14 police officers suspended in relation to a tender linked to the politically connected Cat Matlala; and the failure to arrest alleged Tembisa Hospital looting kingpin Hangwani Morgan Maumela, the nephew by marriage of Ramaphosa. “...if you arrest the small guys and you let the big guys continue the games they're playing on all of us, then we're going to end up having the same conversations in a year's time…they should dig out everyone who's hiding in the crevices of this madness, take them into the public space and…hopefully the NPA this time will act without fear, favour or prejudice and go after everybody. Else, South Africans must vote…We need to place this country ahead of all these mad men and women in politics.”

Johannesburg's new budget lays bare a city in financial distress: less than 10 days of cash reserves, a R220 billion infrastructure backlog, and revenue targets that ignore the fact that nearly half its water never gets billed. Alec Hogg dissects the numbers that every ratepayer and bondholder should see. Then: Jubilee Metals tries to win back the market with a credible operational update from Zambia; Araxi (formerly Capital Appreciation) posts softer headline numbers that mask an 80% surge in its core software earnings; a hostile takeover battle at Mustek nears its conclusion; and why a director selling shares at ASP Isotopes is not what it looks like. And in the second half — SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are heading for public markets with a combined valuation pipeline of over $3 trillion. Alec draws the parallels with 1999, and asks the question Wall Street is afraid to answer: are we at the top?

In today's Daybreak episode, OpenAI files for a fall IPO and SpaceX’s oversubscribed listing targets a $1.8 trillion valuation. Meanwhile, Israel and Iran ease strikes after Trump's intervention. Locally, a new AGOA proposal allows South African firms to opt out of BEE to avoid US tariffs, PPC's 84% profit surge triggers stock volatility, Bernard Montgomery reminisces on the old JSE floor, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup struggles with tourism forecasts.

In June 1996, the JSE's open-outcry trading floor fell silent forever. Thirty years on, Irakli speaks to Bernie Montgomery — clerk-turned-broker — who recalls the chaos, camaraderie, and colourful lunches that defined an era before the screen took over.

Omnia and Sygnia deliver standout half-year numbers and shareholders cheer. PPC posts 84% profit growth and the stock drops 3.5%. Alec Hogg unpacks three SENS announcements that tell you everything about how markets actually work — and why beating expectations matters more than beating last year.

This morning’s Daybreak covers global market movements as oil ticks up amid Middle East tensions and tech shares slump globally. Meanwhile, Apple prepares to unveil its overhauled Siri and new AI features at WWDC. Locally, Lauren Evanthia addresses a massive R2 billion South African hospital scandal, Tara Roos breaks down Johannesburg's R200 billion infrastructure backlog and weak financial controls, and Sakeliga's Russell Lamberti proposes an AGOA "off-ramp" to shield compliant businesses from Pretoria's policy fallout.

As the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) faces bipartisan scrutiny in Washington ahead of its December 2026 deadline, South African business group Sakeliga has submitted a radical new proposal for "subnational differentiation". Russell Lamberti explains how the plan would allow individual companies, municipalities, and provinces—like the Western Cape—to bypass looming punitive US trade tariffs. By directly verifying compliance with free-market principles and formally dissenting from the ANC's race-based BEE and expropriation policies, businesses could protect their access to crucial US export markets regardless of national government action.

In the latest edition of NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn and Lauren Evanthia, the Founder of the Organic Humanity Movement, they talk about the authorities going after the R3million Bentley Continental GT that had belonged to President Cryil Ramaposa's nephew by marriage, Hangwani Morgan Maumela, who has been fingered as the Tembisa Hospital looting kingpin; criminal charges being laid against former Ekurhuleni City Manager Dr Imogen Mashazi who once turned up at a fashion event in an outfit estimated to have cost R3.5 million; NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim’s lifestyle under scrutiny with talk of a R5m custom-armoured BMW and an exclusive apartment; as well as the Zim wedding of a tenderpreneur’s son where the couple received US$20m in wedding gifts. Evanthia also comments on the re-defection of former MP Liam Jacobs back to the Democratic Alliance from the Patriotic Alliance; the deadly anti-immigrant riots; and plans to build South Africa’s biggest AI data centre in the Durban area.

Johannesburg’s financial crisis is deepening, with the Auditor-General revealing R9.5 billion in losses driven largely by electricity theft, water leaks and weak governance. An infrastructure backlog now estimated at R200 billion threatens service delivery in South Africa’s economic powerhouse. Analysts warn that years of poor oversight, mounting debt and a lack of accountability have left the city vulnerable to worsening power and water outages. With residents and businesses already feeling the strain, calls for urgent intervention are growing louder.

Today on BizNews Daybreak, global updates reveal the US passing a key Ukraine aid bill, leveling strict new sanctions against Cuba, and racing to contain a Texas screw worm outbreak. Locally, Athol Trollip warns that slow cattle vaccinations are worsening South Africa's foot and mouth disease crisis. Plus, The Economist's Chief Africa Correspondent, John McDermott, analyses the logistics of a deadly, unvaccinated Ebola strain currently spreading through the eastern DRC.

John McDermott explores the unfolding Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, unpacking how transmission occurs, why the crisis is spreading, and what makes this strain particularly dangerous. He examines strained health systems, limited aid funding, and the challenge of vaccine development. The discussion situates the outbreak within broader regional conflict and mistrust, highlighting how geopolitics, poverty, and weak infrastructure complicate containment efforts while international partners race to respond.

Athol Trollip delivers a blistering critique of South Africa’s handling of the foot-and-mouth disease crisis, arguing that government bureaucracy and a state-controlled vaccination strategy are failing farmers and allowing the outbreak to spread. Drawing on decades of farming experience, the ActionSA parliamentary leader says commercial farmers should be empowered to vaccinate their own herds, while state resources focus on vulnerable rural communities. He warns that delays, poor execution and political stubbornness are deepening economic damage and could carry serious political consequences.

Amazon has officially disrupted the local market by launching its full Prime offering in South Africa. Globally, SpaceX plans a historic $75 billion IPO, Broadcom's AI chip revenue forecasts disappoint, and a fragile Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is renewed. Additionally, experts call for urgent action against South Africa’s rampant illegal number plate trade, while UK political leaders clash heavily in Parliament.

Amazon is turning up the heat in South Africa. Two years after launching its local marketplace, the e-commerce giant has officially rolled out Amazon Prime at a dramatically lower price, taking direct aim at Takealot. Global Prime chief Jamil Ghani explains why Amazon believes fast, free delivery, streaming, gaming and exclusive Prime Day deals can win over South African shoppers. He also reveals how Prime works, why it’s profitable, and what could be next for Amazon in the country.

A Business Day investigation has pried open South Africa's black market for number plates and found the price of entry close to nothing. In this interview with Irakli, Business Day Deputy Editor Kabelo Khumalo explains how reporters walked out of three Johannesburg establishments with plates after doing just one thing - writing a registration number on a piece of paper, with no ID, licence or vehicle registration required. He warns the trade is above all a security risk: "Number plates is as good as a DNA for an investigative officer… because now we can't even rely on those." It also opens the door to cloning, dragging law-abiding citizens into investigations "for crimes that they have nothing to do with". Khumalo says the body representing legal producers estimates as much as 40% of number plates issued in South Africa might be illegal, and that getting hold of them is now as simple as a trip to the shops "to buy bread and milk". He points to the country's only three manufacturers of blank plates — one of which, Uniplate, "admitted that the system is imperfect" — and to "a syndicate in the middle that is distorting the market in favour of the illicit". Tellingly, the illegal plates cost the same as the legal ones: "people are not driven to buy these plates because of pricing, but because they want to avoid law enforcement." The DA has written to the Ministers of Police, Trade & Industry and Transport to set up an inter-ministerial team, while the Competition Commission pursues the three manufacturers over alleged collusion on pricing.

Globally, the US proposes major tariffs, and US-Iran peace talks face friction over the conflict in Lebanon. Locally, a Pretoria SPAR store faces severe tax fraud allegations, a Business Day investigation exposes rampant illicit number plate sales in Johannesburg, and an expert shares crucial tips to combat digital banking fraud. Finally, economist Mariana Mazzucato argues for purpose-driven corporate contracts.

Business Day journalist Nompilo Zulu unpacks allegations of VAT fraud and accounting irregularities at Spar’s Bloed Street Tops store, after a BDO due-diligence report flagged unreliable financials, alleged tax underdeclarations and stock-related concerns. Spar strongly disputes the claims, saying the matter relates to one store and follows a failed bid by businessman Amaan Sayed to rejoin the Spar network. With complaints now before regulators including the JSE, Saica and CIPC, Zulu explains what the report found, how Spar has responded, and what could come next.

Losses from digital banking fraud in South Africa are estimated to total at least a billion and a half Rand a year. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Governance, Compliance and Risk Expert Deshnee Govender, shares how the sophisticated modus operandi of bank fraudsters fool customers, and she shares tips to avoid being tricked by them. Deshnee also urges banks to have proper Governance, Compliance and Risk measures in place, and to submit employees to integrity testing and lifestyle audits. Meanwhile, she describes how the banking industry is being revolutionised. “There's…Revolut, a totally digital bank... It's currently operating in the UK and Europe, but it's got its license now to… operate in South Africa. Then as from next year, the PEPCOR group…coming out with their own bank… PlusB. So there's a lot of other players that are going to be entering the market as well. And I think the key…for the conventional banks…is to see who can actually manage the monies…of the citizens professionally and with integrity…those newcomers…are going to bring a different kind of vibe to the market. And I think citizens will be tempted to go to banks where you can be assured…that your resources are absolutely safe.”

In today's BizNews Daybreak: Internationally, President Trump cuts agricultural equipment tariffs, Apple introduces an iPhone bill-splitting feature, and Nvidia debuts a $5 trillion PC AI chip. Locally, Free State’s community grid takeover triumphs, KZN lags behind in foot-and-mouth vaccinations, and analysts unpack the impeachment pressures facing President Ramaphosa.

What happens when a community decides it’s had enough of municipal failure? In this compelling conversation, Rob Hersov explains how a small Free State municipality took matters into its own hands, restoring services, managing electricity distribution, collecting revenue, and driving local development. The result is a working model of public-private cooperation that could transform struggling municipalities across South Africa. From grassroots leadership to political change, this is a powerful story of resilience, innovation, and a practical blueprint for renewal.

At $1.75 trillion, SpaceX is set to be the largest listing ever. Unhedged's Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong are joined by Lex editor John Foley to discuss Elon Musk's latest headline maker. The boy from Pretoria keeps remaking financial history.

Livestock farmers across South Africa remain desperate for the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak to be contained. In his latest interview with Chris Steyn, Andrew Morphew, the spokesperson for FMD Response SA, says: “The Industry Coordinating Council says that 1,3 million doses have been distributed to the province (KZN), whereas just over 600 000 doses have been administered. So there are a lot of vaccines which are sitting in fridges.” As for the whole country, Morphew says while there is a reported 13,5 million doses in the country currently, the Portfolio Committee has reported 3,8 million doses administered. “So there's a massive discrepancy…The department is obviously sitting on a very large stockpile of vaccines now. Make some of that available to the private sector so that people that want to vaccinate their animals can. Let us use the route that has been given to us by the court in order to get those vaccines into animals as fast as we possibly can.” Morphew reiterated that over 90% of commercial beef farmers in KZN had not had access to State vaccines, but “they say they've started vaccinating beef herds now”. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen will give his update at a Press briefing today.

In today's BizNews Daybreak: Global energy markets watch closely as Brent crude climbs back past $93 a barrel amid a tense US-Iran stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, global investors rush into funds ahead of a massive, AI-linked SpaceX IPO. Businessman Sam Montši critiques BEE implementation, calling for unity over forced division. Finally, designer Leon Kluge overcomes severe weather to secure gold at the Chelsea Flower Show.

In the latest edition of the NdB Sunday Show, Chris Steyn talks to Lauren Evanthia, the Founder of the Organic Humanity Movement (OHM), about the “walls closing in” on President Cyril Ramaphosa with a former Public Protector submitting a formal whistleblower’s report to FBI and the US Department of Justice on Phala Phala; the anti-Ramaphosa voices on this Impeachment Committee due to meet for the first time tomorrow; former President Jacob Zuma’s attack on the President for turning to the courts to try and stop the inquiry; as well as "President-in-waiting" Paul Mashatile’s Cape Flats “oversight visit”. They also talk about KZN Provincial Police Commissioner Lt.-Genl. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s response to being named Newsmaker of the Year, and the bomb explosions in Woolworths in two of South Africa’s capitals, Bloemfontein and Tshwane. As for the new tax proposed for Vehicle Licence renewals to support the beleaguered Road Accident Fund (RAF), Evanthia says: “So every time there's government failure, the answer is like, let's try tax the people more…There has to be a point where we as South Africans say, no, do your job as a government. We want to see our return on investment, or we're not going to pay up.”

Defying Barriers is the memoir of a man told by his own government to vanish — and who turned the threat into a business empire spanning two countries. In this interview with Irakli, businessman and author Sam Montši recounts how a 1987 order to "disappear" from military-ruled Lesotho drove him into apartheid South Africa, where he joined the mighty South African Breweries. There, he says, "I was the first Black general manager in the SAB Group at the time. And white people, sadly, were not used to having a Black person overseeing them. So some of them behaved in an unfortunate fashion, and I had to get rid of one of them." Montši explains the operating instinct behind a portfolio that broke barriers from fishing to shipbuilding — "a business needs to move, and move fast" — and reflects candidly on succession, recalling how his son Arif joined him: "Dad, I'm coming to work with you. I'm not coming to work for you. I'm not going to carry your briefcase." He reveres Nelson Mandela as a nation builder — "we were lucky to have him when we had him" — but delivers a stinging critique of Black Economic Empowerment, charging that it "has pitted the Black man against the white person, rather than getting them to work together," and that requiring white firms to take on Black partners is "in a sense, suggesting that Black people cannot create these things themselves." Montši also shares the leadership philosophy that carried him from a Soweto childhood to West African boardrooms: "for you to shine, you must make the people that work directly under you shine." He outlines in detail the journey of crossing boundaries others said could not be crossed — and what it means to now hand the family business to the next generation.

To get Cape fynbos and proteas ready for the Chelsea Flower Show after wildfire one year and drenching rain the next is no small feat. But Leon Kluge, South Africa’s plant guru and master designer, has done it again. This year he returned from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London, the world’s most prestigious floral showcase, with not only a Gold medal but also the coveted Best Exhibit in the Great Pavilion for Life After Fire. The display, one of South Africa’s largest ever at Chelsea, featured 20,000 stems, thousands of burnt protea branches and even blooms from the Drakensberg. In an interview with BizNews, Kluge describes the hurdles he and artist Tristan Woudberg faced, from hostile weather to the soaring cost of flights. South Africans will be able to see the exhibition in September in Stanford in the Overberg, an event dedicated to the community and the flower pickers who helped make it possible. Kluge says South Africa’s natural spaces are becoming fewer and more fragile, and that he sees it as his responsibility to tell the story of an ecosystem that is both uniquely vulnerable and admired around the world. – Linda van Tilburg

On today's BizNews Daybreak, pressure builds globally as the US and Iran edge toward a tentative 60-day ceasefire. Plus, we bring you the latest market-moving updates on Dell, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Anthropic. In South Africa, the Democratic Alliance (DA) achieved a sensational, historic victory by winning its first-ever pure township ward in Evaton West from the ANC. Meanwhile, analysts debate Helen Zille’s 45% coalition strategy in Johannesburg and the DA's principled test regarding the Ramaphosa impeachment inquiry.