BizNews Radio

In a wide-ranging BNC#8 panel discussion, Piet Viljoen, Cy Jacobs, Peter Major and Sean Peche unpack where they still see opportunity after a strong run in South African assets, with ideas ranging from small- and mid-caps to copper and selected offshore shares. The quartet also debated crypto, AI’s role in investing, gold’s trajectory and the importance of culture, discipline and flexibility in navigating an increasingly uncertain market.

Piet le Roux delivers a fiery critique of South Africa’s transformation agenda, warning it is fueling economic decline, state failure, and social division. Drawing on legal victories and frontline experience, he urges businesses to resist harmful policies and “state-proof” themselves. His message is stark: without decisive action, South Africa risks sacrificing both its prosperity and long-term future.

Now that Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee into police and political capture has concluded its hearings, Safe Citizen Founder Jonathan Deal tells Chris Steyn why South Africans should pay close attention to the final testimonies of Generals Fannie Masemola and Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. “When specialised units are allegedly dismantled under questionable circumstances, when 121 dockets can be controversially moved, when sworn testimony speaks of interference, weak vetting, procurement irregularities, and possible infiltration of the criminal justice system, the man in the streets understands exactly what this means. Extortion, assassinations, failed cases, fear, and criminals acting as if they were untouchable.” Deal slams the leadership of the Government of National Unity (GNU) for being “largely silent on the shocking things that are emerging in public”. He talks about the feared Big 5, and expresses the fear that despite the public exposure of crooked cops and criminal cartels, organised crime bosses will continue to try and capture politicians and top police officials. “I think that they might be a little bit more cautious, but it is after all, if one is in the criminal syndicates in South Africa, it is the only thing that you do. It's your source of income and the vested interests there are enormous.”

With one in five people in the world suffering from hearing loss, hearing care remains one of the least accessible areas of healthcare globally. A South African innovation led by University of Pretoria professor De Wet Swanepoel has helped to change that reality, using smartphones to take hearing screening, diagnostics and even treatment out of clinics and into communities. In an interview with BizNews, Prof Swanepoel explains how hearX, a company he founded and which was spun out of the university, developed digital tools for screening, clinical testing and selftest solutions that caught the attention of the World Health Organization. Prof Swanepoel highlights how hearX developed a probe to enable hearing screening for newborns, and how the company is addressing the exorbitant cost of hearing aids, which are now available over the counter in the United States. He says other countries, including South Africa, are watching this space closely. hearX has also launched a free AIenabled WhatsApp training programme for teachers, which he says is delivering measurable improvements in awareness and knowledge of hearing loss. – Linda van Tilburg

Nick Hudson delivers a controversial keynote linking state expansion, global finance and political power, arguing that the true drivers of today’s system operate far beyond public view.