BizNews Radio

In this edition of the NdB Sunday Show, Chris Steyn hosts the iconic whistleblower, Cynthia Stimple who, as Group Treasurer, blew the whistle at SAA. Now the director of Courage Hub, a new group to support whistleblowers, Stimpel recalls her own traumatic experiences as a whistleblower, and outlines all the ways in which her group offers support to past, present, and future whistleblowers. With the extreme risks involved, Stimpel gives potential whistleblowers detailed advice on how to protect themselves. “We will give you guidance on how to report, who to go to, which mechanisms to use….You don't want to lose your livelihood. You don't want to put your life at risk.” Stimpel also recalls the epic walk she did in remembrance of 40 whistleblowers over 40 days over 700 kilometers along the Cape Camino.. Meanwhile, shel calls on South Africans to become part of the solution. “And although we've had the Zondo Commission, we've had many commissions already, but with the Madlanga Commission, we are seeing how deep and entrenched and embedded the corruption is....my own mantra is that if it is to be, it is up to me.” Courage Hub will also be doing ethics training in schools “to coach them in a way that they stay on the moral pathway and cannot be easily swayed to do the wrong thing”.

In this interview with BizNews, Ryan Passmore – Durban-based fintech founder of ZenFund Connect – unpacks why he believes South Africa's student funding system is broken, and how he proposes to fix it. Passmore points to the "missing middle": households earning between R350,000 and R600,000 a year, who are too well-off to qualify for NSFAS but cannot afford the R19,000 a month the University of Pretoria says it costs to put a child through an undergraduate degree. He cites stark 2026 figures – NSFAS received over 900,000 first-time applications, with more than 100,000 rejected outright, while of 500,000 continuing students assessed, only 100,000 were approved. Passmore says: "I believe the missing middle is South Africa's policy blind spot." He outlines how ZenFund Connect – a nonprofit student life ecosystem associated with the Chad le Clos Foundation, spanning South Africa's 26 public universities – aims to plug the gap through three integrated modules: finance, DHET-verified student accommodation, and career placement. Passmore argues that bursaries and loans alone will not solve graduate unemployment; only an end-to-end ecosystem that walks with the student from matric through to a job placement can shift the trajectory of the working-class families he calls the country's invisible backbone – the nurses, teachers, civil servants and small business owners whose children South Africa cannot afford to lose.

In today's BizNews Daybreak we cover a volatile morning as crude oil prices climb following a military exchange between the US and Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz.

While a federal court strikes down President Trump’s global tariffs, South African attention turns to a "rogue polling" warning and Johannesburg’s financial collapse. With a 25 billion rand debt and failing services like water and infrastructure, the city faces a potential national government takeover that could reshape the upcoming local elections.

In the latest edition of The Electoral Roadshow with Chris Steyn and analyst Wayne Sussman, he warns of “rogue” polling that could give voters false indicators. He takes viewers through some of the recent by-election result shocks. He further analyses the mayoral contests in the big Metros, including the bankrupt Jo’burg. Sussman gives an overview of the prospects of the major parties in the November 4 Local Goverment Elections. He also comments on the execution-style murder of an African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape, as well as the poor state of infrastructure at polling stations in that province.

In today's BizNews Daybreak: Global markets soared to record highs as the US and Iran move closer to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Domestically, South African industry experts warn that a shift to modular firearm training could quintuple costs and leave security personnel "supply prohibitive" due to increased classroom hours.

Financial Mail Editor-in-Chief Rob Rose unpacks the "total arrogance" behind PepsiCo's ProNutro rebranding, which sparked a massive consumer backlash after the company admitted their new machinery simply cannot produce the original formula.

Meanwhile, local SA ports struggle to capture rerouted shipping traffic amid ongoing operational and weather-related constraints.