BizNews Radio

BizNews editor Alec Hogg sits down with THIRSTI founder and CEO Rob Hoatson at the company’s Tulbagh bottling plant for a wide-ranging discussion on state overreach, private-sector investment, Woolworths, counterfeit bottled water, the informal market and South Africa’s looming water infrastructure challenge. Hoatson explains why his family business continues to invest heavily in SA, why standing up to abuse matters, and how THIRSTI has built a differentiated brand in a fast-growing market.

South Africa’s crypto crackdown has sparked outrage among investors - but economist Dawie Roodt says Treasury is fighting technology it doesn’t understand. In this wide-ranging interview, he unpacks stablecoins, tax fears, oil shocks, inflation risks and why the future of money could reshape banking, government control and the economy itself.

AfriForum has asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Andy Mothibi, for an urgent update on the much delayed extradition of the Guptas who allegedly benefited from State Capture to the tune of between R50 and R70 billion. In this interview with Chris Steyn, Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson: Community Safety, says it is possible that the Guptas still enjoy protection from South African politicians. “And I think the main reason for that would be that there are other people who are still implicated in their misdeeds as well. People who aren't hiding in the UAE, but people who are still living within the borders of our country.” Broodryk goes on to vow “...this is definitely something that we're not going to let go. Even if it takes us years…I think we've proven ourselves, that we don't let matters go. Look at the Julius Malema case, for instance, the firearms case that took us eight years of continuous pressure and continuous following up to ensure that justice was served and it was eventually - and we're planning to do the same with this Gupta matter.”

In today's BizNews Daybreak, Nvidia delivers an upbeat sales forecast and multi-billion-dollar buyback plan, while SpaceX prepares for the world’s largest ever IPO.

Meanwhile, Anthropic reports surging Claude revenue, and Fed minutes signal potential interest rate hikes. In global affairs, Middle East tensions cause oil market volatility, raising economic risks for South Africa's rand.

Plus, experts discuss South African infrastructure decay and the growing identity crisis within BRICs.

The South African rand looks resilient - but George Glynos warns that appearances are dangerously deceiving. In this interview with Irakli, ETM Analytics Co-Founder and Head of Research lays out exactly why the risks are building asymmetrically against the rand - and why complacency could prove costly.

On the scale of the current oil shock, Glynos is unambiguous: "You're talking about a hit of in excess of 20-odd percent of the world's oil supply. Compare that to the 1973 embargo or the 1979 Iranian revolution — those removed 6 to 7%. This is categorically different."

On why the rand hasn't moved yet — and why that itself is the warning sign: "The Rand hasn't responded strongly to it yet, which ultimately means that it is a little vulnerable. Should the shock extend, the greater the likelihood that the Rand will come under some pressure."

And on South Africa's fuel supply specifically, Glynos raises an alarm few are talking about: "If we're not able to source that refined fuel from the Persian Gulf, then all of a sudden I think we're going to find ourselves in a more stressed environment — with vast implications for the economy. How mines run, how high-energy sectors run."

The verdict is stark: either this war ends quickly and the terms of trade recover — or the rand adjusts sharply to reflect the damage already done to South Africa's trade balance. There is, Glynos says, no third option.