BizNews Radio

CityMenderSA was created by KwaZuluNatal engineering student Keyuren Maharaj to help residents report and track local infrastructure problems, an idea sparked by his experience chairing a ratepayers’ association in Durban. He told BizNews that the app began as a simple tool for documenting servicedelivery failures but has since grown into a national platform covering 36 categories of issues across South Africa.Reports logged on the app are escalated directly to municipal councils, with updates and followups managed through features like WhatsApp integration to encourage faster responses. Maharaj stresses that user privacy is central: the platform collects no personal data beyond the WhatsApp phone number. With AI now built in, CityMenderSA can estimate realtime water loss from leaks and analyse patterns across municipalities. When Maharaj ran the algorithm on seven months of Johannesburg data, even the small sample of issues logged on the app revealed hundreds of thousands of litres of water lost. Bootstrapped from the start, CityMenderSA is already available in Afrikaans, Zulu and English, with more African languages on the way. Maharaj describes it as a “virtual butler for service delivery.” Once an issue is logged, he says, users know it’s being tracked, increasing the chances it will eventually be fixed.

Since the last South African Grand Prix was raced at Kyalami in 1993, the country has made several attempts to bring Formula One back. The circuit has been upgraded to FIA Grade 2 standards, and various promoters, including the Kyalami owners and international partners, have tried to secure a deal with Formula One Management. Most recently, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie conceded that the 2027 race “will not take place now,” but said government remained committed to landing a future Grand Prix. Anton Roux, a former member of motorsport’s governing body, the FIA Senate, and a trustee of the FIA Foundation, says South Africa’s real obstacles lie elsewhere, in strained ties with Washington and a lack of political commitment at home. Roux told BizNews that South Africa has not done the diplomatic groundwork needed to convince Liberty Media, the American company that owns Formula One. His advice to the sports minister was blunt: start by backing, and showing up at, the international motorsport events South Africa already hosts, to prove the country can deliver an event that other African nations, like Rwanda, are now openly keen to host. But first, the interview dives into a question many motorheads are asking: Why are electric vehicles so ugly? Is Italian design the answer?

In today's edition of BizNews Daybreak, Alec Hogg unpacks a whirlwind of global and local developments, from escalating geopolitical tensions to startling political revelations. Here are the key takeaways from the broadcast:

Market Movements: Sasol shares surged 11% to R142. Meanwhile, profit-taking led to declines for companies such as Telkom, Sibanye, and MTN. On the global stage, Amazon officially dethroned Walmart as the world's largest company by revenue.

Geopolitics & Global News: US military forces are stationed in the Middle East as President Trump weighs a limited military strike on Iran. In the UK, the one-time royal formerly known as Prince Andrew was arrested in connection with his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

F1 in South Africa: Former FIA Senate member Anton Roux warns that strained political relationships with Washington, not the Kyalami track itself, are blocking Formula 1's return to South Africa. He also cautioned that Rwanda is actively competing to host the Grand Prix.

Wall Street Culture: A lawsuit by 21-year-old former Centerview banker Catherine Shiber, who was fired after presenting a medical note requesting 8-9 hours of sleep per night, is sparking a major debate over investment banking's gruelling 100-hour work weeks.

Apartheid-Era Justice: Retired Judge Chris Nicholson dropped a bombshell regarding the reopened inquest into the 1985 Cradock Four murders. He claims an "unholy pact" was formed between the senior leadership of the ANC and the old National Party to protect apartheid-era criminals from prosecution.

Mining Tribute: The episode features tributes by Peter Major to Clem Sunter and the late Jan Nelson, the visionary creator of the top-performing gold company Pan African.

Two mining giants pass. Gold stocks surge. Copper becomes the new AI trade. Peter Major unpacks Pan-African’s breakout, Jubilee’s Zambian bet, Kumba’s iron ore warning - and why Zambia and the DRC are pulling ahead while South Africa stalls.

Tonight’s BizNews Briefing tracks a busy market day across mining, money and technology: Peter Major names his preferred gold counters while warning copper could still be a crowded trade; Gold Fields leads a bumper SENS round-up with a $1.7bn shareholder return; Mitchell Fieldgate explains how Section 12B solar deductions work; and Bloomberg reports on humanoid robots going viral at China’s Spring Festival Gala.