BN Briefing: Cyril suspends Mchunu; DA says action needed against all corrupt ministers
In today’s BizNews Briefing, Cyril Ramaphosa places Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on leave amid organised crime allegations. Ian Cameron says Ramaphosa missed a chance to tackle SA’s crime crisis, while John Steenhuisen questions why other corrupt ministers remain untouched. Also in this episode: praise for top cop Mkwanazi, Kganyago on inflation targets, and Nvidia’s meteoric Wall Street surge.
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15:46
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15:46
Ian Cameron: Police Capture and State involvement - Cyril fails to draw the line
President Cyril Ramaphosa has missed a “golden opportunity to draw the line in the sand” with regards to organised crime. So says Democratic Alliance (DA) Spokesperson on Police, Ian Cameron, in his reaction to the President’s appointment of a Commmissioner of Inquiry to investigate allegations of links between the underworld and the police and politicians. “For us to reach this level of criminality and specifically with regards to organised crime, the only way to get there is essentially through serious State involvement, specific stakeholders in government playing a role to facilitate organised criminal activity…. So, the frustrated look on the President's face last night or the so-called surprise of, wow, is this happening? It's absolute nonsense. They've known about it for so long. And it's because a decision was never made, because there wasn't any form of backbone to actually resolve the issue that we are in the position that we are in now.” Meanwhile there is a “massive information war” raging. “…We mustn't forget that this isn't just a matter of good versus evil. There are significant factional battles inside the South African Police Service, the majority of it being linked to some form or another of politics…,” he adds.
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21:24
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21:24
Lesetja Kganyago on Trump tariffs and SA's growth gamble: “Uncertainty is the only certainty”
In this wide-ranging interview, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago speaks to Bronwyn Nielsen ahead of the impact of the Trump tariffs on Asa’s agricultural and auto sector, the push to modernise payments, and why central banks are struggling to model a future clouded by global uncertainty. Kganyago also unpacks opportunistic disinflation, interest rate scenario planning, and what’s needed to finally get South Africa’s economic “orchestra” playing in tune.
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27:35
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27:35
Willem Els: The Commander who trained Genl. Mkhwanazi to handle bombs…
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi is “not scared of all types of bombs”. So says former police commander Willem Els, who is now with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) as Senior Training Coordinator in the ENACT organised crime programme. Els tells BizNews that the “bomb” dropped by the General last Sunday took “tremendous courage”. Els, who trained the General in Bomb Disposal, described him as a”disciplined officer, a straight talker, a straight shooter, a straight walking” officer who is doing “the right thing as a policeman in his heart, in his actions…”, stressing: “He's a policeman in heart and down to the bone.” Apart from training the General, Els also worked with him on s number of foreign missions, and the two even had to “hot extract” former President Thabo Mbeki and then Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from a coup in Haiti. They also worked together in Mozambique “where we lifted arms caches and destroyed huge, huge numbers of arms and munitions”, as well as in Equatorial Guinea in preparation of an African Union Summit. Els warns that it would “hurt” President Cyril Ramaphosa “very much” if he deals with the general’s allegations of police-underworld links by using the “old playbook that the ANC (African National Congress) has been using ever since they came to power”. As for threats that black and white citizens could even riot together if the KZN general is not treated right, Els notes there are people who say “we might see a repeat of 2021 if people feel that they're not being listened to…”
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22:50
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22:50
Wine came south, now South Africans are introducing ‘le braai’ and ‘can-do’ spirit to France – Carel Nolte
Centuries ago, the French Huguenots sowed the seeds of winemaking in South Africa. Now, the tables have turned—South Africans are bringing a taste of their own culture back to French soil. One of them is South African businessman Christo Lindeque, who, along with his wife Elbe, breathed new life into Château de Montfleur, a 15th-century turreted château that had stood uninhabited for decades. The manager of Château de Montfleur, Carel Nolte, told BizNews in an interview that there are now about 30 South Africans living in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, including artists and entrepreneurs who have opened shops. Although French bureaucracy can be challenging, Nolte says the community has been exceptionally welcoming—and the South Africans have even introduced their beloved tradition of ‘le braai’ to the locals.
South Africa