BizNews Radio

In today's BizNews Daybreak we dive into Amazon's quiet maneuver past Starlink into South Africa's satellite internet market via Herotel. We also examine the Public Investment Corporation's escalating governance crisis over the Lanseria Airport transaction, alongside policing gaps fueling local pharmaceutical drug crimes. Internationally, we cover SpaceX’s scrubbed Starship launch, Netflix’s disappointing sales guidance, a White House teleprompter insider-trading scandal, and the sustainability of skyrocketing margins in the AI semiconductor trade.

In their latest interview with Chris Steyn, Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Richard Chelin, an independent governance expert, share details of the war on drugs and crime in South Africa. Describing the struggle of dedicated detectives, Els reveals “for the past three months at one of the units they use a private vehicle and they rotate…and they are filling it up…just to do the job. You know, that's dedication - and that's the thin blue line that we are talking about; and those are the guys that actually make a difference in South Africa and stand between us and anarchy if you look at what's going on in the police.” On top of their lack of resources across the board, they are battling huge management challenges: “...they're running out of commissioners or generals to appoint as acting because of the arrests and so on….it is very demoralising if the one that you're looking up, if the one that is supposed to give you guidance, is actually exposed as a possible criminal. And who is guiding them then? You know, so those guys have got a real challenge. Their role models are being arrested. What now?”

The PIC's governance crisis has reached the regulator. Hours after suspending CEO Patrick Dlamini and acting CIO August Uys, the board now faces a formal FSCA Section 135 investigation into governance, leadership and transparency at the R3.5 trillion asset manager. DA federal finance chairperson Dr Mark Burke tells Alec Hogg why this is the fifth executive suspension in two years, how a murky Lanseria Airport shareholding sits behind Dlamini's fall, and why two ANC factions inside the GNU are pulling in opposite directions on the PIC's unlisted investments. Also on today's Edge: Amazon's quiet regulatory win over Starlink, a rescue deal taking shape for ArcelorMittal's Newcastle Works, and a tidy payday for Prosus in Uber's swoop on Delivery Hero.

South Africa's Public Investment Corporation is facing its biggest governance crisis in years. With CEO Patrick Dlamini suspended, senior executives resigning, and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority launching a formal investigation, questions over transparency, accountability, and the safety of government workers' pension funds are mounting. DA finance spokesperson Dr Mark Burke unpacks the unfolding turmoil, the political battles behind the scenes, and why restoring trust at Africa's largest asset manager has become an urgent national priority.

In today's BizNews Daybreak, US-Iran tensions steady oil and Korean tech stocks slide. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh defends his personal trading, while South Africa's PIC faces a deepening executive exodus. We also unpack more on the DA’s Tony Leon lobbying scandal, the temporary closure of London's SA House, and a blunt warning from KPMG's Diane Swonk that persistent US inflation demands two interest rate hikes.