BizNews Radio

In today's BizNews Daybreak, the US and Iran's clash over the Strait of Hormuz continues, while the White House details a massive $17 billion agricultural trade agreement with China.

Locally, Johannesburg faces a severe financial and governance crisis, risking a major Moody's credit downgrade over unfiled audited statements and billions owed to creditors.

Additionally, Solidarity advocates for an end date to race-based BEE policies due to high GDP growth costs, and a Soweto youth empowerment initiative successfully expands its reach far beyond squash.

In this edition of the NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn, Connie Mulder, the head of Solidarity's Research Institute (SRI) shares its comprehensive roadmap to gradually transition South Africa from race-based legislation to real empowerment, based on need, economic growth and job creation by 2030. It includes practical suggestions on BEE, employee share ownership programmes, foreign investment and a more realistic approach to employment equity. “... our history has shown the only way the ANC does the right thing is if we force them in that direction. So it's not just a plan on paper. We've got levers, court action, public pressure, international pressure that we apply on each of these points.” He is confident that the implementation of the roadmap would also close the corruption opportunities created by empowerment and procurement regulations. “I suspect you would find that the breathing room for your tenderpreneurs who have successfully transformed tax money into Maseratis in South Africa is going to dramatically decrease.” Meanwhile, Solidarity has lodged a formal complaint with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of the United Nations against the South African government over its breach of an agreement reached with Solidarity that racial laws should be temporary in nature, that no one may be dismissed based on race, that race may not be the sole criterion for appointment to a position, and that skills must be considered. Solidarity is also pursuing legal action in South Africa over the contempt of court order.

Egoli Youth Empowerment started with squash courts in Soweto and grew into a holistic youth development programme spanning sport, academic support, life skills, leadership, entrepreneurship and urban farming. Director Glenn Lazarus and Programme Director Sharon Sibanda tell BizNews how EYE is creating safe spaces, developing young talent, and helping vulnerable youth in Soweto and Johannesburg’s inner city build confidence, resilience and opportunity.

In this interview with Irakli of BizNews, Currency co-founder Giulietta Talevi unpacks the April 23 letter from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to Joburg Mayor Dada Morero, which laid bare the city's "shocking" financial picture: just R3.9bn in cash against R25bn owed to creditors. "Technically, you would say that it's bankrupt now, and cannot afford an excessively expensive wage deal," Talevi says of the R10.3bn SAMWU agreement at the heart of the dispute. She explains why Moody's downgrade watch is really about governance — not just numbers — pointing out that the city's failure to produce its audited financial statements "indicates serious deterioration in governance, and not just Joburg's financial health." Two deadlines loom: audited financials owed to the JSE by May 31, and a R1.4bn bond repayment due June 22. Talevi explains that because the debt is unsecured, all creditors "are treated equally" — meaning a single default event could trigger every lender to call in their loans simultaneously. She also raises the spectre of moral hazard, citing Chartis Asset Management's Ian Scott on what he calls a "treasury-funded put" — the idea that bailing out Joburg signals to leadership that they "can mess up, you can collapse the financial situation of the country's biggest Metro… and we'll bail you out because you're too big to fail." When Irakli draws a parallel to the e-toll saga, Talevi agrees taxpayers are "on the hook again" — paying their taxes only to face additional costs for the basic services those taxes were meant to fund.

In today's BizNews Daybreak, President Trump discusses China’s role in Iran negotiations and a major Boeing deal, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses Taiwan tensions.

The S&P 500 hits record highs fueled by Cerebras Systems’ massive IPO and Nvidia’s growth, contrasting with a strained partnership between Apple and OpenAI.

Locally, Wayne Sussman examines the complexity of South Africa’s upcoming municipal elections and Gary Power urges the need for personal accountability to combat institutional corruption.