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The DA set out to win Johannesburg, and it did: 91 seats, up from 71, and first place in South Africa's economic heartland. But it fell 45 seats short of a majority, and the two parties that could get Helen Zille into the mayor's office both came with strings attached. ActionSA's Herman Mashaba had made her candidacy a deal-breaker; the ANC had spent the campaign on the receiving end of her attacks. Zille told Alec Hogg why she found Mashaba's condition absurd, why she was keeping her hands off the talks, and why she read the ANC's response to its worst local result...

While Namibia drilled its way towards an oil boom, South Africa produced court cases. Economist Iraj Abedian told Alec Hogg that the research needed to change that was finished years ago. He revealed the plan he drew up as a ministerial adviser to turn the Northern Cape into a petrochemical hub, and warned why gas under the Orange Basin may not wait for South Africa to make up its mind. He also took on the ANC's slide to around 31%, whether its leaders would ever vote for an early election, the personal feud stalling Joburg's coalition, and the single habit he...

Herman Mashaba went into the local elections with commentators writing ActionSA off. He came out holding the balance of power in all three Gauteng metros. Speaking to Alec Hogg days after the count, the ActionSA leader revealed the offer he made to DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis in a private phone call, named the two people whose appointment would end talks before they began, and explained why a DA-ANC pact in Joburg would suit him just fine come 2029. He also set out the price of his support in Tshwane, why he turned down a cabinet post, and what he believes township...

If you wonder why State Capture accused are roaming free, watch Chris Steyn’s interview with former BOSASA COO Angelo Agrizzi. Ever since implicating himself when he blew the whistle on corruption at BOSASA, he has battled to hold accountable politicians also fingered only to now be told that the evidence has been destroyed. “Apparently it was in a courthouse that was affected by a fire or a flood. It's very sketchy details. Naturally it would be sketchy. I've been asking questions for the last two, three years. Why is nothing happening? I've done countless affidavits. I have written countless stat...

DA chief whip Glynnis Breytenbach, a former senior prosecutor, tells BizNews that IDAC must be closed down - you cannot build a clean unit inside a corrupt NPA - and that the ANC, sitting on 30%, is getting about 20% more than it deserves. She also says South Africa may be the only country with its entire police top structure suspended or arrested, and wants the criminal justice system reset. Political analyst Mzo Mpolase sees no long game, only an ANC still blaming the voter. Plus Lincoln Mali on pre-loved boots for township rugby, and Wall Street's tech bounce.

In this NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn, political analyst Mzo Mpolase, says while the DA has increased its footprint in the Local Government Elections, “it was not enough to give it a mandate of governance. It will still find itself in these messy coalitions”. He says the DA's conduct in the GNU has impacted on voting trends. “They had this X factor, unknown factor to the voter. However, them being in coalition with the ANC has stripped that away from them…The whole notion of the DA getting into power and in coalition with the ANC was to pull back the...

A former head of IDAC in a police cell. A suspended deputy police commissioner denied bail. A whistleblower general lined up to run the Hawks. And an ANC that has slipped to around a third of the vote. Few people have watched South Africa's criminal justice system unravel from as close up as Glynnis Breytenbach, the former senior prosecutor who is now the DA's chief whip in Parliament. In conversation with Alec Hogg, she said she was "sadly not surprised" by the latest arrests, called the Agrizzi plea deal a travesty, argued IDAC should never have existed and said the...

Across the Eastern Cape, boys and girls run onto rugby fields in their school shoes or a pair of tekkies. Lincoln Mali, founder of the Mzwandile Mali Schools Rugby Champions League, tells BizNews how a visit by businessman Paul Gardiner to Kwanobuhle township led to Boots for Boys and Girls, a campaign to give pre-loved rugby boots to players who don’t have the right kit. The first collection box was placed at St Andrew’s College in Makhanda, and Mali hopes the drive will spread to other schools beyond the Eastern Cape. His league, which grew out of a tour...

Former DA leader Tony Leon tells Alec Hogg the ANC is electorally on life support after this week's local elections, and that thousands of councillors now out of work could make the fight over its next leader very ugly. Solly Moeng says Herman Mashaba must drop the personal angle against Helen Zille and put Johannesburg first, while ActionSA surprises in Tshwane. In a Ricardo portfolio update, Alec asks whether Palantir, with revenue up 96% to more than $2 billion in a quarter, can be worth what the market asks. Plus the Nasdaq's worst day in 19 months.

One day after the Local Government Elections in South Africa, in this interview with Chris Steyn - just after four o'clock and with 43% of the results in - political commentator Solly Moeng says Action SA leader Herman Mashaba and his party leadership need to listen to calls from voters not to go into coalitions with the ANC, but to work with the DA. “They have to find a way to respond to the people of South Africa who are saying we are punishing the ANC…his intentions are good, but I think he needs to take away this personal anger that...

Four companies BizNews owns reported in the same week, so Alec Hogg went back to his own valuations to see whether they still held. Palantir nearly doubled its revenue and its chief executive declared his intent to take "the entire market", yet one number nagged at Alec. Uber delivered a fifth straight quarter of 20%-plus bookings growth while Wall Street priced it as if its best days were behind it. Back home, Lesaka and Exemplar told a different story, and slowing growth forced a harder look at what the Ricardo portfolio was willing to pay. Some numbers went up, some...

The ballots were barely a quarter counted when Tony Leon sat down with Alec Hogg, and he had already seen enough. The former DA leader, who helped negotiate the GNU two years ago, explained why a battered ANC still had cards to play, but none it could play for free. He laid out the formula he believed the DA should turn back on the ANC in Joburg, warned what a walkout from the GNU could mean for the rand and bonds, and described a party that had shed votes in its own fortresses. He also reflected on 1994, when his party...

As the count got under way, three guests disagreed on what should follow it. William Saunderson-Meyer told Alec Hogg the vote was a verdict on the ANC, but the coalitions formed afterwards would be the real pointer to 2029, and he wondered how many of the party's true believers were left. Norsira's Sean McLaughlin pointed Chris Steyn to Emfuleni, where the DA had taken a township ward from the ANC in a May by-election and where he expected the ANC to slip further. He said the two largest parties governing together there could be a very good outcome. Cilliers Brink was...

With millions of South Africans having already voted in today’s Local Government Elections 2026 in the wake of a “Blue Wave” striking the United States after its Midterm Elections, Chris Steyn asks Norsira’s Sean McLaughlin what colour wave he thinks might hit the country once the votes have been counted. “Today looks like it could be a very good day for South Africa's Democratic Alliance.” He shares an interactive link https://norsira-website.vercel.app/feature-analysis with viewers to access probable outcomes in 213 municipalities. Meanwhile, he expresses surprise that there has not been more political violence. “I would have expected a lot more tro...

On the morning South Africans voted, William Saunderson-Meyer argued that the count would deliver the verdict, but the coalition talks would decide whether anything changes. The Jaundiced Eye columnist told Alec Hogg why so many ANC voters see their party's failings clearly and back it anyway, why a lower turnout may favour the DA, and why the ANC had plastered Cyril Ramaphosa's face across every metro instead of naming its mayoral candidates. He said the DA had been outmanoeuvred in the GNU, that only the election calendar had spared John Steenhuisen a disciplinary inquiry, and that Cilliers Brink may be...

South Africans vote today. Norsira co-founder Sean McLaughlin has run every metro and 213 local councils through a scenario model and tells Chris Steyn only about 45 look safe, with MK's first nationwide local test the great unknown - he expects it down in rural KwaZulu-Natal and in the metros. Legal scholar Dr Martin van Staden says the real problem is how much power sits in Pretoria, and that elites with skin in the status quo fear change. The DA's Cilliers Brink tells Alec Hogg the Tshwane polls understate him. Plus Nelson Mandela Bay's R28bn hole, and Apple dragging the Dow.

On the eve of the local elections, Dr Martin van Staden argued that South Africa's real problem was not who ran its towns, but how much power sat in Pretoria. Freshly appointed to build AfriForum's new Institute for Federalism, the legal scholar told Alec Hogg that communities were already doing the state's job, from policing to diplomacy, and that Citrusdal's farmers could not afford to wait five years for a better vote after Washington's Agoa decision. He accused the DA, IFP and Freedom Front Plus of believing in federalism only "on a sunny day", made the uncomfortable case that failing...

On the eve of the vote, Norsira co-founder Sean McLaughlin told BizNews his firm had run every metro and local council through its scenario model, and found fewer than a quarter of them safe. He walked through how Durban could end up with a DA mayor backed by the ANC and IFP, why Joburg's DA surge might still land in opposition, and where MK could carve deep into the ANC's base in southern Mpumalanga. He also flagged the quieter contests, from Makhanda's collapse to Beaufort West's lesson for Gayton McKenzie, and the IFP's run of by-election wins that made it...

Long suffering residents in South Africa's big metros are desperate for new administrations to bring back proper service delivery. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the mayoral candidate for the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) Lance Grootboom tells Chris Steyn: “Nothing is working…the state of Nelson Mandela Bay is not looking good. It needs change. It needs stability. And if that doesn't happen on the fourth of November, I think Nelson Mandela Bay is heading for trouble.” Grootboom describes the achievements of his party when it was in coalition rule twice, but says “since we were removed in May of 2023, everything went bac...

A day before the vote, Cilliers Brink said the polls that put him well short of a majority in Tshwane had it wrong, or at least not yet right. The former mayor, removed two years earlier, told Alec Hogg that squeezed smaller parties and a weakened ANC election machine could still hand the DA an outright win. He laid the Bronkhorstspruit water crisis at the door of mayor Nasiphi Moya and the ANC-held portfolios in her mayoral committee, explained why he would bring private operators into water, electricity and waste collection without going the formal PPP route, and said the...

On the eve of the local government elections, three of Johannesburg's smaller parties told Chris Steyn what living in the city had become: friends idle on beer crates at noon, a CBD too unsafe to walk, and suburbs now complaining as loudly as townships. Frans Cronje said ordinary South Africans already agreed on how to fix the country and wanted their parties to work together, and explained who he believed was standing in the way. Prince Mashele said he was very worried about what an MK win could mean for KwaZulu-Natal, and named the ANC result he would count as...

Small parties wield big power in South Africa's coalition political landscape. Chris Steyn speaks to Move SA President and Jo’burg mayoral candidate Rali Mampeule, ALJAMA-A’s Jo’burg Mayoral candidate Ashley Mama and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) Youth Leader Bafana Tshabalala. They each share their worst experiences of living in Johannesburg, their visions of saving the city, and their desire for cooperation - instead of hostility - between parties. “All politicians should be like bishops and pastors, that their whole sole aim is to make sure that they preach the word of God. I get very surprised when politici...

Political analyst Prince Mashele tells Alec Hogg the ANC needs 35% nationally for a good night, that anything in the upper 20s would be a catastrophe, and that with the vote days away Johannesburg voters still have no idea who its mayoral candidate is. SRF chairman Dr Frans Cronjé says South Africa is halfway through a two-step regime change, and only a DA-ANC deal uniting the middle class and the aspirant middle class holds the country together. Willem Els weighs Paul O'Sullivan's bid to block Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the Hawks.

Platō Coffee, a well-known South African brand founded by brothers Stephan and Petrus Bredell, started in a shipping container in Irene and is now heading for almost 180 shops, with expansion overseas under way. In an interview with Biznews, Bredell explains why the brand’s clean, modern white design and friendly baristas who know your name and your order have proved its biggest edge in London. When somebody remembers your name and order, he says. it matters in the AI age. He also talks about the success of their Harare shop, their collaboration with UK matcha brand PerfectTed and their plans to...

In this week’s NdB Sunday Show, Chris Steyn and Willem Els of the Security Initiative for Africa (SIA) cover Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia’s announcement that he will seek Cabinet approval for the appointment of General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as the National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPC) (The Hawks) followed by a threat from forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan to go to court to stop the appointment; the arrests of former IDAC Chief Advocate Andrea Johnson and sacked Crime Intelligence (CI) Deputy Chief Major General Feroz Khan; sacked Ekurhuleni Metro Police Chief Lieutenant Julius Mkhwanazi being hit...

With five days to go before the local government elections, Prince Mashele told Alec Hogg what a good night and a catastrophe would look like for the ANC, and why he expected neither. He was blunt about Herman Mashaba, whose biography he wrote, and set out the offer he believed could tip ActionSA towards the ANC rather than the DA in Johannesburg. He dismissed Gayton McKenzie's kingmaker ambitions, said he was worried about what an MK win would mean for KwaZulu-Natal, and explained why South Africans stay loyal to parties the way they stay loyal to soccer clubs. Then he...

Alphabet and Amazon both reported faster growth this week, and Wall Street still wiped roughly half a trillion dollars off Google's parent in a single session, its worst day since listing in 2004. In this Ricardo portfolio update, Alec Hogg explained what had really spooked investors: a cash machine that now needs shareholders' money, and an Amazon spending more on data centres than its business brings in. He set out why the Ricardo portfolio was holding on, the bear case he couldn't dismiss, and the very different picture back home on the JSE, where Reinet kept buying back its own shares...

South Africans had lost faith in the old order, Frans Cronje told Alec Hogg, but had not yet found a new one to trust, and Wednesday's vote would not close that gap. The SRF chairman set out the one deal he believed could hold the country together, why he thought voters were already there while the politicians were not, and how the ANC could come back to 55% if it made a choice it had avoided for a decade. He also turned a sceptical eye on the DA's record in Tshwane, Johannesburg and even Cape Town, explained why Helen Zille's Joburg...

Clinton van Breda has never had a boss, and in 21 years at the head of Universal Kitchens he says he has never installed a kitchen himself. He started at about 19 with a long-base bakkie his father chose instead of the double cab he wanted, and an overdraft secured by his father's R500,000. In this sponsored interview, he told Alec Hogg about the post-dated cheques that carried the business through 2008, opening in George weeks before COVID, the push into luxury kitchens against the imported brands, and the May flood at a newly occupied Malmesbury factory that held up payments on eight...

Victory Research CEO Gareth van Onselen tells Alec Hogg that no poll gives the DA a majority in Johannesburg, but it should be the largest party - and the closer it gets to 40%, the harder it is to justify shutting it out of coalition talks. Solly Moeng says everything points to Bejani Chauke, the former presidential adviser the Madlanga Commission wants answers from, having acted for Ramaphosa, while stressing nothing is proven. Donald MacKay wants fuller JSE disclosure on a case that could cost 10% of turnover. Bonitas on joining a medical aid early. Plus Alphabet's worst day.

In their weekly chat Chris Steyn and political commentator Solly Moeng dissect President Cyril Ramaphosa’s tough week on several fronts: The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is seeking answers from his very influential former adviser, Dr Bejani Chauke, particularly in relation to WhatsApp chats with a notorious late taxi boss; his close friend and CODESA co-star, US Ambassador Roelf Meyer has been accused of political interference in Apartheid-era prosecutions; and election pollsters predict former President Jacob Zuma’s MKP could be heading for an outright majority KZN in next week’s Local Government Elections (LGEs). “I think that the only way that...

Six days before the vote, four serious pollsters could not agree on who was winning Johannesburg. Gareth van Onselen, whose Victory Research polls have drawn fire from the ANC and ActionSA alike, told Alec Hogg why the metro numbers diverged, why turnout could swing a party by up to five points, and why the real result would only emerge from two weeks of coalition bargaining after 4 November. He set out the test he believed eThekwini would pose for every other metro, the squeeze facing the DA in Cape Town, an idea for running Gauteng's three metros as one, and the...

In this interview with Chris Steyn, Donald MacKay, the CEO of XA Global Trade Advisors, describes how anti-competitive behaviour is rewarded when investigations drag on. He was speaking out amid a long wait to find out whether the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) will be hit with a penalty of ten percent of its annual income following a complaint by a secondary stock exchange against the JSE for anti-competitive behaviour. MacKay predicted that should the JSE lose at the tribunal, “it will force a fundamental change in how stock exchanges operate” in South Africa. As to whether the tribunal would hand down...

Cy Jacobs has lived in Johannesburg all his life, and he told Alec Hogg he feared the city was close to the point of no return. The 36ONE co-founder explained why he had stepped into the election, why he believed Helen Zille had earned the city's thanks, and why another 50,000 to 100,000 voters could change the outcome. William Saunderson-Meyer said this election felt different, with the country in desperate straits and voters more disillusioned than ever, and he had strong words for anyone planning to spoil their ballot or stay home. And Willem Els brought Chris Steyn some good news: Angola...

In June, Cy Jacobs predicted SpaceX would one day buy Tesla. Now that the boards are looking at it, he explained why he still wouldn't buy either, and how passive money may be doing more to hold up Elon Musk's valuations than profits. Then he turned to the city he has lived in all his life. The 36ONE co-founder warned that Joburg was close to the point of no return, said who he thought would win the mayoralty, explained what a change in government could mean for the city's bonds, the rand and house prices, and answered whether he would...

Asked for the ANC's best-case scenario, William Saunderson-Meyer couldn't find one, only least-worst options for a party he said may be in terminal decline. A week before the local government elections, the Jaundiced Eye columnist told Alec Hogg why the neatest deal on paper, an ANC-DA partnership that most voters of both parties say they would accept, may be the one the ANC can't bring itself to sign. He likened ANC power-broking to feudal barons around a king, explained why the feud with MK runs deeper than any rivalry with the DA, and argued MK was likelier to win eThekwini...

Security analyst Willem Els tells Chris Steyn that the collapsed plea deal behind Cat Matlala's unsigned 25-page statement, which throws former deputy national commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and former police minister Bheki Cele under the bus, hands investigators a money trail even if it can no longer be used in evidence. Alec Hogg tells the BizNews Premium community what stood out from his Enoch Godongwana interview: Transnet's private rail lines, Eskom's turn, and the push to fix South Africa's exploration record. Pick n Pay's Sean Summers hits back at talk of slowing momentum. Plus Boeing's worst day in 18 months.

In this interview with Chris Steyn, Willem Els of the Security Initiative for Africa (SIA), comments on the R2,7-million legal bill racked up by special leave Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s continued failure to sack him. “He was supposed to be the saviour of the ANC and gather a lot of support in the province (KZN). And I think that is one of the reasons why it’s very difficult for the president to let him go.” With former President Jacob Zuma’s MKP predicted to triumph in the upcoming LGEs in KZN, Els describes how Zuma u...

Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers tells Alec Hogg the consumer is stretched by fuel, electricity and rent, and defends pushing break-even to 2029: you cannot wish for profit first and sales second. He has closed almost 200 stores in three years while the main rival opened 800. City Power whistleblower Stephanus Fourie tells Chris Steyn Johannesburg is practically bankrupt, questions where two bailouts are going, and says nothing changes until looters are jailed and their assets recovered. Dr Carla Mitchell on Africa's first moon mission, delivered for under half a million dollars. Plus Anthropic's IPO filing lifts Wall Street.

Three years ago, Sean Summers said, the talk at South African braais was whether Pick n Pay would survive at all. On results day, with the supermarket business still losing R516 million in six months and break-even pushed out to 2029, he told Alec Hogg why he wasn't in a hurry. He explained how the five-month stand-off with SACCAWU ended in a deal rather than retrenchments, what he said finally brought "seriousness into the room", and why he believed Pick n Pay was now outgrowing rivals that have opened hundreds more stores. He also took on the hard questions: whether being...