BizNews Radio

I unpack next week's pivotal by-elections, Chris Steyn's must-watch interviews, and why political missteps are piling up as SA heads into a crucial year.

After living overseas for 25 years, Sebastian O'Keefe returned home with the dream of creating a world‑class agave spirit, using plants introduced in colonial times that are now used as cattle feed. O'Keefe told Biznews in an interview that he and his partner criss‑crossed the country testing plants and discovered rare ‘Red Agave' thriving in a dry, salty, high‑altitude place in the Klein Karoo near Ladismith. Harvested by hand, gently steamed in dairy tanks and fermented with wild yeast, the first batch of Inzalo Agave Spirits will roll off the line in the next two weeks. Deliberately not called tequila or mezcal (those names are protected), Inzalo is being positioned as the founding member of an entirely new, proudly South African category of agave spirit. He said as they started working with the spirit their ambitions grew to not only create the greatest agave spirit outside of Mexico but to create a new class of agave spirits, something that is completely unique to South Africa. And it will include two varieties, Batch One, a white spirit, and Barrel One, an aged version to be sipped slowly to cater for local tastes.

Global powers are scrambling for critical minerals, and their first stop is South Africa. Mining expert Peter Major tells Alec Hogg why SA could become the world's one-stop minerals shop - if government learns to play its cards right, cut the red tape, and “sell to anyone at the best price possible.”

Tonight's BizNews Briefing spotlights South Africa's rising strategic importance, with the EU naming the country its first stop in a new critical minerals supply push. Locally, Investec's latest results show SA delivering stronger returns than the UK, while an urgent court showdown looms as the JSE challenges allegedly fake emails. Also in focus: a 70% municipal failure rate in Eskom's debt relief scheme, and Nvidia's record-smashing results as the tech giant reaches a valuation 12 times SA's GDP.

With a critical round of by-elections coming up next week, the African National Congress (ANC) has announced that all candidates for 2026 Local Government Elections will have to undergo criminal record and qualifications vetting, submit interest declarations, and consent to lifestyle audits. This is lauded by Elections Analyst Wayne Sussman on the latest edition of the Electoral Roadshow with Chris Steyn. Sussens gives in-depth previews of the most important upcoming by-elections, including the straight two-horse race between the Democratice Alliance (DA) and the ANC in City of Joburg Ward 90 where President Cyril Ramaphosa lives; the turbulence amid which MKP has to contest Mandeni where Umkhonto we Sizwe won over 70% of the vote in 2024 in the historic ANC stronghold; Kouga where the DA ward councillor walked over to the Patriotic Alliance; and Hantam where the local councillor was assassinated. As for the possible date of next year's Local Government elections, Sussman reveals that he is hearing from reliable sources that it will either be held on 4th or the 11th of November.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

The African National Congress' (ANC's) idea of transformation is transforming tax money into Maseratis for cadres. “It's not transforming anything else”. So says Connie Mulder, the Head of Solidarity's Research Institute, in this interview with Chris Steyn. “When you're talking about treasonous behaviour and unpatriotic behavior, I would much rather argue using the State coffers as your own personal piggy bank for more than a decade, as the ANC has done, is much more treasonous than trying desperately to salvage the relationship with our second biggest trade partner, which Solidarity has tried to do.” Mulder points out that even China has started applying pressure on the ANC's BEE policy “saying, you're deterring investment, you're making it difficult for us to come in and invest”. He outlines how Solidarity is using the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa to intensify lobbying. Giving an update on the saga of the removal of its banner that proclaims “Welcome to the most race regulated country in the world”, he confirms the City of Joburg has returned it at no cost. “And we put up 38 more billboards.” He also gives feedback on the ANC's response to the documentary “Race to the Bottom”.

Southern Sun's October occupancy jumps to 73.3% – the highest since the 2010 World Cup – signalling a major recovery for South African tourism, with the group committing R500m to a 50-year Durban hotel lease. Pick n Pay stabilises as the Ackerman family backs the turnaround, while rising power tariffs force retrenchments at Merafe. Plus, local is lekker proves true in a four-year investment contest, and in a surprise move, Berkshire Hathaway buys $5bn of Alphabet shares.

Alec Hogg hosts investing heavyweights Piet Viljoen and Magnus Heystek in a high-stakes Director's Cut on their R1-million challenge — offshore vs South Africa. With one year to go, Viljoen's SA-only portfolio still leads, while Heystek fights back after currency swings and market shocks. They clash on the rand, politics, Bitcoin, and whether SA is “uninvestable,” in the showdown that could decide where South Africans should really put their money.

“An armed struggle is not something that we would embark on - ever.” That was the assurance given by AfriForum's Kallie Kriel when Chris Steyn asked him to comment on a screenshot of a post making the rounds on Social Media with claims from an unnamed intelligence officer that AfriForum and some other civic rights organisations were procuring high-calibre arms from abroad to overthrow the State and take back power. He also tells Steyn why he defines himself as a patriot - and not as a traitor. Kriel shares details of his request for support to the G20 countries, and the solutions he presented to them. He further divulges details of affidavits submitted to the Khampepe Commission to show that there was not only political interference to ensure that members of the Apartheid Security Forces weren't prosecuted after the TRC, but that there was also political interference to stop African National Congress (ANC) members from being prosecuted. Commenting on the Madlanga Commission enquiry into police and political capture, Kriel says: “…we cannot fix the police. But what we can do is, within the framework of the law, we can organise our communities within neighbourhood watches to try and play that role. And in every sphere where government fails, we try and build a civil society solution.”

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

A2X CEO Kevin Brady joins Alec Hogg for a director's cut deep dive into the explosive Competition Commission ruling that threatens the JSE's century-old dominance. Brady reveals how his team spent three years proving that the JSE was blocking competition by weaponising its outdated BDA system, and explains why regulators now believe there's a strong case of exclusionary conduct. He breaks down what this means for investors, how much South Africans have lost through monopolistic pricing, and why true competition could save the country over a billion rand a year. Brady also unpacks the future of 24-hour trading, new regulatory reforms, and whether the JSE's new leadership will fight or finally open the market.

In this Director's Cut, Dr Theo de Jager, chair of the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), tells Alec Hogg how the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has laid bare the collapse of South Africa's agricultural command systems. Once tightly managed through roadblocks, military coordination, and traceability controls, the state has now “lost all command and control,” says de Jager. He explains how the disease spread from the Kruger Park to the Western Cape, devastating farmers, crippling exports, and driving up meat prices — all while the government imports outdated vaccines from Botswana and fails to produce its own. De Jager's warning is blunt: “If the state doesn't act, the disease will. And when that happens, it's not just farmers who pay — it's every South African at the supermarket till.”

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange faces a potential R300 million fine after A2X accused it of monopolistic practices. CEO Kevin Brady claims South African retirees lost R14 billion over the last decade due to inflated fees. We explore the battle, the stakes for employees, and what a fairer market could mean for everyday investors.

Millions of South Africans fear that they will be disarmed and left defenseless in crime-ridden South Africa by possible new legislation. But in his latest interview with Chris Steyn, a defiant Ian Cameron, the Democratic Alliance's Spokesperson on Police and Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police, issues this challenge: “I want to see them disarm lawfully armed and law abiding citizens in this country because they are going to fail dismally. That is a fight they should not pick. It's a fight that I would advise them not to even try. We are going to protect our communities. We're going to protect ourselves and our families. And there's no way that we're going to allow them to arbitrarily take that away.” Cameron believes the disarmament agenda is a "way of gaining more control” as “the more control you lose as a government, especially one with the ideological, let's call them challenges, that the ANC has brought upon us over the years, the more you try and centralise certain things.” That level of “draconian control” could mean “only an elite few…are able to be supposedly kept safe - and that they would use State coffers to do so through… abusing police and whoever else the armed forces have at their disposal.” Cameron outlines the DA's fight-back strategy.

South Africa is grappling with its worst foot-and-mouth outbreak in decades, threatening farmers' livelihoods, pushing up food risks, and triggering export bans from countries like China and Zimbabwe. In today's BizNews Briefing, Alec Hogg speaks with agricultural leader Dr Theo de Jager about how state failure, slow intervention, and a collapsed early-warning system allowed the virus to spread - and what must happen next to contain an escalating national crisis.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

In this edition of the NdB Sunday Show, Safe Citizen Founder Jonathan Deal talks to Chris Steyn about police- and political capture by cartels, corruption, cadre deployment - martyred whistleblowers. He warns that the country's is on a knife's edge - and that public revolt over the rot is “a distinct possibility if it is not brought under control and if steps are not taken at high level in public by the Government of National Unity to get control of these issues and actually start holding the people that are complicit in all of this to account…We saw how quickly an Arab Spring arose up on the back of social media and how quickly the public, once they have decided to go ahead with it, dealt with the leaders that had for decades and years disadvantaged them and treated them badly.” Deal adds that South Africa has crossed a “grim threshold” to become a country “where corruption is no longer a crime that happens inside the State, but it appears to have become the very business model of the State itself”. He says he has watched “step-by step the devolution of this country at an increasingly rapid pace and literally seen how law and order are being auctioned off and how the safety of entire communities is becoming collateral damage for a self-sustaining feeding frenzy.” Deals goes on to reveal plans for the launch of a national campaign next week to stop proposed legislative moves that could result in the disarmament of millions of legal firearm owners.

South African-born Wall Street veteran Anthony Ginsberg, founder of GinsGlobal, unpacks what Trump's new trade team really thinks of South Africa, BRICS, and AGOA. From behind-closed-doors insights at the YPO Summit in Los Angeles, Ginsberg tells Alec Hogg why SA's missing ambassador, misunderstood BEE policies, and Washington's anti-China pivot could make or break our next US trade deal. A front-row view of Trump-era commercial diplomacy—where business, politics, and power collide.

Rangers are fighting an uphill battle against rhino poaching in South Africa's Kruger National Park. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, poaching is expected to spike, as it did in 2024. Despite dehorning programmes and stronger arrests, convictions, and prosecutions, 35 rhinos were lost in the first weeks of 2025 alone. The pursuit by transnational syndicates remains relentless. To strengthen its response, SANParks has partnered with the Tracker Academy to retrain field rangers in advanced man‑tracking and bushcraft skills. Manager Alex van den Heever told BizNews the initiative is groundbreaking. The focus, he explained, is not on chasing poachers but on tracking the rhinos themselves and proactively protecting them before syndicates strike. It's an approach that has been used before, but the Tracker Academy aims to embed it permanently in Kruger, a park whose rhino population has been decimated by poaching from 12,000 a decade ago to just 2,000 today.

In this Director's Cut, Alec Hogg sits down with EasyEquities CEO Charles Savage to unpack how South Africa is turning a corner — and how his fintech powerhouse is leading the charge. Savage explains why he's “overwhelmed with optimism” about the economy, reveals EasyEquities' breakthrough to one million active investors, and shares how AI is transforming the way South Africans invest. From global expansion into Kenya and the Philippines to bold plans for a South African stablecoin, Savage lays out a vision for building wealth, innovation, and confidence in a country rediscovering its momentum.

From hopes of turning South Africa into “Africa's Switzerland” to fears over China's mega mine in Guinea, mining veteran Peter Major joins Alec Hogg for a fiery Miningweb Weekly. They unpack how the Reserve Bank's bold 3% inflation target could reshape mining, why Eskom and Transnet remain the industry's biggest shackles, and how China's iron ore play may threaten Kumba and South Africa's competitiveness. Major doesn't hold back — calling out bad policy, corruption, and missed opportunities holding the sector hostage.

In today's BizNews Briefing, Alec Hogg speaks with Charles Savage, founder and CEO of Purple Group - the force behind EasyEquities. From humble beginnings with just R2 million in seed capital 11 years ago, the platform has grown into a R4.5 billion success story. Savage shares the X factor behind EasyEquities' meteoric rise, his vision for the future, and how artificial intelligence is shaping the company's next chapter.

More jaw-dropping details are emerging of the links between underworld boss “Cat” Matlala and law enforcement officers. In her latest interview with BizNews, Juanita Du Preez of Action Society tells Chris Steyn that she felt sure he looked so grim in court the past week because “he thought he knows who the person is that wants to be the next ANC President and then the country's President. And that's why he played his cards in that way. And now that hope has crashed. So he doesn't have that protection.” Du Preez also comments on the police revelations today that a close associate of suspended Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya has 29 cases against him - and that a SAPS employee had accessed the Criminal Records system to make adjustments to his records. “I am so happy that the connection he had…who fiddled with his record, wasn't smart enough to change it on the back end as well, because that is where the information is now coming from. It's still on there. So you can delete it in the front, but it stays in the back. Now we can pinpoint, this person was the one pressing the button.” As for the excuses NPA Chief Shamila Batohi came up with before the Ad Hoc Committee for not yet bringing the Guptas to justice, Du Preez charges: “These are the people who stole South Africa to the brink of poverty and created a culture for other people to follow in their footsteps. And it's not urgent for you.”

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

BizNews founder Alec Hogg unpacks the Medium-Term Budget's surprisingly upbeat message. With the Government of National Unity presenting a unified front, Treasury reported a R20 billion revenue overrun, a narrowing deficit, and no need for a VAT increase. SARS' new AI-driven systems are delivering results, Eskom's reliability is improving, and even Transnet is showing early signs of recovery — proof that South Africa's finances may finally be turning the corner.

In his latest interview with BizNews, Ian Cameron, the Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police and the Democratic Alliance's Police Spokesperson, talks to Chris Steyn about the Madlanga Commission and Parliament Ad Hoc Committee hearings and some of the key players, including former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and suspended Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya. As for tenderpreneurs like Cat Matlala and Hangwani Maumela, Cameron states: “The only way for organised crimes and these types of persons or entities to flourish is when the State is involved at a very senior level… It worries me that some people implicated are still in their positions or mentioned or continuing to work.” Cameron also details the horror findings on his recent oversight visit to Nelson Mandela Bay where the Flying Squad only has one vehicle, a single cab bakkie with over 300,000 kilometers. As for irregular expenditure of over R650 million in SAPS in the past financial year, Cameron says it “points to a much more deeply rooted corruption-and-fraud network that has been built in supply chain management and procurement”. He charges that “all of these things” add up to a picture of “leadership collapse- and urges: “…if we don't replace a large number of the so-called leaders, nothing can change on the ground”.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

Listen to the full recording of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement press conference.

From the lock-up in Parliament, I share why this may be the first genuinely good-news budget in years.

In his latest interview with BizNews, KZN Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer gives Chris Steyn an update on major developments in his department. He confirms talks with KZN Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on a strategy to reclaim 300 hijacked houses and properties that have become havens for KZN's notorious hitmen. He also describes how the department has dealt with a contractor who had caused a five-year-delay on a 20-month hospital project. Meyer recalls how when he first took on the Construction Mafia, his security had to be increased. “On two separate occasions, bullets were found as a warning, once in my vehicle and another time at the front door of my office. But since then, things have quieted down. Those were intimidation tactics. I think they learned quite quickly that this laatie is not being intimidated and I'm not going anywhere and I'm not gonna stop because we have to fight for what is right…it's now almost nine months that none of our sites have been disrupted by armed guards.”

In this Director's Cut, Alec Hogg speaks to Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux, who explains how his organisation is holding government accountable for collapsing municipalities. From landmark court battles to innovative “state-proofing” projects, Sakeliga is challenging corruption, mismanagement, and state overreach - proving that business and civil society can rebuild South Africa where government has failed.

In today's BizNews Briefing, Alec Hogg speaks with Sakeliga CEO Piet le Roux about the organisation's four-year battle in the failing municipality, Ditsobotla. Le Roux explains how Sakeliga is forcing accountability by targeting officials personally liable for governance collapse, offering a hopeful new model for communities trapped in dysfunction.

In this interview sponsored by Progressive Administration, MD Thomas Van Zyl, lists the benefits of voluntary liquidation - as opposed to deregistration of a company. He explains the process and its timeline, and shares interesting case studies. Van Zyl also reflects on the dangers of being in the liquidation business - especially in the wake of the assassinations of Cloete Murray and his son, as well as that of Bouwer van Niekerk. “We have liquidators that are threatened on a daily basis. I was on the phone this morning with a friend of mine who's a liquidator and he received a death threat in an unrelated, totally different matter. And now you take these things quite seriously and it's nerve-racking. It certainly is.” Van Niekerk further reveals details about the biggest case currently being handled by Progressive Administration, the Ponzi scheme matter involving HGG Financial Group. Van Zyl, whose mother worked in the Master's Office and whose father was also a liquidator, has useful advice for those who face liquidation - voluntary or otherwise.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

Dino Zuccollo and James Lightbody of Westbrooke discuss the Westbrooke Yield Plus investment product, examining its performance in the UK property market and the strategies used to navigate shifting economic conditions. The conversation highlights the importance of deep local market insight, prudent risk management, and the growing appeal of alternative investments. With a focus on South African investors seeking offshore opportunities, they also unpack currency dynamics, portfolio diversification, and the practicalities of accessing this distinctive fund.

I'm heading into tomorrow's pre-dawn budget lockup in Cape Town — expect my insider's take once we're released at 2pm.

Trade expert Donald MacKay lifts the lid on how hidden lobbying, socialist economics, and political posturing are crippling South Africa's competitiveness. In this Director's Cut with Alec Hogg, he unpacks why our leaders keep doubling down on failed policies, how the scrap metal lobby beat out ArcelorMittal, and why the world's worst ports could finally be turning a corner. A rare, no-spin look inside the quiet forces shaping South Africa's economy and global trade future.

In today's BizNews Briefing, we unpack how ideology and political patronage are costing South Africa billions. From renamed streets to state-protected steel mills, we explore how unreliable partners and lobby-driven policies are eroding jobs, trust, and economic competitiveness - with insight from trade expert Donald MacKay.

The former British Cabinet minister and lifelong anti-apartheid campaigner, Lord Peter Hain, has published a new book, Liberation and Corruption: Why Freedom Movements Fail. In it, he explores why idealistic liberation movements so often fall into the trap of becoming corrupt. And he has a scathing verdict for the ANC; “Mandela would be turning in his grave, he says at what has happened to his legacy and the way it's been deeply prostituted and betrayed.” Hain reflects on decades of solidarity with the ANC, his personal ties to Nelson Mandela, and the heartbreak of watching comrades abandon their ideals. He names Jacob Zuma as a key figure in the “industrial-scale looting” that hollowed out South Africa's economy. But this isn't just a South African story. Hain connects the dots globally, from Nicaragua to Algeria, and says liberation movements often inherit corrupt colonial systems and fail to dismantle them. He also calls out Western complicity, citing billions laundered through UK and US financial systems, and urges global powers to take financial crime seriously. His solution? A new International Anti-Corruption Court, backed by South African jurists like Judge Richard Goldstone. And a call to citizens: reject petty bribery.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.

In the latest edition of the NDB Sunday Show, Political Analyst Professor Theo Venter, tells Chris Steyn that evidence emerging at the Madlanga Commission shows how crime networks were not only working towards the Tembisa Hospital, and were not only influencing the police at certain levels, but they had also captured local government. “They totally captured the...Metro government of Ekurhuleni in the sense that they were able to drive their own cars with Blue Lights and things like that.” He further comments on the allegedly staged assassinatipn attempt on former African National Congress election fixer Brian Mogotsi as well the “kidnapping” of an IDAC chief investigator who was “robbed” of his devices. Venter tracks the fall of former Cabinet Minister Malusi Gigaba from Presidential hopeful to NPA accused. He hails the progress finally being made by the Government of National Unity after it emerged from a two-day retreat with a message of unity from the 10 parties - and gives the backstory to the rift in the KZN Provincial Government of Unity. Venter also comments on US President Donald Trump's announcement that America is boycotting the G20 summit in South Africa.

In the under-resourced communities of the Western Cape, places where poverty, overcrowding, and limited access to safe outdoor spaces are daily realities—children don't always get the chance to enjoy the beauty and nature that this part of the world has to offer. The Bridges Outdoor Education Programme aims to change that. Through fully funded camps at the Bridges Retreat Centre in Franschhoek, the programme takes Grade 5–7 pupils from 15 partner schools out of their daily environment and into nature, where they grow through team-building and problem-solving. Catherine Janse van Rensburg, the fundraising manager at Bridges, told BizNews that the camps are equipping children with critical team-building and communication skills, and that they are also shifting classroom dynamics. “Teachers report that the so-called troublemakers at school,” she says, “are often the gems at camp.” The programme also creates space for pupils from more affluent schools and employees from local companies to volunteer. It bridges not just communities but perspectives.

After a dozen years, it's all change with the Daily Insider as my podcast message replaces those few paras - and today there's great news about BNC and the Neil de Beer-inspired Liberty Conference.

In today's BizNews Briefing, Alec Hogg explores South Africa's rare earths opportunity with Steenkampskraal CEO Graham Soden. As global powers clash over strategic minerals essential for chips, drones and defence tech, this little-known mine in the Western Cape could become a major player - generating hundreds of millions in foreign exchange and reigniting SA's mining potential.

In the latest edition of Electoral Road Show with Analyst Wayne Sussman, he talks to Chris Steyn about the group of high-profile defectors that have just abandoned the African National Congress (ANC) for the Democratic Alliance (ANC) in the Western Cape, with the Western Cape's “Fikile Mbalula”, ANC Provincial Secretary Neville Delport, leading the pack. Sussman dissects the leadership crisis at former President Jacob Zuma's MKP with Chief Whip Colleen Makhubele out-and-in and former “Weekend Special” Finance Minister Des van Rooyen in-and-not as well as the suspension of former Judge John Hlope. Sussman further analyses the results of last night's by-elections, and speaks about his recent engagement with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as it targets next November (2026) for critical elections.

In this week's Miningweb Weekly, veteran analyst Peter Major joins Alec Hogg to unpack the latest in the global commodities rollercoaster. From gold and Bitcoin's cooling rally to South Africa's rare earth jackpot at Steenkampskraal, Major explains why investors should brace for a three-year plateau in precious metals - and why America's growing interest in rare earths could rewrite South Africa's mining future. A sharp, grounded look at where the smart money's heading next.