Kathrada Family Asks Zuma To Stay Away

President Jacob Zuma will abide by struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada’s family’s wishes not to attend his funeral on Wednesday. ”President Zuma will not attend the funeral and memorial service in compliance with the wishes of the family,” said a statement ahead of the funeral of one of the last Rivonia trialists, and one of Zuma’s fellow prisoners on Robben Island.

Source : https://goo.gl/7kUEYz

Capitec Sees Record Client Growth

Capitec announced on Tuesday that it achieved a record growth of 1.3 million new clients for the financial year to February 2017, with active clients totalling 8.6 million by year-end (February 2016: 7.3 million). The bank reported 18% growth in headline earnings to R3.8bn (2016: R3.2bn).

Source : https://goo.gl/5v2zAv

Zuma Postpones Cabinet Briefing

President Jacob Zuma has postponed the start of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting “to later this afternoon” to enable members to attend the funeral of struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada, the Presidency said. Kathrada will be laid to rest today, 29 Mar 2017 at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg.

Source : https://goo.gl/NH0z1y

UK Officially Starts Brexit Exit Process

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is to trigger Article 50 Wednesday, kick-starting the Brexit process that will see Britain leave the European Union in two years’ time. On Wednesday, at the same time across the channel in London, May will stand to deliver a statement to the House of Commons, confirming that the Brexit process has begun.

Source : https://goo.gl/QN9ILg

Ford CEO Recalled After Disastrous Tenure

Embattled Ford SA CEO Jeffery Nemeth‚ who was forced to announce the recall of 4,556 of its Kuga SUVs because of critical safety flaws in January‚ has been recalled to the US. His recall comes days after the Sunday Times reported that South African insurance giants‚ Auto & General and Dialdirect‚ were to take legal action against Ford in connection with fires which have destroyed several Ford EcoSport SUVs.

Source : https://goo.gl/bgoGPq

Tencent Buys 5% Of Tesla

Tesla Inc. won a vote of confidence from Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., whose purchase of a 5% stake boosts Elon Musk’s ambitions to get his mass-market Model 3 electric sedan to buyers this year. Tencent paid about $1.8 billion for shares bought on the open market and from Tesla’s stock offering earlier this month, according to a regulatory filing.

Source : https://goo.gl/EcPzZj

 

Gupta’s v Gordhan In Court

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s legal team will on Tuesday face off with 14 Gupta-owned companies over the blacklisting of their bank accounts by South Africa’s top four banks. Meanwhile President Jacob Zuma has asked to intervene as an “interested party” in the matter. Zuma argued that Standard Bank had sought relief that affected the president directly, but failed to join him into the legal proceedings as a party

Source : https://goo.gl/OkEwD1

Judge Dismisses Zuma’s Application To Join Pravin Case

The High Court in Pretoria has told President Jacob Zuma’s legal representatives that he is not formally part of the process and so cannot be added as an “interested party”. Zuma made an 11th-hour application on Monday asking to be added in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s application against Gupta-linked Oakbay Investments as an “interested party”. Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo said on Tuesday that because Zuma was not a party in the matter, his legal team could only observe.

Source : https://goo.gl/w0KuDU

Zuma Recalls Pravin Gordhan From Investment Roadshow

The rand plummeted about 52c against the dollar on Monday after President Jacob Zuma ordered Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan home from a global investor road show, while banks and property stocks retreated on the JSE in similar fashion to Nenegate in December 2015. The rand’s retreat was directly attributable to Zuma’s action despite a weaker dollar, which usually supported an appreciation in the rand, analysts said..

Source : https://goo.gl/r5mIwj

Brian Joffe To Step Aside

Bidcorp executive chairperson Brian Joffe has announced that he will be stepping down from this position to launch a new JSE-listed company. “Brian (Joffe) has informed the board that he will be launching a new listed JSE investment vehicle which will not focus on activities competitive with the current Bidcorp’s foodservice business,” Bidcorp said on Tuesday.

Source : https://goo.gl/eEhQy0

SAA Losses Climb Significantly

Losses of the already cash-strapped South African Airways (SAA) has rapidly increased to R4.5-billion, documents submitted to Parliament’s standing committee on Finance revealed. “This new figure of R4.5-billion is significantly higher than the R3.5-billion revealed ten days ago and the R1.7-billion estimated in September 2016.

Source : https://goo.gl/PW0Od7

Fake TV’s Recalled From Massmart Stores

Massmart has quarantined TVs which are being sold as Full HD (1080p), but have HD Ready panels (720p) in them and has initiated a product recall for the units. The recall follows an investigation by MyBroadband and ISACA member Abu-Huraira Oman Abdalla, which showed that a “Full HD” 32-inch Telefunken TV sold at Game stores sported an HD Ready panel.

Source : https://goo.gl/jPHbmL

Indicators : Oil 50.99 – Rand/USD 12.87 – Rand/GBP 16.24 – Rand/EUR 14.03

 

 

Acting Eskom CEO’s Daughter Gets Eskom Tenders

The stepdaughter of Eskom boss Mantshela Koko has raked in contracts worth about a R1-billion for her company from the state utility. The appointment of Koketso Choma, 26,  as a director at Impulse International last April was followed by the company netting eight lucrative contracts at Eskom over 11 months. The work, valued at  R1-billion, all came from a division of Eskom that Koko headed up until he was appointed acting CEO in December.

Source : https://goo.gl/XwLLFS

Old Mutual Close To Separation 

Old Mutual has taken another step in dismantling its business structure with the sale of its 25% stake in Old Mutual Asset Management (OMAM) worth $446m (R5.5bn) to HNA Capital US. Old Mutual, which has £395bn under management, said the transaction will reduce its shareholding from 50.8% to 25.9%

Source : https://goo.gl/kXLAEY

Rand Continues Winning Run

The rand continued its winning ways on Monday morning as it powered through the R12.35/$ level for the first time since July 2015. The latest bout of the rand strength has been partly traced to a weaker dollar, which is reeling from the expectation that the Federal Reserve will increase US rates gradually this year.

Source : https://goo.gl/7qSTcq

Ford Facing Lawsuits From Insurance Companies

Auto & General and Dialdirect, both part of insurance giant Telesure, have dealt with two and one fire-related EcoSport claims respectively, from May and July last year, and the third last month. They said Ford South Africa was informed of each incident.

Source : https://goo.gl/uW8EiS

Pipe Manufacturers Found Guilty of Collusion

The Competition Tribunal has found Dawn Consolidated Holdings (DCH), through its subsidiary DPI Plastics, and Sangio Pipes guilty of colluding to divide markets in South Africa between 2007 and 2012. The tribunal found that a shareholders’ agreement between DCH and Sangio, in which DCH held a 49% interest at the time, had the effect of dividing the market for the manufacture of regular HDPE pipes, in contravention of the Competition Act.

Source : https://goo.gl/DEeI2P

Indicators : Oil 50.80 – Rand/USD 12.36 – Rand/GBP 15.49 – Rand/EUR 13.42

Namibia Demands Germany Reparations

Namibia is to launch a $30 billion lawsuit against Germany over genocide committed during colonial rule, when tens of thousands of people were killed. The Namibian government has previously avoided demanding financial compensation, but it changed its stance as two indigenous groups filed a class-action suit in New York against Germany. Over 65,000 people are believed to have been killed when colonial Germany massacred Namibian tribes such as the Herero and Nama between 1904 and 1908. Namibian Vice President Nickey Iyambo issued a statement on Friday saying it had sent a report to Germany last year on the genocide, an official apology and reparations.

Source : https://goo.gl/VLC1Cx

Lambo Picture Gets ORT Suspect Caught

The suspected kingpin behind the audacious OR Tambo International Airport cash heist has been arrested after posting pictures of himself with a new R5-million Lamborghini on social media. The suspect, was arrested Sunday at his luxury Blue Valley Estate home in Centurion near Pretoria just hours after he posted pictures of himself and friends on social media with his new wheels.

Source : https://goo.gl/BDAstH.

Public Protector To Investigate Ministers Ties To CPS

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is to investigate the relationship between Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), the company that administers the payment of social grants. In 2015, Sassa had assured the court it would take over the payment of grants from April 1 2017, but it came to light earlier this year that the agency would be unable to do this and had to extend the CPS contract. The Constitutional Court judgment was scathing of Dlamini’s conduct, saying the ultimate responsibility for the “crisis” lay with her.

Source : https://goo.gl/5dcZ6Y

Home Affairs To Deport Zimbabweans On Special Permits

Home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba is expected to announce changes to the country’s position on Zimbabwe special permits (ZSPs) before the end of the month – with all indications that there is no room for extension. The ZSP was first introduced in October 2014, as a three year permit that would allow Zimbabwean nationals living in the country to legally work, own a businesses and study in South Africa, despite not carrying a valid visa. 

Source : https://goo.gl/Pf77yp

Eskom Signs R6 Billion Deal With French Agency

Eskom has signed a R6-billion multi-tranche framework agreement with the French Agency for Development (AFD).“This multi-tranche loan facility will contribute towards Eskom plans to strengthen and refurbish the transmission infrastructure while diversifying our funding structures,” said Eskom CFO Anoj Singh. AFD’s funding will focus on transmission lines and substations that support grid strengthening in areas where the development of future renewable-energy sources is envisaged, as well as supporting the facilitation of cross-border transmission projects.

Source : https://goo.gl/dAUdCi

Indicators : Oil 51.53 – Rand/USD 12.66 – Rand/GBP 15.68 –Rand/EUR 13.63

ConCourt Extends CPS Contract

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the ‘invalid’ contract of Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to pay Sassa grants will be extended for a period of 12 months. The extension comes with extremely strict conditions including that minister Bathabile Dlamini and SASSA must submit reports every 3 months on progress of new contract. CPS has also been barred from providing recipients information to Net1 and they can no longer offer value added products to grants recipients based on that information.

Source : https://goo.gl/4eA8Wu

McDonalds Attacks Trump In A Tweet

A tweet from McDonald’s verified Twitter account took aim at President Donald Trump on Thursday. The tweet, which has been deleted, said: “@realDonaldTrump You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have @BarackObama back, also you have tiny hands.” McDonald’s later said its account was “compromised” but has been secured. They deleted the post.

Source : https://goo.gl/nCvNJM

Allan Gray Calls For Board Removal At Net 1

Net1 shareholder Allan Gray is demanding that certain actions occur at Net1 subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to ensure social welfare recipients receive grants or it will seek to remove the board. Andrew Lapping, chief investment officer at Allan Gray, revealed this move to Business Day companies’ journalist Ann Crotty. Removing the board could also see Net1 CEO and founder Serge Belamant losing his position. Lapping said Allan Gray, which owns 16% of Net1, is working to understand issues around the integrity of management. “If these issues are not resolved to our satisfaction, we will call a shareholders’ meeting and attempt to remove the board.”

Source :

Cape Town Has 100 Days Of Water Left

After two years of the least rainfall on record, the average level of the six main dams that supply the city of 3.7 million people has dropped below 30%, one of the lowest levels on record. The last 10% of the reservoir water is unusable, and the risk is mounting that taps and pipes will stop flowing before the onset of the winter rainy season that normally starts in May or June. Even if the supply stretches until then, heavy downpours may be needed to avert outages over the next two years in South Africa’s second-biggest city.

Source : https://goo.gl/JWk6sB

Indian Tycoon Wants A Stake In Anglo American

Anil Agarwal, who made his fortune in mining, is trying to buy shares worth up to $2.4 billion in Anglo American. He will make the “personal investment” in the global mining group through his family trust, Volcan Investments. The proposed investment would give Agarwal a 12% stake in the the South Africa-based conglomerate, according to Bloomberg. That would make him the 2nd biggest shareholder behind the Public Investment Corp, which invests South African state pension funds.

Source : https://goo.gl/Y0gmUo

High Court Sets Aside Ntlemeza Appointment

The High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the appointment of Berning Ntlemeza as head of Hawks is invalid. Ntlemeza was appointed head of Hawks in December 2014 by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko. Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation brought the application to court.

Source : https://goo.gl/UcvqxB

Renault In Emissions Cheating Scandal

Renault’s shares slumped amid concern that the French car maker may face hefty fines over allegations of breaching emissions rules and top management may have been involved in the fraudulent strategy. French newspaper Liberation reported on Wednesday the Economy Ministry’s fraud office said in a confidential report to prosecutors that the carmaker aimed to skew test results. As many as 900 000 cars with emissions breaching standards could have been sold, according to the newspaper. Renault have thus far denied wrongdoing.

Source : https://goo.gl/yUd0eh

Indicators : Oil 51.69 – Rand/USD 12.76 – Rand/GBP 15.81 – Rand/EUR 13.78

 

 

Helen Zille Defends Colonialism

Former DA leader and current premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, has caused  uproar on social media after tweeting her views on colonialism. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Zille said that people claimed that the legacy of colonialism was only negative, but insisted that there were positive effects as well. Specifically, the premier said that, thanks to colonialism, South Africa benefited from an independent judiciary, transport infrastructure and other modern social features.

Source : https://goo.gl/KZow9r

ADT and Fidelity Merger

Fidelity Security and US-based Tyco have concluded a R2 billion merger deal which will see the latter’s ADT security business become part of the South African Fidelity group. The new entity will be known as Fidelity ADT, and will be 100% South African and a 54.62% black-owned company. It will become one of the largest private security providers in the country. The new group now boasts 168 points of presence across Southern Africa, supports around 57,000 employees, and manages a fleet of 4,574 vehicles, absorbing ADT’s 365,000 residential, small-to-medium sized enterprises and larger commercial customers.

Source : https://goo.gl/rYqmEp

Mercedes To Build AMG Models In East London

Mercedes-Benz SA (MBSA) will begin building AMG derivatives at its East London plant from the second half of 2017. Models to be built at the East London plant will include the C43, C63 and C63 S sedan. They will be produced on the same production lines as the C-Class. But to maintain the hand-built nature of the engines, they will be assembled at the AMG plant in Affalterbach, Germany, and be shipped to SA.

Source : https://goo.gl/h94AUz

7000 Prasa Employees Threaten Strike

More than seven thousands workers at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) may down tools in two weeks following the deadlock over wage negotiation with their employer. Workers affiliated to South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and United National Transport Union (Untu) were vehemently opposed to the proposed 4.5 percent wage increment by their employer.

 

Source : https://goo.gl/DYQOkT

Trump Travel Ban Blocked By Judge

A federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide order Wednesday evening blocking President Trump’s ban on travel from parts of the Muslim world, dealing a stinging blow to the White House and signaling that Mr. Trump will have to account in court for his heated rhetoric about Islam. The ruling was the second major setback for Mr. Trump in his pursuit of a policy he has trumpeted as critical for national security. His first attempt to sharply limit travel from a handful of predominantly Muslim countries ended in a courtroom fiasco last month, when a federal court in Seattle blocked it.

Source : https://goo.gl/URFMoJ

Ikea India Gives Employees 6 Months Paid Parental Leave

Ikea India has announced that all its employees in India — women and men — will be entitled to 26 weeks of paid parental leave on the birth of a child. The policy will also apply to employees who have children through surrogacy or adoption. And mothers will be able to work half days for 16 weeks on their return. Workers in Ikea’s home country of Sweden still have it better — companies there are required to offer up to 16 months of paid parental leave, of which three months are reserved for fathers.

Source : https://goo.gl/yM8kpC

Indicators : Oil 52.38 – Rand/USD 12.73 – Rand/GBP 15.57 – Rand/EUR 13.64

 

Bathabile Dlamini Goes To Court

A hive of activity is expected when Dlamini gives answers to questions in relation to the ongoing social grants issue. On Monday, Dlamini and the South African Social Security Agency missed the 4pm deadline to answer the ConCourt’s questions in relation to the controversial contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). The appearance will be televised live on ENCA from 10am and you can stream it here : https://goo.gl/8ZeAcy

Source : https://goo.gl/WPJPv7

CPS Threatens Govt With Ultimatum

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has until Wednesday afternoon to sign a new contract with Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) or risk defaulting on social grants on April 1, according to CPS CEO Serge Belamant. Belamant dropped the bombshell in an affidavit to the Constitutional Court, answering the South African Post Office’s application to be admitted as a friend of the court. Basically holding the country to ransom.

Source : https://goo.gl/LEzjP1

Cell C Posts First Ever Full Year Profit 

Cell C says it has swung into the black, reporting a surprise full-year profit of R540m after 16 years, the first since its start-up in 2001. The company increased earnings before interest and tax by R1.26bn in 2016 compared with 2015 and revenue for the 2016 financial year grew to R14.6bn from R13.2bn. Cell C has 15.3-million subscribers, up 20%.

Source : https://goo.gl/zmoxmt

Kusile Reaches Full Capacity

Eskom on Tuesday said that Kusile power station’s Unit 1 had reached its full 800 MW load-generating capacity last week after the initial synchronisation on December 26.
Kusile Unit 1, which is in the final stages of the combustion optimisation phase, is now one step closer to commercial operation.

Source : https://goo.gl/mOq6Xr

Somali Pirates Hijack First Ship Since 2012

Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker with eight Sri Lankan crew onboard, a Somali official said on Tuesday, the first time they have successfully taken a commercial ship since 2012. The ship reported it was being followed by two skiffs yesterday afternoon. Then it disappeared.

Source : https://goo.gl/0aO3Lo

Apple Found Guilty Of Price Fixing In Russia

Apple has been found guilty of fixing the price of iPhones in Russia for several years.Russia’s antitrust regulator, the Federal Antimonopoly Service, said today that Apple’s local subsidiary coordinated the price at which businesses were allowed to sell its phones. If sellers tried to discount an iPhone, Apple would email them and ask for it to be changed; failing to do so could have led to their contract being terminated. Apple is said to have done this for the last several years of phones, from the iPhone 5 through the iPhone 6S.

Source : https://goo.gl/v9M6cp

Canadian Marijuana Company To List On Stock Exchange

Canopy Growth, a marijuana-growing company based in Ontario, is being added to the S&P/TSX composite index. The company will be added to the index’s healthcare sector and start trading on March 20. Shares were down 0.72%, at 11.05 Canadian dollars, on Tuesday afternoon. Canopy is the largest legal grower of medical marijuana in the world, and has been hailed as the marijuana industry’s first unicorn — it blew past a $2 billion valuation in November, though its total valuation has slipped since then.

Source : https://goo.gl/KfIjG4

 

Brit Parliament Passes Brexit Bill

Parliament has passed the Brexit bill, paving the way for the government to trigger Article 50 so the UK can leave the European Union. The bill is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law on Tuesday. This means Theresa May is free to push the button on withdrawal talks – now expected in the last week of March.

Source : https://goo.gl/npFWwF

Sassa Answers Court Questions

Sassa was ordered by the court last week to answer questions about how the current grants crisis unfolded. They were meant to respond to court questions by 4pm on Monday‚ but did so electronically only at 10.36pm. The key answer is that the South African Social Security Agency says it discovered in October 2016 that it would be unable to take over the grants programme.

Source : https://goo.gl/0FJ8le

 

Financial Sector Hearings Underway

The public hearings at Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance concerning financial sector transformation are expected to be robust and hostile. The committee invited members of the public and stakeholders to make comments on the transformation of the financial sector. “This will include a focus on its deracialisation, high level of monopoly, progress on implementation of the Financial Sector Charter and other related matters,”

Source : https://goo.gl/k6JKVe

Trump’s Health Plan To Exclude 24 Million Americans

The House Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act would increase the number of people without health insurance by 24 million by 2026, while slicing $337 billion off federal budget deficits over that time, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Monday. The Trump administration immediately denounced the budget office’s conclusions. Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services, suggested the report offered an incomplete picture because it did not take into account regulatory steps he intends to take, as well as other legislation that Republicans plan as part of their multistep strategy to repeal and replace the health law.

Source : https://goo.gl/t96rF0

Possible Fuel Price Drop

If current oil price and currency trends persist, South Africans could be cushioned from the fuel levy hike of which 30 cents is allocated to the general fuel levy and 9c to the Road Accident Fund and may even experience some relief at the pumps. Currently we’re halfway through the cycle that will determine April’s fuel price (24 February to 30 March) and the data released by the Department of Energy for the month so far averages out to a petrol price decrease of 49 cents a litre, which would be cut down to 10 cents a litre once the new fuel taxes were factored in.

Source : https://goo.gl/olx4m7

Ministers Have Spent Over R17 Million On Cars In Last 3 Years

Replies to a parliamentary question put forward by the DA have revealed that South Africa’s cabinet ministers have spent over R17.5 million on luxury cars since 2014, with Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Jeeps being among the most popular. In the 2016/17 budget allocations for ministers, R10 million was set aside for car purchases.

Source : https://goo.gl/zOLM4Q

Indicators : Oil 51.28 – Rand/USD 13.22 – Rand/GBP 15.95 – Rand/EUR 14.04

 

Zuma’s Lawyer In Sassa Grants Saga

it emerged in the Sunday papers that President Jacob Zuma’s special adviser played a key role in ensuring that Cash Paymaster Services would keep the lucrative contract to deliver more than 17 million social grants to recipients. Michael Hulley’s intervention coincided with Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini flatly rejecting any payment option that did not involve CPS, raising questions about why the minister was so intent on retaining the company.

Source : https://goo.gl/3FPu8Z

ANC Contradicts Zuma On Land Reform Method

The ANC says the state should pay fair compensation for land it acquires for distribution to the country’s black majority, contradicting a suggestion by President Jacob Zuma that the constitution should be changed to allow for free expropriation. The party said it needs to focus more intently on the “radical economic and social transformation of our country” to ensure its wealth is more evenly distributed and that it must act urgently to restore its moral character to win back public trust.

Source : https://goo.gl/VJpMbg

Popo Molefe And Prasa Board Take Minister To Court

Members of the former board of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) are lodging an urgent application in the High Court on Monday to reverse their removal by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters and to interdict her from appointing a new board.

Source : https://goo.gl/0HHTv0

Unions Join Up To Protest Eskom Power Station Closures

Rival unions are reaching out to each other to unite against Eskom’s decision to close five coal power stations within five years. National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim said he wants to engage with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on this issue. Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe told Fin24 last week that at least two units of Komati power station have already been shut down to create space for the renewable energy projects.

Source : https://goo.gl/YxJgS1

Bitcoin Price Plunges After SEC Decision

The price of bitcoin plunged from record highs Friday after the Securities and Exchange Commission denied a request for the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund, which could have prompted greater investment in the digital currency.

Source : https://goo.gl/GmuZXo

Elon Musk Offers To Fix Australia Energy Crisis

Elon Musk has promised to solve an energy crisis in Australia within 100 days, or provide the technology for free. Musk was responding to a challenge from billionaire entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes, who wanted to know whether the company was serious in claiming that it could end blackouts in South Australia quickly. Tesla has offered to provide 100 megawatt hours of battery storage at a total cost of $25 million which should supplement the current grid and prevent cuts.

Source : https://goo.gl/NRUcXJ

Indicators : Oil 51.42 – Rand/USD 13.12 – Rand/GBP 16.00 – Rand/EUR 14.00

Prasa Board Dissolved

On Wednesday, in a dramatic turn of events, Parliament’s portfolio committee on transport called for an investigation into the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) board, following a marathon meeting which exposed infighting at the helm of the troubled agency. This came after Transport Minister Dipuo Peters told the committee, through the department’s acting director-general Mathabatha Mokonyama, that the Prasa board would be dissolved.

Source : https://goo.gl/aj8mNI

ConCourt Orders Social Development Minister To Appear Before Court

South Africa’s top court ordered the government and the nation’s welfare agency to explain how a crisis that’s threatening welfare-grant payments to more than 17 million people came about and what’s been done to fix the problem. In papers filed Wednesday, the court asked who at the welfare agency decided it was incapable of paying out the monthly stipends itself, when the decision was taken and why the court wasn’t notified. It also asked whether the state agency has concluded a new disbursement contract with Net1’s Cash Paymaster Services unit and, if so, to provide it with all details.

Source : https://goo.gl/H06yr1

Whatsapp Plans To Allow Businesses To Chat To Consumers Directly

WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging service used by more than 1 billion people worldwide, is testing a system that would let businesses talk directly to WhatsApp users for the first time, according to communications about the project seen by Reuters. One potential revenue source is to charge businesses that want to contact customers on WhatsApp. But the company is working carefully to avoid problems with spam messages, the documents show.

Source : https://goo.gl/hRdCtR

Allan Grey Defends Net 1 Investment

Allan Gray has defended its decision to invest in Net1 UEPs, the controversial parent company of social grants distributor Cash Paymaster Services (CPS). Allan Gray, which had assets under management totalling R461.7bn at June 2016, holds a 15.6% stake in the company on behalf of investors.

Source : https://goo.gl/7SZpmE

Indicators : Oil 53.40 – Rand/USD 13.21 – Rand/GBP 16.01 – Rand/EUR 13.90