What will it take to fix Joburg?
He outlined an ambitious plan to stabilise the city's finances and rebuild public confidence by restoring and improving infrastructure.
But what will it take to fix Joburg? That is the question we are asked you this morning on the South African Morning Soapbox.
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IOL News
21 minutes ago
- IOL News
Jacob Zuma Morocco visit
Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs meeting the ANC SG Fikile Mbalula, while the flag is displayed Image: Supplied In a press statement published on the 6th of August 2025, DIRCO has registered 'its strong objection and concern regarding circumstances around the recent visit of an eminent South African leader, former South African President Mr Jacob Zuma, who is the Leader of the Umkhonto We Sizwe Party, to Morocco on the 15th of July 2025'. Whilst recognising and respecting the sovereign right of Morocco to invite individuals and groups, DIRCO stated that 'it strongly protests the use of South African national symbols, in this instance the use of the South African National Flag, in the meeting between Mr Jacob Zuma and the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Morocco'. This statement, which has been published three weeks after the visit, uses the excuse of the flag previously mentioned in the ANC press release concerning the visit of the previous Head of State to criticise the presence of the latter in Morocco. Indeed, the hypersensitivity of DIRCO and its unusual and exaggerated reaction raise several questions about the priorities of Foreign Policy in our country, especially during these tough times. Amidst the recent punitive Trump Tariffs, the focus should be to mend the trade relationship to assert the economic diplomacy plan that was adopted by DIRCO, DTIC and the Ministry of Finance. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Nonetheless, DIRCO took time among these huge trade problems with the USA that threaten our national interest to publish a press release concerning the visit of the former Head of State. This is not the first trip undertaken by Jacob Zuma as the former head of state outside of South Africa. It is indeed worth mentioning that M. Zuma has been invited this year to the inauguration ceremonies of both newly elected Ghana and Gabon presidents in his capacity as an ex-President of South Africa. During those two trips, M. Zuma received a warm welcome from the authorities of those two African countries without sparking any reaction from DIRCO. During his trip to Morocco, M. Jacob Zuma, who voiced his party's support for the autonomy proposal over the Sahara, has been very clear in his address, stating that it was his party's view and not of the State, thus closing the debate about any confusion regarding the South African Government's position concerning the conflict. This position expressed by MK was not a surprise at all. The South African Party published, nearly two months ago, a detailed document named 'A strategic Partnership for African Unity, Economic Emancipation and Territorial Integrity: Morocco', in which it detailed its stance concerning Morocco and the Western Sahara conflict In this document, Umkhonto WeSizwe stated that: 'Commitment to sovereignty: Morocco's efforts to reclaim its full territorial integrity align with the MK Party's commitment to preserving the sovereignty and unity of African states. This resonates more than ever with South Africa as our country battles against internal forces aiming at breaking our country's territorial integrity. Thus, MK party remains steadfast in defending the territorial integrity of South Africa as a sacrosanct principle of its foreign policy'. This statement of MK brought to light the inexistence of a consensus concerning the issue of Western Sahara among the political sphere in South Africa. It is also worth recalling that when the ANC reacted to the position expressed by MK concerning Western Sahara citing 'the right of Self-determination of Western Sahara', the separatist movement 'cape independence' published, on the 20th July 2025, a tweet saying:' Hypocrisy Alert! ANC pushes for Western Sahara independence while denying Western Cape & other SA groups the same right to self-determination. What's good for one isn't good for all?'. Coming back to the issue of the flag, well-informed cadres among the MK party said that 'The South African flag displayed during Mr. Zuma's visit was done at his express request, as a gesture of honour and respect for his position as a previous Head of State'. Moreover, it is universal practice for national flags to be present in nongovernmental contexts and engagements: sporting competitions, cultural events, civil forums, etc, added the cadres of MK. Thus, the DIRCO statement raises the issue of the use of the national flag by South African citizens, organisations and political parties in General. Expressing concerns over this issue, the spokesperson of MK, M. Nhlamulo Ndhlela, said that 'Mbalula, on his visit in 2023 in Algeria, had a national flag of South Africa in a picture taken with him and the foreign minister of Algeria and DIRCO said nothing. Why now? The ANC and its GNU do not own the South African flag; it belongs to South Africans, and President Zuma is a South African, and a former head of state'. On the details of Zuma's trip to Morocco, IOL was able to confirm that the visit was prepared with the involvement of the South African Embassy in Rabat, which officially asked the Moroccan authorities to grant Mr. Zuma protocol treatment. Under these conditions, some experts contacted by IOL declared that it is 'totally contradictory for the South African authorities to request that Mr. Zuma be treated as a high dignitary, only to criticise the use of the South African flag during his visit'. It is worth noting that all the previous Heads of state in South Africa, when they undertake a trip abroad, are asked to communicate all the details of their trip to the State protocol, who then inform DIRCO to take all the measures to coordinate with the relevant authorities of the country all the aspects of the visit including the protocol. The aspects raised above are just a reflection of the existing deep disagreement of different South African political parties with the ANC's foreign policy, which has sparked a big debate about the national foreign policy of South Africa and the actual existence of a consensus around its priorities. Indeed, the DA, which is a partner of the ANC in the GNU, has undertaken, in March 2025, a trip to the USA, which was officially communicated by the previous DA Spokesperson on International Relations & Cooperation, Mrs Emma Powell, in total contradiction with the official position expressed by the South African Government and DIRCO.
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
National Dialogue may not be a success
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the National Dialogue, which aims to facilitate conversations among diverse South African stakeholders, including government, civil society, and political organisations. However, it has already drawn criticism regarding its high costs. Image: ANC/X The much-anticipated National Dialogue, set to kick off with a National Convention at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in Pretoria on 15 and 16 August 2025, is facing mounting challenges, with the withdrawal of several high-profile foundations raising questions about its future success. The dialogue, which aims to facilitate conversations among diverse South African stakeholders, including government, civil society, and political organisations, has already drawn criticism regarding its high costs. The reported R700 million price tag for the event has caused concern, despite the Presidency's efforts to manage expenses and reduce the financial burden on taxpayers. In response to the growing criticism, the Presidency assured the public that the budgetary process for the National Dialogue adhered to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), and that efforts had been made to secure services and facilities at no cost. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Unisa, for instance, has offered to host the event for free, providing a range of services such as venues, catering, Wi-Fi, and printing of discussion materials. Additionally, the government has secured further in-kind donations, including transportation, public viewing screens, and other logistical support, which the Presidency claims will significantly reduce the overall cost of the dialogue. The National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) and the Presidency will also contribute from their existing budgets to cover communication and logistical expenses. However, despite these efforts, the National Dialogue faces a crisis of participation. Key players in South Africa's civil society and political landscape have pulled out of the event. Prominent foundations, including the Steve Biko Foundation, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, have all announced their decision to withdraw. These organisations have expressed concerns about the lack of adequate financing, the erosion of citizen leadership in the dialogue process, and the shift of control towards the government. According to the foundations, what began as a citizen-led initiative has gradually become dominated by government interests. They argue that the event, which was originally intended to empower citizens, has lost its focus due to the government's insistence on pushing forward with the convention, despite advice from the organising subcommittee chairs. The foundations further criticised the lack of a proper platform for meaningful dialogue, as well as the misalignment within the organising committee and the short timelines involved in organising the event. 'In pushing forward for a convention on 15 August at the will of government officials and against the advice of the subcommittee chairs, we believe that a critical moment in which citizens should be leading will be undermined,' the statement from the foundations read. While the dialogue is expected to draw leaders from various political parties and civil society organisations, the absence of these key foundations casts doubt on the true inclusiveness and effectiveness of the event.
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
The Finance Ghost: Shoprite still the checkout champion in retail wars
While there are opportunities to make money in the South African economy, you have to be pretty selective about where you look. It's not news to you that South Africa's economic growth has been less than inspiring, leading to South Africans becoming poorer by global standards. Nedbank's recent results are evidence of lacklustre economic activity, with the bank struggling to get enough loans out into the wild to offset the impact of a dip in interest rates. In the retail sector, The Foschini Group put forward some fascinating arguments at their Capital Markets Day about the shocking trend in the average South African's real income (ie adjusted for inflation) over the past decade and why this is forcing the group to see its value offerings as the best local growth engine. These corporate nuggets are a useful reminder that while there are definitely opportunities to make money in the South African economy, you have to be pretty selective about where you look. One of the most interesting ways to see this play out each year is in the retail sector, a competitive bloodbath of companies trying to compete for some of the most price-sensitive consumers in the world. There's no rising tide that lifts all boats here. Instead, there are boats that can get past the challenging waves and there are others that are getting smashed into the harbour. Last week in this column, I covered Boxer vs Woolworths Food as an excellent example of the power of having a focused model in a difficult economy. It's amazing how the clothing retail sector is filled with executives who find themselves drawn to offshore opportunities (traps?), with Woolworths continuing to suffer an Australian hangover. The Foschini Group is unfazed by this, with a clear message to the market that they will continue to pursue an international strategy despite reporting disappointing numbers in their UK and Australian businesses. The grocery sector has also seen some truly ugly offshore expansion stories. Spar is the standout example, with the group still reeling from its European exposure. Closer to home, even a grocery giant like Shoprite has learnt some hard lessons from trying to grow in Africa. For better or worse, the local market is where the best money is to be made by our retailers. This is where they understand their customers and can execute sensible strategies around store formats, supply chains and acquisitions (where those opportunities are still available in the market). The success that Shoprite has seen through focusing on South Africa rather than Africa is lovely to behold, while even Pick n Pay is starting to see the benefits of a turnaround strategy that has simplification at its core. This brings us to this week's corporate updates, with important financial news coming in from market leader Shoprite and laggard Pick n Pay. Before digging into these numbers, it's worth noting that the year-to-date performance is poor for both stocks, with Shoprite down nearly 10% and Pick n Pay down 15%. Before the latest results came out, Pick n Pay was actually 'ahead' this year, ie less negative than Shoprite. The share price performance can tell a different story from the underlying business performance because of the expectations baked into the share price. The market has incredibly high expectations for Shoprite, with Pick n Pay seen as a much more speculative play. We'll start with Pick n Pay, before ending off with Shoprite at the top of the food chain. Positive momentum at Pick n Pay – unless you're a franchisee There's an incredibly odd situation at Pick n Pay that goes against conventional wisdom. The corporate-owned stores are showing a faster turnaround than the franchise stores, despite the latter typically benefiting from being owner managed. Although this sounds great in theory, the problem is that Pick n Pay has a vast base of franchise stores. For the turnaround to be successful, they need both corporate-owned and franchise stores to pull their weight. In the past three reported periods (being the first and second halves of FY25, as well as the first 17 weeks of FY26), corporate-owned stores grew turnover by 3.1%, 3.6% and 4.0% respectively. In stark contrast, franchise supermarkets managed -1.4%, 1.1% and 0.2% respectively. It's not hard to spot the more consistent story with positive momentum. As encouraging as the corporate-owned story is, Pick n Pay's efforts to shrink into profitability have led to a situation where total sales growth is non-existent. Essentially, the store closures are offsetting the growth in other stores. While this is the right decision in terms of the turnaround, it doesn't exactly tell a story of growth. Pick n Pay Clothing remains the gem, with an astonishing 12.5% increase in like-for-like sales in the latest 17-week period. While the timing of winter has played a role here and this isn't indicative of sustainable growth, this store format's consistently strong performance shows that Pick n Pay can still win when they get the model right. Lots of wagging tails at Shoprite Shoprite's latest update covers the 52 weeks to 29 June 2025, so it's not directly comparable to Pick n Pay's release. Still, it tells an incredible story of a group that just doesn't stop winning, with HEPS from continuing operations expected to be 9.4% to 19.4% higher. This was driven by sales growth of 8.9%, with Supermarkets RSA leading the charge with growth of 9.5%. Digging deeper into Supermarkets RSA reveals that Checkers and Checkers Hyper delivered growth of 13.8%, while Shoprite and Usave were far more modest at 5.2%. Boxer is giving Shoprite a proper go when it comes to lower-income shoppers, whereas higher-income shoppers have flocked to Checkers at a time when Pick n Pay has been shedding customers. It's not all good news, though. There's a concerning trend in sales momentum from the first half to the second half of the year, with Supermarkets RSA growing 10.4% in the first half and 8.5% in the second half. There's certainly nothing wrong with 8.5% growth, but Shoprite is trading on a demanding earnings multiple and any slowdown in growth will be a concern for the market. Unlike Pick n Pay, which must shrink into profitability, Shoprite is expanding in key verticals. They love the pet opportunity for example, with Petshop Science opening 60 new stores to take the total footprint to 144 stores. Interestingly, the worrying trend in the birth rate is on full display at Shoprite, with just one new Little Me store opened in this period, taking the total to 11 stores. With the furniture business being sold to Pepkor and with a decision to further reduce the exposure to certain countries in Africa, Shoprite's focused grocery strategy is working beautifully. They are experimenting in other categories, but they understand what the core of the business must be in order to continue being successful. The risk, as always, lies in overpaying for the shares. Based on the guided range for HEPS with a midpoint of R13.57, the price/earnings (P/E) multiple is just below 20x. My observation of retail stocks on the JSE is that they start to run out of puff at a P/E above 20x, so there's not much room for multiple expansion here. If Shoprite can maintain this kind of growth in HEPS though, investors won't need multiple expansion to be rewarded. DM
