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IOL News
42 minutes ago
- Business
- IOL News
Crooks steal almost R100bn from SA's economy each year
Illicit financial flows are costing South Africa a staggering $3.5 billion annually, nearly 5% of its tax revenue. Image: RonAI / IOL Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) – theft – is robbing South Africa of a massive $3.5 billion every year. That amount translates to almost 5% of the tax revenue that the South African Revenue Service brings in each year, or R92.5bn, according to Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes. 'In 2022 we received roughly $1.1bn (R19.7bn) in official development assistance, but we lose an estimated $3.5bn (R62.7bn) to $5 billion (R89.6bn) each year to tax abuse, trade mis-invoicing, illegal capital transfers and profit-shifting,' said Botes, who was speaking at a conference on illicit financial flows, mobilising domestic resources, and financing for development, hosted at SGN Grant Thornton's offices at the end of last week. Botes added that 'these losses erode tax bases, shrink fiscal space, weaken institutions and make true sovereignty impossible'. This, he said, means 'children left out of classrooms, hospitals short on medicine, dreams deferred.' Victor Sekese, SNG Grant Thornton CEO, said that progress is increasingly threatened through IFF, which 'denies our people access to public goods like healthcare, education, infrastructure, and opportunity.' Quantifying the effect of IFF on socioeconomic development initiatives to improve the lives of all, Botes stated that UN Trade and Development statistics indicate that countries with high illicit flows spend a quarter less on healthcare and more than 50% less on education than their peers. On a continental level, Sekese said that Africa is estimated to lose over $80 billion annually to these IFF outflows. 'Imagine what we could do with that – build public infrastructure, schools, hospitals and industries,' he said. Sekese added that it was important not to just have talk shops but to agree on ways to share data, harmonise laws, and hold those who make it possible for IFF to take place accountable. 'Most importantly, to ensure that our recommendations not only inform but shape the final policy proposals presented at the G20 later this year'. South Africa will host the G20 Johannesburg Summit, the twentieth meeting of the Group of Twenty, on 22 and 23 November. The meeting is set to include heads of state and government, with US President Donald Trump having said the US will attend. Botes noted that 'the complexity of these crimes also demands deeper inter-agency cooperation, rapid information-sharing and, ultimately, an international legal instrument robust enough to match transnational crime. We therefore call for a United Nations Tax Convention capable of halting Africa's wealth leak and choking multinational tax abuse.' Let us plug the leaks, mobilise the means and finance the future humanity deserves,' said Botes. IOL Business
IOL News
4 days ago
- Health
- IOL News
Thyroid Cancer: A silent threat South Africans shouldn't ignore
Thyroid cancer is often overlooked, yet its impact is growing in South Africa. Image: IOL Ron AI While thyroid cancer is not among the most commonly discussed cancers in South Africa, its global impact, and growing local significance make it worth paying attention to. As International Thyroid Awareness Week is from May 25 to 31, it's an important reminder for South Africans to take thyroid health seriously, especially since this often-silent disease can affect anyone, regardless of age or gender. With early detection, most types of thyroid cancer are highly treatable, yet many South Africans remain unaware of the risks, symptoms, and treatment options. The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland at the front of your neck that plays a critical role in regulating your body's metabolism. According to the Global Cancer Observatory, thyroid cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide. In South Africa, although comprehensive national data is limited, specialists are seeing a steady increase in diagnoses, particularly as access to ultrasound and diagnostic tools improves. Thyroid cancer develops when cells in the thyroid undergo changes in their DNA. These changes lead to uncontrolled cell growth, which can eventually form a tumour. While the cause is often unknown, exposure to high levels of radiation, such as radiation therapy to the head and neck, can increase the risk. Family history may also play a role. According to Dr Eric Moore, a head and neck surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, most forms of thyroid cancer are treatable: 'Minimally invasive surgery may be an option, sometimes sparing much of the noncancerous thyroid gland tissue.' However, he cautions that rarer, more aggressive types of thyroid cancer can be much harder to treat. He adds that 'our research and treatment have made transformative strides in the outcomes for our patients with these types of thyroid cancer.' 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 ✕ Women are more frequently diagnosed with thyroid cancer than men, but this doesn't necessarily mean they're at greater risk. Dr Victor Bernet, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, explains that women tend to be more proactive about their health, often leading to earlier diagnosis. 'Men have a risk, and we're not catching them as much,' he says. In advanced cases, the risk levels between men and women are nearly equal. One of the challenges with thyroid cancer is that it often presents no symptoms in its early stages. As it progresses, however, people may notice swelling in the neck, changes in voice (especially hoarseness), persistent throat pain, or difficulty swallowing. These symptoms are easy to dismiss, which is why awareness is critical. Treatment usually involves surgery, depending on the type and stage of the cancer Surgical options include: Thyroidectomy : Removal of all or most of the thyroid gland. Thyroid lobectomy : Removal of one lobe of the thyroid, often used when the cancer is slow-growing and contained. Lymph node dissection: If cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, some may be removed for testing or treatment. Surgical decisions depend on the cancer's size, spread, and the patient's preferences. Many patients also require hormone therapy after surgery to maintain normal metabolic function. For South Africans, the takeaway is clear: thyroid cancer is not rare, and it's not always obvious. Whether you're male or female, young or older, understanding the warning signs and seeking medical advice when symptoms arise can make all the difference. IOL Lifestyle
IOL News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
The future of e-voting in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges
An illustration of an e-voting machine. Image: IOL / Ron AI Although the powers that be are exploring electronic voting (e-voting), its implementation in South Africa cannot be expected anytime soon. E-voting embraces electronic means of casting votes and counting them. University of South Africa (UNISA) distinguished professor at the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Professor Colin Thakur, said a voting machine is a specialised type of computer. Therefore, normal computers and smartphones cannot be used. He said issues regarding an election include vote secrecy, vote security, transparency, ease of voting, speed and efficiency of counting, and effect on voter turnout and equity of access. 'When we press a button, we expect privacy, we expect security, we expect verification, we expect,' Thakur said about e-voting. He said paper was slowly losing its gold standard stature because of the logistics of moving 90 million pieces of paper from the central location to the voting districts and then the reversal logistics. Additionally, instances of 'lost' ballot boxes can cause danger by creating a lingering doubt. Thakur said the other challenge lies with ballot tabulation, which includes undercounting, overvoting, and none of the above (NOTA). 'One thing paper does that machine doesn't do is, you can spoil your ballot paper,' Thakur said. Why e-voting? Thakur said modern devices are becoming more intuitive and they mitigate mobility, illiteracy, people with disabilities (PWDs) challenges and the elderly. E-voting is quicker and more accurate for vote tallying and announcements. You can ask electorate-focused questions or percentage-type questions. 'E-voting machines can be used to decide a national non-political question not affecting the Constitution, or be used to gauge if the government has enough public support to go ahead with a proposed action,' Thakur said. He said e-voting is useful in a fragile, transitional, or a government of national unity democracy. Additionally, national, provincial, and local elections can be held simultaneously and can be cheaper too. Election hacking He said theoretically, things like ransomware, denial of service attacks, latency, 404ed! Page not found and Eskom can happen. However, most hacks happen in the lab and not on-site or during elections. However, he stated that no technology is insulated from misappropriation. Radio signal interception is possible. He said hacking needs sustained access to the e-voting machine. 'On voting day, there is no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, there's no connectivity, the machine is isolated from the world. So, how do you hack a machine that's secure?' Thakur stated that to secure the vote, there are zero-knowledge proofs, homomorphic encryption, mix networks, blockchain, and a voter-verified paper audit trail. He highlighted that e-voting is adopted in a stable, non-violent political climate; fragile or transitional democracy; multi-party democracy with two dominant parties; coalition government; large populations; a level of technical maturity; illiteracy is not seen as a setback; and a mixed economy. E-voting strengths, opportunities, and advantages Thakur said e-voting is fast, accurate, and gives an unemotional count. It also has multilingualism. He said e-voting helps PWDs, the elderly, and illiterate voters through images, audio, graphics, symbols, and speech-to-text touchscreens. It also provides additional voting options. He added that human error is reduced by automated transmission and tabulation of errors. Thakur said electronic transmission is the last thing that happens, and it is important because of denial of service attacks, ransomware, and man-in-the-middle interception. However, blockchain can mediate this challenge. He said if the IEC decides to pilot or trial e-voting, then the legislation process must start, but information dissemination must start immediately. 'E-voting is not about technology - it's about democracy. We must guard against an election becoming a census of those who vote,' Thakur said. [email protected]
IOL News
19-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
FSCA moves forward with COFI Bill as concerns mount over bank account terminations
According to the current regulatory frameworks, banks are obliged to notify customers and provide them with the opportunity to make representations before terminating their accounts. Image: Independent Media / Ron AI The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has confirmed that it is moving forward with the Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill, which aims to provide a fair process for bank account closures. Following a series of delays that initially pushed the tabling of the Bill in Parliament to January, the FSCA announced on Monday that it is now set to submit the Bill to Cabinet for approval soon. In response to a list of questions from Business Report, the FSCA said the Bill adopts a principle-based approach, in other words, it contains high-level principles that financial institutions must adhere to, to ensure the desired outcomes in the financial sector. 'However, it reinforces and extends the principles of fairness for termination of financial products and services already contained in the Conduct Standard for Banks (2020). The Conduct Standard deals explicitly with bank account terminations, i.e. financial customers must have access to a fair process when products and services are terminated (this includes account closures),' said the FSCA. 'It falls short of explicitly prescribing a fair hearing, for various reasons, including that this would not be appropriate where there is suspicion of money laundering, terror financing and other criminal activity, and may actually conflict with other legislation that requires no notice.' 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 ✕ According to the current regulatory frameworks, banks are obliged to notify customers and provide them with the opportunity to make representations before terminating their accounts. In South Africa, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bredenkamp v Standard Bank set the standard for the unilateral termination of the bank-customer relationship on the grounds of reputational risks. John Bredenkamp was a Zimbabwean-based business tycoon suspected of being involved in illicit business activities including tobacco trading, arms trafficking, oil distribution, and diamond extraction. The judgement sets out several principles South African banks have relied on when terminating relationships with their customers. According to the FSCA, the relevant provisions dealing with bank account closures in the Bill are contained in the Conduct Standard for Banks, published under the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017. The Conduct provides that banks must conduct their business in a manner that prioritises the fair treatment of their customers; adopt and implement processes and procedures relating to the withdrawal or termination of a financial product or financial service, including closure of a bank account. It also makes provision for reasonable notice of the intention to withdraw or terminate a financial product or financial service, including closure of a bank account by providing reasons for the proposed withdrawal, termination or closure, unless certain circumstances prevail. 'The Conduct Standard furthermore provides that contractual agreements with financial customers must make provisions for circumstances in which the contractual agreement may be terminated or withdrawn by the bank,' said the FSCA. 'This implies that the closure, termination or withdrawal of a financial product must be done as part of an agreed process enforcing contractual obligations and remediating breaches. The circumstances in which terminations may occur must be disclosed to the customer in the contract. 'Both the existing Conduct Standard and the proposed COFI Bill require a fair process for account closures. What constitutes 'fair' and whether this includes the right to be heard will depend on various circumstances that may not be best resolved through further regulatory amendments. 'Instead the FSCA is engaging with the sector to determine a more appropriate way of ensuring consistent understanding and application of 'fairness' based on various scenarios. This will be based on a review conducted by the FSCA of the sector's practices in this regard.' In 2022, lawmakers have hauled the FSCA over the coals about the lax manner in which they were treating the unilateral and arbitrary closure of bank accounts. In his final State Capture report, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recommended that relevant existing legislation governing banks be amended to introduce a requirement of fairness or, if warranted, a new piece of legislation to be enacted to compel the banks to afford the client a proper opportunity to be heard before their accounts were closed. Visit:
IOL News
19-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
The Scapegoating of Banxso: How Regulatory Overreach Missed the Bigger Picture
Is Banxso being unfairly targeted by South African regulators while a network of deceptive marketers operates unchecked? Image: IOL / Ron AI In what appears to be a clear case of regulatory tunnel vision, Banxso remains in the crosshairs of South African financial regulators, while an entire ecosystem of deceptive affiliate marketers and trading platforms continues to operate with relative impunity. Instead of tackling the root problem—an unregulated network of third-party marketers exploiting social media and celebrity endorsements to mislead investors—the FSCA has disproportionately targeted one entity: Banxso. Banxso's regulatory ordeal began with the suspension of its licence by the FSCA, triggering costly legal battles and severe reputational damage. Yet, as evidence continues to surface, it becomes increasingly apparent that the marketing tactics at issue are widespread across the sector—not unique to Banxso. Recent investigations have uncovered that Trade FT, operating under FSP number 53871, is linked to Grand Trading Pty Ltd. The individuals behind these entities previously operated under the name Asterix Data and have a well-documented history of rebranding and shifting identities within what's been referred to as the 'Scam Empire' a network that includes Finbok and other flagged entities. Despite their consistent use of deceptive AI-themed advertisements featuring unauthorised images of celebrities like Patrice Motsepe, Elon Musk, and Trevor Noah, these firms have not faced equivalent regulatory scrutiny. 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 This raises a critical question: why has Banxso been singled out while others using the same misleading marketing tactics continue to operate freely? 'What we're seeing is a classic case of making an example out of one company while failing to address the systemic issues,' said an industry insider who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'Banxso has become the convenient scapegoat in a situation that clearly involves dozens of market participants.' These celebrity-endorsed AI ads act as a gateway into the broader problem. A single click on one of these ads floods users with unsolicited calls from various South African trading companies—none of which are connected to Banxso. This indicates the involvement of an aggressive affiliate marketing network, which is largely unregulated and responsible for generating deceptive leads across the industry. Importantly, the FSCA's own registry reveals glaring red flags about Trade FT: there are no registered Key Individuals listed for its FSP number. In any other instance, this would typically trigger immediate enforcement action. Yet, despite the entity's lineage and irregularities, it continues to operate, untouched. Meanwhile, Banxso is the only firm in the industry to have voluntarily refunded R14 million to affected consumers in the wake of the scandal—a step no other trading company has taken, despite similar marketing exposures. 'The FSCA has created a false narrative that this is about one bad actor when it's clearly an industry-wide marketing issue,' said a second compliance expert with deep experience in South African financial services. 'Operations like Trade FT continue unabated, using identical tactics. Yet Banxso is being paraded as the poster child for enforcement.' This disparity in enforcement undermines the credibility of the FSCA's regulatory objectives. If the aim is truly to protect consumers, why focus enforcement on a compliant FSP that has shown a willingness to rectify issues, while letting a complex web of non-compliant and identity-shifting entities off the hook? 'There's a fundamental unfairness when one company bears the full regulatory burden while others benefit from the same marketing channels without scrutiny,' added the first industry source. 'If the FSCA truly wants to protect consumers, they need to address the underlying marketing ecosystem rather than targeting individual FSPs.' The situation is especially concerning given how easily these deceptive ads continue to reach South Africans online. Despite the regulatory action against Banxso, the same misleading advertisements are still well and truly thriving in their absence. In response to inquiries about the issue, the FSCA stated: 'In terms of section 251 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act No.9 of 2017 (FSR Act), the FSCA is unable to disclose the details of the investigation relating to Asterix.' This response only deepens concern over the transparency and fairness of the process. The lack of visible enforcement against the real drivers of consumer deception—the affiliate marketers and identity-hopping entities like Trade FT—suggests that the FSCA may be prioritising symbolic enforcement over meaningful consumer protection.
