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IOL News
3 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
The challenges facing South Africa's property market amid global uncertainty
Last week's repo rate cut will help boost the South African property sector a little bit. Image: Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA) The property sector struggles when there is much international and local uncertainty such as that seen in the first quarter of this year. The first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) number is bad at only 0.1% growth, said Professor Waldo Krugell, an economist within the School of Economic Sciences at North West University (NWU). He said the property sector is captured under gross fixed capital formation which saw contractions in residential buildings (-5.8% and contributing -0.6 of a percentage point) as well as construction works (-2.8% and contributing -0.5 of a percentage point). Going forward, Krugell said last week's repo rate cut will help a little bit. However, he said that what is needed is more government of national unity (GNU) reform momentum and some tangible results from implementation. South African bond yields dropped sharply by the end of trade on Wednesday after Parliament passed the National Budget, boosting market confidence in Treasury's ability to tighten control over fiscal management, while the SARB's support for a lower inflation target promotes inflation control and stability, said Bianca Botes, the Director at Citadel Global. She said that markets remain cautious ahead of key US data due to be released on Friday, which could offer fresh direction. 'Recent figures show a slight slowdown in US economic activity, suggesting that tariffs and ongoing uncertainty are weighing on US growth. 'Nonetheless, global equities hit a record high on Wednesday, as investors bet that the volatility sparked by President Trump's 'Liberation Day' declaration might be behind them,' Botes said. Krugell noted with interest, reports of the commercial property sector doing much better in the Western Cape than elsewhere in the country, simply because the economy there is doing much better. 'The need for reform and better service delivery has a distinct spatial character. It underscores the importance of the work of Operation Vulindlela 2.0,' he said. Correlating strongly with City of Cape Town reports of a record-breaking summer tourism season, international property buyers have invested in record numbers in the city's hotspots, according to the Seeff Property Group. Propstats data shows that sales worth almost R2.5 billion were concluded in the first five months of this year, the highest in the last half-a-decade. The total value for the whole of 2024 amounted to R3.4 billion, and it was similar in the prior year, 2023. Sales to international buyers were said to have reached a record R600 million in February, and R700 million in April across the whole city. More than two thirds (67%) of the total value were generated by sales across the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl. Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard, said sales activity has been up quite notably this year. For the Atlantic Seaboard alone, he said sales to international buyers amount to about R530 million for April. Overall, there were sales in just about all of the suburbs. The highest values recorded are in Camps Bay and Bantry Bay, and the highest volumes in Sea Point (27) and the CBD (32). Buyers from more than 40 countries invested in property across the Cape this year. The highest volume was attributable to buyers from Germany, followed by the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, and other European countries. There has also been a notable uptick in sales to American buyers who bought predominantly in Sea Point, Bantry Bay, Mouille Point and in the City Bowl. Buyers from other African countries have also made a welcome return, including some 12 countries, being Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia, with Nigeria being the stand-out in terms of the volume of sales. Levin said the whole market across the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl has been very active and there was a shortage of stock, thus presenting good opportunities for sellers right now. Notable recent Seeff sales to foreign buyers include two sales to German buyers at R21 million in Camps Bay and R29 million at the Waterfront as well as a R29.5 million sale at the Waterfront to a buyer from Eswatini. Other areas where international buyers have been active include Constantia and Bishopscourt in the Southern Suburbs, False Bay areas such as Muizenberg and Fish Hoek, Southern Peninsula suburbs such as Kommetjie and Scarborough, Hout Bay, and Blouberg, where Marlene Picksley, an agent with Seeff Blouberg concluded a record sale of R16.5 million at Sunset Beach to a buyer from the US. Hout Bay has seen particularly strong demand from international buyers, with as much as 37 sales to buyers from a number of different countries, especially Germany, Netherlands, UK, Denmark, and other European buyers, and the US. According to Stephan Cross, manager for Seeff Hout Bay and Llandudno, the buyers spent between R5 million to R25 million. He said the Hout Bay market has been particularly hot this year with high sales activity and a shortage of stock, thus presenting good opportunities for sellers.
The Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- The Herald
Economy barely grows in first quarter
South Africa's economy stagnated in the first quarter, eking out quarter-on-quarter growth of just 0.1% as contractions in sectors such as mining and manufacturing offset a strong performance by agriculture. Africa's biggest economy has struggled to build momentum since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, with annual growth averaging less than 1% over the past decade. Business and consumer confidence has picked up since the formation of a government of national unity (GNU) last year, but that is yet to translate into higher levels of output. Tuesday's data was marginally better than expected, as economists polled by Reuters had predicted GDP would be unchanged from the previous quarter in seasonally adjusted terms. Analysts and the country's top statistics official said the weak growth was worrying. 'Our economy is not growing sufficiently, and at this state, it is easy for it to slide into the negative,' statistician-general Risenga Maluleke told a press conference.
TimesLIVE
29-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Libya's eastern-based government 'may announce force majeure' on oil fields, ports
Libya's eastern-based government said on Wednesday it may announce a force majeure on oil fields and ports citing 'repeated assaults on the National Oil Corporation (NOC)'. The government in Benghazi is not internationally recognised, but most oilfields in the major oil producing country are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar. The government said it may also temporarily relocate the NOC's headquarters to one of the "safe cities" such as Ras Lanuf and Brega, both of which are controlled by the eastern-based government. The NOC is currently located in Tripoli under the control of the internationally recognised government of national unity (GNU). The NOC denied in an earlier statement that the corporation's headquarters was stormed deeming it as 'completely false'. It also emphasised it is operating normally 'and continuing to perform its vital duties without interruption'.
TimesLIVE
14-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Libya clashes point to growing power of Turkey-allied PM Dbeibah
By The killing of a powerful militia leader in the Libyan capital on Monday night sparked hours of intense clashes that drove his group from its main stronghold and may prompt a consolidation of power among armed factions aligned with the Tripoli government. The death of Abdulghani Kikli, a militia leader who had controlled swathes of Tripoli for years, could also have repercussions for the stability of the wider region. Major energy exporter Libya, long split between rival eastern and western factions, is a jumping off point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean and a battleground for rival regional powers, drawing in Russia, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Following Kikli's death, the government of national unity (GNU) announced the completion of a security operation against what Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah called irregular armed groups. Gunmen loyal to Kikli, widely known by his nickname Ghaniwa, ran prisons and occupied government ministries and financial institutions. "Ghaniwa was de facto king of Tripoli. His henchmen controlled the internal security agency. Other henchmen controlled the distribution of cash transfers from the central bank. They controlled numerous public companies and ministries," said Tarek Megerisi of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Consolidation of power in Tripoli would strengthen Turkish ally Dbeibah and the GNU after repeated attempts to replace him by force over recent years while bolstering his position in an overarching rivalry with eastern Libya factions. Late on Monday, after rising tension between armed factions, pictures circulated online showing Kikli's blood-smeared body with a handgun lying by his hand. Reuters could not verify the circumstances of Kikli's death or confirm the veracity of the pictures showing his body, but his face was widely recognised and fighting erupted across Tripoli soon after they circulated. Factions under Dbeibah's GNU rapidly seized territory and bases long held by Kikli's Security Stabilisation Apparatus (SSA) group, including the Abu Salim district, its old powerbase. With Kikli's downfall, factions that come under the Defence Ministry and are aligned with Dbeibah, principally the 444 Brigade under Mahmoud Hamza, the 111 Brigade and the Joint Force from Misrata, may gain a bigger role. Consolidation by Dbeibah allies could result in Western Libya starting to more closely resemble the east, where commander Khalifa Haftar seized control a decade ago after eliminating rivals and forcing other groups under his sway. "This paves the way for unprecedented levels of territorial consolidation in Tripoli and an increasingly smaller number of groups," said Emad Badi, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. Fragmentation Libya's energy facilities are mostly located in areas controlled by Haftar and Monday night's clashes seem unlikely to impact output. Tripoli was calm on Tuesday, witnesses said, while fighters from the 444 and 111 Brigades were visible on Tuesday morning around the city centre and at the SSA's former Abu Salim headquarters, where its insignia had been erased. Fighters from a group allied to the SSA had meanwhile disappeared from the area around the Central Bank of Libya, which they had controlled security access to since last year. Libya has had little peace since a 2011 uprising against long-time autocrat Muammar Gaddafi and it split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions. While Haftar unified groups in the east, control in Tripoli in the west remained splintered among rival armed groups. Dbeibah was installed as prime minister in 2021 as part of a U.N.-backed process aimed at holding elections later that year. But the election process collapsed and he remains in power, though challenged by an eastern-based parliament. Several efforts to replace him by force failed after clashes in Tripoli, and two years ago groups aligned with him ousted another major armed group, the Nawasi militia. "Dbeibah has been a frustrated leader who had to cohabit with challengers inside Tripoli. He's sending a message he's not going anywhere and Haftar should respect him," said Jalel Harchaoui of the Royal United Services Institute. The main remaining Tripoli armed faction seen as not closely aligned with Dbeibah is the Security Deterrence Force, widely known as Rada, which controls the main Mitiga Airport and other parts of the city centre. Kikli was a baker in 2011 when the Arab Spring sparked the uprising against Gaddafi and he rallied neighbours in his Abu Salim district to take over a local army barracks. As Libya fragmented, Kikli and his expanding group emerged as one of the most powerful of the country's warring armed factions, holding strategically valuable positions around Tripoli and seizing state institutions.
Mail & Guardian
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
SA must establish a clear separation of powers between the executive and parliament
The government of national unity formed after the ANC lost its outright parliament majority in May 2024 general elections. Photo: @PresidencyZA/X It is said that every cloud has a silver lining. With this in mind, the budget impasse raises policy issues that may need to be reviewed, particularly the lessons learnt in the past 31 years of South Africa's democracy. At an outset, one must stress the importance of a cohesive cabinet that presides over the implementation of legislation and transformative policies if the country harbours the idea of development geared towards sustainable human dignity as enshrined in the Constitution. The fluidity of the coalition government, euphemistically called the government of national unity, has exposed its shaky foundation given the differing ideological positions of its constituent members. These differences, especially on the necessity of redress and redistribution, are high risks that impede the functionality of the cabinet as a cohesive unit. It is a matter of common cause that the approval of the budget was the subject of a parliamentary vote, with a narrow majority voting in favour. The budget is not an end in itself; it is the means to support the implementation of legislation, policies, programmes and projects. The Democratic Alliance (DA) did not support the vote. While this is understandable from a party politics point of view, it creates problems for the cohesiveness of the structure entrusted with the task of coordinating development, particularly for the vast majority of people who depend on public services. Is there a point in remaining a member of cabinet when you openly do not support its decisions? Can a developing country such as ours afford to have cabinet members who are opposed to its work? Unfortunately, the precarity of the position of the incumbent president makes it impossible for him to reign in what would ordinarily be deviant conduct. These developments necessitate the need for deeper reflection on some provisions of the Constitution. Almost three decades since the adoption of the Constitution on 8 May 1996, the persistence of stubborn challenges that deprive many of their right to improved dignity of life justifies the review of some sections or provisions. For instance, in terms of section 91(3)(b) of the Constitution, the president 'may select any number of ministers from among the members of the assembly'. MPs who are appointed as ministers are not expected to resign their positions in the National Assembly. This creates a quandary in relation to section 80 of the Constitution, which empowers members of the National Assembly to litigate all or parts of an Act of parliament that they may deem unconstitutional. While the budget impasse may not exactly be about the invocation of section 80, the potentiality of ministers, in their capacity as MPs (and openly exploiting the sectarian party interests), negating positions of the executive is real. As observed earlier, this may be exacerbated by the inability of the president to discipline members of his executive for the very members may go back to the National Assembly to either initiate or support the motion of no confidence against the president. The precarity of the government betrays claims of national unity. At best, the government is essentially a confederation of political parties that bitterly fought for a seat at the table. The DA, whose leader is a member of cabinet, thus individually and as part of the collective accountable to parliament, has led court actions on the Employment Equity Act, the Basic Education Amendment Act, the Expropriation Act and the VAT hike. Even though laws remain enforceable until either rescinded or reviewed by the body that approved them or successfully challenged in courts of law, the recourse to courts by the DA effectively means its members in the executive will defy orders to implement approved legislation. What happens when ministers are expected to implement legislation in terms of section 92(2) of the Constitution but elect to exercise their constitutional right as MPs provided in section 80 of the Constitution to challenge what they consider to be constitutional flaws. Even though the Constitution promotes the doctrine of separation of powers between the executive, the parliament and the judiciary, which is aimed at encouraging checks and balances, the fact that ministers continue to serve as members of the national assembly and enjoy certain privileges in that capacity, including the right enshrined in section 80 of the Constitution, effectively undermines the separation of powers. As a developing country characterised by poverty and exclusion of the vulnerable who should be the main motive forces of democracy, South Africa cannot afford a dysfunctional, incoherent cabinet. That exacerbates what seems to be the intractable coordination malaise between the three spheres of government, and between adjoining provinces and municipalities. Various reports from the National Planning Commission paint a bleak picture of the negative effect of this incoherence, particularly on efforts aimed at spatial transformation. The sobering question the nation needs to grapple with is the emergence of a strong case to review the Constitution to create a climate of perfect separation of powers mainly between the executive and parliament. Dr Matheakuena Mohale is the public policy specialist based at Durban University of Technology. He writes in his personal capacity.
