COMPANIES
Amsa
Councils take Sona centre stage
Anglo American faces second De Beers writedown
NATIONAL
Grab B20 opportunity, says Busa
Authentic commitment’ can counter climate scepticism
Co-operation and Development (OECD) sector lead for mineral
Thales wants charges for arms deal dropped
Top court asked to curb minister’s powers
and challenge evidence
Dunstan-Smith said witnesses for the prosecution had also died including forensic auditor Johan van der Walt who prepared the report on which the prosecution relied to present its evidence He reiterated Thales had nothing to do with the trial delays and the dozens of postponements
It is understood that the public has a right to see offenders brought to book but due regard must be given to the presumption of innocence and the fair trial rights in the constitution
On Thursday Zuma s lawyers argued that judge Nkosinathi Chili was wrong when he refused to grant an order removing Downer from the trial
THE LAWYER FOR THALES SAID THE DIRECTORS WHO WERE ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN THE MATTERS HAD DIED
In September 2024 Chili in setting out his reasons for the March order said Zuma had relied on four pillars in his bid to oust Downer and every one had been previously dealt with in courts including the Supreme Court of Appeal which had found his continued attempts to remove Downer to be an abuse of process and a sustained attempt to obstruct and delay his criminal trial Zuma, he said, had anchored his removal request on his private prosecution of Downer (for the alleged leak of his private medical information to journalist Karyn Maughan)
He had argued it was impermissible for Downer to prosecute him while he was prosecuting Downer at the same time
But Chili said Zuma s attempts to pursue the private prosecution had been unsuccessful and as things stand there is no private prosecution With regard to Zuma s contention that the trial could proceed if the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) just replaced Downer and that Downer was not indispensable Chili said that was not supported by the evidence referring to an affidavit by Zuma in which he said it was doubtful he would get a fair trial from any member of the prosecutions team He said there was merit to the argument by the NPA that allowing an accused person to elect the prosecutor of their choice would become a standard tool in the toolbox of well-resourced people to abuse the process Dates for the trial beginning on April 14 next year are still reserved /TimesLIVE
Sinesipho Schrieber Legal Reporter
The DA has asked the Constitutional Court to order parliament to amend the Disaster Management Act which it argues gives the minister of co-operative
Driving Universal Access: MTN’s Role in Bridging South Africa’s Digital Divide
By Charles Molapisi, CEO of MTN South Africa
e m p owe r m e nt e s p e c i a l ly i n u n d e r s e r ve d r u r a l com mu n i t i e s
Howeve r, t h e s t a rk re a l i t y i s t h a t a s i g n i fi c a nt p or t i on of t h e co u nt r y re m a i n s d i g i t a l ly
exc l u d e d d u e t o h i g h c o s t s , i n f r a s t r u c t u re d e fi c i t s , a n d a l a c k of d i g i t a l s k i l l s To a c h i eve
So u t h A f r i c a's 2 0 3 0 Na t i o n a l
s we l o o k towa rd
2 0 3 0 b r i d g i n g t h i s d i g i t a l d iv i d e m u s t b e a n a t i o n a l p r i o r i t y re q u i r i n g b o l d i nve s t m e nt i n n ova t ive s o l u t i o n s , a n d s t re n g t h e n e d c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t we e n t h e p u b l i c a n d p r iva t e s e c tor s Bro a d b a n d con n e c t iv i t y i s t h e b a c k b on e of m o d e r n e co n o m i e s A we l l - c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n fo s te r s e nt re p re n e u r s h i p u n l o c k s j o b o p p or t u n i t i e s i m p rove s s e r v i ce d e l ive r y a n d e n h a n c e s e d u c a t i o n o u t c o m e s Accord i n g to t h e Worl d Ba n k , a 1 0 % i n c re a s e i n b ro a d b a n d p e n e t r a t i o n c a n c o n t r i b u t e u p to a 2 5 % b o o s t i n G DP g row t h i n d eve l o p i n g n a t i o n s In So u t h A f r i c a , wh e re i n e q u a l i t y re m a i n s a c h a l l e n ge u n ive r s a l d i g i t a l a cce s s c a n a cce l e r a te e co n o m i c
D eve l o p m e n t Pl a n ( N D P) go a l s
we mu s t a g g re s s ive ly a d d re s s t h e s e b a r r i e r s a n d e n s u re t h a t eve r y c i t i z e n , re g a rd l e s s of
ge o g r a p hy o r e c o n o m i c s t a t u s , h a s a cce s s to re l i a b l e a n d a o rd a b l e i nt e r n e t
M T N 's Co m m i t m e n t to E x p a n d i n g Di g i t a l Co n n e c t iv i t y
At M T N, we b e l i eve eve r yon e d e s e r ve s t h e b e n e fi t s of a m o d e r n , con n e c te d l i fe Th i s b e l i e f d r ive s o u r i nve s t m e nt i n r u r a l con n e c t iv i t y a n d n e t work ex p a n s i on Th ro u g h o u r Ru r a l
Con n e c t iv i t y P ro g r a m m e , we h ave d e p l oye d n e t work s i t e s i n d e e p r u r a l a re a s e n a b l i n g t h o u s a n d s o f So u t h A f r i c a n s t o a cce s s d i g i t a l s e r v i ce s for t h e fi r s t t i m e
Ou r com m i t m e nt ex te n d s b eyon d i n f r a s t r u c t u re Th ro u g h i n i t i a t ive s l i ke M T N Di g i t a l Sk i l l s Ac a d e my, we a re e q u i p p i n g yo u t h w i t h d i g i t a l l i t e r a c y a n d co d i n g s k i l l s , e n s u r i n g t h a t con n e c t iv i t y t r a n s l a te s i nto
re a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s Ad d i t i o n a l ly
M T N 's Con n e c t i n g Eve r y C h i l d i n i t i a t ive i s fo c u s e d o n p rov i d i n g
c o n n e c t iv i t y a n d d ev i c e s t o u n d e r p r iv i l e ge d l e a r n e r s , e n s u r i n g t h a t e d u c a t i o n i s n o t l i m i t e d by ge o g r a p hy o r
e c o n o m i c c o n s t r a i n t s
Th e Ro a d to 2 0 3 0 : A Ca l l fo r
Co l l a b o r a t ive Ac t i o n
Wh i l e M T N re m a i n s com m i t te d t o a c c e l e r a t i n g u n ive r s a l a c c e s s b r i d g i n g t h e d i g i t a l d iv i d e i s n o t a c h a l l e n ge t h a t o n e e n t i t y c a n s o lve a l on e Ac h i ev i n g t h e 2 0 3 0 v i s i on re q u i re s a mu l t is t a ke h o l d e r a p p ro a c h t h a t b r i n g s to ge t h e r gove r n m e nt , b u s i n e s s , a n d c iv i l s o c i e t y P u b l i c- p r iva te p a r t n e r s h i p s ( P P Ps) : Th e gove r n m e nt 's RT 1 5 a n d RT 2 9 t r a n sve r s a l cont r a c t s a re key e n a b l e r s of u n ive r s a l a cce s s Th e s e p a r t n e r s h i p s mu s t b e s c a l e d to
e n s u re d i g i t a l i n f r a s t r u c t u re
re a c h e s eve n t h e m o s t re m o t e c o m m u n i t i e s Re g u l a to r y s u p p o r t : Po l i c i e s t h a t f a c i l i t a te
s p e c t r u m a l l o c a t i o n re d u c e i n f r a s t r u c t u re ro l l o u t co s t s a n d i n ce nt iv i s e r u r a l n e t work i nve s t m e nt w i l l b e c r i t i c a l
• A o rd a b i l i t y a n d i n n ova t i o n : In d u s t r y p l aye r s mu s t work to ge t h e r to d eve l o p co s t - e e c t ive
IDF told to make plans for ‘voluntary’ exit of Gazans
JOB CUTS US government workers face termination deadline
Strategic planning key to financial security
Business trends shape education sector
eLearning platforms offer flexibility
OPINION
Early learning must come first
SSecuring mining against challenges
Obisie-Orlu
Judicial overreach
Africa is home to nearly 30% of the world s total mineral reserves However the lack of sufficient geological survey data on the continent challenges this assumption Geological data shows the nature quality and quantity of the resources Whether they are economically viable to mine or not is a different matter African mining countries have faced (and continue to face) many challenges in making use of the benefits of these resource endowments for their development The reasons are multifaceted including the historical development of the industry weak governance and inadequate infrastructure Addressing these and developing effective geological survey data is crucial to enhance the institutional capacity to futureproof
African mining in the era of critical minerals
One of the difficulties associated with “critical” minerals is that it’ s not always clear for whom they are critical or critical for exactly what or for how long they will be critical Are they for instance minerals Europe requires to avoid dependency on China or are they minerals that are critical for renewable energy technologies? This year s Mining Indaba has taken place amid a changing geopolitical environment with increased polarisation and competition Critical/strategic minerals are minerals and metals determined essential for national security and economic applications and the development of energy technologies and are largely defined by non-African counties This competition is driven mainly by the national interests of countries seeking to shift the control of the supply chain for the refining and processing of these resources away from Chinese dominance This now occurs in a largely uncoordinated manner through bilateral deals with resource producing countries
This competition coupled with fastchanging demand profiles can add to commodity price volatility For instance with battery technology different configurations need different raw materials Any efforts at futureproofing African mining are therefore likely to be ineffective without better co-ordination among resource-rich nations and credible regional value addition strategies In a geopolitically fragmented world this is more important than ever and hard to achieve
Futureproofing mining in Africa is about using the changing environment to promote development trade and economic co-operation on the continent These include:
● Leveraging the growing demand for critical minerals and the increasing geopolitical competition over these supply chains for infrastructure investments
● Using the pressure of investors for responsible mining to mitigate risks promote sustainable practices and strengthen the requirements for firms to attain a social licence to operate
● Using regional trade and investment for countries to move beyond extraction towards exploiting global value-chain opportunities Critics argue that without learning from historical industry issues futureproofing amid fast-changing mineral demand profiles is a new distraction comparable to the flavour of the week Such criticism is warranted Without learning from the history of mining in Africa and the responses to commodity booms there will be no new development path for the industry A new approach to mining in Africa is a critical prerequisite for future-proofing A challenge to futureproofing African mining is the tension between national interests and regional collaboration opportunities Without effective mechanisms for co-operation between African mining countries there is the risk of a race to the bottom in contract negotiations and infrastructure agreements Specific steps must therefore be taken for futureproofing to be effective in supporting long-term sustainability and growth They include but are not limited to ● Increased regional co-operation investment and trade to develop local critical
at Nasrec later this month accusing SA of “antiAmericanism and of using the G20 to promote diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) We have to hope treasury secretary Scott Bessent doesn t snub the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Cape Town this month as well While SA might be the scapegoat the bigger worry is this isn’t ust
about SA but about the G20 itself Woolly as its agenda often is it is a crucial forum for the leaders of the world s important economies and the finance track is important in quite concrete ways for the world s financial system Rubio s snub raises tentative concerns that the Trump administration could shun the G20 even though it is next year s host That s a big problem for the world not just for SA though there were hopes that our G20 presidency would help to rebuild relations with the US The economic relations matter because the US is
Complexities of birthright citizenship
The global debate about right of soil policies and their application has been going on for decades
SA s stance on birthright citizenship shifted to a claim to citizenship that is formalised with an application thus not automatic and is ripe only after the child reaches the age of majority a cognisant affirmative application made by those who have developed a deep sense of belonging over their formative years
STATUS
Two further conditions must be met the birth of the child must have been duly registered in SA in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act; and the child must have lived in SA from birth to the age of majority Whether the parents or the child were permanent residents at the time of birth is no longer relevant as long as the status is in place at the time of the application On a side note to date no home affairs form has been gazetted for these applications
Other countries including Italy France Germany and Poland use parentage as predominant to the right to citizenship Jus sanguin s (blood right) is a principle of citizenship that grants citizenship based on parentage rather than place of birth SA fully joined these ranks only
after 2020 after the Constitutional Court judgment declaring invalid provisions of the Citizenship and Births and Deaths Registration acts which read together in effect discriminated against SA children born overseas by barring them from claiming their right to SA citizenship unless their births had been registered within 30 days In terms of present citizenship legislation SA applies the jus sanguinis principle as long as at the time of the birth of the child irrespective the place of birth at least one parent was an SA citizen Now home affairs accepts for processing applications for the late registration of birth even when the birth occurred overseas A registration of birth is deemed late when it does not occur within 30 days of birth
Many South Africans born overseas have as a consequence sought to claim their right to citizenship retrospectively through this process in recent years Inexplicably intake policies entailed in these applications vary substantially depending on whether an application is submitted in SA or from overseas and the processing time frames can easily double for any citizenship-related application submitted overseas Foreign birth registrations in SA at home affairs offices rely on the physical presence on the day of
submission of the child and both parents when the child is a minor and the SA parent irrespective of the age of the child Furthermore DNA testing is being arbitrarily imposed as mandatory for the registration of a child over the age of 15 notwithstanding the presence of supporting unabridged birth certificates extracted from the foreign population register which confirm beyond dispute the parentage and identity of the child Home affairs officials dealing with these processes seem to be oblivious to the fact that the Births and Deaths Registration Act regulations of 2014 speak solely of paternity DNA testing in relation to the amendments of the details of a preexisting SA record of the birth It has been argued that xenophobia and nationalism continue to be intertwined globally because of an unresolved conflict between the inclusivist and exclusivist elements of the nation state idea Plenty of scholarly articles and publications have been dedicated to probing the understanding of whether a common SA nationalism does in fact exist Transposing imaginative ideals of what constitutes a nation into inclusionary or exclusionary policies surrounding citizenship is even more arduous and complex within countries forged on the premise of inclusion and diversity such as the US and SA The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu s concept of a rainbow nation offered the first description of a hopeful notion of citizenship after 1994 In 1996, on the occasion of the new SA constitution coming into force then deputy president Thabo Mbeki used as interchangeable the terms African and South African in his now famous I am an African speech thus expanding the notion of a collective nation based on the interconnectedness of the people s identity to embrace shared value systems
Yet SA today is plagued by unprecedented levels of xenophobia and exclusionism crippling the hopeful premise the nation was built on Misinformation and disinformation reign free often cloaked by the anonymity the targeted narrowness of social media offers According to the American Psychological Association: People are more likely to share misinformation when it aligns with personal identity or social norms and when it elicits strong emotion Beyond blood soil and the boundaries of the idea of nation-statehoods citizenship remains highly charged with a hardly reconcilable emotional component of personal identity and sense of belonging
● Pizzocri is CEO at citizenship and immigration law firm Eisenberg & Associates
Differing growth paths for AVI and Shoprite
‘Emilia Pérez’ has an Oscar problem: its leading actress
In a bad spotlight: Karla Sof a Gascón in Emi ia Pérez The movie s d rector Jacques Audiard has distanced himse f from his star and her comments /Supp ed
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Amsa closures on hold as it awaits state’s input
ered production in line with Transnet s logistics capacity Ore railed to Saldanha Bay Port fell by 8% compared with the third quarter due to the planned 15-day annual maintenance shutdown and train derailments after the reopening of the Ore Export Channel (OEC) To maintain a balanced and efficient value chain finished stock at the mines was drawn down and output fell by 17% compared with the third quarter while sales increased by 1% to 9 1-million tonnes Kumba as part of the Ore Users Forum (OUF) worked closely with Transnet to prepare for the annual maintenance shutdown in October 2024 and good progress was made in upgrading 90km of rail infrastructure which allowed speed restrictions to be lifted on approximately 50km of the OEC she said In parallel work by the OUF and Transnet is under way to convert the outcomes of the independent technical assessment into a multiyear ore corridor restoration programme of focused projects to restore the
OEC to full capacity Lower iron ore prices continued to reflect subdued steel demand, coupled with a rise in iron ore supply with strong steel exports and economic stimulus support in China providing a partial offset Kumba said Kumba achieved an average realised price of $92 per wet metric tonne (wmt) for the year 3% above the benchmark price of $89/wmt On the project front the execution of the ultra-high-densemedium-separation technology (UHDMS) project has recommenced and is progressing according to plan In line with our disciplined capital allocation approach the balance of the UHDMS project will be implemented over a five-year period ending in 2029, she said The project is aligned to Kumba’ s premium product strategy and supports the optimal use of available rail capacity The outlook for Kumba s production for the period 20252027 has been updated subject to Transnet s logistics performance We remain committed to the process of working in part-
nership with government and Transnet to restore the OEC and while there are signs of progress the logistics issues will take some time to resolve Zikalala said Kumba s 2025 output is expected to be between 35-million and 37-million tonnes In 2026 due to the main shutdown of the dense media separation plant and tie-in of the UHDMS plant, output has been revised to 31-million to 33-million tonnes with the balance of the saleable product expected to be supplemented by
COMPANIES
Lesaka delivers on guidance for 10th successive quarter
Hudaco sees better activity, more demand
ruptions in international shipping routes our goods in transit days have increased accordingly, it noted Eternity Technologies the traction battery business Hudaco acquired in 2017 initially performed well but after disappointing results in the past three years and some structural changes in its market the group concluded that it would take longer than it had previously believed to get its performance to the level it should be Accordingly its goodwill had been impaired to the extent of R77m but there was a reduction of R59m
and headline and comparable EPS were up 3 5% on the year-earlier period “Though markets appeared to receive the GNU favourably and its announcement undeniably generated positive sentiment concerns about economic growth a struggling labour market and the need for reforms persisted, it said Our ports remained a major obstacle so we (like so many others) are carrying more goods in transit inventory because of it and this is compounded by dis-
One of last US conglomerates to break up
partners, sources say
people declined to comment on the status of their talks repeating earlier statements that they aimed to finalise a future direction by mid-February Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment Honda and Nissan in December signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to discuss an integration under a holding company But the talks had been complicated by growing differences, multiple people familiar with the matter have told Reuters and hit a wall after Honda said it wanted to turn Nissan into a subsidiary
SUBSIDIARY
Seki who was once seen as a contender to become the carmaker’ s CEO before the job went to current boss Uchida Nissan and Honda spokes-
A consensus was reached on Nissan s side that the talks could not proceed under that proposal said the person with knowledge of the matter Nissan would formalise the decision to withdraw from the MOU at a board meeting to be held before the company s thirdquarter earnings announcement next week the person said Honda s current stance was that it would not accept an integration unless Nissan agreed to become a subsidiary Japanese broadcaster NHK reported Honda is Japan’ s secondlargest carmaker behind Toyota and Nissan is the third largest A scrapping of the talks raises questions about how Nissan in the middle of a turnaround plan can ride out its latest crisis without external help Nissan has already announced plans to cut 9 000 workers and 20% of global capacity Nissan s shares rose 7 3% on Thursday while Honda s fell 4% reversing the direction of their respective moves a day earlier /Reuters
INVESTMENT Itochu posts 11% increase in profit
Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayash Tokyo Japanese trading house Itochu posted on Thursday an increase of 11% in nine-month net profit to December of ¥676 5-billion
Russia’s Sberbank gets ready to work with China on AI research
THE BOTTOM LINE
SUDOKU
Mismatched: The
Safe no more: Demonstrators hold placards during a protest n Wash ngton on February 5 against Elon Musk and President Donald Trump s drive to shrink the federal government /Reuters
Young tent peggers keep up family traditions in Jordan
Oudtshoorn scholar Abri Swanepoel grew up on a farm near Beaufort West and learnt his skills at the local club Competing against those six other nations and experiencing the rich culture where we were entertained at five-star level will be an everlasting memory which I’ll cherish forever ” And then to the two young women of the team Tiegan Strydom and Dlomo The latter came across the sport by chance I only started in 2013 after I first heard about it at a friend s birthday party Dalene [Baksa] has taught me everything I know about horses
and the sport My first gymkhana was in 2014 In Jordan we were the youngest team and there were many challenges like delayed flights missed luggage and even a fall from a horse but we pushed through There was such positive feedback from competitors and spectators alike and even telephonically from the princess of Jordan Princess Alia bint Hussein Says Strydom from Bloemfontein who started competing as a seven-year-old: Tent pegging is a sport that teaches you the saying you win some and lose some and it keeps you humble It s a sport that combines speed accuracy and the synchronisation of horses and weapons Competing overseas on different horses was challenging but a learning experience that no-one can take away from us ” She hopes more youngsters will take up the sport I d love to see new young blood in this amazing sport that will
on the mend as Sundowns take on Pirates
Selling out with a smile
