NewsWrap Ep 4 – Khumalo, Johnson, De Beer and more…

In this episode, the MK Party is in chaos after its founder exposes the Zuma family’s fraudulent dealings. Questions are raised about the motives behind EFF founder Floyd Shivambu’s resignation from the party. We preview the in-depth interview with swimmer Tatjana Smith and why Americans are tired of shamelessly paying ever-increasing tips.

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Transcript of the video ___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Good evening

In this episode of NewsWrap, context on the week’s biggest news stories: more chaos surrounding the MK party; South African-born swimming superstar Tatjana Smith; Neil de Beer’s list of the 10 most-wanted political crooks; Dean McPherson taking on the construction mafia; and a new tipping system that’s driving Americans crazy.

But first, let’s recap the latest news headlines…

In the headlines

• In this episode we have details on the two big political stories of the week: MK founder Jabulani Khumalo’s revelations about alleged fraud by the Zuma family; and the departure of EFF co-founder Floyd Shivambu for MK. In another major development, however, peace may be breaking out between former allies-turned-enemies, the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus. DA leader John Steenhuisen and FF+ leader Dr Pieter Groenewald met this week to discuss stabilising governing coalitions in municipalities across the Western Cape. They pledged to work together to ensure stable governance and service delivery.

• Sasol’s full year results ending June 2024 showed a R50 billion profit that turned into deep losses, largely due to write-downs on the controversial Lake Charles project in Louisiana. The final dividend was approved based on new criteria: . Shareholders would not receive a payout unless net debt is below $4 billion. At year-end, Sasol’s net debt stood at $4.1 billion. The company attributed the fall in profits to lower oil and chemical prices, as well as operational challenges. Despite this, Sasol maintained a strong balance sheet and announced plans to focus on cost-cutting measures and promoting the transition to renewable energy sources. The poor figures were reflected in Sasol’s share price, which actually rose 3% in the days following the results release. Watch out for our interview with Sasol’s new CEO, Simon Baloyi, on Monday.

• DRDGOLD, once known as the Roodepoort Rocket for its high leverage on the gold price, is now a stable stock with a share price increase of just 1% in the past year despite a 16% rise in the rand gold price. This week the company reported a 13.5% increase in revenues to R6.24 billion for the year to June. Production was down 5% to 5,000 kilograms. Total costs rose 15% to around R950,000/kg, still well below the average gold price of R1.25 million per kg.

• Absa’s board has announced that Arrie Rautenbach, 55, will take early retirement after two and a half years as CEO. No reasons for his resignation have been disclosed. Rautenbach will be succeeded on an interim basis by Absa member Charles Russon, the third director to take the role and the fifth CEO in total since Maria Ramos left five years ago.

• South Africa’s inflation slowed in July 2024, with headline CPI rising just 0.4% month-on-month, well below expectations. Annual inflation fell to 4.6% and core inflation to 4.3%, the lowest levels since May 2022. Falling fuel and food prices contributed to the trend, signaling possible rate cuts by the Reserve Bank.

• The nation mourns the passing of Dr William Smith, a respected education pioneer and Rhodes University alumnus who transformed South African education through innovative teaching methods and television lessons. Smith founded Star Schools and went on to develop educational videos distributed by the SABC – his Basic Mathematics video was rated the best in the world in the UK in 1984. By 2000, his programmes had reached more than 100 million viewers in 28 African countries. Rhodes Vice-Chancellor Sizwe Mabizela hailed him as the nation’s teacher.

In four days, Chris Steyn’s interview with MK Party founder Jabulani Khumalo has been watched by almost half a million people, each watching for 10 minutes. It includes Khumalo’s accusations of fraud and deceit by the Zuma family, led by Jacob, the 82-year-old former president……