BizNews Radio

BN Daybreak: Amazon beats Starlink; PIC's Lanseria crisis; Netflix's slowdown; AI's big margins 17.07.2026 15хв

In today's BizNews Daybreak we dive into Amazon's quiet maneuver past Starlink into South Africa's satellite internet market via Herotel. We also examine the Public Investment Corporation's escalating governance crisis over the Lanseria Airport transaction, alongside policing gaps fueling local pharmaceutical drug crimes. Internationally, we cover SpaceX’s scrubbed Starship launch, Netflix’s disappointing sales guidance, a White House teleprompter insider-trading scandal, and the sustainability of skyrocketing margins in the AI semiconductor trade.

Cops fight crime in private vehicles as their “role models” are arrested: Richard Chelin, Willem Els 16.07.2026 16хв

In their latest interview with Chris Steyn, Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Richard Chelin, an independent governance expert, share details of the war on drugs and crime in South Africa. Describing the struggle of dedicated detectives, Els reveals “for the past three months at one of the units they use a private vehicle and they rotate…and they are filling it up…just to do the job. You know, that's dedication - and that's the thin blue line that we are talking about; and those are the guys that actually make a difference in South Africa and stand between us and anarchy if you look at what's going on in the police.” On top of their lack of resources across the board, they are battling huge management challenges: “...they're running out of commissioners or generals to appoint as acting because of the arrests and so on….it is very demoralising if the one that you're looking up, if the one that is supposed to give you guidance, is actually exposed as a possible criminal. And who is guiding them then? You know, so those guys have got a real challenge. Their role models are being arrested. What now?”

BizNews Edge: R3.5tn pension fund manager PIC in crisis as FSCA launches Section 135 probe 16.07.2026 24хв

The PIC's governance crisis has reached the regulator. Hours after suspending CEO Patrick Dlamini and acting CIO August Uys, the board now faces a formal FSCA Section 135 investigation into governance, leadership and transparency at the R3.5 trillion asset manager. DA federal finance chairperson Dr Mark Burke tells Alec Hogg why this is the fifth executive suspension in two years, how a murky Lanseria Airport shareholding sits behind Dlamini's fall, and why two ANC factions inside the GNU are pulling in opposite directions on the PIC's unlisted investments. Also on today's Edge: Amazon's quiet regulatory win over Starlink, a rescue deal taking shape for ArcelorMittal's Newcastle Works, and a tidy payday for Prosus in Uber's swoop on Delivery Hero.

The R3.5 trillion crisis: Why the PIC is under fire 16.07.2026 34хв

South Africa's Public Investment Corporation is facing its biggest governance crisis in years. With CEO Patrick Dlamini suspended, senior executives resigning, and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority launching a formal investigation, questions over transparency, accountability, and the safety of government workers' pension funds are mounting. DA finance spokesperson Dr Mark Burke unpacks the unfolding turmoil, the political battles behind the scenes, and why restoring trust at Africa's largest asset manager has become an urgent national priority.

BN Daybreak: PIC executive exodus; South Africa House shut in London; US interest rate hikes 16.07.2026 15хв

In today's BizNews Daybreak, US-Iran tensions steady oil and Korean tech stocks slide. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh defends his personal trading, while South Africa's PIC faces a deepening executive exodus. We also unpack more on the DA’s Tony Leon lobbying scandal, the temporary closure of London's SA House, and a blunt warning from KPMG's Diane Swonk that persistent US inflation demands two interest rate hikes.

Tony Leon lobbying scandal and the DA civil war with Solly Moeng 15.07.2026 17хв

In his latest chat with Chris Steyn, political commentator Solly Moeng dissects the widening scandal around Tony Leon's lobbying amid former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen’s mission of vengeance and the damaging fall-out for the party. “...what is very clear is that the DA is no longer just walking on still waters…Geordin Hill-Lewis can't be sleeping with both eyes closed right now...” Moeng also comments on the skeletons toppling out of closets thanks to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, including the relationship between Crime Intelligence (CI) Chief General Feroz Khan and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) CIC Julius Malema. As for IDAC Chief Andrea Johnson’s sudden hospitalisation ahead of her appearance, Moeng says: “...we see the growth of this so-called Madlanga Ward at some hospital out there…We've been a country of no consequences for too long. They might try…by getting hospitalised, delay processes, lie, protect one another. South Africans must not sleep until there are consequences. We're not just looking for entertainment, we're looking for people to fall because they cannot do this to South Africa and get away with it.” Meanwhile, Moeng hails the arrest of former Ekurhuleni City Manager Imogen Mashazi, one among a spate of top officials and policemen facing the law after being implicated at the inquiry into police and political capture.

BizNews Edge: How South Africa House fell into disrepair on Dirco's watch 15.07.2026 24хв

South Africa House in Trafalgar Square, a fixture of SA's diplomatic presence in London since 1933, has closed its doors, with the DA's Ryan Smith blaming decades of Dirco neglect and Dirco insisting it's a planned upgrade. Alec Hogg unpacks the row, plus three stories reshaping money and power: the PIC's suspension of chief executive Patrick Dlamini has drawn a formal FSCA probe, chipmaking giant ASML posted a decisive earnings beat, and IBM suffered its worst single-day share drop in history after admitting AI spending is gutting its legacy software business. Four institutions, one lesson: neglect gets found out.

South Africa House has closed: DA's Ryan Smith unpacks the Dircos neglect 15.07.2026 32хв

South Africa House, the country's historic diplomatic landmark in London's Trafalgar Square, has closed for major renovations, sparking fierce political debate. The DA accuses DIRCO of years of neglect, poor maintenance and a lack of transparency, while government insists the closure is temporary and planned. Ryan Smith argues the controversy exposes wider failures across South Africa's foreign missions, from crumbling embassy buildings to questionable diplomatic appointments, raising serious concerns about accountability, taxpayer value and the country's global image.

BN Daybreak: Trevor Manuel on SOE corruption; Trump's fresh strikes on Iran; SA's police DNA backlog 15.07.2026 18хв

In today's BizNews Daybreak: Trevor Manuel delivers a scathing account of how South Africa lost SAA and Eskom, while the IRR's John Endres warns that trying to wait out the Trump administration could cost the country billions in investment. We also unpacks the first monthly drop in US consumer prices since 2020 under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, plus OpenAI's deepening legal battle with Apple.

BizNews Edge: How an "unlawful" Pretoria factory churned out fake weight-loss jabs for years 14.07.2026 21хв

South Africa's weight loss jab boom has a dark underside. A Pretoria pharmacy, iDexis, was producing roughly 84,500 units of semaglutide a month — more than Novo Nordisk's entire local sales of Ozempic and Wegovy — under the guise of a one-off "compounding" exemption meant for individual patients. Regulators only inspected the premises this year, more than two years after Novo Nordisk first complained, and found no sterile ventilation, no batch records, and no adverse-event tracking. Elsewhere, the Public Investment Corporation has suspended CEO Patrick Dlamini over an alleged Lanseria Airport conflict of interest, its fifth executive suspension in two years.

Ian Cameron: “Strategic" top cop corruption & shock DNA backlog 14.07.2026 34хв

In this wide-ranging interview with Chris Steyn, Ian Cameron, the Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police, details the shocking DNA testing backlog. “...this is literally how a child rapist, a child murderer, any murderer or rapist for that matter walks free. This is literally the way that the State, the inability of the State to process this evidence, becomes the reason for a rapist to continue raping.” Cameron discusses the widening scandal surrounding Crime Intelligence (CI) boss General Feroz Khan, the case of suspended Lieutenant General Molefe Fani, and others. “What the Madlanga Commission is showing us is that Khan was actually one of the key pieces of the puzzle for Fani to ensure that this procurement process for PPE during the COVID-19 period was smoothly operated with the South African Police Service……a lot of key players in SAPS knew that Fani had been involved in this irregular PPE procurement during his time as a Chief Procurement officer at National Treasury. And he was still appointed in SAPS as the Head of Supply Chain Management. That tells you that it was strategically done. That would be a key way of ensuring that a 360 million Rand Medicare 24 contract can come in. It's a key way of structuring your entire process before the contract could come in, in order for it not to be red flagged… lot of the things that are happening, make no mistake, it was done deliberately - and it was done deliberately to hollow out and to control the system in order to ensure that further criminality would be able to flourish.”

BN Daybreak: Iran war oil surge; Apple sues OpenAI; Endres on SA's fixed investment woes 14.07.2026 18хв

In today's BizNews Daybreak we cover the escalating US-Iran conflict and its impact on soaring crude oil prices. In South Africa, Dr. John Endres critiques low fixed investment rates, SARU faces backlash over overpriced Springbok tickets, and over 53,000 undocumented foreign nationals are successfully repatriated. Finally, Apple hits OpenAI with a massive trade-secrets lawsuit.

BizNews Edge: Why the IRR's John Endres is more bullish on SA than Britain 13.07.2026 24хв

John Endres, CEO of the Institute for Race Relations, tells BizNews that the elite consensus defending BEE is cracking, even as its beneficiaries defend it loudest. He points to the Starlink saga - blocked partly over empowerment shareholding while a pricier, slower rival wins state favour - as proof the policy is running out of road. Endres also unpacks why so many of South Africa's estimated one million skilled emigrants stay away, and delivers an unexpected verdict: he's more optimistic about South Africa's prospects than Britain's, arguing the UK has traded freedom for safety and lost its economic nerve in the process.

Director's Cut - John Endres: Why SA's growth story still isn't landing — and what would change that 13.07.2026 34хв

In this Director's Cut of BizNews editor Alec Hogg's conversation with IRR CEO John Endres, the full, unedited exchange goes well beyond BEE and the diaspora. Endres unpacks why R1.8 trillion in corporate reserves and R1.5 trillion parked offshore still isn't flowing home, why Washington's frustration with Pretoria is bipartisan and deepening, and why Treasury's decision to freeze equitable-share payments to Johannesburg and 68 other municipalities is a warning shot that could escalate. He also weighs in on the DA's internal turmoil following Steenhuisen's public break with new leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, and why he still won't drop his "conditional optimism" on South Africa.

BN Daybreak: US Strikes on Iran; Teen mall bomb plot; Springbok ticket anger hit SA 13.07.2026 13хв

As fresh American strikes on Iran trigger sirens in Bahrain, global traders are left asking whether the world's most vital oil chokepoint is still open for business. Congressman Greg Stanton warns of surging fuel prices and a war with no clear endgame, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh heads to Capitol Hill to face the economic fallout, and the political landscape shifts following the death of foreign-policy hawk Lindsey Graham. Meanwhile, back home, we dive into two critical local investigations. Explosives expert Willem Els breaks down the chilling reality of what a teenager's online manifesto laid out for a packed shopping mall. Plus, Rory Steyn uncovers how new Springbok ticket deals may be quietly gutting the grassroots rugby clubs that built the game.

A world-first: the bond that pays out when nature wins 12.07.2026 15хв

In this BizNews interview, Irakli Rekhviashvili sits down with the three people behind FirstRand's R2.5 billion Cape Water Performance-Based Bond, the first time a commercial bank anywhere in the world has tied a bond's payout to nature. The Nature Conservancy's Louise Stafford traces it to 2018, when Cape Town's dams were weeks from "Day Zero" and the catchments were choked with thirsty invasive trees. Her teams have since cleared 40,000 hectares and reclaimed more than 36 billion litres of water. "If we clear that we can reclaim about two months' water supply for Cape Town at a fraction of the cost of grey infrastructure," she says. RMB's Martin Potgieter explains the twist: investors earn a performance-based success payment on top of their coupon, paid only when the trees actually come down and independent verifiers confirm it. The aim, he says, is to "get the investors to start thinking about nature as an asset class," and tellingly, "75% of the outcomes-based funding came from entities that had never before funded nature." Peace Parks Foundation's Colin Porteous frames the deeper problem: "Historically, conservation has been a cash-negative product," and philanthropy alone cannot carry a $700 million, 10-year funding need. Potgieter's parting warning is blunt: ecosystems are "the infrastructure behind the infrastructure," and the money flowing into nature must multiply "by 40, 50, maybe 100 times."

The NdB Sunday Show - Willem Els: The deadly recipe of the Ballito bomb boy… 12.07.2026 18хв

In this edition of NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn, explosives expert Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) reveals just how deadly a bomb-making recipe was used by the 15-year-old boy who wanted to commit mass killing at a Ballito mall. “what was really alarming for me when I look at especially the one ingredient that he stipulated…with any explosive substance that you mix, you have to have two ingredients. The one is your reducing agent and one is your oxidizing agent. So… one is the fuel and the other one… provides the oxygen inside the mixture. So that was there. And also we see that it was similar, not exactly the same, but similar to, for instance, the type of explosives that was mixed by ISIS in Europe, especially the attacks in Paris, the attack on the airport in Brussels. And so that killed a lot of people. Very similar. Also, then referred to as the Mother of Satan, those explosives.” The boy’s bomb-making recipe was contained in the last paragraph of a Manifesto written by him. As for why the bomb did not detonate, Els says: “I believe it was a flaw in his construction…it was just burning very fast instead of detonating.” Meanwhile, police are on high alert for copy cat attacks, and Els expresses faith that - despite questions remaining about the initial handling of the case - the investigation is now being properly done by expert investigators.

SA rugby's ticket strategy prices Bok fans out of stadiums 11.07.2026 30хв

Springbok ticket prices have soared, suites have been taken over under “clean stadium” rules, and loyal supporters are being squeezed out. BizNews Rugby's boots-on-the-ground reporter, Rory Steyn, speaks to representatives from legendary Joburg rugby clubs and bitter rivals Pirates and Wanderers, as well as chartered accountant and former Sun International CEO, David Coutts-Trotter, about the financial damage being done to community clubs and the growing anger among fans. With families facing an ever-rising cost for a day at the rugby and clubs losing vital income, they warn that SARU’s pursuit of revenue could weaken the very grassroots structures and supporter base that sustain South African rugby.

BN Daybreak: Jailed South African spy; SA Education reform; Wall Street's SpaceX verdict 10.07.2026 17хв

A former Air Force brigadier is behind bars in the United States, Jasmine Opperman warns the real failure lies in how the State Security Agency handled her. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube hits back at claims her department is a mess as the DA looks to 2029, while traders pile into Micron and a record SK Hynix listing even as everyone frets the AI trade is overdone. Plus, we look at Iran choking the Strait of Hormuz, Meta charging for its AI, and Ben Bernanke joining Anthropic.

Siviwe Gwarube: The truth about SA education 09.07.2026 26хв

Siviwe Gwarube says South Africa's education system needs long-term reform, not quick political wins. The Basic Education Minister discusses her first two years in office, tackling textbook procurement concerns, eliminating unsafe pit toilets identified in 2018, strengthening early childhood development, and navigating provincial delivery challenges. She argues the real measure of success lies in improving literacy and numeracy from the foundation phase, while defending the DA's record in government and outlining why investing in young learners will shape South Africa's future.