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Accounts publicly available in in Ireland’s Companies Office show that since 2019, SA’s dominant domestic airline, Safair, has been 75% owned by European operator ASL Holdings - contravening South African regulations stipulating a 25% foreign limit. Cemair founder and CEO Miles van der Molen believes sine May last year its Irish parent has been subsidising Safair by some R100m a month. In this hard-hitting interview, Van der Molen says it’s no innocent oversight by Safair, which was taken to task on the same issue in 2014. After initially complying, records show the airline quietly injected the shares into an SA shell company owned by its Irish parent. He spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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In a dynamic interview with Bronwyn Nielsen, David Shapiro forecasts a potential strengthening of the rand, anticipating significant movements below 17.50. Emphasizing both local initiatives and global economic trends, Shapiro discusses promising sectors like weight loss pharmaceuticals, highlighting Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly as key players. His insights into the bond market's resilience and the transformative potential of medical innovations underscore optimism amidst evolving market conditions, making this dialogue essential for investors navigating today's economic landscape."

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Allegations of institutionalised racism and abuse of younger students at the Wilgenhof residence of Stellenbosch University created a media storm. The university established a three-person panel headed by Adv NC de Jager to investigate. It recommended that the 121-year-old residence for around 200 students in the heart of the campus be closed at the end of the 2024 academic year. The University’s Council this week suspended the closure pending further investigation - a decision welcomed by Jaco Rabie of the Wilgenhof Alumni Association, which regards the panel’s report as “substantially flawed”. He explains why and provides context in this interview with BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

In a mammoth exercise to determine how South African population groups voted in Election’24,  leading polling company Victory Research overlaid SA’s 2022 Census with voter returns from the 23 296 Voting Districts. The results delivered some surprises about the racial diversity of leading political parties. Victory’s CEO, Gareth van Onselen, shared the findings with BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

South Africa’s new Government of National Unity has grown to 10 parties - and more parties could still join. In this interview on the latest developments, United Independent Movement (UIM) President Neil de Beer says: “what is though going to murky the water and what will put more blood in the street is that now you have to accommodate it because the invitation was given as an open invitation and that invitation’s window is closing slowly but surely and I think the last cats are trying to get into this house before the thunder comes down”. De Beer looks at the impact this will have on the position of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the GNU, and dissects the argument between Helen Zille and African National Congress (ANC) SG Fikile Mbablula over the interpretation of the agreement signed by the two parties. He warns that the stability of the GNU is under much pressure - and warns that unless President Cyril Ramaphosa announces his Cabinet within the next 48 to 72 hours, “the matters that are now boiling up, the threats, the innuendos is going to cause everlasting damage on the way of the Government of National Unity forward”. De Beer also gives his opinion on the racism scandals that have hit the DA with two of its new MPs, Renaldo Gouws - who has already been suspended - and Ian Cameron in the line of fire.

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The Government of National Unity (GNU) is likely to have been a “complete disappointment” for Russia. That is the opinion of SA-Russia expert Dr Irina Filatova who predicts that the Russians will now try to work with the part of the African National Congress (ANC) which is “radically inclined” towards former President Jacob Zuma. Professor Filatova believes Russia has funded Mr Zuma’s MK Party in the hope that his faction could be returned to the ANC, preferably heading it and getting rid of President Cyril Ramaphosa “because then the ANC would become the old ANC where Zuma could dictate the policy, and where Russia would have supreme influence”. Professor Filatova also explains where South Africa fits into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest vision for BRICS as “an independent organisation regulating international relations…based entirely on power”.