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The African National Congress (ANC) has acted like “they're powerful players on the African stage”, but South Africa “really irritates most” other African countries because “they're always sticking their noses in everywhere”. So says the former Director of African Studies at the U.S. Army War College, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, who witnessed the intense dislike for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma after she was “forced on” the African Union as chairperson. “She went up there and her arrogance…and the distaste people had for her was pretty palpable when I was in Addis Ababa. She was less popular than syphilis.” Commenting on this year’s spate of deaths of SANDF soldiers in the DRC, he says: “They're like lambs sent to the slaughter. They're being sent there with insufficient resources, improper medevac, no air support, insufficient logistics. It's something that South Africa should not be involved in, but it's all part of the egotistical foreign policy of the African National Congress...” He warns that the SA force is going to find itself “increasingly vulnerable to M23 and about a hundred other rebel groups who have all their own agendas and most of its criminal”. Colonel Wyatt also dissects the “war” between the DRC and Rwanda and explains why President Paul Kagame’s welcome mat in the US is “wearing thin”.

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Kimberly Cheatle - who has resigned as the Director of the Secret Service - following the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump should be charged criminally for negligence, dereliction of duty, and also perjury before Congress. This is the call from Colonel Chris Wyatt, the former Director of African studies at the US Army War College. “She lied. She told us they had no video footage of any of the agents or any of the activity that took place that day. That was a bold-faced lie. This woman is part of a cover-up. Now, I'm not saying that the government tried to kill Trump, but there's a clear cover-up to cover the backside of an incompetent or malfeasant or negligent Secret Service.” As for President Joe Biden finally exiting the Presidential race, Colonel Wyatt says: “What they've done here is they've run a fake election for the past 18 months to defraud the American people when they knew full well that Joe Biden did not have the mental acuity or the health to be serving as President for another four years. He didn't have it for these four years.” He predicts that Vice-President Kamala Harris can’t beat Trump in a free and fair election, but warns that Trump has made a mistake by picking J.D. Vance as his running mate. “He brings in people who are not loyal to his inner circle and then they betray him.” Meanwhile, Colonel Wyatt fears for the safety not only of Trump, but of Harris and Biden too.

Keabetswe ‘KB’ Motsilanyane led her compatriots in a stirring rendition of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika before the Loftus clash between the Boks and Ireland. On social media, it has been described as “the greatest ever.” KB read the crowd exceptionally well, a skill that will serve her well as she pivots towards the business world where she aims to support other artists with management, direction, and advisory services. Yet, she remains committed to following the Boks wherever they compete and her seventh album, recorded with songwriters from Norway and Sweden, will soon hit the airwaves. In an interview with Biznews, KB says she draws inspiration from the courage of the Springboks, Captain Siya Kolisi’s confidence, and the way Springbok coach ‘Uncle’ Rassie Erasmus “does not mope” when the Boks lose a match.

In an interview with BizNews, Magnus Heystek urges South Africa to embrace bold economic reforms, suggesting radical tax breaks as a key strategy to rejuvenate the struggling economy. Heystek argues that by adopting innovative policies, such as offering flat-rate taxes to attract high-net-worth individuals and businesses, South Africa could significantly boost its financial stability and growth prospects. Highlighting recent shifts in the political landscape and emerging optimism among investors, Heystek calls for a departure from traditional approaches and advocates for dynamic solutions to stimulate economic activity and counteract the country’s persistent challenges.

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Join us for BizNews’ first investment-focused conference on Thursday, 12 September, in Hermanus, featuring top experts like Frans Cronje, Piet Viljoen, and more. Get insights on electricity and exploiting SA’s gas bounty from new and familiar faces. Register here.

As GG Alcock keeps reminding us, there a lot happening in areas ignored by the formal sector. In this interview he introduces us to the man introducing the auctioneering into South African townships, Tsitso Setai of Lokshin Auctions. Given wealth disparities and the way auctions turn one person’s unwanted into another’s prized asset, Setai’s business is uniquely positioned. GG and Lokshin Auction’s founder spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

Action SA founder and leader Herman Mashaba has shown pretty much anything is possible in South Africa’s new-look political arena. This week the man who has maintained a virulently anti-ANC stance, turned pragmatic by striking a deal with his avowed rival - in the interests, he says, of breaking the destructive stalemate in Johannesburg, the country’s largest and richest city. He argues that Action SA’s previously unthinkable arrangement with the ANC is in everyone’s best interests. Mashaba spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg.

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Join us for BizNews’ first investment-focused conference on Thursday, 12 September, in Hermanus, featuring top experts like Frans Cronje, Piet Viljoen, and more. Get insights on electricity and exploiting SA’s gas bounty from new and familiar faces. Register here.