Latest news with #Cape Town
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa's Maziv valued at $2bln after revised deal with Vodacom
South Africa's Vodacom Group said on Friday, 18 July, its proposed acquisition of a 30% stake in fibre network operator Maziv could value the target company at up to R36bn ($2bn) after agreeing on revised terms. File photo: A branch South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken on 10 November 2015. Reuters /Mike Hutchings/File Photo The telecoms operator, majority-owned by Vodafone, is moving closer to finalising the long-delayed deal following a breakthrough with the Competition Commission last week to clear the way for an unopposed hearing at the Competition Appeal Court on Tuesday. After agreeing on revised terms with the Commission and Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), Maziv's parent company, Vodacom will now contribute fibre network infrastructure worth R4.9bn in return for new shares in Maziv and pay R6.1bn in cash for new shares, it said in a statement. Previously, Vodacom offered R6bn in cash and in fibre assets valued at R4.2bn at the time. Vodacom will also acquire additional shares from CIVH for an estimated R2.5bn to reach the 30% stake. Maziv, which owns network operators Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, may declare a dividend of up to R4.2bn before the deal closes. If declared, Vodacom's cash consideration would be reduced by up to R1.3bn, the company said. The revised terms of the deal reflect a pre-acquisition transaction equity valuation of R29.8bn if the dividend is declared, and R34bn if it is not, Vodacom said. The transaction also includes Maziv's 49.96% stake in Herotel, a wireless internet provider. Vodacom will pay an additional R600m for its share of that stake, raising the total equity value to R31.8bn, or R36bn if no dividend is declared. Vodacom's option to increase its stake in Maziv has been revised down to 4.95% from 10% previously, potentially raising its total stake to 34.95%. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
21-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Saudi finance minister calls for urgent reform of global trade system at G20 summit
CAPE TOWN — Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan emphasized the urgent need to accelerate reform of the global trade system in response to shifting economic realities, during the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held under South Africa's presidency on July 17–18. 'The fiscal space is shrinking at a time when financing needs are growing, leading to higher borrowing costs and mounting pressure on both governments and the private sector,' Al-Jadaan said during his address. He welcomed the G20 note on lessons learned from the Common Framework cases and the accompanying debt treatment steps document, noting their importance in strengthening transparency and predictability. He also stressed the need to continue supporting countries facing financial stress or short-term liquidity challenges. On the sidelines of the G20 meetings, Al-Jadaan held bilateral talks with several finance ministers to discuss global economic developments and topics of mutual interest. The meeting, hosted in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, brought together G20 finance ministers, central bank governors, invited country representatives, and heads of international and regional financial institutions. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
18-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
G20 finance chiefs back central banks' independence as they seal communique
Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 countries stressed the importance of central bank independence in a communique issued on Friday following a two-day meeting in South Africa's coastal city of Durban. The ministers and central bankers pledged to boost cooperation as they sealed their first communique since October 2024, a month before President Donald Trump's election victory and subsequent tariff war. The issue of central bank independence hung heavily over the meeting following Trump's repeated berating of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, attacks that have roiled global financial markets. The communique was reached in the absence of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from the two-day meeting, though Washington was represented by Michael Kaplan, acting under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs. Bessent also skipped the previous G20 finance chiefs' gathering in Cape Town in February, even though Washington is due to assume the G20's rotating presidency in December. "Central banks are strongly committed to ensuring price stability, consistent with their respective mandates, and will continue to adjust their policies in a data-dependent manner. Central bank independence is crucial to achieving this goal," the communique said. South Africa's deputy finance minister David Masondo told reporters that the meeting outcomes contained in the communique were "consented to by all members" and centred on "strategic macroeconomic issues". The communique also recognised "the importance of the World Trade Organisation to advance trade issues", while adding the body needed reform. The agreement is seen as an achievement even though communiques issued by the G20, which emerged as a forum for cooperation to combat the 2008 global financial crisis, are non-binding. G20 finance ministers failed to reach a joint stance when they met in February, to the dismay of hosts South Africa. South Africa, under its presidency's motto "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability", has aimed to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and funding for climate change action. The finance ministers and central bank governors said in Friday's communique that they were committed to addressing debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Kopano Gumbi, Colleen Goko, Philip Blenkinsop, Maria Martinez in Durban and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop and Emelia Sithole-Matarise; Editing by Rachna Uppal and Joe Bavier)
Malay Mail
18-07-2025
- Science
- Malay Mail
Sniffing out extinction: Dogs help save South Africa's rarest tortoises
JOHANNESBURG, July 18 — Snout pressed to the ground, a border collie named Delta zigzagged through the shrubs on a private nature reserve near Cape Town, frantically sniffing for critically endangered tortoises. The dog stopped abruptly in front of a small bush and lay down, signalling a find as Delta's handler moved in to search the surrounding area. Hidden in the tall grass was a tiny reptile, its shell marked with yellow star-like patterns — a clear sign it was a geometric tortoise, a species found only at the southern tip of Africa. 'It's an adult female, you can tell by its flat belly,' said Esther Matthew, the dog's handler and a conservation officer for South Africa's Endangered Wildlife Trust. She explained that the organisation uses canines to sniff out the endangered species by 'building positive association with the tortoises' odour', throwing Delta a foam frisbee as a reward. Trained dogs are being used in South Africa to help locate and then track a critically endangered species of tortoise. — AFP pic Dogs are five times more effective than humans at this type of search and 'also help us find the smaller tortoises which are often overlooked, the hatchlings and the juveniles', Matthew said. 'We've seen a dramatic increase in the number of finds with the dogs.' Shrinking numbers Their help has become crucial in studying and protecting the geometric tortoise, found only in South Africa's Western Cape province and on the verge of extinction. The species' population was already as low as 1,500 individuals in the wild in the early 1990s, according to biologist Andrew Turner, who works for the conservation authority Cape Nature. It is now estimated at only several hundred animals with 'declines pretty much across the entire remaining range of this species', he told AFP. On the nature reserve, Delta and Matthew — helped by colleagues searching the bushes with sticks — found a dozen of the hardy reptiles. 'We record all the tortoises we can find, all the data, measurements and weight,' Delta's handler explained. A conservation official, working as part of the Endangered Wildlife Trust's Dryland Conservation Project, talks about a critically endangered female Geometric tortoise, that they found with specially trained dogs on a private reserve in the Boland district of the Western Cape on June 30, 2025. — AFP pic 'Creating corridors' With the species' natural habitat shrinking due to agriculture and urban expansion, these surveys have become all the more critical, Turner said. 'There are very few places left in the Western Cape that still support these tortoises. It's really just a couple of nature reserves and pieces of good habitat left on people's private property,' he added. 'The remaining patches of vegetation are not really connected to each other anymore. There are farmlands in between, roads, towns and industries so there is limited ability for the tortoises to disperse and rescue other populations.' This fragmentation makes them all the more vulnerable to droughts, predation and fires, which scientists argue have become more frequent and intense thanks to climate change. Poaching — of the tortoises and the plants they feed on — is also a threat, Turner said. 'They are down to such small levels that they actually need as much assistance as they can get,' he said. To save the species, the Endangered Wildlife Trust has looked at building 'partnerships' with landowners and communities living in the animals' habitat. 'The biggest thing is... creating corridors where species can work through,' explained Zanne Brink, who leads the organisation's dry lands conservation programme. 'Our biggest challenge is to get enough information to prevent critical biodiversity areas from being lost to unsustainable land use.' — AFP
Mail & Guardian
16-07-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Parliament slams SA Tourism for underperformance, overspending by R24.1m
Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille refuted claims that South African Tourism had irregular tender procurements, to the tune of R100 million, to host flagship trade events including Meeting Africa and Africa's Travel Indaba. (David Harrison) Parliament's portfolio committee on tourism says South African Tourism has underperformed in its mandate to market the country and drive economic growth. 'With the organisational performance of 'It is grossly unacceptable that for the fourth quarter, South African Tourism only achieved 89% of its 55 targets while overspending by R24.1 million on its allocated budget. This depicts 101% over expenditure of R1.45 billion of the R1.43 billion budget that was allocated to SA tourism,' Nalumango said, during a briefing by the agency on its fourth quarter performance report for 2024-25. 'It should be noted that the reported information is the combined efforts of the private sector and government through South African Tourism. It is therefore of paramount importance that South African tourism takes its mandate seriously and improves on its financial and non-financial performance.' In 2024, the Based on the current performance, the sector has the potential to contribute 12.8% to the country's economy by 2030 and create 2.23 million jobs, said Nalumango International tourist arrivals increased by 5.1% to 8.9 million, with foreign spending contributing R91.6 billion to the economy. Domestic tourism also rose, with overnight trips increasing by 6.2% to 40.2 million and spending going up by 12.8% to R137 billion. South African Tourism came under fire last week over allegations of corruption and irregular tender procurements, to the tune of R100 million, to host flagship trade events including Meeting Africa and Africa's Travel Indaba. Tourism Minister 'Their findings were received, reviewed and informed internal consequence management actions. I have been informed by South African Tourism that the cost of both audits were less than R1 million,' De Lille said. 'Officials implicated in procedural violations were removed from procurement committees as part of an internal disciplinary process initiated in 2024. Disciplinary processes are under way.' Last year, the minister De Lille had appointed the new board in February 2024 after dissolving the previous one in April 2023 following its controversial proposals to spend R910 million sponsoring UK football club The parliament portfolio committee said that during the period under review, South African Tourism underperformed in four of its five programmes. It achieved 75% of its corporate support targets with R2.6 million underspent, and 92% of its business enablement targets with R3.1 million underspent. In leisure and tourism marketing, it met 95% of targets but overspent by 55.9%. The business events programme met all eight targets, while the tourist experience programme met two of three targets with R11.8 million underspent. 'This performance is a serious cause for concern as the entity receives more than 50% of Vote 38 [the budget allocation for the tourism department] but it is failing to achieve its targets and underspending in almost all set targets,' said Nalumango. 'It's also of serious concern that SAT did not achieve all the targets in programme three but are reporting to us that they overspent R55.9 million. The performance in programme four also does not make sense — SAT achieved all their targets but underspent 23.7%. In fact there are many things that do not make sense in the fourth quarter performance.' She suggested that the agency does not have effective internal controls to track its financial and non-financial performance, and that it needs to 'seriously' address issues relating to the internal audit function. 'Internal audit function should not just be directed towards the auditing process by the auditor general but should assist the organisation during the in-year execution of its mandate against the set targets and financial management.' Board members will need to improve their oversight and consequence management to hold executives accountable, said the agency's chairperson, Gregory Davids. 'We do have quarterly board meetings, and through our board sub-committee meetings we are interrogating all of these aspects [including] performance reports.' First, we start with our annual performance plan for the year, which we use as our framework to keep the executives accountable … Consequence management in certain areas where there is huge non-performance has taken place.' 'As a board we are listening to portfolio committee members, there are areas we as a board must improve, but we are trying to, through our committees and regular meetings, to hold our executives accountable,' he added.
