Latest news with #R900m
TimesLIVE
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Newlyweds Bezos and Sanchez gear up for final party at Venice gala
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, flush from their Venice wedding ceremony on Friday, were on Saturday gearing up for the final day of partying in the lagoon city with scores of celebrity guests from media, fashion and show business. The three-day gala, estimated to cost about $50m (R900m), culminated last night with the closing party in a former medieval shipyard where Lady Gaga and Elton John were expected to perform. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, exchanged rings on Friday evening on the small island of San Giorgio, across the water from Saint Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The bride at the ceremony wore a high-necked silhouette dress and a tulle and lace veil by Dolce & Gabbana, which she told magazine Vogue was based on the dress worn by Sophia Loren to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film Houseboat. Sanchez also wore a pair of diamond earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, which, according to Vogue, were lent to her in keeping with the tradition that it brings good luck for a bride to wear something borrowed. Bezos, who is No. 4 on Forbes's global billionaires list, donned a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt. The ceremony had no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official said, suggesting the couple may have already legally wed in the US, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage.
IOL News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Funding crisis in KZN Education Department, R900m pledged 'not enough'
Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza says all outstanding allocations need to be paid. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives The R900 million pledged by the provincial government to tackle the funding crisis in the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department is insufficient to deal with all the outstanding issues plaguing the province's schools. This is according to a political party and labour union who said yesterday that more funding was needed. One source claimed that an additional R700m was needed. Last week, the provincial government committed to providing R900m for schools and for norms and standards funding after labour unions downed tools, which led to the disruption of exams at some schools. There had been reports that, as a result of the failure to disburse the funds, some teachers have been using their own funds to pay for school operations. Some school principals have claimed they are borrowing money to run school operations. This failure comes amid concerns that the numerous budget cuts by the national government have crippled the department financially. KZN Premier Thami Ntuli had said R900m has been secured to clear outstanding norms and standards payments, with disbursements to schools expected within three weeks. He also said the filling of teaching posts and timely payment of permanent and substitute educators would be prioritised, compensation for Grade R practitioners will be reviewed, and payments to National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) service providers will be expedited to ensure uninterrupted food deliveries to schools. DA spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi noted the announcement from the Premier's Office regarding the allocation of R900 million to schools for norms and standards funding but said it was not enough. This funding is needed for operational costs, including the purchase of stationery, cleaning materials and to pay for municipal services, including water and electricity. He said close to R700 million additional funding was needed to deal with all the issues. 'While this is a step in the right direction, it is nowhere near enough to address the real crisis. The Department of Education is sitting with unpaid accruals, and hundreds of schools across the province are struggling to function due to months of delayed payments,' Mngadi stated. He also said that the protest by teacher unions, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), had disrupted exams in some schools. 'Sadtu's action has disrupted primarily rural districts, with some exams being cancelled. The department isn't forthcoming about when the matter will be resolved.' Sadtu has warned that its members will continue with its work-to-rule campaign and union members will work the seven hours a day they are contracted to work. Teachers, especially those who teach grade 12, also hold extra morning, afternoon and weekend classes, which they are not paid for. Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza commented, 'The money (R900m) is enough to cover the outstanding allocation to schools, which was supposed to be paid by May. What the union is fighting for is the allocation for May 2025 and the outstanding allocation for 2024. The union members are still working the contracted hours of 7 hours,' said Caluza. Regarding the exams, Sadtu said it has observed inconsistencies, with some schools cancelling exams while others proceeded as planned. The union said departmental leadership should provide clear guidance to ensure uniformity across all districts. The National Teachers' Union (NATU) said the intervention by the KwaZulu-Natal Premier was necessary. The union said its recent campaign, which included pickets at schools and district offices, has successfully pressured the provincial government to act on education funding. Thirona Moodley, provincial CEO of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa, said the financial challenges in the province have a direct impact on teaching and learning. 'The silence of the department is deafening and unacceptable. The department has shown no effort to improve the current circumstances. We have no substitutes in schools, and schools are not being paid their financial allocations. How do we expect schools to function? The department has collapsed, and Napotosa calls on the DBE to urgently intervene as the province has failed. When will it be enough?' She added that there had been some disruption to exams due to the crisis, stating, 'Some schools did not have the resources to print exam papers, but I did not have many of my schools report this to me.' KZN Education Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi stated that they are in serious engagement with Sadtu. 'There is now common ground, and we are just attending to the modalities.' THE MERCURY
TimesLIVE
10-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Commercialisation of Agricultural Research Council under way, says Steenhuisen
Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen says plans for a strategic commercial entity under the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), which will compete with other commercial agricultural entities, are under way. In a parliamentary question, EFF MP Mothusi Montwedi asked whether there was a plan to ensure the ARC was supported to build internal capacity for its commercialisation. Montwedi also asked if this commercialisation drive would allow the ARC to supply seeds and develop fertiliser for the market. In a written reply, Steenhuisen said the agriculture department valued the ARC as a strategic asset, especially in the agricultural industry, and the many strategies of the department have ensured its successful commercialisation. 'A service level agreement between the department and the ARC is entered into to ensure all agricultural research services for which the ARC has the capacity to render are rendered in compliance with the constitution. This [agreement] helps the ARC generate about R900m in revenue,' he said. The department approved the restructuring of the ARC to ensure efficiency and alignment with agricultural business realities. 'The process of establishing the ARC's commercial entity is under way. Once established, the commercial entity will enable the ARC to maximise returns from its intellectual property. This includes competing with other players in the agricultural business.' Steenhuisen said the restructuring was almost complete and would ensure all vacancies are filled, critical infrastructure refurbished and agricultural enterprises operated profitably.
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Karooooo's CEO outlines ambitious plans for expansion and profitability
KAROOOOO CEO and founder Zak Calisto says the group is building momentum for growth after four years of challenging market conditions Image: supplied Karooooo, which owns the vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions company Cartrack, has four difficult years behind it and is looking to the new financial year to build growth momentum, said the founder and CEO Zak Calisto. Interviewed on Thursday at the release of the fourth quarter results to February 28, Calisto, who has expanded the group into Asia, Europe and South Africa, said they scaled up in the last two quarters by nearly 1 000 additional staff, and the company had moved into a new head office in Johannesburg, this after a period where operations were impacted by the Covid pandemic for two years, and by the work-from-home trend. Karooooo's operating profit increased by 30% to R385 million in the fourth quarter and earnings per share increased 19% to R8.11. The number of Cartrack subscribers increased 17% to 2.3 million from 1.97 million. The group is ungeared with some R900m in cash. Calisto said their biggest business remains in South Africa, and he believes the market still has 'huge opportunities for growth.' The group is aiming to double the size of its South African business in the next four years, he added. He said there were similar opportunities in their European and Asia markets, and over time, it was likely that Asia would become the group's biggest market. 'We operate in an expanding and largely underpenetrated market globally, fueled by robust and sustained customer demand. This demand is driven by a heightened focus on digitalization, the need to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, and increasing attention to safety in physical operations,' he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ A significant goodwill impairment of R43.9m was realised, whch related to the political uncertainty in Mozambique. Calisto said some of their clients had their entire fleets and properties burned through the political riots. He estimated hundreds of vehicles were burned in total, and there was no certainty at this stage how long the political situation would remain resolved. He said despite the challenges in the fourth quarter, their Mozambique operation continued to support their South African customers who have cross-border operations and has remained profitable with healthy cash generation. 'In the 2026 financial year, we aim to accelerate Cartrack subscription revenue growth by expanding our distribution footprint in existing markets, driving broader platform adoption and capitalising on growing demand for video solutions,' he said. He said while their targets might be hard to meet, they had a strong and proven track record of execution, sustained growth at scale, and a highly profitable business model supported by a solid balance sheet and a healthy cash position. 'As we expand our distribution footprint in existing markets, we expect lower earnings per share growth in the 2026 year, given our planned upfront investment in sales and marketing for the year,' the group said. Cartrack's subscription revenue was forecasted to grow between 16% and 21% compared to the 2025 financial year, while Karooooo's earnings per share was expected to be between R32.50 and R35.50. Karooooo's adjusted earnings per share increased 39% to R9.48. Operating expenses increased 15% to R485m. Of the total, Cartrack accounted for R459m (Q4 2024: R399m) in operating expenses including investments in infrastructure and headcount to support territorial expansion and distribution growth. Visit:
