BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
SA Prisons Minister addresses death penalty, corporal punishment and broken Criminal Justice system
Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald opens up to BizNews on South Africa’s broken prison system – from inmates languishing for years over R100 bail, to overcrowded cells, foreign nationals draining millions, and his controversial call to revisit corporal punishment and even the death penalty.
Katzenellenbogen: Mbeki v/s Ramaphosa; Lesetja v/s Enoch; Trump v/s Mbalula; Putin v/s Zelensky; the IDF v/s Netanyahu
Big disagreements and divisions are at the heart of some major current political developments here in South Africa and abroad. We speak to columnist and commentator Jonathan Katzenellenbogen. He dissects the row between former president Thabo Mbeki and President Cyril Ramaphosa over the process for the National Dialogue; the row…
BN Briefing: De Beer tells Cyril to resign; O'Sullivan on Mkhwanazi; Lamola and the Taiwan chip row
In today's BizNews Briefing: Neil de Beer demands President Ramaphosa’s resignation, while Paul O’Sullivan brands SAPS head Mkhwanazi a criminal. Plus, why South Africa’s Taiwan downgrade risks cutting off critical semiconductor supplies - and how AI is already shaking India’s outsourcing industry.
The Sunday Show - Neil de Beer: A “Voetsek” to Cyril and a call for civilian action…
After an absence of four Sundays, Neil De Beer, the President of the United Independent Movement (UIM), was back on the Sunday Show today with Chris Steyn. Calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down, he says: “… Wake up, resign…Mr. Ramaphosa, can't you see the signs? Can't you see…
Wildebeest on a Brakpan mine dump: DRDGold’s plan to reverse gold mining legacy – CEO Niël Pretorius
More than a century of mining in the Witwatersrand has left behind vast mine dumps stretching from Randfontein to Springs. But at the Brakpan tailings facility, wildlife is making a comeback. Mining company DRDGold has rehabilitated the site by cladding mine waste with soil, allowing natural vegetation to return spontaneously…
Lamola’s semiconductor blunder: reaction by insulted Taiwan now threatens SA manufacturing disaster
In an interview with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, Ryan Smith, the DA's new Spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, discusses his challenging roles and South Africa's foreign policy 'follies'. He criticises ruinous 30% Trump tariffs, citing negotiation failures. Smith strongly condemns Ronald Lamola's "ridiculous decision" to downgrade the Taiwanese embassy…
Willie Aucamp: Emma reveals DA support and the party refutes ANC rubber stamping
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has put an end to speculation around the resignation of International Relations spokesperson Emma Powell who cited threats and intimidation. Speaking to BizNews, the party’s National Spokesperson Willie Aucamp read out a message in which she denied a lack of support. It read “This is complete…
Paul O’Sullivan joins dots, drops bombshell: “Here’s your proof - Mkhwanazi a crook, Trollip a liar”
Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan has come out swinging—accusing KwaZulu-Natal police boss Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of criminality and calling ActionSA’s Athol Trollip a liar. In an explosive 18-page dossier and this follow-up interview with Alec Hogg, O’Sullivan lays out his case: a police service captured at the highest level, a…
Willem Els: Terror funding and organised crime thriving on poor governance
Billions of rands are being sent out of South Africa annually to fund terror activities. In this interview with BizNews, Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) dissects the nexus between organised crime and terror funding. “Organised crime can do without terrorism. They can live without terrorism, they…
BN Briefing: Joburg's R22bn crisis, Lesufi’s 'window-dressing' shuffle, Gayton's leadership blasted
In this BizNews Briefing, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi reshuffles his top team after R1.3bn goes unspent - but critics slam it as window-dressing. Johannesburg scrambles to account for R22bn in irregular spending ahead of November’s G20 summit. Diplomatic tensions rise with the US, and political analyst Phapano Phasha blasts Gayton…
Hersov changes tack on DiData after digging deeper into the BEE fronting scandal
Businessman and BizNews regular Rob Hersov has changed his tune on the so-called Dimension Data Six, once damning in his critique of the executives accused of fraud in a scathing High Court judgment. In this follow-up conversation with Alec Hogg, Hersov urges caution, arguing the case was unfairly decided on…
Phapano Phasha: We are led by the worst in society
President Cyril Ramaphosa is surrounded by advisors that are “mainly inept”. So says political commentator Phapano Phasha. She says he has “juniorised” his office with people “who cannot lead”. Meanwhile, the President is also “highly embedded” in the narrative surrounding allegations of police capture made by General “Lucky” Mkhwanazi. Phasha…
WSM: How subservient DA is enabling ANC acceleration of the hard left National Democratic Revolution
Veteran columnist William Saunderson-Meyer, in conversation with Alec Hogg, delivers a scathing critique of the Democratic Alliance’s role in the Government of National Unity. From the sidelining of Emma Powell to the silent complicity over Pretoria Girls High, Saunderson-Meyer warns the DA is trading its liberal soul for power -…
BN Briefing: Emma Powell betrayed; Mkhwanzi watershed; What’s next for PHSG, Trump Tariffs; Palantir
In today’s BizNews Briefing: Longtime columnist William Saunderson-Meyer unpacks Emma Powell’s political humiliation amid DA tensions; Dr Lennit Max sheds light on SAPS dysfunction and the ANC’s anti-corruption retreat; more insight from the Pretoria Girls High controversy; and the future of Trump’s global tariffs is explored. Plus, Palantir discussions from…
Principal’s husband, SGB chairman speak out over Gauteng ANC’s ongoing attack on Pretoria Girls High
In a bizarre turn of events, Gauteng’s Education Department suspended the headmistress of Pretoria High School for Girls - over garden maintenance. Alec Hogg speaks to her husband Mike Erasmus and school governing body chair Craig Hezlett, exposing what appears to be a political vendetta wrapped in bureaucratic overreach.
Dr Lennit Max: To save SAPS, purge the politics…
The only way to save the South African Police Service (SAPS) is to “sanitise” it from political interference and put proper management in place. So says former Western Province Provincial Police Commissioner, Dr. Lennit Max. He points out that currently, the National Commissioner, his deputies and the nine provincial commissioners…
BN Briefing: Pretoria Girls; Newcastle steel plant; Aussies want Darwin back; Palantir boom; Nedbank
Today’s BizNews Briefing features the latest news on Pretoria High School for Girls; the Newcastle Steel plant set for closure on September 30; Aussies wanting to buy back its port of Darwin from China; Nedbank struggles, Palantir booms and Gwyneth Paltrow transforms steps Coldplay C-Suite affair disaster into a marketing…
BN Briefing: Mashatile’s on the rocks, NPA in crisis, ANC responds to tariffs, Trump's nuclear move
In today's BizNews Briefing, Deputy President Paul Mashatile faces fresh scrutiny over undeclared gifts and luxury properties. Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach calls for urgent reform at the NPA, while the ANC grapples with US tariffs and their economic fallout. Plus, Trump escalates tensions with Russia and questions US job data integrity.
ArcelorMittal CEO Kobus Verster warns of 80,000 job fallout without government action
On BizNews’ 12th birthday, Alec Hogg speaks with ArcelorMittal SA CEO Kobus Verster about the possible shutdown of its Newcastle steel plant. With 80,000 jobs at stake and Transnet, Eskom, and scrap metal policy failures bleeding the company dry, Verster says the IDC and government must act by 30 September…
The Sunday Show: Brad Steyn - Rogues, Rands & Ramaphosa: SA’s Collapse in real time
In the latest Sunday Show, Chris Steyn talks to Security Expert Brad Steyn about another tumultuous week in South African politics: He slams the “dangerous deflection” used by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his handling of the US export tariff crisis and a Presidency “more concerned with BRICS handshakes than backbone…