As always, we have a very mixed bag for you today, with the government issuing a warning regarding
bogus sellers of land; as always, there is someone ready to cash in and take from the gullible and the needy. On an even sadder note, it is reported that floods in
Mpumalanga are known to have claimed six lives. We at Bizcommunity.com extend our condolences to the families of the victims.
Then we have the mystery ship, which is apparently not much of a mystery after all; it seems to be very much a case of
Ship? What ship? - and the minister is
not happy, and we also have Pravin Gordhan accusing the Limpopo provincial government of
sabotaging service delivery in the province.
Oh, and in passing, the ANCYL wants, among other things,
a "heavy tax" on those rich people who flash their wealth around. So, from now on, keep that R250 000 Breitling watch covered! OK?
Tolls unfair? No way!
Well, so says Sanral, which on the upside
is to be bailed out by the government, but on the downside is facing a double whammy from FF+ and the DA over
trying to advertise and sell toll tags and allegedly setting up illegal roadblocks.
Rod Baker, general manager: content
Submit your company news to
financenews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to
contributors-finance@bizcommunity.com.
Developing countries should prepare for further downside risks, as Euro Area debt problems and weakening growth in several big emerging economies are dimming global growth prospects, the World Bank has said in Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2012. 
South Africa does not yet need, nor can it afford, an increase in interest rates, and comments supporting such an increase are disconcerting. BoE Private Clients economist, Madalet Sessions, says that economic data continues to suggest that South Africa is not experiencing any inflationary excess demand. 
According to a Business day report, private equity group, Blackstar has bought a 28% stake in the Mvelaphanda group for R468-million and there is speculation that this is the first step in a process aimed at gaining control of media group Avusa. Mvelaphanda owns a 21% stake in the media company. 
The government has undertaken to meet the financial commitments and debt obligations of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) after the e-tolling project was indefinitely suspended. 
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has accused the Limpopo provincial government of sabotage because it advised its service providers not honour their contracts, as they might not be paid, according to Times Live. 
It's difficult to know exactly how much taxpayers' money has been wasted in the past year because media reports all vary wildly on the subject. News24, for example, says that Auditor-General Terence Nombembe has unearthed R25bn in wasteful expenditure in national and provincial government departments for the 2010/11 financial year. 
Several government departments have come under fire in a report by Auditor-General Terrence Nombembe which found a series of irregularities, poor financial controls and reporting by departments. 
The Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications, Sikhumbuzo Kholwane, has condemned the hi-tech cyber heist of R42m from the Postbank. 
