A fascinating half hour revisiting South Africa's "almost" R1.1trn nuclear power deal which would likely have bankrupted the country and been a terribly investment, too, for Russia. Researcher Andrew Weiss, head of the Russian area at the US's oldest think tank, unpacks the Carnegie Endowment's 27 page report on the project that probably cost Jacob Zuma his presidency. Fascinating insights into the agendas of the parties and how SA's non governmental institutions rescued the country from a misguided president who applied all the levers at his disposal to get the deal through.

* The incoming head of Eskom, Andre de Ruyter, has denied that he engaged in “questionable stock sales” months before resigning from Sasol to join Nampak as CEO in 2013. * Cosatu is proposing that more than half the debt of state-owned Eskom be put into a special purpose vehicle and is urging the government to strike a deal with the Public Investment Corp to help cut Eskom’s debt. * A server of financial services firm Trilllian containing more than 3 million documents has revealed where the Guptas millions went between 2014 and 2017. * The story of the South African that chased the London Bridge attacker with a narwhal tusk.

* Two senior ex-managers at Eskom and a number of other suspects have been arrested by the South African Police over allegations of fraud, corruption and money laundering at the Kusile power plant. * A former partner at Bain’s South African business said he will testify at the Zondo Commission about the firm’s involvement in allegedly trying to facilitate corrupt dealings. * The Rand surged to a 4-month high yesterday after ratings agency Fitch held off on pushing the country’s rating lower. South Africa avoided sub-investment grade holding on to the BB+ with a negative outlook. * More details of the recommendations of the land-reform advisory panel that had been approved by Cabinet has been revealed but no details on land expropriation without compensation and the Ingonyama Trust and * Lesotho wants to export dagga to the world.

The first interview we published with our business partner, 12J company Bright Light Solar, unpacked how smart structuring and focus translated into an effective 21% return for investors. In this follow up discussion with the company's founder, former hedge fund professional Kevin Shames, we explore how the 12J tax incentive works and the practicalities of how taxpayers would claim their benefit. - Alec Hogg

Over the past few months ace crime fighter Paul O'Sullivan has been dragged into court by a corrupt Portuguese tenderpreneur and his expensive lawyers who even tried to get the Forensics for Justice founder arrested. In the early hours of the morning, it was Trindade and his Eskom accomplices who were put behind bars after being swooped upon by the SA government Special Investigating Unit. In this interview, O'Sullivan shares some surprises, including the fact he was assisted in this case by the much maligned former Eskom CEO Matshelo Koko - described by the corruption buster as "one of the best engineers in the country."

* Unions are already warning the new Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, that they will fight him at every turn starting on his first day. * Drought has plunged millions of Zimbabweans and Zambians into darkness as hydro-power dams dry up in the drought crippling the two countries. * Sasol shares surged on the JSE and in New York as part of the Lake Charles chemicals project in the US comes on stream. * MTN’s mobile money service goes live next year. It is called MoMo and will enable customers to pay, send and receive money using their mobile phones and * Jacques Kallis will join former cricket team mates Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher as cricket coaches in an effort to revive South African cricket, while Charl Langeveldt is also set to be added to the coaching setup.

* Former SA president Thabo Mbeki has stepped into the Zimbabwe crisis. He held talks with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to try and help end the nation’s political crisis, reports Bloomberg. * Palladium smashed through $2,000 an ounce to a record as the metal extended a powerful annual advance driven by a sustained global deficit and some analysts expect it to power up towards $2,500 an ounce within six months. * President Donald Trump is planning to attend next year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, according to four administration officials, while the UK’s Boris Johnson decided to skip the event, says Bloomberg. * The Sasol share price jumped about 11% on Tuesday on news that it has fixed a significant problem in its US operations that has put a lid on output.

* South Africa will use a meeting in the United Arab Emirates this week to ramp up pressure on the country to sign an extradition agreement that could be used to extradite members of the Gupta family to face corruption-related allegations in Johannesburg. * Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has been accused of misconduct by a whistleblower who filed an affidavit to the president’s office on Friday, the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism reported. * Economic Freedom Fighters re-elected founder Julius Malema and deputy Floyd Shivambu to head the party at its conference in Johannesburg over the weekend. * The wife of Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who was arrested during the weekend over alleged fraud and money laundering, now faces an additional charge of attempting to murder her husband. * The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives could vote as soon as Wednesday to formally charge President Donald Trump, a Republican, with “high crimes and misdemeanors,” making him only the third US president in history to be impeached, says Reuters. * The UK Labour Party is looking for a new leader after its heavy defeat in last week’s general election and Jeremy Corbyn announced his plans to resign.

* As South Africans speculate over whether and how saboteurs are to blame for widespread blackouts, President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled the leave of Eskom employees. * Palladium rose for a 15th day, heading for its longest run of gains on record and exceeding the highest-ever price of gold. * A deepening drought in southern Africa is resulting in unprecedented food shortages, leaving millions of people hungry. * In the race for the best e-sports car, Elon Musk’s Tesla outpaces Porsche.

We are confronted daily with reports of how plastic is polluting the environment. Sea turtles are filmed with straws in their noses, a recent study into plastic pollution concluded that half a million hermit crabs have died that confused trash for shells and polar bears  have been snapped fighting over plastic. It is everywhere, even the deepest dive ever has found a plastic bag in the Mariana Trench. The realisation that we need to do something about our consumption of plastic and how it is destroying our planet, is slowly setting in and more and more countries are banning single-use plastic. It prompted Cape Town entrepreneur, Georgina de Kock to come up with an edible food bowl, which is set to change the hospitality industry that caters for large festivals, airlines and outlets such as coffee shops - which are contributing to billions of single-use plastic items a year. Earthday has calculated that humans buy 1 million plastic bottles per minute. De Kock’s company, Munch Bowels has been awarded an international grant by Expo 2020 Dubai for her innovation. De Kock told Biznews that demand for her munchable innovations is far higher than her ability to turn out new products. - Linda van Tilburg

* President Cyril Ramaphosa put the blame for widespread power cuts on sabotage when he cut short a visit to Egypt to handle the latest Eskom crisis. * "SA is rapidly becoming a forgotten country and has stopped being talked about as an investment destination,” James Formby, the chief executive officer of FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank, has warned. * The rolling blackouts threaten to tip South Africa’s economy into recession and hobble miners already impacted by community protests and xenophobic violence, says Bloomberg. * Bloomberg reports that a YouGov survey of more than 100,000 voters put Johnson on course to win a majority of 28 seats, but that’s down from 68 in a similar projection two weeks earlier - and the pollster did not rule out a hung parliament. The pound fell.

In what he describes as a reflection of the changed asset management industry, Re:CM founder Piet Viljoen is merging his firm with Counterpoint, led by his former Allan Gray and Investec colleague Sam Houlie. The new firm will trade under the Counterpoint name and have R6.5bn in assets under management. Forthright as ever, Viljoen shares two of the big mistakes he made in the 20 years since starting Re:CM, and explains why he will stick to managing money rather than a business. - Alec Hogg

Financial results published this morning by Tongaat Hulett are far worse than the company itself had projected when the bombshell first hit six months ago. The asset write-off is more than double the R4.5bn maximum that was anticipated and the financials released show a business that is hopelessly insolvent with R3bn in negative equity and over R11bn in debt. Shareholders can't even cut their losses as May's suspension of trading in the company's shares has now been extended until late January. And another 8,000 employees are going to lose their jobs, But there is optimism within the management team under former SABMiller executive Gavin Hudson, and a brighter perspective also shared by the company's long-time critic, Opportune's Chris Logan. In this insightful discussion Logan, one of SA's most respected money managers, unpacks the past tale of woe and future message of hope. - Alec Hogg

• President Cyril Ramaphosa is cutting short a trip abroad to deal with the escalating crisis at Eskom while mining companies cut production and cel phone companies are struggling to cope. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy Affairs is considering short-and medium term interventions to address the electricity shortage including taking steps to develop more electricity generation capacity from independent power producers. • The Rand declined the most this month falling 1.2% to the dollar making it the worst performer among emerging-market currencies. Meanwhile palladium has surged to a record, topping $1900 an ounce, after South African mining companies halted operations in response to the power cuts. • Manufacturing production has contracted for a fifth consecutive month adding to South Africa’s economic woes. Statistics South Africa said output fell by 0.8% in October compared to the same period last year. • Despite a tight wallet squeeze and slipping consumer confidence, South Africans are still in the mood to spend. That’s according to the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index who have also revealed that South Africans are spending less money on take-aways and new clothes and • Comair has announced the appointment of Wrenelle Stander as Group CEO, effective immediately.

It took a while for the market to warm up to the SA government's section 12J tax incentive designed to encourage private investment into the small business sector. But with private sector innovation now having sucked in billions, the State has decided to cap the maximum investment per taxpayer - and is reconsidering whether to renew the incentive when it expires in 2021. As you can image, not all 12J companies are equal. But in former hedge fund heavyweight Kevin Shames's Bright Light Solar, we've uncovered the industry's lowest cost supplier tailored to double up on both the 12J allowance and the extra incentive available for Renewable Energy investments. The result: an astonishing effective return of 21% a year for the six year term of the investment (min R100,000; max R2.5m per taxpayer). In this in-depth interview, Shames explains the inner working of one of the most appealing investments currently available in South Africa. Visit www.biznews.com/bright-light-solar-vcc for more information. - Alec Hogg

In early 2017, the Robert and Sam Paddock pocketed R1.8bn when selling their Cape-headquartered online education business Getsmarter.co.za to Nasdaq listed 2U. Getsmarter has relationships with the world's great universities, offering its global student base access to MIT, Harvard and Oxford degrees through online studies. Having served their obligatory earn-out period and after a short break, the Paddock brothers are back in the startup mix, this time with the Valenture Institute, which offers a massively disruptive option to traditional High School education. Like Gersmarter, leverages technology to offer students remote access to top quality education. At R60 000 a year, the cost compares favourably with leading private schools in SA - with the significant advantage of delivering a qualification that's recognised by the best universities on earth. In 2020, Valenture will offer the equivalent of SA's Grades 8, 9, 10 and 11, expanding to matric the following year. In this fascinating interview Robert Paddock explains how it works - and why this democratisation of schooling has already captured the imagination of both parents and pupils. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines: Eskom intensified rolling blackouts to a record stage 6, signalling a deepening crisis at the debt-ridden utility and raising the risk of a second recession in South Africa. The Passenger and Rail Agency has been put under administration and its interim board has been dissolved. This was announced by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula days after South African Airways was forced into business rescue. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his weekly statement that placing state utilities under administration was not his preferred option for fixing them, nor would it be advisable in other circumstances. SAA may only get 5% of the $60m owed to the airline by Zimbabwe as the country's central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee plans to “reject the majority of debts” owed to institutions. Prosus raised its bid for UK food delivery firm Just Eat as it tries to win over investors and beat off an offer from rival Takeaway.com.

Former Eskom coal scientist turned energy consultant Mike Blenkinsop has as good a handle on the state of the SOE as anyone - and in this fascinating interview provides a comprehensive perspective on the latest loadshedding debacle. Having trained under the late Mark van der Riet, the CEO of NET Energy clearly understands the complexities of fuel inputs far better than the worthies who designed the massive Medupi and Kusile power stations without taking the local coal reserves into account. He shares a tale of indefinitely postponed maintenance and Eskom's haemorrhaging to foreign lands of engineers so vital in keeping its flywheel turning. But Queens College- and Rhodes educated Blenkinsop says it's not too late - and offers Eskom's newly recruited CEO Andre de Ruyter some pointers in how to get the utility out of the quagmire it is in. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines: Stage 2 load shedding is set to continue this week, after Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on since the end of last week. South African Airways can’t keep counting on bailouts. That was according to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan who told the Sunday Times that the national carrier would need to slash costs and boost revenue after pledging another R2bn of support to keep it operating. Cricket in South Africa is facing an uncertain future after Standard Bank opted not to renew its sponsorship deal and the chief executive officer of the governing body was suspended over allegations of misconduct. Traders are standing by for the US Federal Reserve and European central banks last policy decisions of 2019, the outcome of British elections and trade negotiations to set the tone for emerging markets in 2020; and An American Jury has decided that South African born billionaire, Elon Musk did not defame a British cave diver by calling him a “paedo guy” in a post on Twitter.

The Rupert Family handed out full freehold title deeds to 70 residents of Aberdeen in the Karoo in November this year and a further 326 title deeds have been sponsored in Stellenbosch by Johan Rupert and his wife Gaynor. It represents land reform, not enforced by government but out of a sense that the wrongs of the past should be addressed by the private sector. Investec has since announced that it has cancelled the mortgage bonds registered over 3,600 properties in 14 townships in Gauteng and that the debt is being waived by the banker and asset manager. Danni, Dixon, head of Marketing for Investec SA told Biznews that most of the bond holders were elderly people. - Linda van Tilburg

In today's business headlines: Glencore is being investigated for bribery by UK authorities, deepening the legal troubles that threaten the world’s biggest commodities trader. The company’s shares fell as much as 8.6% to a three-year low in London, while on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange the fall was more than 5%. A decision to place South African Airways into bankruptcy protection is no guarantee the airline will be able to keep operating - that’s if the experience of other financially distressed companies is anything to go by. South African business confidence remained close to a three-decade low in November as companies continue to await decisive action by the government to revive the economy. A sentiment index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry rose to 92.7 from 91.7 in the previous month. South Africa’s current-account deficit narrowed less than forecast in the third quarter as outflows to foreign shareholders increased. The shortfall on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, shrank to 3.7% of gross domestic product from a revised 4.1% in the previous period, the Reserve Bank said in a report released yesterday. South Africa was hit by power cuts yesterday after a number of generating units broke down. Eskom said the severe supply constraint being experienced has come about due to high levels of unplanned breakdowns that have exceeded the 10,500MW limit. President Donald Trump tweeted yesterday morning that if the Democrats were going to impeach him, they should “do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate” and he got what he wished for. Soon after that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi announced that she has directed a House committee to draft articles of impeachment against Trump over his effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival.

Mahatma Ghandi advocated that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Jerry Selwane, founder of the Soweto Animal Rescue and Advisory Centre (SARAC), is providing the means for our youth to carry out this legacy. During his 18 years of working for the SPCA, Jerry was exposed to the abuses animals had to endure due to ignorance and misinformation. Although the SPCA was doing its best, Jerry realised that an animal rescue centre was desperately needed in Soweto. He took his life savings and opened a small centre where he gives hope to abused animals and education to the youth. SARAC now has a small army of Rangers, the youth who have become his eyes and ears in animal cruelty cases. SARAC are authorised to arrest and prosecute, which they are not afraid to do. The need for his services is growing, and resources are a big challenge but Jerry, undaunted, continues every day to make a difference to animal welfare and the moral progress of the youth. – Vanessa Marks

A policeman by experience and lawyer by training, Johann van Loggerenberg is best known for heading the ill-fated SA Revenue Services Investigative Unit. As he wrote in his co-authored book "Rogue", miscreants got the unit closed down through the combination of a fake news campaign and a dodgy KPMG report. He was a guest on Rational Radio this week where, inter alia, Johann applied his mind to the call from finance minister Tito Mboweni to re-establish "intrusive" investigative units at SARS. - Alec Hogg

Ghost or so-called dark or virtual kitchens are a well-known concept in many overseas destinations. A Cape Town based start-up is pioneering the concept in South Africa and have announced the launch of Darth Kitchen. The company has secured seed capital in excess of R5m to date with a further R30m for expansion. With investment house Silvertree Holdings, co-founder of UCOOK, David Torr and the co-founder of OrderIn, Heini Booysen, Darth Kitchen is hoping to rapidly scale the model over the next few years. Booysen told Biznews that South Africa is an exploding market for take-away food deliveries, and is following the global trend of preferring to order meals that can be dropped off instead of going to restaurants. Judging from the recent announcement by supermarket group Checkers that they will be launching a one hour grocery delivery service, we don’t only want it all, we want it now. - Linda van Tilburg

In today's business headlines:   The ANC is back in power in Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub after Geoff Makhubo was elected as the city’s mayor. Activity in the private sector in South Africa shrank for the seventh consecutive month due to reduced output, less new orders and a contraction in employment.  That is according to IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ index, which fell from 49.4 in October to 48.6. Mining companies will be challenging the key provisions of the Mining Charter in court in April. They are testing three aspects of the government’s revised charter, which set out rules on ownership, investment and exploration. Cell C’s creditors aren’t giving up on a takeover offer from rival Telkom which South Africa’s third-largest mobile-network operator rejected last week. Meanwhile MTN said it would vigorously oppose recommendations from the Competition Commission after the regulator instructed MTN and Vodacom to lower data prices. Saxo bank have issued what Bloomberg regards as outrageous predictions for 2020. One of the predictions is that the value of the Rand would plunge to R20 for a dollar.