Finance Minister Tito Mboweni seems ready to challenge labour unions on the high cost of the public sector wage bill. Mboweni said in his mid-term budget speech in Parliament that the Government spends over R500bn on the wage bill which has more than tripled between 2006 and 2019. He said discussions needs to be undertaken with labour unions for a consensus on an intervention on the wage bill. - Linda van Tilburg    

Here's the full recording of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's pre MTBPS press conference at the Parliamentary "lock-up" this afternoon. Brutally honest, he unpacked the challenges facing the young democracy, emphasising that the situation is so dire that shirking away from the issues will only make things worse. As he mentioned at one point, "it's no point calling a space a bloody spoon." Quite.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni warned in his mid-term budget that the upward trajectory of the debt-to GDP ration in South Africa is a serious concern. It is set to reach 60.2% in 2023/2024 and 60.1% the following year. He said the danger of talking about a debt trap is that it would lead people to think that South Africa can't manage its finances and may need assistance. - Linda van Tilburg

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni outlined the cost of fiscal leakage and wastage in South Africa in his mid-term budget and says he is planning to end the huge wastage of public resources. Mboweni said one of the high costs to the government is litigation. He is also taking measures to cut the travel expenses of public officials by mandating economy class domestic flights and he is setting a new ceiling for official vehicles. Biznews' Alec Hogg's frugal choice of shoes got a mention as well. - Linda van Tilburg

The government issued its big plan to save Eskom, but the details were a disappointment for many hoping to see faster, firmer action. In particular, Eskom’s debt burden hasn’t been dealt with, worry analysts. The rand weakened as much as 1% against the dollar after the release of the plan, leading emerging-market currency declines. Sibanye Gold Chief Executive Officer Neal Froneman is considering moving the South African miner’s primary listing to New York from 2021, after he curbs the company’s debt. The unemployment rate rose to the highest level in at least 11 years in the third quarter as construction, factories and trade shed jobs, says Bloomberg. The jobless rate increased to 29.1% from 29% in the three months through June, Statistics South Africa said. Bloomberg reports that the ancestors of modern humans, homo sapiens sapiens, first lived in the Zambezi basin in northern Botswana, according to a study published in the scientific journal Nature.

After spending time in South Africa where he witnessed South Africa becoming a democracy, John Carlin wrote the book, “Playing the enemy - Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation.” It told the story of how Nelson Mandela, the country’s newly elected leader forged a friendship with Springbok captain Francois Pienaar and united the divided South African nation behind the Boks that led to their historic win of the Rugby World Cup in South Africa in 1995. The book was made into the film, Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood with Matt Damon playing Pienaar and Morgan Freedman filling Mandela’s rather large shoes. Carlin told Biznews that this could be an Invictus II moment for South Africa and surprisingly he is supporting the Springboks in the final against England at this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan. - Linda van Tilburg

The weight of Eskom on our economy is like the world that the Greek god Atlas had on his shoulders. It was his punishment handed down by Zeus; in South Africa’s case it was a burden handed down to all of us by the Zuma administration. And if I can stick to the Greek analogy; it will take a Herculean task to lift that weight. Today, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan unveiled his special paper to fix the debt-stricken power utility. The government hopes that its roadmap will put Eskom on a long-term sustainability path. It has been a long seven months since President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation address when he announced that Eskom will be split into three entities. In that time South Africa again experienced power blackouts and Parliament approved a R59bn bailout to Eskom over two years. Ramaphosa and Gordhan were also fighting internal battles in the ANC-alliance particularly with the unions on their plans. Ramaphosa hopes that the Eskom roadmap will persuade Moody’s to keep its investment grade rating on Friday. The plan will end Eskom’s century-old monopoly of the electricity industry. - Linda van Tilburg

Sasol’s share price jumped when its CEOs jumped ship. The board decided a leadership reset was needed following a bad investment in the US. Sasol named a new chief executive officer to replace co-CEOs Bongani Nqwababa and Stephen Cornell as the company seeks to draw a line under the disastrous development of an almost-$13bn chemicals plant in the US, reports Bloomberg. South Africa’s tenuous hold on the stable outlook on its sole investment-grade credit rating may slip with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni expected to show a marked deterioration in the state of the nation’s finances this week. Of the 17 economists in a Bloomberg survey, nine forecast that Moody’s Investors Service will change its outlook on the nation’s credit rating to negative before the end of the year. Palladium surged to a record, topping $1,800 as stricter air-quality rules boost demand for the metal used in vehicle pollution-control devices. Spot prices climbed 2.1% to $1.802.24 an ounce at 11:09am in New York, says Bloomberg, adding that the metal is up more than 40% this year. South Africa has been battling lengthy power cuts; now water cuts are on the cards. The country can avoid rolling cuts in water supply if citizens stick to restrictions in usage, Water Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the European Union’s offer of a three-month Brexit delay to Jan. 31, removing the risk of a damaging no-deal split on Thursday as his government tries to end the impasse in Parliament.

In this special podcast, RMB's Dylan Stevenson shares the story of the R2.4bn expansion of the Fourways Mall, doubling the centre to a 180,000 square metre giant that's now one of the largest of its kind in South Africa. The project was initiated bottom-up, with property owner Accelerate being approached by tenants wanting to increase their rental space. The result, as Stevenson shares, has been in line with expectations. - Alec Hogg

In this week's business headlines:   The focus this week will be on Wednesday’s mid-term budget by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni followed by Moody’s credit-rating review on Friday. Opposition parties have urged the government not to give any more bailouts to the state owned enterprises. Meanwhile the DA has appointed John Steenhuisen as the party's Parliamentary leader after the resignation of Mmusi Maimane. The private sector has indicated it is becoming impatient with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s  waiting game to take steps to fix the country's economy. R35bn in SA exports to the US are in danger of a 'review' which was triggered by SA’s copy right reform efforts. Tiso Blackstar and the South African National Editors forum express shock about the allegations that Gwede Mantashe bribed journalists to shush about his sex life. While the bookies say the English Roses are the favourites to win the Rugby World Cup in Japan, coach Rassie Erasmus says the Boks are in with a chance.

In today's business news headlines: The Public Investment Corporation has dismissed a portfolio manager linked to the R4.3bn investment in Ayo Technology Solutions. Tesla gained as much as 20% after it posted its first quarterly profit in almost a year. The Clicks Group reported a 16.8% rise in full-year earnings despite the squeeze on households with higher fuel and electricity prices. Volkswagen SA plans to take its Uitenhage manufacturing plant off the national electricity grid by building a biogas plant that will create 1,000 jobs. South Africa has slipped two places in the World Bank’s rankings for ease of doing business. The Economic Freedom Fighters have questioned Harvard academics‘ motives that contributed to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s turnaround plan for the economy.

In today's business headlines: The DA leader Mmusi Maimane has quite the party saying the DA is no longer the party of his vision. Soon after the party's chairperson Athol Trollip also decided to pack it in. The party will meet today to discuss the way ahead.   South Africa’s core inflation rate fell to the lowest level since 2011 to 4.1% in September down from 4.3% in August, which could raise pressure on the central bank to cut its benchmark rate. The auditor-general has revealed that irregular expenditure by national and provincial departments amounted to R61.3bn for the 2018/2019 financial year and that less than a quarter of departments and SOEs received clean audits. Swiss company ABB the maker of robotics and power grids is being probed for suspect payments to Eskom. Two of the world’s biggest military aircraft landed at Waterkloof Airbase in Tshwane yesterday afternoon as Russian leader Vladimir Putin woos African leaders and South African Airways and Comair planes are back in the air after some have been grounded when the country’s safety regulator flagged maintenance problems.

Helen Zille's return to the Democratic Alliance was always going to be contentious. Known for her controversial tweets about colonialism, she stepped aside as leader of the DA to make way for Mmusi Maimane. But she was never far from the spotlight and became known for her tempestuous relationships with other prominent figures in the party in her position as Premier of the Western Cape. When she announced that she will go for the position of the chair of the Federal Executive Council of the DA; there were fears that it would be the end of the leadership of Mmusi Maimane.The first person to resign after she beat Athol Trollip for the position of chair was Herman Mashaba, the Johannesburg mayor. This was followed today by Maimane who said that he had reached the end of the road as leader of the DA, and at the same media conference party chairman, Trollip decided to follow and also announced that he will quit. Zille who did not want to take any questions from the media and just said that she was shocked. - Linda van Tilburg

When the Democratic Alliance did not perform as expected in the May 2019 elections; the party was looking for somebody to blame. The party lost supporters to the Freedom Front Plus and could not grow their support among urban blacks ending 2% down from its 2014 results. The spotlight was on leader Mmusi Maimane, who some in the DA believed moved closer to ANC policies supporting affirmative action and land restitution, away from their liberal democratic values. The pressure on Maimane increased when Hellen Zille was appointed as the Federal Chair of the DA. Zille’s return resulted in the resignation of Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba. It seemed only a matter of time before Maimane would be the next one to go. And after keeping the media waiting for a couple of hours, Maimane emerged to announce that he was quitting as leader. His resignation had a domino effect with Athol Trollip, the former mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay and the party chairperson who put himself up for the position of the Fedex Chair but lost to Zille, announcing shortly after that he was also quitting. The DA finds itself in a difficult position as the party chairperson normally takes over the leadership of the party while a new leader is elected. But as Trollip, the party chairperson also resigned, the DA is now leaderless. It will hold a special meeting of its federal executive council tomorrow to decide on the way forward. - Linda van Tilburg

Taxpayers are to fund another R54bn to bail out Eskom. The Special Appropriation Bill will see the government give the troubled power utility R26bn in the year through March and R33 bn the following year, according to Bloomberg. Eskom wants Deloitte to pay back about R200m after it benefitted from corrupt arrangements with the power utility. The Democratic Alliance is imploding, political analysts warn, as the election of Helen Zille to a top post sparks the resignation of Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba. DA leader Mmusi Maimane appears to be on the brink of leaving, too. SAA, Mango, Comair, Kulula and British Airways flights have been the focus of inspections by the regulator. Some flights were grounded, reports Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs sees a silver lining for South Africa: The economy is at its lowest point and the only way is up, says Bloomberg. South Africa has signed a two-year agreement with Chinese Internet firm Tencent, which will use its popular WeChat platform to market tourism to millions in China, reports Reuters. Looking at the JSE, retailer Pick n Pay was the best-performer on the day. Its share price jumped an impressive 10% on the back of news that a focus on low prices and cutting costs helped drive a 9.5% rise in first-half earnings.

Qhubeka has a noble mission - to put every school kid in the country on a bicycle. In a country where it is estimated that the average pupil spends two hours a day walking to school and back home every single school day; it means that kids have more time to play, use less energy and are less exposed to danger. This is particularly important in poverty-stricken areas of South Africa. Their programme is also geared towards care workers and the NEETs - young people not in education, employment or training.The charity has started to manufacture their own bikes to increase the number of bicycles that they hand out and has extended their platform overseas to raise funds for the charity. They have also teamed up with the Dimension Data cycling team to help raise awareness of Qhubeka. They are about to hand over their 100,000th bicycle and as Anthony Fitchenry explained to Biznews in an interview they want to expand the programme. - Linda van Tilburg

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on citizens to pay their electricity bills. Eskom is owed about R24bn. With the National Treasury’s medium-term budget due for release towards the end of the month, economists in a Bloomberg survey expect a fiscal gap of 6.1% of gross domestic product for this year as money for Eskom, the public broadcaster and national airline sap resources. Herman Mashaba said he will quit as mayor of Johannesburg, a major blow to the main opposition party that rules South Africa’s economic hub and has been battling to quell infighting within its ranks, reports Bloomberg. Offshore investors sold a net R1.38bn ($94m) of South African stocks last week and bought more than R 4bn in bonds, says Reuters, which was reporting on data from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Wall Street kicked off the week on an upbeat note on Monday after the United States and China showed some signs of progress in resolving their trade war, but a fall in Boeing’s shares pressured the blue-chip Dow index, says Reuters. Sterling traded near a five-month high amid speculation Prime Minister Boris Johnson will eventually be able to win parliamentary backing for his Brexit deal, says Bloomberg.

The pessimism in our national psyche has reached epic proportions and yes we do have real issues to worry about; Eskom, the economy and polarisation fuelled by political parties like the Economic Freedom Fighters. The feeling of being “gatvol” is pervasive and is sometimes only lifted in moments when we cheer the Boks on to the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup. It has prompted an estate agent in Cape Town, Jarette Petzer to start a movement on Facebook, called #ImStaying. The group is not about, “well we have no-where to go so might as well make the best out of it “. It is about bridging political strife, racism and cultural divides. And it has clearly tapped into something that South Africans feel is lacking as the numbers on the Facebook group keep on growing by the day and could soon reach a million. Jarette spoke to Biznews about the Facebook group and his plans for the future. - Linda van Tilburg

Helen Zille has been elected as the head of the Democratic Alliance’s Federal Council in a return to a leadership role in the party. The power blackouts that gripped South Africa last week ended on Saturday as Eskom’s power supplies improved, but the utility warned that the shortages may not be over yet. The Public Investment Corporation will meet next month to consider options on how to help Eskom deal with its debt according to a report in the Sunday Times and chairman Reuel Khoza wants Old Mutual to end its months-long dispute with fired CEO Peter Moyo.  The renewable industry in South Africa has welcomed the significant allocation to renewable sources in the Government’s latest integrated Resource Plan which maps out the energy mix for the next decade. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been forced by Parliament to ask for another Brexit delay but he is still confident he can get his deal approved by MPs before the end of the month; and The Springbok lifted the spirits when they reached the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup after beating plucky host nation Japan yesterday by 26-3 and say they are ready for a cracking semi-final against Wales next Sunday.

Eskom's blackouts could cost SA R5bn a day, a leading economist has warned. The Zimbabwe government has launched the country's first legal cannabis farm in the Harare Central Prison, but it insists that prisoners won't get a whiff. The corporate side of corruption in Africa has been laid bare in a sensational court case involving bankers from a leading global bank. Former Credit Suisse Group AG banker Andrew Pearse told a jury in Brooklyn, New York, that he pocketed at least $45m in illicit payments for his role in the arrangement of loans worth $2bn to companies in Mozambique, says Bloomberg. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal with the European Union was barely agreed before it ran into trouble at home, as his Irish allies in parliament said they could not support it, reports Bloomberg. South Africa-born tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has been named among the world’s richest people in the car industry. Musk is number 3 on the list of automotive wealth after Bill Gates, who is best known for heading Microsoft but also has a car dealership called AutoNation Inc, and Larry Ellison, founder of database company Oracle and second-larget shareholder in Tesla. Musk is ahead of the owners of Germany’s BMW and China’s Geely brands. Bloomberg says of Musk’s total wealth of US$23bn. Mediclinic shares were the top performers in Johannesburg on Thursday. This was the second day running that the company’s shares have powered upwards on the back of a report that its finances are better than expected.

What follows in this episode of the Rational Perspective is extraordinary. Not just because of what Metaco’s MD Barbara Walsh and her colleagues are experiencing. Unfortunately, blatant abuse of power by big businesses occurs far too often - but because of advertising muscle, far too many of these stories get ignored or downplayed. Instead, the thing which makes the Metaco story different is that its entire business is based on advising companies, big and small, how to operate ethically, including ways to handle crises like the one Metaco itself is going through. So instead of slinking away in the face of potentially bankrupting legal fees, this David sees considerable upside in actually taking on Goliath. Because, in future, Metaco will potentially be able to use its own story to inspire others. As I have a feeling you will be after hearing Barbara Walsh’s story.

Loadshedding was the big story of the day on Wednesday, with the rand weakening as Eskom, the state-owned South African utility that provides about 95% of the nation’s power, said it would cut 2,000 megawatts of electricity from the national grid because of a shortage of generation capacity, reports Bloomberg. Power cuts could push SA to junk status, Bloomberg warns. Power shortages have been a major constraint on output in Africa’s most industrialised economy and could cost the country its last investment-grade credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service, which is due to deliver its next assessment on November 1. Eskom troubles will have a knock on effect to Zimbabwe, where some Harare residents have been without power for three days. Bloomberg reports that the power blackouts announced by South Africa’s Eskom will exacerbate power shortages in neighbouring Zimbabwe. South African retail sales rose 1.1% year-on-year in August following a 2% increase in July, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. Mediclinic was among the best performers on the Johannesburg stock exchange on Wednesday after it said it expects higher first-half core earnings.

South Africa’s residential property market has taken strain along with the country’s economy. But, the latest FNB Property Barometer suggests that the housing market could soon take a turn for the better. The Public Investment Corporation, Africa’s biggest fund manager, is cleaning up its act following a series of controversial deals involving politically connected individuals. The PIC has featured in the enquiry into state capture. As a first step, the PIC is separating the roles of chief executive officer and chief investment officer after criticism that too much power was concentrated in the role of CEO. Hyperinflation and currency devaluation have hit Zimbabweans hard. Bloomberg reports that inflation is estimated to be anywhere from 230% to 570%. And, while that percentage range is hard to digest, in reality what it means is that people can no longer afford to get transport to work. EOH has blacklisted 50 companies in connection with corruption and has announced it will sell another R1bn in non-core businesses as it restructures. As Bloomberg reports, EOH will structure operations into three units and sell assets that don’t fit with the revised set up, the Johannesburg-based company’s chief executive officer, Stephen van Coller, said by phone. Sasol, South Africa’s global energy and chemical company, could be suspended from trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company said that it has not released its 2019 provisional financial results and annual financial statements in accordance with the JSE listings requirements.

I first encountered Val de Vie a couple years ago, a fleeting visit as part of a roadshow with the top team at PPS who were launching a new short-term insurance business. Commitments like those are always time constrained, but such was the magnificence of that estate that I make a mental note to return. Getting back there took longer than hoped, but earlier this month I finally got to do the estate justice. Courtesy of a new business partnership between Biznews and Val de Vie, where we get to tell the Biznews community about the place, and are remunerated if and when our community members invest in the projects on offer. This is quite a revolutionary model for a media business. And given the obvious risks of this kind of relationship, its one where one needs a high level of confidence before concluding what in effect is an endorsement. After doing as much homework as possible, the final part of my due diligence was actually visiting the estate and spending a day with the five directors who have transformed a disused old clay quarry with a magnificent view into an estate that now attracted more than a billion dollars of investment. My first point of contact, not surprisingly, was the face of Val de Vie, its marketing director and Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Ryk Neethling, one of the best athletes this country has produced. In stats-mad America, Ryk’s nine time NCAA championships makes him the third best men’s swimmer in almost 100 years. And he is one of only eight in that long history to have won three back-to-back championships. Now 41, and looking just as trim as when at his athletic peak, Ryk has spent the past decade alongside four other directors who together have built South Africa’s premier estate. For more information, email val@biznews.com and we’ll ask Ryk and his team to be in touch.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has wowed the investment community with a series of planned reforms aimed at lowering the cost of doing business and increasing interest in South African goods and services. The controversial requirement for travellers to have unabridged birth certificates for all children is widely expected to be scrapped. Ramaphosa was promoting South Africa to international investors at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2019 where he said state capture has cost a staggering R1trn. You can listen to him speak on BizNews.com. Eskom is on the government’s radar, with the troubled energy utility holding back economic growth. But, as Bloomberg reports, there are signs the government is getting set to overhaul Eskom. The pound swung as traders attempted to read the tea leaves on the likelihood of the U.K. securing a Brexit deal as soon as this week, reports Bloomberg.