At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the worry was that health services would be overwhelmed. In Italy and New York, there was a time that the hospitals could not cope with the influx of critically ill patients, leading to difficult choices - who will be treated and who will die. In Wuhan and London, authorities have been able to respond quickly by building large hospitals and providing Intensive Care Units. As Covid-19 cases increase in South Africa, the big question is: Will our health services cope? Professor Emeritus at Wits University in Critical Care Guy Richards - who is advising at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital - told BizNews that Cape Town is already under pressure and he says private hospitals are going to have to be brought on board if the public hospitals are overrun. He also comments on whether it is safe for children to go back to school and whether there are effective treatments for Covid-19.

As a result of his activism, young farmer Willem Petzer has rocketed to fame, becoming one of the loudest voices representing his community with, for instance, over 100 000 people having viewed his Youtube video on farm arson posted four days ago. He has more than 150 000 Facebook followers and around 50 000 subscribed to his Youtube channel. That's a serious constituency. Petzer has also successfully enlisted support from some European governments. For his troubles, in SA's mass media he has been branded a racist and right wing activist. In this month where the plight of the SA's farmers is finally getting heard, have a listen to one of their leaders - and decide for yourself.

* South Africans are bracing for a tightening up this week of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of a variant of Covid-19, which has pushed hospitals into crisis mode. * Health minister Zweli Mkhize has slammed the United Kingdom travel ban with South Africa last week after the arrival of the South African variant in Britain. * After a protracted battle in connection with financial irregularities, SA Rugby Union boss Jurie Roux has been ordered to pay R37m to Stellenbosch University. * It has been a very strong year for Chinese stocks, reports The Wall Street Journal. * For the year through November, stock picking hedge funds posted their best performance relative to the total-return of the S&P 500 since 2010. * The rand has strengthened against the greenback but trade is choppy amid concerns about the second wave of Covid-19 in SA.

Smart health coach Dr Kate discusses the extra challenges of trying to stay fit and healthy while living under the cloud of Covid-19. Health coaching has picked up in South Africa, with individuals seeking individualised, holistic plans that keep them happy and motivated to develop sustainable changes. This interview is proudly brought to you by drkatehealthcoaching.com.

Meet Sygnia founder Magda Wierzycka, a visionary financial services entrepreneur whose story is an inspiration for all. A rags to riches story of penury in Poland when the country was a vassal to the Soviet Union, to a role model for anyone possessing the grit and determination to overcome the odds. Today Magda is living her dream - but in her words, getting there "hasn't been a picnic."

At 68, Bobby Godsell's passion for his homeland hasn't dimmed and in this rare interview, he proposes an approach to living in SA that works. Born in Boksburg and raised in Durban, Godsell spurned repeated offers by one of the world's richest men to run a mining empire - and not for a moment regrets that decision. And at this difficult time, when many of his countrymen are giving up on SA, Godsell offers perspective and a message of hope. Among his suggestions: returning to a Government of National Unity to help SA overcome the massive challenge of recovering from the Covid-19 destruction.

Stellenbosch University's Dr Jo Barnes shares the forthright character trait required for epidemiologists - scientists who serve society by identifying threats of contagious diseases and deliver fact-based ways to prevent them causing havoc. In this frank podcast she explains why those under-estimating the impact of the coronavirus do so at their peril; and offers her opinions on some confused, contradictory and un-coordinated responses to the pandemic from the SA Government.

Having just turned 60 and with the kind of wealth that brings total independence, globally successful entrepreneur Rob Hersov shares his obsession of helping weld together anti-ANC forces to unseat the ruling political party. Having swum against the tide when returning home three years ago, he has a vision for a South Africa that is very different to today's troubled, failing State. The man who was tutored by two Ruperts (Murdoch and Johann) believes the turnaround will start with ejecting the country's ruling political party.

In this episode of the Editor's Desk, BizNews correspondent Bernice Maune sets out the highlights of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture - a process that has cost taxpayers more than R800m and counting. Jacob Zuma, Dudu Myeni, Eskom and SAA officials are in the spotlight. Coming up soon is President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The urgent application against SA's lockdown brought by Reyno de Beer and his Liberty Fighter's Network, was originally set down to be heard on May 19th. But after the defendant Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma twice failed to file answering affidavits, the Judge gave her a last chance and the case was duly heard on May 28. In this podcast, constitutional lawyer and Free Market Foundation CEO Leon Louw unpacks the judgement.

Do you need a health coach to help you keep those resolutions to lose weight and get fit in 2021? In this sponsored interview, South African smart health coach Dr Kate explains how a health coach can help you overcome the obstacles that have prevented you from sticking to a diet or exercise plan. A good health coach does more than focus on getting you in shape - the process is about finding what works for you.

Magnus Heystek runs a successful and burgeoning investment boutique Brenthurst Wealth Management – which just won the Boutique Wealth Manager of the Year Award at the Intellidex Annual Wealth Manager Awards, the ‘Oscars of the investment world’. In this excerpt from the BizNews Finance Friday webinar, editor Jackie Cameron discusses retirement annuities with Heystek, who stresses that there is a crisis developing for people who rely on the traditional methods to fund their retirement – because the instrument that they’re using is busy failing them. To address this crisis, Heystek recommends that, the minute you are over 55, you should seriously consider getting your money into a living annuity where you can get a 100% offshore allocation.

The Covid-19 strain identified in SA has reached the UK. Eskom is selling property assets via the Treasury and Telkom is suing Icasa over digital migration of broadcasters.

South African scientists were singled out for a special mention at the daily 10 Downing St coronavirus briefing for their superb work on genomic sequencing. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock also praised the SA government for its full co-operation in identifying the arrival of the Covid-19 SA variant to the UK. But strict rules will be applied to anyone who has had recent links to SA as the UK moves to curb the spread of the highly infectious version. For more on this topic, also listen to the BizNews Inside Covid-19 podcast, which features a scientist involved in the research on the SA variant.

In this episode, we examine changes to the Covid-19 virus that has altered the world over the past year. Dr Richard Lessells, infectious diseases specialist at Krisp, the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, helps us make sense of the latest developments in the spread of Covid-19 in South Africa. He provides an update on genomic surveillance of the disease and warns that the pandemic is still at an early stage. In this episode, we also hear insights from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Public School of Health Vice Dean Josh Sharfstein about the evolution of the virus. Also coming up, an update from Dr Keith Cloete, head of the Western Cape health department, who cautions that hospitals are buckling under the pressure of a rapidly rising rate of Covid-19 in the province that attracts huge numbers of holidaymakers at this time of the year.

Dudu Myeni is a household name in South Africa for playing a conspicuously corrupt and instrumental role in damaging South African Airways’ (SAA) prospects of being a profitable entity. Her actions have cost South African taxpayers billions of rands in bail-outs over the past decade, with another R2bn scheduled to cover staff redundancies, if business rescue practitioners get their way. Explosive evidence set out in a court case instigated by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) and the SA Pilots’ Association has provided irrefutable evidence that should put Myeni behind bars if the National Prosecuting Authority picks up on it. A former primary school teacher with zero business acumen, Myeni - longstanding executive chair of the Jacob G Zuma Foundation - was appointed to the position of chair of the national carrier on the basis of her extremely close relationship with former president Jacob Zuma. In this podcast, BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg picks up on the latest developments with Jimmy Conroy of the SAA Pilots' Association, who has been working with OUTA to hold Myeni to account for her deeds. The first victory was achieved last week. Ms Justice Ronel Tolmay’s 114 page judgment ensures that Myeni will never again participate as a director in a boardroom, either in the private or public sector.

New strains of Covid-19 are causing panic as second waves are far more aggressive. Sasol is selling a key asset in Mozambique to pay down debt.

For SA's cigarette manufacturers, Covid-19 has been like all their Christmases arriving together. Industry insider and self-confessed smuggler Azeem Carim explains how the SA government's lockdown-enforced ban on cigarette sales has generated a massive payday at taxpayers' expense. It's engineered through "ghost exports" - cigarette makers supposedly producing for sale outside SA borders, but feeding into the local market where excise duties are avoided and profits boosted by massive price hikes. In this interview, instigated by Carim's Right of Reply to yesterday's with Yusuf Kajee, he exposes a dirty industry where players use "connections" at border posts, in political parties and within SARS itself to generate super profits. Carim also has more than a few bones to pick with Kajee, claiming his company was hijacked via his former partner's "connections" at CIPRO - and alleging what Kajee told us about Amalgamated Tobacco Manufacturers is pure fiction.

Award-winning financial advisor Magnus Heystek of Brenthurst Wealth Management and stock market trading expert Brett Duncan of the Standard Bank group answer personal finance questions.

Emerging market money managers have shuffled ranks in 2020, Mediclinic says its struggling with patient loads and Krisp receives Covid-19 research funding.

Although he left the country as a 16-year old, Pretoria-born Nobel laureate, Stanford professor Michael Levitt, still describes himself as proudly South African. And as you'll hear from this podcast, the brilliant academic has some insightful perspectives on how his former homeland is handling the Covid-19 crisis. Mostly positive: He praises the early lockdown and reckons gloomy forecasts of infections only peaking in September could be way off beam. The Medical Faculty and Computer Science professor reckons SA's peak may be as early as two weeks away - and while no fan of lockdowns, says the country is one of the few to have applied this blunt tool for the right reason at the right time. But SA's only living Nobel Prize science laureate (chemistry: 2013) also supports a sensible re-opening of the economy to ensure lockdown pain is not sacrificed by an economic disaster. A rational perspective on a very noisy subject - much required at a time when common sense is too often overwhelmed by blowhard punditry.

A new strain of Covid-19 has been identified in SA, government answers questions, US approves Moderna vaccine and Tesla shares soar to record highs ahead of S&P 500 listing.

Prof Michael Levitt, a product of Pretoria Boys High whose family left for England when he was 15, is a recipient of science’s greatest honour – the Nobel Prize. As you’ll hear in the highlights of this interview with Freddie Sayers of UnHerd.com, the 72- year old professor of computer science and structural biology at California’s top university, Stanford, still possesses his South African accent. The globally respected scientist who has been tracking the Covid-19 data since January, has a critical message for the land of his birth – the lockdown is a huge mistake and countries which have applied them will be harshly judged by future generations…

Hosted by BizNews founder Alec Hogg, this episode started a short series of discussions with South African business icons. We kick off with the founders of the FirstRand Group - Laurie Dippenaar, Paul Harris and GT Ferreira. The discussion also features surprise guest Johann Rupert, and inserts from Michael Jordaan, Adrian Gore and Roger Jardine. A must listen.

Clem Sunter is one of South Africa's most respected strategists, making an indelible mark on the birth of the new South Africa which followed his High Road scenario of negotiated settlement rather than the Low Road of political turmoil. In this in-depth interview with BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg, Sunter - a prolific author of strategy books who had a successful career at Anglo American - examines the options that governments have as they start to lift lockdowns designed to contain Covid-19. Sunter also shares his assessment of the mixed signals we have been receiving from the data and research produced on the incidence and transmission of Covid-19 and its death rate. Like Stanford professor of medicine Prof Jay Bhattacharya, who also has a PhD in economics and has concluded that the Covid-19 figures guiding government policies need to be reworked, Sunter points to a delicate balancing act between suppressing economies to save some lives and re-opening business to protect others