EMMANUEL KING

Trade Minister Parks Tau told Parliament that 48 black industrialists got R23.4 billion from the IDC in the past year. The IDC is a state-owned Financial institution started in 1940 to build industry - it helped create Sasol, Foskor and Iscor.

Woolworths planning to opening more dark stores - shops you can't walk into that only pack online orders - to keep up with online demand without crowding normal stores; it opened its first in Cape Town in Aug 2024 for Woolies Dash and now has one Food dark store .

Postbank lost R68.76 million because it did not keep track of its SASSA cards. In 2018 it bought a lot of cards to give out at Post Office branches but did not count how many came in, stayed in the vault, or went to people.

"If you don't want to get involve in Politics, one way or the other Politics will involve you."

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Competition Commission is moving to revoke its March 2026 conditional approval of R6.5bn Premier Group-RFG Holdings merger completed end-March, after Premier in July told Commission it would shut 72-year-old Fruit Processing Western Cape cannery in Tulbagh,

The International Trade Administration Commission(ITAC) rejected 20% tariff hike on imported paper after investigation requested by Trade Minister Parks Tau following Mondi and Sappi complaints that cheap imports were hurting R33bn industry (R33bn invested past 7 years,

Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber said 14.7 million South Africans still use the paper green ID book, which will stop being valid on 31 March 2028 after production ends 31 March 2027, with 12 months to switch to smart ID cards introduced in 2013.

SA's total consolidated gross public sector debt rose 12.78% to R10.68 trillion or 137.2% of GDP as of 31 March 2026, up from R9.47 trillion, according to Reserve Bank's Sept 2026 Quarterly Bulletin.

Proteas cricketer Rassie van der Dussen, who debuted in 2018 at 29, played 71 ODIs with 2,600+ runs and retired in April 2026, co-founded container coffee chain Abantu Coffee in 2020 after his initial bean-supply plan failed.

Apparently Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on 2 Oct unveiled plan to finish 1970s Foreshore "bridge to nowhere" which halted 1977 due to lack of funds and became iconic filming spot for ads, music videos, Black Mirror episode.

Shoprite opened its 50th Uniq by Checkers clothing store in Sea Point Cape Town, launched March 2023 at Canal Walk. Uniq pitched as simplicity, comfort, superior fabrics, value - premium basics for whole family mix and match, with self-checkout via smart tags/RFID

123-year-old Corner House at 77 Commissioner Street, Joburg CBD, for sale for R117m - 8,000m2 mixed-use. First structure 1886 Beit's House corrugated iron/wood, then 2-storey 1893, current commissioned by Randlord Hermann Eckstein designed by Leck and Emley completed 1903

Competition Commission on 17 September unconditionally approved sale of Northridge Mall in Bloemfontein - 29,510m², 86 stores on R700/K Kaunda Road north fringe, expanded in 2019 by Moolman Group and PHG Group - to Cape Town 101 Investments, a Free State retail property investor.

Col'Cacchio grew from a single 1992 Cape Town pizzeria by Kinga Baranowska and Michael Terespolsky into 20 restaurants across SA, Namibia and Mauritius, After opening two Morituri Pizzerias in 1995-96 and selling them, Terespolsky franchised Col'Cacchio - 30 stores in 2015

For first time since 2011, Woolworths dropped out of FTSE/JSE Top 40 in quarterly review by JSE and FTSE Russell, replaced by Aspen Pharmacare - ending 15-year run. Woolworths share down 28.91% over past year, down 32.14% YTD in 2026 to ~R41 from R108 11 years ago,

Pepkor sold three distribution centres - two PEP, one Ackermans - to Badger Properties for ~R2bn but keeps 35% stake and 15-year triple-net leases so operations continue unchanged. Pepkor says proceeds will fund high-yielding growth and cut net debt, improving capital efficiency.

Competition Commission approved Shoprite's acquisition of liquor chain PicardiRebel - 34 stores plus 1 wholesaler, 45-year-old brand - with conditions to commit capex to refurbish stores within a set period, saying it won't substantially lessen competition.

Shoprite, Bidvest and Sibanye Stillwater together employ ∼344,000 people, about 2% of formal employment and a quarter of government's 1.2m workforce, at a time unemployment hit 36.6% in Q2 2026. Shoprite is biggest private employer with 174,000 across Checkers, Shoprite, Usave;

The "construction mafia" is costing South Africa R17 billion a year in lost economic output, according to Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson. The syndicates and local business forums extort construction firms by demanding cash, supplies, or jobs,