Rational Perspective

PRETORIA — With a third of the results in South Africa's sixth general election now in, the Freedom Front Plus has a surprising strong showing. It is a party that openly says it represents white interest in the country, but it has seen growth among Afrikaans speaking members of the coloured community and more recently black people in the townships have started canvassing members for the Freedom Front Plus. Here's the chairperson Anton Alberts. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pretoria — South Africans turned out in their millions to vote in the first general election where social media played a major role. And although problems were reported with some voting stations in Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape not opening because of continued unrest, in general the election process could be regarded as a success. By midday 14 stations in these areas had not opened which the IEC managed to whittle down to a handful by early evening. Considering the fact that they had around 22,000 polling stations, the IEC has been successful in carrying out a smooth voting process. Problems that were experienced at some polling stations were more visible than previous elections due to posts on social media, but it also enabled the IEC to address issues and encourage voters to bring problems to the attention of electoral officers. The Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo regretted the disruption experienced due to unrest and said he was happy with a smooth election process despite some glitches. - Linda

 Long delayed financial results for the year to end September 2017, released late on Tuesday, revealed that former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste voted himself R30m in bonuses which he banked just months before the group’s December 2017 meltdown.  Steinhoff’s restated financial results were dire, with a R65bn net loss causing a stock which lost over 90% from its peak to decline even further in Frankfurt yesterday.   Adding to Jooste’s woes was the release on Tuesday a dynamite report into horseracing by the Public Protector. The former Steinhoff CEO and close associates effectively controlled the sport for much of the period where the report claims abuses were perpetrated.  The South African stock market gave up 1% on Tuesday led lower by heavyweight Naspers – off 1.6% - and most of the major retailing stocks.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PRETORIA — South Africans will go to the polls for the country's sixth democratic election today. After a hotly contested election campaign, the politicians will fall silent while voters get the chance to give their say on who they want to rule the country. The first two days of special votes were marred by some incidence of violence and disruption by protestors about services delivery, but the IEC's Sy Mamabolo says the special voting has helped the IEC to fix glitches. 22,924 voting stations will be open from 7 in the morning until 10 at night for the country's 26.7 million voters. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shares worldwide took a hit yesterday after an unexpected intensification in trade tensions between the US and China. The global softening of share prices had an impact in South Africa where dominant stock Naspers lost 3.5%, mirroring a 3% drop in the price of its major asset, Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings. In the wake of a 45% slump in the Massmart share price over the past year, chief executive Guy Hayward yesterday announced he would be leaving the company before the end of 2019. Troubled construction company Group Five, once a leading South African conglomerate, is preparing to sell its three biggest subsidiaries in an attempt to stave off liquidation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — Most opinion polls on this week’s election give the ANC a majority, anything from the mid-50s to 60%. With the recent tsunami of corruption in the Zuma-era unearthed by the Zondo and Mpati commissions, it raises the question of why so many South Africans would still feel inclined to give their support to the ANC. It appears that the answer to that question is that although it is a quarter of a century since the country’s first election, the political struggle against the apartheid government still dominates when voters have to decide who they want to govern South Africa into the future. This was also evident among ANC-voters we interviewed here in London, who acknowledged that the ANC lost its way, but they believed firmly that their organisation would find its way back to the principles of the anti-apartheid struggle. But many of them told us, this is the last chance they are giving the ANC. - Linda van Tilburg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Wednesday’s election draws near, everyone is talking about what the final tally will look like. In this week’s episode, Alec Hogg shares what he thinks the results may look like and what he’s been watching this election cycle. He shares his optimism about the DA’s on-the-ground campaign and the choices South Africans will make. Felicity Duncan talks EFF, looking at how the ANC has been losing vote share to the EFF and what that may mean for South Africa’s political future. They also discuss the Berkshire Hathaway AGM, which Alec makes a point of attending – either live or virtually – every year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was another record turnout at Saturday’s Berkshire Hathaway AGM where chairman Warren Buffett (88) and his deputy Charlie Munger (95) answered five hours of questions from shareholders. Still in the US, president Donald Trump’s prospects for re-election in 2020 could be higher than most pundits are predicting. The South African election gets the full treatment in the Wall Street Journal this morning where our US partner reckons support for the ANC is the lowest since democracy began in 1994. In a strong signal of the country’s shift to the east, from September South African Airways will initiate another direct service to China. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Berkshire duo warm into this question from this shareholder, who is a manager at a Canadian public sector pension fund. He asked for their view on private equity investments - particularly for retirement funds like the one where he works. The Buffett and Munger response won't thrill the army of consultants selling these products. *This is one of the highlights from the five hours of Q&A at the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway AGM in Omaha where chairman Warren Buffett and his deputy Charlie Munger field queries from shareholders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warren Buffett's favourite broadcaster, CNBC's Becky Quick, poses a question many shareholders are mulling - does Berkshire's purchase of Amazon.com shares signal a radical change in direction? Charlie Munger is at his caustic, self-deprecating best in his response. *This is one of the highlights from the five hours of Q&A at the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway AGM in Omaha where chairman Warren Buffett and his deputy Charlie Munger field queries from shareholders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warren Buffett describes himself as "a card carrying capitalist" primarily because of a belief the system which underpins its economy is responsible for the abundance of his homeland, the United States. In this highlight, he is quizzed about his other very public loyalty, as a supporter of the Democratic Party, where a number of leading 2020 Presidential candidates are running on a socialist ticket. The Oracle of Omaha's comprehensively settles that argument.       * This is one of the highlights from the five hours of Q&A at the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway AGM in Omaha where chairman Warren Buffett and his deputy Charlie Munger field queries from shareholders.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of the most interesting questions at the Berkshire AGM come from unusual quarters like 10 year old Brook who asked what was the most interesting or fun investment Warren and Charlie ever made. The responses are fascinating - and guaranteed to ensure you never again look at a game farming syndicate the same way.   * This is one of the highlights from the five hours of Q&A at the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway AGM in Omaha where chairman Warren Buffett and his deputy Charlie Munger field queries from shareholders.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The best-read story on The Wall Street Journal sets out new clues on human evolution. A fossil jaw found in the Himalayan Highlands of Tibet has got scientists excited. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption drive has claimed another two scalps - National Laboratory Service Chief Executive Officer Joyce Mogale and Chief Financial Officer Sikhumbuzo Zulu. Gold fell to its lowest in a week on Thursday, reports Reuters, as the US Federal Open Market Committee doused expectations of a near-term rate cut and on lack of physical demand in Asia. In New York, the Tesla share price perked up on an announcement it would seek to raise about $2bn through debt and stock offerings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya has lost a legal battle against rules to force her to take medicine to compete internationally. Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party has called for workers to be given shares in all strategic sectors within the economy, including the financial sector. On the US stock markets, Apple was a winner, rising about 6% and pulling Wall Street indices up with it in early trade on 1 May. Most European markets were closed for the May Day holiday as was the JSE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RCL and Pioneer Foods were among biggest gainers on the JSE on Monday. Mining stocks took a knock with Amplats dropping by nearly 6% with Implats not far behind. Mining analysts are concerned that a move by the government to deregister trade union AMCU could create chaos in the mining sector. President Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption strategy has claimed fresh scalps - this time by hitting graft-tainted politicians and officials where it hurts most - in the pocket. And in the US, the ongoing investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes has seen the Boeing share price fall 10% since March 10. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — The first votes of one of the most contentious elections in South Africa's history were cast by overseas voters this weekend. With just over a week to go, the expats in the United Kingdom have given some indication of what we can expect in the election on the 8th of May. Most of the voters we spoke to indicated that they will go for the bigger parties on the national list and it appears that it is unlikely that the long list of smaller parties on the ballot paper will be favoured by voters. Smaller parties may however be a factor in the provinces with many parties talking about coalitions. The two provinces where this may be a factor is Gauteng, where polls predict that the ANC may lose its majority and the Western Cape, where the Democratic Alliance is trying to hold on to its dominant position. The DA, which managed to gain as much as 80% of the vote in Britain in the previous national election in 2014 seems to be the favoured party in the UK and in tweets and interviews we did at the South African

ANC-leaders facing tax claims of income earned from Bosasa. This comes after the firing of two senior prosecutors implicated in bribes. AMCU is meeting the Labour Minister to discuss the government's threat to deregister the group. It has come to light that certain safety features on Boeing 737 Max jets were turned off. The UK's ‘fracking tsar’ Natascha Engel resigned after just six months. South African expats get to vote in the country's May elections. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years of waiting, South Africa is finally seeing real action on the corruption clean-up front, starting with big news out of the NPA. Two top dogs at the National Prosecuting Authority have been given their walking papers after they were found unfit for office. Cleaning up the NPA is the first step in turning around SA’s fight against corruption, because the NPA is the organisation tasked with putting away the bad guys. As more and more incriminating information emerges from the country’s various commissions, having a strong and willing NPA will make it much more likely that South Africans will be seeing justice – and it’s better late than never. In this week’s episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the events unfolding at the NPA and the Mpati Commission and what they mean for South Africa. They also look at global markets, unpacking the recent all-time highs achieved by US stocks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In June last year, feisty politician Bantu Holomisa launched a raft of sensational allegations against a trio of leading businessmen which were immediately lapped up by the media. As a result, Holomisa finds himself on the wrong end of a libel suit. But the UDM political party president’s colourful language and skilful media management has had an upside. Last October, a Commission of Inquiry was established to look into his allegations of impropriety at the R2 trillion Public Investment Corporation, or the PIC. And in hearings since January the commission has exposed two unexpected warts: the dictatorial management style of the PIC’s now suspended chief executive Dr Dan Matjila; and likely fraud around the PIC’s R4.3bn investment in Ayo, a wanna-be African tech giant promoted on vapourware. The great paradox, however, is the supposedly pillaging businessmen described by Holomisa as “hyenas” are coming through the interrogation as honest agents. Indeed, testimony heard by Judge Lex Mpati and his commissione

In today's business headlines:  The head of the Government Employees Pension Fund says the fund is financially sound and there is no need for an increase in contributions by employers. Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says she is investigating Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordham to help him. The labour department is planning to deregister AMCU just weeks before crucial platinum-industry wage talks are expected to begin. Brent crude reached $75 a barrel which is not good news for motorists who could face higher petrol and diesel prices. Mark Zuckerberg's fortune is bouncing back. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.