Tag: Cyril Ramaphosa

If nothing else, 2017 provided proof positive that the unexpected does happen. South Africa’s political and economic crisis entered a new phase with the GuptaLeaks revelations, Kenya had to rerun its elections and the seemingly indomitable Robert Mugabe was forced from office in disgrace.

Political uncertainty through transitions and instability are among the key risks for businesses in Southern Africa in 2018. 2018 will see continued uncertainty around political leadership in our Southern African markets. The transitions in Zimbabwe and Angola in 2017, elections in Mozambique in 2018, and factionalism within South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) once again remind businesses in the region of the importance of gaining a clear understanding of the impact of such uncertainty on their risk environment.

Geoff Blount | Managing Director | BayHill Capital | geoffb@bayhill.co.za | www.bayhillcapital.co.za |  This is a win for Cyril Ramaphosa, but given the make-up of the new NEC, this is not necessarily a loss for the Zuma faction within the ANC. Markets got this one wrong – and were pricing in a Cyril slate victory, rather than a “hung” NEC. Hence, we expect the rand and the domestic-facing stocks to weaken tomorrow after their recent rally. Some of the euphoria will be repriced out of the market and it will retrace some of its steps as the reality sinks in. If people were looking for

George Herman | Director and Chief Investment Officer | Citadel Investment Services | georgeh@citadel.co.za | www.citadel.co.za | Following a neck-and-neck battle with fellow candidate Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Monday evening announcement of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC Presidential victor has buoyed investor sentiment, with the rand surging 4% against the dollar before the final result was even known. The composition of the Top-6 leadership of the ANC is a unique mix between the two opposing ‘slates’. This will hopefully ensure unity in the ruling party and...

Talk of radical economic transformation, a concept that has dominated public discourse in recent months, is an outcome of government policy failures, which have left the majority black population on the margins of the mainstream economy, speakers argued during a panel discussion organised by the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (GSB) on Wednesday 19 April.

Political uncertainty globally will have ripple effects on Africa, primarily through impacts on commodity prices and global economic sentiment. While the early months of 2017 have seen improved prices for the commodities on which many southern African economies rely, longer term economic sentiment is more mixed. Meanwhile, governance improvements and the embedding of democratic practices and norms will be tested by pockets of instability as succession battles take place across the region.

On 16th August 2012, thirty-four black mineworkers were gunned down by the police under the auspices of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) in...