The moments worth hearing, as they happen.

Palma attack killed 1,563, second-deadliest terror attack after 9/11, author says

Journalist Alex Perry tells Cape Talk how his survey of survivors counted 1,563 dead in the ISIS attack on Palma, Mozambique.

“Oil and gas. It's the middle of nowhere. There's no infrastructure. And the reason there were thousands of foreign contractors up there was they were building essentially an entire new town in the middle of nowhere to…”

ActionSA: GNU formed wrongly, president elected with no reforms agreed

An ActionSA representative says the GNU statement of intent is so vague everyone agrees, and unemployment is highest in SA two years in.

“Institutional power was given to the president, it was all Mr. President, Mr. President. The statement of intent document which was drawn up is so vague and broad that everyone agrees to it and no one agrees to it at…”

Crowd moment

BizNews lifts Palantir value to $170 but says hold, don't chase

Alec Hogg raises BizNews's Palantir intrinsic value from $150 to $170 after 96% growth, but says the price already reflects it.

“In our intrinsic value, we have them at $150 a share. That's quite a long way below where they are trading at the moment, around $170. So the market has been running ahead of our intrinsic value number.”

Commentator: removing AGOA is collective punishment of South Africa

A political commentator says South Africa should not celebrate Trump's midterm loss and must lobby harder as AGOA removal hits citrus, cars and wine.

“We sent a reasonably well-mannered man to go and represent South Africa as ambassador to the USA. I think that we should give him the chance. We should not work against him. So it's not time to celebrate Trump losing.”

Afri Rent chairman: banks won't back black startups, so I raised R650m privately

Afri Rent Holdings chairman Senzo Sabeze says banks shun black entrepreneurs, and recalls raising R650 million himself in 2018 to keep a contract.

“And of course, building a business of this scale, you know, that can't be a smooth ride all the way through. So, what's been your toughest professional setback?”

Naughty Water founders: start with one store, not 500

Naughty Water co-founder Michael Tones explains how they won shelf space by running one store, then 50, as if it were everything.

“And we got into one store and we ran one store like it was our be all and end all.”

BER economist: failing municipalities cost business twice, and election may restore confidence

BER chief economist Lisette Eisel de Schiepe says municipal dysfunction raises business costs and deters investment, but stable coalitions could restore confidence.

“And Lisette, talk to me about the fact that municipalities are seen as a political story, but my goodness me, the economic cost of dysfunction, the cost to businesses, the cost to local economies around them has been…”

Two women bought a failing Cape Town biscuit firm for R1

Bruce Whitfield reveals the quiz answer: Kylicha Cookies was bought in 2013 for one rand with R2m debt, and still supplies British Airways.

“Asked you earlier, there was a biscuit company in 2013 with a BA contract that was sold. What was the purchase price for the biscuit company? Well, it was only one rand, actually. Yes, one rand.”

Crowd-farming firm paid off R15m citrus farm in under three years

A Kaya Biz guest says a citrus farm bought via crowd farming was paid off from profits, exporting 109,000 cartons to Europe.

“Like our most recent success has been the citrus farm that we bought using the same crowd farming about three years ago. Was a 15 million Rand investment. And then in less than three years, we fully paid off the farm.”

Harith's FlySafair deal ends six-year ownership dispute, analyst says

A Kaya Biz analyst says Harith's full purchase of Safair Holdings settles foreign-ownership complaints and replaces its failed SAA bid.

“The first is that you may recall that FlySafair pretty much had its back to the wall in terms of its own ownership structure.”

Fund manager warns AI boom cracks could make markets uglier

A multi-asset income head says five tech stocks make up about 25% of the Nasdaq and AI-related firms over half the S&P, as cracks widen.

“But the AI boom's really driven U.S. stock markets. I would presume there is a higher potential now for more regular.”

Debt advisor warns of scams hijacking debt review payments

A National Debt Advisors head says people are placed on debt review unknowingly and tricked into redirecting payments to scammers' accounts.

“Let's speak to Sebastian Alexanderson, the head of National Debt Advisors. Thank you so much for your time on Cayapas this evening.”

Economist: US curbs on Tencent could push China to beat Nvidia reliance

An economist says Oracle's abandoned $7bn Tencent AI deal shows Chinese firms will find workarounds, as with DeepSeek, which could burst the bubble.

“They recently announced that they would be abandoning a $7 billion transaction with Tencent that sits in Hong Kong around AI.”

Zille: Joburg so broke it may need a finance ministry bailout

DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille says Joburg's finances are so bad it may ask the finance minister for a bailout, and lists fixes.

“We might well have to ask the finance minister for a bailout. Joburg is that bankrupt and that broke. If it's in that type of a position, where do you even start your recovery efforts? Say the arrangements.”

LIV Golf set to end after revamp fails to attract funding

Reports say LIV 2.0, backed by BC Partners Credit, failed to win enough player and commercial commitments after the Saudi PIF withdrew.

“Then, in terms of golf, live golf appears set to come to an end after efforts to secure funding for a revamped version of the breakaway league reportedly failing.”

Economist: AGOA exclusion tells South Africa 'being black is a crime'

Independent economist Stephen Mancho reacts to South Africa's removal from AGOA on Power FM, claiming it targets black economic participation.

“Africa's participation in AGOA talking to Stephen Mancho, who's an independent economist. Immediate reaction: number of reasons why we've been longing for it. Longing for it.”

Woman says banks patronised her over car finance: 'focus on your lunch'

A caller on 702 describes negotiating her own vehicle finance, fighting a DIC fee and facing patronising, sexist bank staff.

“So I then moved to my second bank, which is Nedbank, and they have a division called MFC, and that's their vehicle finance division. And we started off at Nedbank with an interest rate around 15%, if I'm not mistaken.”

Reward adviser: bonuses in bad times need an exceptionally high bar

Premium Reward Advisors' Dr Mark Busen says executive bonuses amid falling profits must be justified by beating peers.

“Should company executives still receive substantial bonuses when profits are falling, shareholders losing money, and employees facing retrenchments?”

Wits professor: Trump's midterm loss is a sigh of relief for South Africa

Wits professor John Stremlau says the Democratic midterm win gives South Africa breathing space on trade, urging Ramaphosa to act fast.

“Now, as you will be well aware, Donald Trump has emerged from the US midterm elections politically weakened. But what does that mean for South Africa?”

Kellogg's admits Rice Krispies may snap, crackle and pop more quietly

Kellogg's has changed the UK recipe for Rice Krispies and Cocoa Pops to rice and corn flour, blaming weather and disrupted rice supplies.

“Kellogg's have admitted that their snap, crackle, and pop sound could be quieter. They've changed the recipe, you see, for both rice krispies and cocoa pops in the UK.”

Host: there are no weight loss gummies, it's a proper scam

A 947 host says weight loss gummies are a scam that uses the likenesses of local radio personalities, now with AI voices.

“There are no such thing as weight loss gummies, guys. Stop giving these people your money. It's a scam. It's a proper scam. It's a scam. They use me, they use Li and Manners. There's a third person, Devi.”

Bafana technical staff got under 20% of players' World Cup bonus

A Power FM host says Bafana players got their World Cup bonuses while technical staff reportedly got far less, with R5m from the minister unpaid.

“However, with that being said, as much as the Bafana players got their payouts, technical staff unfortunately received significantly less. They reportedly received not even what is that?”

Guest: stop telling kids to be entrepreneurs, teach engineering and science

A Power FM guest says SA's economy prizes making money over production and that unskilled would-be entrepreneurs fuel unemployment.

“First of all, our economy has been based on trying to make money rather than on production. That's why we've got so much unemployment. Why is China so successful?”

Crocs dodges how many R24 pairs it sold as 200,000 queued online

A 702 host says Crocs South Africa gave a vague reply and never said how many R24 pairs were on sale in two rounds.

“This year, more than 200,000, so we did get a number there, 200,000 South Africans queued online for the opportunity to purchase Crocs for just 24 rand. We recognize that many shoppers invested time.”

R1.5bn spent on consultants across 225 municipalities, AG report finds

A Power FM host unpacks a report saying municipalities paid billions to consultants for work their own staff and councillors should do.

“And we're going to be talking about the Aegis report that came out to say 1.5 billion have been spent on consultants across 225 municipalities, right?”

Insurance exec: MTN's Mupita taught me to simplify actuarial concepts

A guest on The Money Show recalls how a one-hour chat with Old Mutual's Rolf Mupita started her insurance career and shaped her leadership.

“This was 16 years ago, and his name was Rolf Mupita. Of course, he went on to other things. He now runs MTN, probably one of the most influential CEOs on the entire continent.”

Bonitas member told to haggle over her own wrist screws

A Bonitas member with a displaced wrist fracture was told to find three implant quotes herself before surgery could be authorised.

“Moved some of the cases, but Wendy says there's still so many cases coming, including a person who had to get a badly broken wrist repaired and was told to haggle over the price of the plates and screws that were needed.”

Joburg's capital budget fell over 50% per person in a decade

A Kaya Biz guest says Johannesburg's infrastructure backlog has grown from R170bn to R220bn while per capita capital spending was cut by half.

“Of the total local government expenditure budget. So, how can local government be an engine for economic growth when this is a persistent issue and we are seeing statistics like that? Hi, thank you so much.”

Esports organisers sell the audience, not the tournament

ACGL's Nick Holden says esports revenue comes from sponsorships, partnerships and event services, with long-term community investment over one-off events.

“Well, as I mentioned, the esports tournaments themselves aren't necessarily the product being sold. More often, it's the audience, the engagement, and the opportunities that they're creating.”

Film rebate collapse: 20 repudiations left R57m owed, financiers shun SA

A film industry representative says the DTIC's 2019 repudiations of about 20 projects wrecked the rebate and drove international financiers away.

“They ran effectively, and we had a very competitive rebate from about its start, I think it was 2003-2004, until about 2019 when the wheels just fell off and, to be honest, haven't been put back on in any shape or form.”

Auctioneer found 400 working pinball machines in one Joburg warehouse

An auctioneer describes Johannesburg's likely largest private pinball collection, all working, and tips on keeping collectibles original.

“Almost 10 years plus of our Springbok team, any Springbok memorabilia or autographs have a huge value at the moment. It's just, it has a lot to do with timing, it has a lot to do with originality.”

Expert: SA must lobby Democrats to stop AGOA removal, it holds 60% of exports

A US analyst says Trump must give 60 days' notice and tell Congress, and SA should lobby Democrats as the January 2027 AGOA exit looms.

“But as it relates to South Africa, when it comes to Agoa, keep in mind that the letter that President Donald Trump sent to the governor of South Africa is an intent to terminate South Africa's beneficiary status in…”

Daily Maverick's Haffajee: Joburg wage addendum rushed through before results

Ferial Haffajee says an opaque addendum to Johannesburg's municipal wage deal was signed last night and would bind the next administration.

“Let's welcome to 702 Drive Ferial Haffajee, Associate Editor at Daily Maverick, who's been following this story very closely indeed.”

Move Essay candidate: pay the R13bn owed to Joburg entrepreneurs first

A Move Essay mayoral candidate says Johannesburg owes about 13 billion to unpaid entrepreneurs and would make city CEOs settle it first.

“I think the first thing is to, you know, most of the challenges that we're all speaking about really come from economic hardships.”

Campaigners: only 2 of 10 million eligible homes get free electricity

An Electricity for All campaigner on SAfm says electricity prices are up 1,100% since 2007 and the free 50kWh grant misses most indigent households.

“We've come up with this campaign at this juncture because since 2007, electricity prices have gone up by 1,100%. That's six times the rate of gender inflation.”

Hosts debate whether accountant was right to flag R1.2m budget error

On 947, hosts weigh a listener who, added to a managers' WhatsApp group by mistake, spotted a double-counted row in the CFO's budget.

“So, here goes, I'm a junior accountant and the company in Sandton four months ago. My manager added me to the leadership team's WhatsApp group by mistake.”

Laughter on air

Guest: 2016 decision to drop fuel stocks may have cost SA an economy

A 702 guest says South Africa lacks refining and storage capacity, so rebuilding stocks now costs about $100 a barrel versus $35-40 then.

“Had we held our position in 2016, we would have been good. We'd been sitting quite prisoners. I remember that whole petrol gate. It was a big scandal. It is a huge scandal. I even remember Mayor Tina Joemat-Pettersson.”

NPA explains why Agrizzi alone owes R1.66bn and how it was calculated

The NPA's spokesperson tells 702 the R1.66bn order against Angelo Agrizzi came from money Bosasa got from correctional services.

“You can never get enough of a good thing. 702 replay. Well, let's turn to this matter now. The former chief operating officer of the company, Bussasa Angelo Agrisi, has been ordered to pay the state more than 1.66…”

Debt collector wrote off 82-year-old's ambulance bill after her letter

A debt collector on 702 recalls an elderly woman offering to skip a meal weekly to pay R20 toward an ambulance debt, which his firm wrote off.

“Well, no, not really, but I mean, like, we have written off people's debt. You know, for example, there was an ambulance account. This old lady of 82 years old was picked up by the ambulance.”

Laughter on air

Private solar now outstrips any SA coal station, says energy expert

On Cape Talk, Michael Jordaan's tweet that private solar hit 5.2GW prompts an energy institute head to explain why distributed power matters.

“So he tweets this: Private installed solar of 5.2 gigawatts is now larger than any coal-fired power station in South Africa.”

Economist: SA can't just abandon US trade, oranges already sold

On SAfm Nightfall, a UJ economist answers a caller who wants SA to drop US trade, citing platinum, 600 US firms and pre-sold orange crops.

“My question, or maybe my concern, is why would he not, without being academic in approach, but just say what would happen to South Africa if it would not trade with USA?”

Guest: firing a CEO is taboo in SA, yet Silicon Valley fired Steve Jobs

On 702, a governance guest says corrective action can mean removing the CEO, and the host asks if firing a founder signals maturity.

“And how they interact and what is it that they use to interact on. And for me, that's a very critical part of governance. The other one is about outcomes and consequence management. This is the third one.”

Eskom bailouts hit R496bn since 2008; guest says corruption has a price

On Kaya Biz, a guest responds to the R496 billion spent bailing out Eskom since 2008, citing legacy governance failures and corruption.

“You know, to the best intentions, but the Standing Committee on Appropriations has said that since 2008, 496 billion rand has been spent bailing out Eskom. And I know we've spoken about this ongoing issue.”

Analyst: losing AGOA is good, US always used it to push chicken dumping

Oscar van Heerden says the Obama administration threatened to remove AGOA unless SA accepted US poultry, so exit frees the country from that leverage.

“Good evening, Stephen. Yeah, look, I mean, it's subject to interpretation. It's not so much you can stay in if you do what we want.”

Kaya host calls Trump a crook and urges SA to trade elsewhere

A Kaya Biz host argues South Africa should diversify exports to Asia and the Middle East and accuses Trump of corrupt, business-driven trade policy.

“So my attitude is: if America is willing to show us, or if President Trump is willing to show us, that he can change faster than Cape Town,”

Logistics professor: Transnet can't unbundle itself, shareholder must

Stellenbosch's Jan Havenga says splitting rail infrastructure from Transnet must be driven by Treasury, presidency and Transport, not Transnet.

“It started with the Minister of Finance's midterm budget speech, where on page two of the speech he made the same statement about what's going to happen with both the ports and the rail infrastructure of Transnet, where…”

Journalist: ministerial committee ran parallel lottery process, picked Sizekaya

News24's Azarra Karim explains the court ruling on the lottery licence and how a ministerial committee overrode two panels that ranked other bidders higher.

“They are challenging the transparency and legality of the process following investigative reports linking a relative of Deputy President Paul Mashatile's wife to shares in Sezakaya.”

Corder hosts: AGOA exit means 15.9% tariffs, not catastrophe

The Corder Report hosts say South Africa's AGOA removal is politically driven, citing Wandile Sihlobo that tariffs rise from 12.5% to 15.9%.

“From the African Growth and Opportunity Act, it's this act which has allowed South Africa unfettered access to US markets for a lot of our particularly farm produce exports, but some other things too, for the last like…”