Tuesday, 18 August 2026

Ground Up’s reporting found the Johannesburg Masters Office plagued by backlogs, offline systems, missing documents and alleged bribery, with some matters dragging on for years instead of weeks.

The Justice Department has referred the Masters Office digitisation project to the SIU and Hawks after complaints about a service provider allegedly withholding documents; the promised turnaround is still not felt on the ground.

Ann Bernstein said Johannesburg’s decline is a national economic problem: the city still hosts about 70% of corporate headquarters and raises nearly 22% of personal income tax.

Chris Yelland said the draft electricity pricing policy contains little that is new, and questioned how free basic electricity would be funded if eligibility and the allocation both expand fivefold.

ABSA reported headline earnings up 8% and dividend up 8%, with South African operations up 17%; Kenny Fickl said growth came from more customers, better risk quality and faster digitalisation.