Tuesday, 8 September 2026

South Africa’s GDP contracted 0.2% in the second quarter after six quarters of growth; trade, catering and accommodation fell 1.9%, while transport and agriculture grew.

Only five of 480 infrastructure projects earmarked by National Treasury had completed project preparation, highlighting why weak investment is undermining industrialisation and future growth.

The savings industry said 10 transformation frameworks from seven authorities over five years are creating fragmented, overlapping rules, potentially weakening progress towards broader transformation goals.

Old Mutual reported operations per share up 11%, sales up 21% and expects to pass one million bank customers, while promoting Ronan Takurdin to chief financial officer.

Parents were urged to start saving early, match investment risk to the time horizon, and avoid sacrificing retirement savings to fund children’s education.