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The Guptas, Eskom and tolls make it into the list of the leading business stories on Fin24.
Eskom's Koko in firing line
Former acting CEO Matshela Koko is likely to face strict action from Eskom's board, reports Fin24's Yolandi Groenewald.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown’s intervention will also be critical and Fin24 understands she is likely to recommend that strict action be taken against Koko.
Koko was placed on special leave in May pending an investigation by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr after concerns were raised about an apparent conflict of interest.
Eskom awarded tenders worth R1bn to the company Impulse International, but it emerged that Koko’s stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, was a director in Impulse.
That report has not been made public yet, but Fin24 understands Eskom has met with investigators in preparation for steps against Koko.
Oakbay: IDC millions at risk
The severe fluctuations in the share price of Gupta-owned Oakbay Resources and Energy in a period of just over two-and-a-half years will make it difficult to determine the true valuation of the company, according to Melanie De Nysschen, corporate finance principal at Bravura Capital.
This raises concerns about the Industrial Development Corporation’s (IDC's) ability to recover funds, following the conversion of the R256m loan to Oakbay into equity.
Oakbay is in the process of delisting but has yet to make a public announcement about this. The JSE requires a company to formally announce its delisting in a SENS announcement.
The IDC told City Press over the weekend that it expects Oakbay to permanently delist from the JSE, as the company struggles to find a JSE sponsor as a result of “negative public opinion”.
Read this in-depth article by Fin24's Liesl Peyper.
Foreign firms coin over R550m from SA's loss-making e-tolls
Two overseas companies have earned more than R550m for providing e-tags to and printing and distributing invoices for South Africa’s loss-making e-toll system.
Kapsch TrafficCom AB from Sweden and Q-Free ASA from Norway have been contracted for e-tag provision and maintenance.
Kapsch TrafficCom (a subsidiary of Austrian company Kapsch) received R167.2m (exclusive of VAT), while Q-Free got R58.3m (exclusive of VAT) for providing e-tags.
The amounts reflect the total that Sanral paid for e-tags upon delivery since the inception of the e-toll system in December 2013.
Sanral told Fin24 that the amounts paid to the two companies are exclusive of value-added tax (VAT), as it is claimed back by the companies.
Your medical aid tax rebates to fund NHI - ANC
The ANC wants the current tax rebates to individuals on medical aids to be scrapped and the money used to fund the National Health Insurance (NHI).
It is estimated that R22bn is paid back to tax payers every year, but Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi wants that money to be redirected and used as money for the NHI.
“This is not an additional tax, it is money we can claim back while we remain beneficiaries of medical aid schemes that our employers support us with,” explained ANC NEC chairperson of the committee on health and education Naledi Pando, in a report back on the resolutions taken during the recent ANC policy conference.
Pandor said that the party wants to ensure that the legislative framework on the NHI will be finalised by 2019 when the current term comes to an end.
Which is SA's fastest network?
Technology blog, MyBroadband crunched the numbers obtained from their Speed Test app for Android, and uncovered which network reigns supreme in South Africa.
Vodacom appears to be the king of speed. Speed Test allows users to gauge the speed of their internet connection.
According to the test results between April and June 2017 Vodacom had clocked download speeds averaging 28.7Mbps, followed by MTN on 26.2Mbps.
Read the full story by Fin24 technology reporter Kyle Venktess.
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