Oval office showdown: Putin the only winner

Alan Beesley and TK Pooe unpack ActionSA’s decision to back the ANC’s budget. They discuss the DA’s position and whether ActionSA’s move is a calculated strategy or a risky gamble in South Africa’s evolving political landscape.

Did ActionSA sell out South Africans by backing the ANC budget despite the DA’s pushback? Is the R156.3bn allocated to water and sanitation infrastructure enough to address a looming crisis? And Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter reports back on the revenue collector’s record R2.3trn tax year.

‘We did a funding and financing study, which showed that we could actually raise 66% of it outside of the fiscus and the fiscus would only be responsible for about 33% or 34%,’ says Tshepo Kgobe.

The Renewable Energy Master Plan has been approved for rollout by cabinet – what does this mean for the future of green industrialisation? Is the planned R120bn Gautrain expansion plan wasteful or warranted? A local whisky takes top honours for its craftsmanship. And why Treasury should address the digital elephant…

‘There is no doubt that the world is looking and saying, if you don't actually trim your waste, you are going to be in severe trouble in the longer term,’ says Dr Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix.