Jeremy’s weekly wrap: Business backs Ramaphosa advisor as SCA clips Tshwane

Business confidence, corporate rescue, property rights, and food security dominated the strongest Moneyweb@Midday interviews this week, each pointing to a different pressure point in South Africa’s economy.

Martin Kingston, CEO of Business for South Africa, welcomed the appointment of former National Treasury budget chief Michael Sachs as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s economic advisor, reading it as a practical signal that reform and fiscal discipline are moving closer to the centre of government.

Kingston’s point was not that one appointment changes the economy overnight, but that Sachs brings credibility, technical authority, and proximity to the president at a time when South Africa needs faster delivery on infrastructure, logistics, energy, and growth.

The interview also underlined the test ahead. Reform momentum has improved, but business wants evidence: faster implementation, cleaner coordination across the state and policy choices that support investment rather than simply promise it. Sachs, in Kingston’s view, can help sharpen the link between economic policy and execution.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Henico Schalekamp, CEO of advisory firm HLB CBS, used the Tongaat Hulett rescue to make a broader warning about corporate distress. Too many companies wait until options have vanished before admitting they need help.

Prompt action, he argued, keeps more choices open, whether that means restructuring, raising capital, or bringing in new investors.

His bigger point was that business rescue is not just about shareholders. In Tongaat’s case, the stakes ran deep into cane growers, suppliers, workers, and communities, with an estimated 250 000 jobs connected to the wider ecosystem.

Schalekamp said the businesses worth backing are those with long-term opportunity but short-term capital pressure.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Bulelwa Mabasa, director and head of the Land Reform Practice at Werksmans Attorneys, discussed the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) rejection of Tshwane’s attempt to expropriate land that had been unlawfully occupied.

She said the ruling was both a property rights victory and a warning to municipalities that they cannot use expropriation to sidestep eviction orders or their constitutional duties.

Mabasa stressed that the judgment does not ignore the housing crisis, but it does reaffirm that land invasions cannot be used to force cities to take private property unlawfully. For investors and landowners, the key message is that the rule of law still matters.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Dr Marc Wegerif, principal investigator at the Centre of Excellence in Food Security, challenged the simplicity of South Africa’s immigration debate ahead of the planned 30 June protests. His warning was that removing migrant workers from food systems could push up costs, especially in informal retail and street vending.

He argued that food security depends not only on farms, but on the people who move, sell, and make food affordable. If large numbers of migrant traders disappeared from the system, poorer households could face higher prices and weaker access to fresh food.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.