My first draft of this ZBS was done last Saturday. And here we are, 4 days later, and I am still mulling on this topic. Thank goodness for a public holiday today, else this would probably only have seen the light of day after early October’s Joburg Indaba. So what did I conclude after all […]
Two Stories, One Question About South Africa’s Future This week, two headlines caught my eye. On one hand, we have the call to nationalise ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) to save jobs and revive our struggling steel sector. On the other hand, the Anglo American – Teck Resources Limited $53 billion megamerger creating one of the […]
As I pen this ZBS newsletter, whilst sitting on a plane to Hong Kong, I couldn’t help thinking about my carbon footprint. Am I serious about my negative impact on the environment if I fly for 12 hours there and then another 12 hours back for a single meeting? Seriously? Am I ever going to […]
The Rand is Lying to You, and It’s a Problem We’ve all been conditioned to believe that a “strong Rand” is a good thing for South Africans. Smart people like former Finance Minister Trevor Manuel used to say: “The Rand is the share price of the country. If it’s strong, it means we’re doing well” […]
“Rescue the Mining Sector”, but what will be different this time? I recently read an article titled “Called to rescue mining sector,“ and it struck a nerve. The article profiles Thabo Mashongoane, CEO of the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), whose focus on upskilling and youth training is precisely what this industry needs. And yet, we’re […]
Laws (even good ones) without enforcement are still lawlessness! If you know anything about me, you’ll know that Limpopo is incredibly close to my heart. The land itself holds so many important aspects of what my family and I hold dear. This is where we went for those mad months of COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. […]
South Africa’s Road to 3-5% Growth: Less Excuses, More Action. I’ve spent forty years playing the South African mining game, and I know what works and doesn’t work (for the most part). If we’re serious about getting our economy to 3-5% annual growth, we need to stop talking and start doing. We’re sitting on a […]
From Comrades to Consistency – My 200km Journey Twenty five years ago, my dream was to conquer the Comrades Marathon. Back then, achievement needed to be “loud”! I needed the medals, finish lines and finishing times, the kind of pain that leaves you wrecked but proud. Fast forward to today, and jogging isn’t something I do, […]
Whether I sit in a boardroom, or I think about the mines I have walked across, from Welkom to PNG, the one thing that remains constant, is the idea that mining is going to save us all! Miners create wealth! Or is it just Step 1 in the creation of wealth? It’s easy to get […]
The EV Revolution Just Got Derailed… Here’s Who’s Laughing (Spoiler: It’s China) The Raw Truth Like 99% of us (and the United States Congress and Senate Members), I haven’t read the +600 pages of this incoherent political diatribe. Let’s cut through the political noise. The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” isn’t just bad policy, it’s […]
