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Goss’s wilt and leaf blight – a new disease in South African maize production

By Dr. Rikus KloppersGoss’s wilt and leaf blight is caused by Clavibacter nebraskensis, a bacterium that derives its name from the fact that the disease was first noted in the US state of Nebraska in 1969. The bacterium is therefore neither new nor unknown and has also been around in South Africa for a long time, albeit in other guises, such as tomato wilt that is…
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GNU protects South Africans from the worst of VAT, but 0. 5% increase has serious implications for businesses

By Stefan Kritzinger South Africa’s political system entered further unprecedented territory on 19th February this year when, for the very first time in our 31-year-old democracy, the budget speech was postponed. This was a result of fundamental disagreement among parties within the GNU government over a proposed two per cent VAT increase by…
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Lower interest rates boost real estate market

Although geopolitical events beyond our borders could derail our economy in ways we cannot fathom, there is room to be optimistic about South Africa’s residential property market. The national market has been in the doldrums (there have been regional exceptions, such as the Western Cape) ever since the post-Covid inflation surge…
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Accelerating ESG integration in South Africa

By Tlamelo Ntabeni Recent high-profile corporate and accounting scandals, coupled with emerging regulations, both locally and globally, is accelerating the urgency with which asset managers integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. A decade ago, asset managers could generate risk-adjusted returns without focusing on ESG factors. Today, issues such as carbon…
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