Star 2025-09-22

South Africans are stretching their finances further to afford cars as vehicle prices continue to rise faster than household incomes, according to a new Absa report presented at the inaugural DealerCon event on Thursday. Henry Botha, executive for strategy and product at Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance, said the vehicle finance market is expanding but affordability has deteriorated sharply. “Applications have increased by 65%, averaging 5% growth per year. Income levels have risen by 35%, and the value of vehicles being financed has grown by 54%. The catch, however, is that affordability has deteriorated,” Botha said. “Ten years ago, the average monthly instalment represented 14.3% of a customer’s income. Today, it’s 16.1%. That’s a significant shift. What does this tell us? It tells us that while demand is growing, consumers…

Trade Minister Parks Tau meets with US trade representative Jamieson Greer in Washington South Africa and the United States have agreed on a roadmap to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations, despite ongoing tensions over Washington’s 30% tariff on South African exports. The development comes amid growing concern at home over widespread job cuts across key industries that have been impacted by the US tariffs and the global trade uncertainty. Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau met with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in Washington on Friday, following three days of intensive talks between senior officials. The meeting, initiated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, was described as cordial and constructive, with both sides committing to fast-track the resolution of priority issues. “I will be briefing President Ramaphosa on the…

The outgoing chairperson of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), David Nicholls, has backed Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s decision to dissolve the entity’s troubled board and appoint a new one, following a string of resignations and disputes over executive pay. Appearing before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy on Friday, Ramokgopa confirmed plans to appoint a new board within three weeks. Ramokgopa remarked that recent events within Necsa indicated a concerning trend where board members prioritised salary discussions over critical strategic issues that affect the mandate of the organisation. The board had disintegrated because of controversy surrounding the increase in CEO Loyiso Tyabashe's salary. Some board members had raised questions about the way salary increases had been implemented by Tybashe, resulting in an internal audit being…

South Africa has an urgent problem hiding in plain sight. Our economy requires around 30 000 newly qualified artisans each year to keep infrastructure, construction and industry running, yet the country consistently produces far fewer than that. The Department of Higher Education and Training has acknowledged that this shortfall is one of the biggest barriers to delivering on the goals of the National Development Plan. Employers across mining, energy, construction and manufacturing regularly highlight the lack of skilled artisans as one of their greatest constraints. Without enough artisans, projects stall, infrastructure weakens and job creation slows. At the same time, thousands of young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 19 are leaving or drifting through mainstream schooling with limited prospects. Many are labelled as struggling learners or find…

High youth unemployment, inadequate retirement savings and a growing elderly population converge in South Africa to create an intergenerational dilemma, threatening both economic stability and social cohesion. Youth unemployment stands at 46.1% for ages 15–34, rising to 62.4% for those aged 15–24, while only 10% of South Africans have adequate retirement savings to maintain pre-retirement living standards. At the same time, 38% of those over 60 live below the poverty line and the population aged 60 and above accounts for 9.2%, projected to reach 15% by 2050. Many older workers remain in the labour market out of necessity, sometimes competing with youth for scarce jobs, while younger generations often support elderly relatives financially. These intergenerational pressures are visible not only in unemployment and poverty statistics but in the daily realities…

The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) has welcomed the easing of food inflation as South Africa's consumer price index for food has declined to 5.2% in August 2025 from 5.5% the previous month, according to recent data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz, said the easing marks the first slowdown after six consecutive months of rising food prices. He noted that cereals, fruit, nuts, and vegetables were the main drivers of the moderation, supported by South Africa’s abundant harvests. However, Sihlobo said a key product that many are watching is meat, which has remained elevated, although slaughtering has resumed in major feedlots across the country. “Initially, panic buying, not necessarily a shortage of product, was the main driver of meat prices.…