Rob Rose

Johannesburg

Contributor at Freelance

Journalist, author of Steinheist and The Grand Scam, Currency News, FT and former FM editor

Articles

New ‘pay transparency’ rules before year-end - Currency News

6 days ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

The long-awaited overhaul of South Africa’s remuneration rules – which will oblige firms to provide details of the gap between the best and worst paid, among other things – is expected before the end of this year. “We have been advised that the new regulations required to [give effect to the change] will be finalised this year,” said Lindiwe Sebesho, the head of Old Mutual’s Remchannel, at an event in Sandton last week. “This is going to be a major adjustment.
Mantashe flashes middle finger to investors

1 week ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

For a country flirting with economic irrelevance, South Africa‚Äôs government has an uncanny knack of alienating the few people with cash in their accounts. Witness a bristling exchange at the Minerals Council South Africa AGM this week, in which mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe clashed heatedly with an industry that has evidently tired of being the government‚Äôs whipping boy.
Inside Cyril’s gift box for Donald

1 week ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

For the past week, Elon Musk and Starlink have occupied the front pages, assuming pride of place in Julius Malema’s furious social media posts. This is because, in a move that the South African government hoped would placate US President Donald Trump, communications minister Solly Malatsi proposed bending the 30% Black ownership requirement for foreign licensees. But “equity equivalence” aside, what else has South Africa offered to calm the loins of the capricious Trump?
Crypto ruling fuels fear of an offshore ‘free for all’

1 week ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

Produced in partnership with BinanceA watershed court judgment last week, ruling that cryptocurrency purchases fall outside the country’s exchange control rules, has shone the spotlight on a loophole in South African regulations. The ruling in the high court in Pretoria means, according to one regulator who spoke to Currency, that the authorities are now scrambling to close this gap as fast they can, as the risk of a “free for all” on using cryptocurrency offshore has spiked.
South Africa moves to change empowerment law for Elon Musk’s Starlink

2 weeks ago | businessandamerica.com | Rob Rose

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. South Africa has proposed new legislation to meet Elon Musk’s conditions for offering his Starlink satellite internet service in his birth country after the billionaire refused to comply with Black empowerment laws he called “openly racist”.
South Africa moves to change empowerment law for Elon Musk’s Starlink

2 weeks ago | benton.org | Rob Rose

South Africa has proposed new legislation to meet Elon Musk’s conditions for offering his Starlink satellite internet service in his birth country after the billionaire refused to comply with Black empowerment laws he called “openly racist”.
The very unnecessary demise of Murray & Roberts

2 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

It was a company that defined South African engineering excellence for a century, mirroring the path of the country‚Äôs industrialisation.¬†The landmarks it built are the country‚Äôs landmarks: the highest building in Africa, the 200m-tall Carlton Centre, built in 1975; the garish Sun City, built in 1981 for R25m; the 68,000-seater Cape Town Stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup.¬†‚ÄúWe are Murray & Roberts, we are South Africa,‚ÄĚ was its slogan, and for about 122 years, that was on point.
Cupcake survives ambush in Trump’s bunker

2 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

President Cyril Ramaphosa could never have anticipated the multimedia ambush he received in the White House. But against all odds, Ramaphosa survived the skirmish thanks to a group US President Donald Trump respects more than any politician: champion golfers. Fears ran high before the meeting of another debacle along the lines of Volodymyr Zelensky’s ill-fated trip to the White House in February, when Trump and his rabid deputy, JD Vance, savaged the Ukrainian president.
Protecting small business from Eskom’s chokehold

2 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

Discovery’s schtick has always been that it’ll make money out of solving problems that South African society has battled to fix. Medical aid, and the chronic inefficiency in how patients were overserviced, is its most successful application of that principle yet. But its new energy arm, Discovery Green, has hit upon an idea that could be just as revolutionary for the country – and small business in particular.
Mindless employment equity on Meth

3 weeks ago | currencynews.co.za | Rob Rose

South Africans have become largely accustomed to politicians allowing the building in front of them to burn down rather than opening the gates for firefighters who might not conform to their specifications.