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Mosebenzi Zwane. (Gallo Images) Former Free State human settlements MEC Mosebenzi Zwane has answered questions about why his department used a database to award housing contracts after abandoning an open tender process.The Zondo inquiry is currently focusing on the billion rand Free State housing project. The province was meant to build low-cost housing in 2010 and…

Industrial giant Bidvest has seen its trading profit decline by almost 20% after it incurred R1.6 billion Covid-19 related charges.On Monday, in its annual results for the year ending 30 June 2020, Bidvest announced its trading profit had decreased from R6.6 billion in 2019 to R5.34 billion due to the pandemic. The group decided did not…

PPC will consider a rights issue to strengthen the balance sheet but the timing and amount are yet to be determined, the cement maker said.The Johannesburg-based company owes lenders including FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank a combined R750 million.The 128-year-old business was struggling to manage a slump in demand for cement in…

Finance minister Tito Mboweni. Gallo Images, Brenton Geach On Monday the IMF executive board approved South Africa's request for a $4.3 billion Covid-19 relief loan.This loan is part of government's R500 billion stimulus package - it is not new or additional money as suggested by some Twitter users.Last week the African Development Bank agreed to…

The IMF has agreed to extend a $4.3 billion loan to help SA's efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.This follows months of engagements between Treasury and the IMF's management to iron out engagement terms. The New Development Bank and African Development Bank have also both approved Covid-19 relief loans for SA.The International Monetary Fund's executive board…