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03/09/2026

Understanding the importance of wills and estate administration in South Africa.

Deenisha Nadesan

For many South Africans, a will is still a once-off legal document, drafted, signed and stored away for “one day”, not to be thought of again, if at all.

Estate administration, the process of carrying out wishes contained in the will, is often thought of even less.

However, there is real value in paying attention to will-drafting and estate administration because both impact the lives of your loved ones when you pass away.

Making sure your loved ones are looked after

Deceased estate administration sits at the intersection of law, finance, property, technology, and deeply personal family moments.

In our South African social context, estate administration is becoming more complicated: We have many blended and extended families, our digital assets and online accounts are constantly increasing, we own properties, fi****ms, and small businesses – all of which make our deceased estate administration processes more complex. Whereas, next of kin understandably expect fast, transparent service after losing a loved one.

Add to this the alarming statistic that an estimated 70% of South Africans still die without valid wills, and it becomes clear how loved ones left behind can be faced with administrative delays, financial uncertainty, and unnecessary stress.

Beyond digital will-drafting: Everyone’s talking about wills!

In many industries, the most valuable innovation takes place in the background and cannot be seen. The wills industry is no different and has moved on in recent years to encompass a lot more than online will-drafting.

However, the real challenge begins after a death, when families are suddenly plunged into paperwork, property transfers, financial and legal jargon, while grieving.

For us, innovation has never been about adding technology for the sake of it. It’s about understanding what families actually go through after a death, and building systems, processes, and support that make that experience less overwhelming.

Historically, many of these processes happened in silos, with wills drafted by one provider, conveyancing outsourced to another, broken communication between stakeholders, and beneficiaries left with limited visibility of what’s going on.

This caused uncertainty, frustration, and delays.

Removing common pain points for families

Some of the most meaningful innovations in estate administration have been aimed at removing practical pain points families face after a death.

Transferring a property out of a deceased estate can be a complicated process and is one of the most common reasons for delays during estate administration. This can cause uncertainty for surviving spouses, children, and dependants at a time when they are already faced with huge adjustments and life changes.

By working with in-house conveyancing partners, this can help to be able to streamline this crucial part of the estate administration process.

Other innovations are focused on proactively reducing risk.

Internal quality-control systems, intelligent workflow allocation,and automated checks enable early identification of missing information, potential complications, and process gaps, reducing unnecessary delays throughout the estate journey.

A big focus on regular, individualised (as opposed to automated) beneficiary communication also contributes to keeping families informed. Knowing what is happening and what comes next provides comfort and peace of mind.

The future of estate administration

The future of wills and estates will belong to businesses capable of combining:

Technology
Human expertise
Operational excellence
Genuine empathy

Innovation is never about replacing the human element. It is about using technology to strengthen the human experience during life’s most difficult moments. The responsible use of AI can support the future of estate administration by reducing delays, early identification of risks, and creating smoother, more transparent experiences for the bereaved.

AI and intelligent systems can help us, but empathy, trust, and human guidance will always be at the heart of what we do. It’s about combining technology with deeply human support.

When it comes to wills and deceased estates, the best innovations work quietly in the background to make the loss of a loved one just a little easier.

* Nadesan is a managing director of fiduciary services at Capital Legacy.

02/09/2026

Major American bank betting on a win for South Africa.

Finance
Bloomberg
1 Sep 2026

Markets are not pricing in the probability of South Africa’s return to investment grade, leaving scope for government bonds, stocks and the rand to rally, according to Goldman Sachs.

The country could regain its investment status as soon as 2028 as ratings companies reward its improving finances and economic growth, a Goldman team including economist Andrew Matheny wrote in a note.

“Our baseline is that South Africa regains its first IG rating in 2028, albeit with two-sided risks to timing,” Matheny said. “Markets at this stage in our assessment largely do not price this in.”

Goldman’s analysis suggests scope for the government 10-year local-currency yield to fall more than 100 basis points to 7.6%, and the sovereign spread, or yield premium of dollar bonds over US treasuries, to outperform investment-grade emerging markets.

Five-year credit-default swaps, at around 116 basis points on Tuesday, may fall to about 100 basis points, the analysts wrote.

“Given the larger rally in fixed income relative to equities observed to date, we see comparatively more structural upside to the latter over time if macroeconomic improvements continue,” the team wrote.

They also see about 9% upside for the rand versus the dollar based on their fair-value estimate, but “realising this upside depends in part on the broader dollar,” they wrote.

Africa’s largest economy was cut to junk in 2017 as growth slowed and public debt soared.

But improvements in the fiscal picture, growth and the policy backdrop will likely result in credit upgrades over the next year, the analysts wrote.

S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Ratings assess South Africa at BB and Baa2, respectively, or two levels below investment grade. Both have a positive outlook on the debt, suggesting an upgrade is likely.

01/09/2026

Big VAT changes on the cards for South Africa.

Government
Caitlyn Hilliard-Lomas
31 Aug 2026

The Constitutional Court has reserved judgment on whether to confirm a High Court ruling that changes how VAT hikes in South Africa can be set.

The case concerns the March 2026 High Court ruling that effectively revoked the Finance Minister’s unilateral authority to change the national Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate.

The Western Cape High Court declared Section 7(4) of the VAT Act of 1991 unconstitutional in a case brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) last year.

The court battle was triggered by the VAT and budget crisis of 2025, when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced a 1 percentage-point VAT increase over two years.

The rate was set to rise from 15% to 15.5%, effective 1 May, 2025, with a further increase to 16% planned for 2026.

The announcement faced immediate and widespread political opposition in Parliament and deeply divided the parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The VAT hike saga led to an unprecedented delay in the country’s national budget that year and threatened to result in the first failed budget vote in South Africa’s history.

It also exposed major pitfalls in South Africa’s finance laws—specifically, that the laws allowed the Finance Minister to unilaterally announce changes to the VAT rate but provided no means to reverse them.

Since the Minister could not legally withdraw his budget speech announcement on his own, the DA and EFF filed an urgent court application to block the move.

Four days before the price increase was scheduled to take effect for South African consumers, the Minister agreed to a High Court order suspending the hike.

However, the court challenge was in two parts. The first was to block the immediate increase in the VAT rate, and the second was to block the Finance Minister from unilaterally adjusting the rate.

While the first part was settled promptly, the second part was only decided in March 2026, where the court declared Section 7(4) of the VAT Act of 1991 unconstitutional.

According to South African law, any ruling that declares a law unconstitutional must be confirmed by the highest court.

The DA approached the Constitutional Court to seek confirmation of the ruling. The case was presented to the Constitutional Court on 27 August, 2026.

The Finance Minister can change VAT rates with immediate effect

National Treasury, represented by the Minister of Finance, and SARS challenged the ruling.

According to South Africa’s VAT Act of 1991, the Finance Minister is allowed to announce a change to the VAT rate during the budget speech.

When this happens, the change can take effect almost immediately, and Parliament may approve or reject it up to a year later.

The DA argued for the principle of “no taxation without representation,” asserting that only Parliament, elected representatives of the people, should have the power to determine how citizens are taxed.

The party said that VAT is collected immediately from consumers at the cash register.

The DA argued that if a Minister raises VAT by decree and Parliament later rejects it, it becomes nearly impossible to refund low-income households who paid the increased tax on groceries.

The National Treasury and SARS argued that if the Minister cannot make these changes rapidly, the government might face delays that could exacerbate financial problems.

They argued that waiting for Parliament to debate and approve tax changes could lead to significant debt as the government tries to manage budget gaps that arise during emergencies.

Treasury and SARS argued for a more responsive approach to tax policy to maintain the government’s financial stability during difficult times.

The Constitutional Court reserved judgment, meaning it is now deliberating before issuing its final, binding ruling on authority over tax revenue.

The National Treasury told BusinessTech that it has no comment at this stage.

“Following the hearing of the matter by the Constitutional Court, the Court’s judgment must be awaited before the National Treasury will advise on next steps—if any,” it said.

31/08/2026

New electricity price overhaul for South Africa officially published.

Energy
Jonathan Hoyle
28 Aug 2026

The Department of Electricity and Energy has officially gazetted the Revised Electricity Pricing Policy for public comment, proposing big changes to pricing in South Africa.

The gazette was recently announced alongside plans to unbundle Eskom and create a competitive energy market in the country.

This would involve splitting Eskom into three separate entities and would allow private-sector participation in the national grid.

With the proposed changes to the national grid, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said an adjustment to the country’s electricity pricing policy was necessary.

Electricity prices in South Africa have risen sharply in recent years, with tariff adjustments causing prices to double over the last decade.

The Revised Electricity Pricing Policy is aimed at “providing a unified and coherent framework for
electricity pricing in a transitioning electricity sector.”

Its purpose is also to establish cost-reflective, efficient energy pricing across the country and add transparency to electricity pricing.

The new policy would mean that electricity prices are broken down and explained at each step, giving transparency over how tariffs were decided.

It would also require electricity tariffs to become cost-reflective within five years, based on the actual cost of providing electricity to the customer.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) would determine and approve tariffs, and licensees would not be allowed to charge higher than the prescribed amount.

In terms of the policy, “a licensee may not charge a customer any other tariff and use provisions in agreements other than those determined or approved by NERSA as part of its licensing conditions.”

The policy also states that tariffs must be subsidised for low-income households, either by covering only operating costs in these instances or by other direct or indirect methods.

“Provision may be made for the promotion of local economic development through special tariffs for categories of commercial and industrial users.”

The goal of the new tariffs

Ramokgopa previously said that the revised policy would incorporate a multi-year electricity tariff outlook to further enhance pricing transparency.

The policy requires a five-year electricity pricing forecast for both national and municipal prices, which is constantly adjusted for potential shifts by NERSA.

This will give households support in planning for the future and comes as good news for South African businesses.

A better understanding of future electricity prices will help large, energy-intensive businesses, such as mining operations, develop accurate long-term plans and attract investors.

The pricing forecast would ideally break down the contributions to pricing from various sectors along the energy supply chain, helping to understand where potential price increases arise.

The main sectors would be generation, transmission, and distribution, with businesses across all three categories contributing to overall electricity tariffs.

Forecasting is intended to protect the country’s businesses and households from unexpected price shocks or price volatility.

Originally, Ramokgopa said the policy would include a 10-year pricing forecast to enable long-term planning.

While the revised pricing policy is good news for South Africa’s households and businesses, private participants in the energy sector are not guaranteed success.

The policy said that although businesses are allowed to set tariffs that reflect the production costs and risks they take, they are not guaranteed profits.

NERSA will have 12 months to establish a national tariff structure, which would be used as a framework for the tariffs charged by all licensed distributors.

The Revised Electricity Pricing Policy is currently out for public comment for 30 days.

Interested persons and organisations are invited to submit written comments by post to: Private Bag X 96, Pretoria, 0001, or hand delivery to: Matimba House, 192 Visagie Street, Cnr Paul Kruger, Pretoria.

Digital submissions can be made via email to: [email protected]

South Africa’s financial and economic landscape features a slowing growth momentum paired with easing producer inflation...
28/08/2026

South Africa’s financial and economic landscape features a slowing growth momentum paired with easing producer inflation, historic revenue collections, and key regulatory overhauls in crypto assets and unclaimed finance.

Macroeconomics & Markets

Producer Inflation Cools:

South Africa’s producer price inflation (PPI) fell significantly to 5.7% year-on-year in July, down from 7.5% in June. This was cooler than the 6.1% expected by economists, though the upside risk remains skittish due to volatile global oil prices.

Rand Dynamics:

The South African Rand is holding steady around R15.98 to the US Dollar, caught between the support of lower domestic inflation and a broadly firmer greenback ahead of international central banking conventions.

Growth Projections Eased:

Economists have trimmed South Africa's 2026 GDP growth forecast down to 1.1% (initially projected at 1.4%). Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have driven up oil import costs, creating a cost-push shock that weighs heavily on local consumer spending and manufacturing output.

The "Debt Burden" Concerns:

Local analysts note that fiscal accounts are under substantial pressure. The state pays roughly R432 billion annually in debt interest—the country's third-largest budget expense, outstripping allocations for health and economic development.

Corporate & Sector

Mining Profit Surge:

Soaring global gold and platinum group metal (PGM) prices have sparked a massive mining profit boom. Harmony Gold and Sibanye-Stillwater both reported exceptional financial results, with Sibanye anticipating a massive 560% earnings jump.

Sugar Benchmark Tariff Shift:

The International Trade Administration Commission is moving to lift the sugar-benchmark reference price to shield local growers from cheap imports, which cost the domestic sector R1.6 billion in the previous season. Concurrently, the Constitutional Court ordered Tongaat Hulett to pay R517 million in outstanding sugar industry levies.

Corporate Earnings:

Food services giant Bidcorp grew its annual revenue to R242.2 billion, citing a robust cash-generative model. Meanwhile, OUTsurance reported a significant earnings surge, buoyed by improving underwriting margins in its local operations.

Township Market Expansion:

Retail giant Clicks is aggressively targeting South Africa's R900 billion township economy with a newly designed brand rollout.

Policy & Regulations

Unclaimed Assets Crackdown:

The National Treasury has proposed establishing a central administrator to oversee R88.6 billion in unclaimed financial assets. The funds consist of dormant bank accounts, unpaid insurance policies, and unclaimed retirement packages.

Cross-Border Crypto Caps:

The South African Reserve Bank and Treasury released a draft framework setting strict caps on cross-border crypto transactions. Under the new travel rules, person-to-person crypto remittances will be restricted to R5,000 per day and R25,000 per month.

SARS Compliance Check:

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced that its revenue collection for the financial year surpassed R2 trillion, beating official estimates by R24.7 billion. SARS attributed this to heavy compliance enforcement on non-compliant taxpayers.

Summary Table of Key Indicators:

27/08/2026

Big changes for medical aids in South Africa are coming.

Lifestyle
Caitlyn Hilliard-Lomas
26 Aug 2026

South Africa’s outdated prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs) system was legally obligated to cover treatments only if a patient’s diagnosis corresponded to a strict list of conditions.

The new approach, proposed by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), shifts away from this disease-specific model and instead emphasises the need to cover a wider range of healthcare services.

South Africa’s prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs) system has remained largely unchanged for years, despite notable shifts in healthcare costs, treatment approaches, and disease patterns.

This situation adds extra pressure on medical aid members, who have already been burdened by above-inflation premium increases over the years.

PMBs were established to ensure that medical scheme members can continue to receive treatment for certain serious conditions, even after their regular medical aid benefits have been exhausted.

Legally, PMB regulations require a review at least every two years; however, no major updates have been implemented since 2003.

To address this issue, the CMS has announced that it is shifting away from condition-specific rules and adopting a service-based Primary Health Care (PHC) package.

This new approach aims to rectify regulatory shortcomings, assess cost-effectiveness, align with evolving national health policies, and manage the increasing financial burden on medical schemes and their members.

The CMS highlighted several administrative and historical bottlenecks that have contributed to these extensive delays.

Initially, the Minister of Health rejected a draft of the revised PMB package for failing to include essential primary healthcare benefits.

This rejection forced the CMS to completely refocus its efforts on designing and costing a brand-new PHC framework.

This momentum was further disrupted by COVID-19-related challenges between 2020 and 2022.

Once activities resumed, the Minister of Health directed the CMS and the National Department of Health (NDoH) to align their PHC packages for consistency between private and public healthcare frameworks, which continued through 2024 and 2025.

For the 2026/2027 financial year, the CMS announced that it is concentrating on three main areas as its immediate next steps.

The CMS said it is updating the costing of the newly aligned PHC package. This will involve requesting new claims data from medical schemes to assess affordability and care pathways.

The CMS said it will use this to update its financial models to align with the newly aligned CMS/NDoH package, while analysing affordability and care pathways.

In response to the Competition Commission’s Health Market Inquiry recommendations, they are developing a draft “base benefits package” that integrates core primary care with prioritised catastrophic PMB coverage.

To ensure that patients are not subjected to outdated care standards while these broader changes are being finalised, the CMS is actively drafting ten new PMB Definition Guidelines.

According to the CMS, these guidelines will update standard treatment protocols and essential medicines lists to reflect modern medical advancements.

The last big changes to PMBs were made 23 years ago

In an interview with The Money Show, Katlego Mothudi, managing director of the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), emphasised the need for urgent reform of the healthcare system.

He argued that current regulations are outdated and are contributing to increasing healthcare costs.

Before the implementation of the Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB) system, patients could be discharged from the hospital or referred to public healthcare facilities once their insurance coverage was exhausted.

Mothudi noted that the PMB system was intended to be reviewed every two years, as healthcare needs and costs are expected to evolve over time.

However, he pointed out that the last significant changes were made in 2003.

Since the introduction of the PMB system, the cost of providing PMB coverage has risen dramatically.

In 2003, medical schemes allocated approximately 40% of their budgets to PMBs; now, this figure exceeds 60%.

“This means that at the moment, because it establishes the threshold for entry into healthcare funding, you and every beneficiary on the scheme would be liable to about R1,600 per month, per beneficiary,” he said.

“For a family of three, it means you are out of pocket by R4,000, just at the lowest level.”

According to Mothudi, responsibility for reviewing the PMBs rests with both the Department of Health and the Council for Medical Schemes.

He explained that several committees had been established over the past eight years to consider changes, but no major reforms had emerged.

He attributed part of the delay to the long-running uncertainty surrounding the National Health Insurance (NHI) plans.

Bad news for anyone buying a house in Cape Town.PropertyJonathan Hoyle25 Aug 2026South Africa’s hottest property market ...
26/08/2026

Bad news for anyone buying a house in Cape Town.

Property
Jonathan Hoyle
25 Aug 2026

South Africa’s hottest property market has become a keen focus of the international community, which could signal bad news for citizens looking to buy a home.

Data from Lightstone Property revealed that approximately 6% of all property purchases in South Africa were likely made by a foreign citizen.

This percentage increased alongside housing values, with approximately 39% of properties worth more than R20 million likely to be bought by non-South African citizens.

This trend of wealthy foreign nationals entering South Africa’s property market is often associated with the Western Cape, but other provinces have experienced similar patterns.

Lightstone found that provinces such as Gauteng and Limpopo also had high numbers of foreign property buyers.

The group also noted that the KwaZulu-Natal north coast had seen high levels of foreign investment, including areas such as Zimbali, Ballito, and Salt Rock.

Despite high numbers from these areas, the Western Cape still led with the highest number of foreign property buyers of any province.

This high level of foreign property investment is evident in Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, one of South Africa’s most expensive areas.

The area includes suburbs such as Sea Point and Clifton, with Sea Point seeing the highest number of foreign property buyers along the Atlantic Seaboard.

In Sea Point, Lightstone found that 1,118 properties had been bought by foreign nationals, at an average price of R5.4 million.

The group also observed that areas such as Bakoven and Camps Bay had nearly 50% of their properties bought by non-South African citizens.

There are several key reasons for foreign property buyers’ interest in Cape Town, including its coastal lifestyle and strong municipal service delivery.

The city also offers a lower cost of living than many European coastal areas, while still offering impressive natural beauty.

Not just foreign investment
The high amount of foreign investment could be a worrying sign for South Africans looking to buy property in the Western Cape.

In December 2025 alone, Western Cape property prices increased by 7.5% year-on-year, following a pattern of consistent price increases.

The price increases have had a worrying impact on the area’s cost of living, with many warning that South Africans could become priced out of the city.

Foreign property buyers are not the only factor driving up property prices, with semigration also boosting demand for homes in Cape Town.

Semigration refers to South Africans from inland areas, such as Gauteng, moving to Cape Town and other high-value coastal areas in search of a different lifestyle and a higher standard of living.

The trend has taken off in South Africa, with Cape Town becoming the semigration hotspot in recent years.

In March 2026, BetterBond noted that semigration trends were focused on areas with strong local governance and access to good services, such as schools.

It said that Cape Town was a prime choice for semigration due to the high buyer confidence in the municipality.

The influx of both foreign and domestic property seekers has driven demand for Western Cape properties to a level far higher than in other areas of South Africa.

This, in turn, has led to Western Cape property values skyrocketing far higher than those of other South African provinces.

Demand for housing is not the only concern for the Western Cape, particularly Cape Town, which faces challenges with expansion.

The Cape Town metro is surrounded by the ocean on one side and mountainous terrain on the other, making expansion difficult for the city.

This limits the city’s ability to expand its housing market, making existing properties more in demand and driving up their prices.

All of these aspects combined create a worrying picture for South Africans looking to buy affordable homes in Cape Town, but existing homeowners can enjoy the benefits of increased demand.

Rand breaks through R16 to the dollar.Finance24 Aug 2026The rand broke through the critical R16/$ resistance level on Mo...
25/08/2026

Rand breaks through R16 to the dollar.

Finance
24 Aug 2026

The rand broke through the critical R16/$ resistance level on Monday, touching R15.99 to the dollar for the first time in almost 6 months.

While this is not a complete reversal of the pain the unit suffered due to the onset of the United States-Iran War at the end of February, it is a strong signal to markets.

According to Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop, the rand’s current levels reflect a marked endorsement from investors, who have expressed greater confidence in the country.

“It is not unexpected that the rand has reached R16.00/$,” she said, adding that further strength would require marked momentum to drive it below this level sustainably.

To this point, the unit quickly pushed back to R16.00/$ after the sub-R16 breach.

Bishop noted that the rand’s strength has been helped along by the weaker dollar, with the greenback weakening since the end of July.

Markets have reacted to the US Federal Reserve’s indications that interest rate hikes in the world’s largest economy are dissipating,

Concerns have also been raised about the level of US borrowings, with exceptionally high levels of global debt, and US debt at $40 trillion, rising from near $20 trillion over the past ten years.

More recently, corporate borrowing has jumped amid the tech companies’ AI investment boom, Bishop noted, while the oil price shock has also placed pressure on corporate and government finances, increasing debt and lifting investor concerns.

“As global borrowing costs have risen as borrowing has, South Africa has seen foreign interest rise in its debt—R21 billion in last week alone, R63.7 billion this year,” she said.

This has seen SA bond yields stabilise in the main, and so too the rand, despite the oil price shock.

During previous marked global economic and/or financial market shocks, South Africa would have seen substantial rand weakness, higher bond yields, and a foreign sell-off of equities, Bishop added.

“This time, there is a lot more stability.”

The rand has also been supported by the recent rise in the gold price, with PGMs still South Africa’s main commodity export.

The gold price has risen from $4,040/oz since the end of July to $4,641.9/oz, aiding the rand’s recent strengthening from near R16.50/USD at the end of last month, and has also benefited the trade-weighted rand on global exports.

Platinum prices have seen the same lift, at $1,887/ozt from near $1,600/ozt at the end of last month, Bishop pointed out.

July also saw gold and platinum prices rise, although markedly less than in August to date, still aiding the trade surplus.

“The gold price has lifted as investors’ concerns have increased about global debt levels, which in turn has seen some move into gold as a safe haven investment, and also on concerns over US inflation,” she said.

In Investec’s base-case scenario projections, the rand is expected to continue strengthening, averaging R15.90 in the final quarter of the year, before moving towards R15.70 in the first half of 2027.

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