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Here are 10 crucial News24 Business stories from last week that you might have missed:
Discovery beats 'rogue' RAF as court slams payout ban for medical aid members
A new directive by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) that it will no longer pay for past medical expenses for car accident victims who have medical aid has been declared unlawful.
In a ruling handed down on Thursday, North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria Judge Mandla Mbongwe reviewed and set aside the August 12 directive, authored by the acting chief claims officer, and interdicted the fund from implementing it.
He pointed to the fact that there had been no prior consultation with stakeholders. Instead, the fund had "gone rogue".
Karpowership reboots bid for powerships at Richards Bay, Saldanha
Karpowership SA is making a second attempt at a public consultation process in order to obtain environmental authorisation for its proposed emergency power projects at three of South Africa's ports.
The company was, in March 2021, named among the preferred bidders of the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), which sought to get as much as 2 000MW on the South African grid on an emergency basis. Karpowership SA was to provide the majority, or 1 220MW, of the power through its floating gas-fired power plants, which would have been located at the Coega, Saldanha and Richards Bay ports.
SA gets R9bn from global fund to shift from coal to renewables
South Africa has secured $500 million (R9 billion) to aid its just transition from coal to renewables.
The Climate Investment Funds – a multilateral climate fund affiliated with the World Bank – had approved the funding.
Last year, South Africa, along with Indonesia and India, were invited to participate in the CIF's Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) investment programme. The participating countries had to develop an investment plan.
Ex-SAA director Kwinana 'victim of political hype', says lawyer as she's slapped with 13 charges
Former SAA board member Yakhe Kwinana's lawyer says she's only facing disciplinary proceedings because of the current "political hype" about bringing people to book.
Kwinana was a director in 2009 and 2016. During this time, she served as the head of its audit and risk committee at SAA and the chairperson of SAA Technical. Her tenure overlapped with that of controversial former SAA chair Dudu Myeni, who held that position from 2012 to 2017.
The State Capture Commission - which found that Myeni acted with "corrupt intent" at SAA - also made scathing remarks on Kwinana when it released its reports earlier this year. It said she had no clue about some of the basic obligations required as a Charted Accountant (CA) and recommended that the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) investigate her.
Developers strike back in legal fight over high-end R4bn Umhlanga construction
If an interdict were granted preventing the continued construction and opening of sections of Vivian Reddy’s R4.3 billion Oceans Umhlanga Development - and even then later overturned - it could leave the developers with "indefensible damages actions and irreparable damage to reputation".
And those seeking the interdict would be left with a "dormant decaying eyesore, probably invaded by vagrants" in front of their properties.
"They have not thought this through," Oceans development manager Pregan Naicker says in an affidavit filed with the Durban High Court.
Sibanye and AMCU conclude 5-year platinum wage deal
Sibanye-Stillwater and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) have concluded a five-year wage settlement at the company's Rustenburg and Marikana platinum operations.
Sibanye on Friday announced it and the union had reached an agreement for a 6% increase in each year in respect of annual wages and benefits for employees at the two operations.
Johnson & Johnson hit with SA class action over 'defective' pelvic mesh devices
Law firms RH Lawyers and attorney Richard Spoor have initiated a class action lawsuit in the South High Court in Johannesburg against Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, Coloplast, and Nuangle over pelvic mesh devices that they contend were defective and caused injuries.
The pelvic mesh devices in question are surgically implanted into the vaginal or pelvic region for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
The matter between the firms and the companies has been on the table since at least 2021, but RH Lawyers and Spoor said in a statement on Wednesday that they were ready to pursue the class action suit.
Armscor deal may boost Saudi defence industry, experts say
A series of deals inked between SA and Saudi Arabia aimed at achieving closer economic ties, including in areas of defence, is offering the desert kingdom help in jump-starting its military industry, say analysts, while state-owned Armscor looks set to benefit from boosting its role as a "prime contractor" in the global market.
During President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent state visit to Saudi Arabia, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the General Authority for Military Industries of Saudi Arabia (GAMI) and the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor). According to the Presidency, it relates to "collaboration in military acquisition".
Armscor is the acquisition agency for the Department of Defence (DOD), and GAMI is its equivalent in Saudi Arabia.
Makro faces indefinite strike as union demands 12% wage hike
The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) has vowed to pursue an indefinite nationwide strike if Makro fails to improve a current wage increase offer that is below inflation.
Sithembile Tshwete, head of research at Saccawu, told News24 on Thursday that the union would assess the situation after its limited-duration strike, which started this week and is set to end on Saturday.
Should Makro fail to budge, "we will be applying again for a strike notice and this time it will be indefinite", said Tshwete.
SCA dismisses Lebashe's bid to stop the liquidation of VBS casualties, Bophelo and Nzalo Insurance
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed Lebashe Financial Services' bid to halt the liquidation of Bophelo Life and Nzalo Insurance.
Bophelo became one of the casualties of the VBS "bank heist" when the R100 million it had invested for one of its clients, Transport Sector Retirement Fund, was stolen, along with almost R1 billion that vanished from VBS accounts. Bophelo was 70% owned by Vele Investments, the owner of VBS at the time. The Lebashe Investment Group, owners of Sunday Times publisher Arena Holdings, later bought Vele Investment's stake in Bophelo and lent it the R100 million that had vanished from its VBS account, but wanted it repaid in 30 days, leaving the insurer still insolvent.
