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Donald Trump lashes out with an F-bomb over Israel-Iran ceasefire breaches, sparking global concern. Paul Mashatile faces scrutiny over alleged Lotto licence meddling, while DA youth leaders warn MP Liam Jacobs may regret his defection to the Patriotic Alliance. Finance Minister Godongwana’s proposal for full state funding of political parties draws fire from Neil de Beer, calling it “DoF Moment No. 2.”

Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau was “surprised” by the links of Deputy President Paul Mashatile to the new Lotto licensee appointed by him at the end of May. So says Toby Chance, the Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Trade, Industry and Competition, after the Minister was questioned today. “Minister Tau didn't appear to be aware of it, which raises serious questions of due diligence in the Lottery adjudication process.” Chance says there are lots of unanswered questions “and unfortunately, it's a classic case - yet again - of how State Capture and corruption works. It's a dubious connection between politicians, business people and public officials. which has led to the downfall of so many of our institutions.” Chance adds that the corruption charges laid against the Deputy President by the DA over a year ago are still pending. “And so I think that what Mr. Tau is able to uncover, if he does go ahead with this investigation into Sizekhaya's shareholding, could be the beginning of a slippery slope for the Deputy President.”

The shock defection from the Democratic Alliance to the Patriotic Alliance of Liam Jacobs has opened a can of worms. In this interview with BizNews, interim DA Youth Federal Leader Ndipiwe Olayi describes the reasons Jacobs put forward as “really unfair and untrue”. He recalls being with Jacobs the day before he made the announcement when “he was actually celebrating how the DA has been performing”. Olayi notes that in Jacobs’s live social media appearance “he was a bit manic - and it was hysterical to be very honest… And I think he will come to regret that decision.” Oyali also outlines what it takes to rise to the highest office in the DA Youth; his own track record in local government; his future politicas aspirations - and the vision of the DA Youth to deal with especially rampant youth unemployment. He has harsh words for the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) where “board members and individuals that are employed in the structure are employing cronies aligned to the ANC (African National Congress) Youth League. And we find that this billion-ran budget, if not more, because it gets a lot of investment from the private sector as well, it's mismanaged and misused.”

On today's BizNews Briefing, Tuesday, Trump claims an Israel-Iran ceasefire is in effect, urging on Truth Social: “Do not violate it!” Bloomberg notes that fighting persists. Iran’s 400 kg+ near-weapons-grade uranium raises US-Israel concerns, per the Financial Times. In Washington, Freedom Front Plus’ Corné Mulder pushes US partnerships, criticising ANC’s Western alienation. Hudson Institute’s webinar with Mulder’s delegation warns ANC policies drive South Africa’s decline. DA’s Toby Chance slams Musina-Makhado as a wasteful project. Amabhungane reveals lottery tender ties to Deputy President Mashatile’s sister-in-law.

In 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone intended to attract more than R40 billion in investment. Seven years later, Toby Chance, the Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson on Trade, Industry and Competition describes how expenditure has run into “hundreds of millions of rands” with planned expenditure of “upwards of two billion Rand over the next couple of years” while “most of the work has been abandoned…uncompleted roads…electricity that hasn't been connected…huge dumps of materials that are sort of sitting idle”. However, one of two investors, a Chinese mining company, has already started clearing large areas on the south side to expose the coal seams. This as several civil societies are trying to stop the SEZ project with lawsuits. Eventually, it will be the call of Environment Minister Dr Dion George. “He has the power to effectively close it down, which unfortunately will cause a bit of a stink with the Minister Mineral Resources, Mr Mantashe - being Mr Coal in this country - because the whole development, certainly on the south side, is based on a massive exploitation of the coal fields. He would be keen to see that happening. A lot of contestation at Cabinet level and we say bring it on…”