Moonstone

A locomotive is not quite like any other commercial asset. It may be worth millions of rand, spend years in service, cross several borders, be financed by a bank in one country, owned by a company in another and operated by a third. If it is written off, its value may be difficult to establish. If the operator fails, the financier needs to know whether it can recover the asset. If it derails, the liability may extend well beyond the value of the train itself.

The High Court in Pretoria has dismissed a challenge to SASRIA’s treatment of jointly co-owned properties under its revised special-risks policy. At issue was SASRIA’s decision to issue cover to the main interested party in a co-owned property and apply a R500-million aggregate loss limit across that party’s property interests. The applicants, referred to in the judgment as the Moolman Group, contended this treatment of joint co-owners was unlawful and unconstitutional.

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) has slammed the lack of transparency around the precautionary suspension of Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) principal officer Dr Stan Moloabi (pictured), saying the entire GEMS board and executive management should go. DENOSA president Simon Hlungwani said the union was concerned that GEMS had not disclosed the reasons for Moloabi’s suspension or informed stakeholders before the board took the decision.

National Treasury has indicated two proposed changes to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) provisions in the anti-money laundering Bill but proposed no amendments in response to feedback about amendments to the Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSRA).

National Treasury has gazetted the final Financial Sector Conduct Authority levy amounts applicable to financial services providers for the 2026/27 levy year. Government Notice 7820, published in Government Gazette 55198 on 14 August 2026 substitutes Schedule 2 to the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Act. The final amounts applicable to FSPs are unchanged from those proposed by Treasury in June. Read: Treasury proposes higher levies for 2026/27 The notice applies only to Schedule 2.

South Africa has a functioning democracy, independent courts, Chapter Nine institutions, and an independent media. Yet it is one of the world’s most violent societies. Why? At a PSG Think Big webinar on 25 August 2026, Chad Thomas, the chief executive of IRS Forensic Investigations, said the Madlanga Commission has given South Africa an answer.

A former financial services employee discovered she had been debarred only when a prospective employer’s compliance check prevented her appointment, more than two years after the debarment was imposed.

Absa has been appointed master custodian of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), taking over a mandate that Standard Bank has held since the Fund was established in 1996. The appointment puts Absa in charge of the safekeeping and administration of the Fund’s investment assets, settlement of investment transactions, investment-related cash management, reporting, and custody co-ordination. It does not mean Absa will manage the GEPF’s investments.

Solar panels, battery energy storage, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, lightweight construction, and denser urban development are changing the conditions firefighters face when a fire starts. Dr Moses Khangale (pictured), manager: stakeholder programmes at Santam, says structural fire risk needs greater attention as South Africa’s built environment evolves.

An insurer was ordered to pay a funeral benefit after its financial adviser recorded a policyholder’s godfather as her father, despite knowing the true nature of their relationship. The case, highlighted in the National Financial Ombud Scheme’s 2025 annual report, shows the consequences when an adviser’s representations at the application stage conflict with the policy terms later relied on by the insurer.