Francis Herd

Broadcaster

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Don’t wish the rain away because drought is coming!

[eNCA @eNCA]

[NUMBER OF THE DAY] South Africa's agriculture contributes about 3% of the economy, but El Niño could bring hotter, drier conditions just as farmers head into planting season. The sector is entering that test from a surprisingly strong position. The question is whether that strength will be enough. #eNCA

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day here: https://t.co/STQxYJQijv

[eNCA @eNCA]

262 new stores in this economy. Shoprite is expanding while South Africa is still battling brutal unemployment numbers. More stores mean more people needed to run them, and that makes this more than a retail story. #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch the episode of Number of the Day here: https://t.co/sQ8CYaK3id

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Some rocket economics

[eNCA @eNCA]

$18.4 billion. Three months. Still making a loss. SpaceX is bringing in more money, but the AI bill is growing faster. How long will investors keep funding the gap? #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day here: https://t.co/PbdxWRqpvh

[eNCA @eNCA]

$18.4 billion. Three months. Still making a loss. SpaceX is bringing in more money, but the AI bill is growing faster. How long will investors keep funding the gap? #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day here: https://t.co/PbdxWRqpvh

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

The Rand has fallen by more than two percent since the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. I’ve seen a lot of surprised looks today with most economist expecting a hike. #enca

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

The debate around foreign ownership is raging in the comments. Lightstone research a few days ago confirmed that 39% of property transactions above R20 million, so 4 in 10, involve foreign buyers. That was our ‘Number of the Day’ earlier this week.

[eNCA @eNCA]

South Africa's luxury property market is starting to look very different depending on which currency you earn in. Foreign buyers now account for almost four in ten purchases above R20 million. For them, South African property can look like exceptional value. For locals earning in rand, the same market can feel further out of reach. So is foreign money helping the market grow, or helping price South Africans out of it? #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day here: https://t.co/6xoQ2GaRiZ

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Satellite internet is coming to South Africa - but not Starlink

[eNCA @eNCA]

390 is today's Number of the Day. @FrancisHerd unpacks Amazon Leo's planned South African launch through Herotel, why the smaller satellite network could reach local customers before Starlink and whether internet from space can close the country's connectivity gaps. #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch today's Number of the Day here: https://t.co/zsWdWTnoaL

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

African visitors are powering South Africa’s tourism sector but they are cancelling trips. No less than 78% of all arrivals in May were from Southern Africa. The anti-immigration push is partly about jobs but tourism is a huge job creator and jobs could ultimately be lost.

[eNCA @eNCA]

[NUMBER OF THE DAY] Gareth Edwards asks what government is saying as concern grows around anti-immigrant tensions and South Africa's tourism reputation. Francis Herd says the brand is already hurting, with some African tourists reportedly cancelling trips after seeing what is circulating online.

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day: https://t.co/tnAIA9oYCn

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Please see my article, Why Iran is a Wicked Problem. The theory of wicked problems explains why the US President seems stuck in a war he wants out of, and why global collaboration, bedevilled as it is, is the only way to solve the world’s woes. https://t.co/UsmuSZET7s

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Morocco has overtake South Africa as the most industrialised nation in africa. Some details of how SA lost its longstanding title.

[eNCA @eNCA]

South Africa used to be Africa's obvious industrial choice. Not anymore. @GarethEdwardsSA and @FrancisHerd unpack how Morocco overtook South Africa as the continent's leading industrialised economy, and why this ranking is really about factories, exports, investor confidence and jobs. Number 1 now belongs to Morocco. The bigger question is what South Africa does next. #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day here: https://t.co/3oK45SsBNe

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Netcare is using AI prediction models in ICU and is rolling out patient wearables (looks like a watch) to continuously monitor their pulse and blood pressure. Interesting stuff.

[eNCA @eNCA]

Netcare is rolling out 6,000 medical-grade wearable devices to continuously monitor patients in general wards. @GarethEdwardsSA and @FrancisHerd look at how the watch-like technology works, whether it threatens nursing jobs, and why AI in healthcare may help doctors and nurses become more human, not less. #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/J4ES2OUOey

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

@Nkulie14 Thank you kindly Nkululeko 🙏

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Please see context for an earlier clip. I began discussing the ‘paradox of voting,’ an economic theory, not my own view. I’m sorry the short clip seemed like I was discouraging voting in any way, it’s quite the opposite. We went onto to 3 economic reasons & other reasons TO vote

[eNCA @eNCA]

We understand the previous clip outside of the context of the full podcast has suggested that voting is not important. The whole conversation was structured, not to discourage voting, but to reinforce why it is so important - especially now. Watch the full podcast: https://t.co/rPcOiaQy6E

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Tumi, this is a small excerpt of a podcast in which Gareth and I looked at reasons TO vote. The full episode is here: https://t.co/oXwA8l8zb2

[Tumi Sole @tumisole]

Why is this video still up?

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Nokwazi, this is a small excerpt of a podcast in which Gareth and I looked at reasons TO vote. The full episode is here: https://t.co/oXwA8l8zb2

[Nolwazi Tusini @NolwAzi_Tusini]

It is so incredibly irresponsible (I’m being generous) for @eNCA to have aired this segment. In a country where the majority fought and died for the right to vote, a country that has transformed BECAUSE people voted, this is ahistorical and dangerous.

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

Join us to speak to the outgoing taxman, Edward Kieswetter. Very few government institutions are praised like SARS and public trust in SARS has gone from 48% to 75% during his 7 year tenure. What did he do differently? Coming up at 630pm on @eNCA

[Francis Herd @FrancisHerd]

I hope we made sense of the acronym dominating news bulletins, the PFMA. The law simply says government must buy goods in a fair and cost effective manner so tenders aren’t dished out as favours to friends.

[eNCA @eNCA]

R360 million is the number. But the bigger story is what happens when the country’s top cop lands in court over a tender linked to Cat Matlala. In today's Number f the Day, @GarethEdwardsSA and @FrancisHerd follow the PFMA case against Fannie Masemola and frame the question at the centre of it all: if you are the accounting officer, how much can you really claim not to know? The episode tracks the court appearance, the legal stakes, and why this matters far beyond one contract. #eNCA #NumberOfTheDay

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/SwXR5CPqup

[eNCA @eNCA]

BA3 is not just a ratings code. It is a warning about Johannesburg’s financial credibility. @GarethEdwardsSA and @FrancisHerd trace why Moody’s has placed the City of Johannesburg on review for a possible downgrade, and how delayed financial statements, bond market pressure, and governance concerns point to a deeper municipal finance problem. #NumberOfTheDay #eNCA

Watch today's Number of the Day here: https://t.co/OZtispqC0u

[eNCA @eNCA]

A battle from 1879 should not be shaping your bond repayments in 2026. But here we are. @GarethEdwardsSA and @FrancisHerd unpack the moment Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago reached back into war history to make a point about inflation, and what that could mean for South Africans already stretched by debt, petrol and rising pressure.

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day: https://t.co/FEygcjBsF3

[eNCA @eNCA]

A war far away. A ripple you can feel. Luxury brands are taking a hit, travel is slowing down, and even high-end spending is starting to crack. But the real shift is what it all points to. When oil rises, everything bends around it. @GarethEdwardsSA and @FrancisHerd follow the trail from Hermès to your petrol tank, and it lands closer to home than you think.

Watch the full episode of Number of the Day: https://t.co/QZeTQOtjFr