The Editor's Desk - Fri 23 Jan 2026: Musk’s Davos debut, Trump’s pharma squeeze – and Africa’s election farce

In today’s Editor’s Desk, BizNews editor Alec Hogg unpacks Davos’ shifting centre of gravity — from Elon Musk’s surprise debut to Donald Trump’s blunt warning that global pharma pricing is about to change. He then brings it back to home truths: what rising medicine costs could mean for South Africa’s NHI ambitions, and why Uganda’s “election” exposes the ugly reality of power politics in Africa..PS. You can book tickets for the post BNC#8 golf day sponsored by Shyft, by clicking here..Don't miss out on future episodes of The Editor's Desk. Subscribe to BizNews Premium and get the podcast delivered to your inbox daily..Listen here.Read the full transcript of The Editor's Desk podcast below.Hello and welcome. I’m Alec Hogg.You’ve seen the headlines on BizNews.com, and watched or listened to the interviews on BizNews TV and BizNews Radio. So now let’s talk about what the latest developments mean for your money. This is the Editor’s Desk — exclusive analysis for BizNews Premium members. Today is Friday, 23 January 2026. I’m glad to have you with me.We’ve been watching the World Economic Forum very closely — but obviously not closely enough, because yesterday afternoon I took a little time off after a busy week. This morning I was up early for BizNews Daybreak. I hope you’re listening: I think it’s some of the finest work we’re doing at BizNews.I’m a member of the “5am club”. No great hardship. I get going at five o’clock and, by around quarter past six, Daybreak is published. It’s intended for those doing the early-morning drive into the office: something interesting to listen to, and a way to be well-informed for those early meetings. That’s the whole intention — and it’s been very warmly received. That’s the good news.But then I wake up this morning, go through my usual feeds and… there’s Elon Musk in Davos. You could have blown me over with a feather.Musk has been trying to get into Davos for ages. The people there told me he’d certainly tried — but they didn’t want him. The Klaus Schwab era clearly wasn’t keen, and an invitation never came. Musk, in turn, took every opportunity to run down the World Economic Forum. It’s that old story: rejection breeds resentment. He felt snubbed — and as he became more powerful, and his star rose ever higher (and rightly so — he’s an incredible innovator), his criticism carried more weight.In a big way, Musk helped fuel the negativity that surrounds the WEF today — the idea that it’s become a talk shop. And yet, in fairness, there were many times when I attended in years gone by and people were genuinely trying to “improve the state of the world”. There was a lot of earnest intent. Schwab himself has done many good things over the years.That doesn’t stop the hostility. I even received an email recently from someone saying they’d cancelled their BizNews Premium subscription because I’d suggested Klaus Schwab isn’t some kind of villain. Seriously. That’s the level of antagonism.Anyway — let’s leave Klaus Schwab out of it.The point is: Musk tried to get into Davos, was rebuffed, swore he’d never go… and then yesterday he arrived. He was on the main stage in a very interesting discussion with Larry Fink of BlackRock. And there’s a story to that too.Fink — presumably delighted to have Musk there — is now co-chair of the World Economic Forum. It’s hard to miss what’s happening: the WEF’s centre of gravity has shifted.One of the stories I want to point you towards today is from the Financial Times. The headline is “Waiting for the King”. It describes how a room full of business leaders — the most powerful business people in the world — sat around and waited for Donald Trump. He was an hour late. And the FT’s point is: something strange is going on. It was as though they were in the presence of royalty — prepared to wait, almost as a power play. Who knows?It’s an excellent piece — and it lands on something I’ve been talking about over the past week (and longer): that the World Economic Forum has undergone a silent coup.The WEF once stood for international cooperation — globalism — and a certain European-led view of the world. They’d hire hundreds of bright young minds from top universities, identify major trends, and bring leaders together — business and political — once a year. It was largely European, with a strong American contingent. US Presidents rarely went; you might remember Joe Biden attending years ago when he was Vice President, but it was never really an “American show”.This time, it feels American.And part of the evidence sits in plain sight: Larry Fink. In the past, Schwab — founder, rule-maker, ultimate convenor — would host the big interviews. Now, Fink is hosting. Fink introduced Trump. Fink spoke with Musk. Fink is front and centre.Schwab’s successor is Børge Brende, the Norwegian who now runs the organisation day-to-day. He’s capable — but it’s difficult not to notice how Fink overshadows him in the big moments. The “star power” has moved.And then there’s Trump.His speech yesterday was fascinating. Whatever else you think of him, Trump is unfiltered. Some call him transactional — always working a deal — and I think that’s true. As Piet Viljoen said in an interview we did: Trump is like a property negotiator. He plants his stake in the ground far beyond what he’s prepared to accept, then works towards the number he actually wants.But if you listen to the speech — about 72 minutes, including Q&A — you also hear a man who says things most leaders wouldn’t say out loud. He’s transparent. And as “the people”, you’ve got to appreciate that, because so much politics happens behind closed doors — bilaterals, multilaterals, smoke-filled rooms we never get to see.Trump does it differently: press conferences, Oval Office meetings with cameras, open engagement. His critics say it’s performative — that he loves the limelight. Maybe. But transparency is a disinfectant. You can see — firsthand — what’s being said and how it’s being said.The part that really struck me was what he said about pharmaceuticals.Trump described being angry with US pharmaceutical companies because medicine prices keep rising and are becoming unaffordable for many Americans. He said the companies’ defence is that the US consumer effectively subsidises cheap medicines elsewhere: Americans pay far more, so the same product can be sold in places like France for a fraction of the price.He then described raising this with Emmanuel Macron: why should Americans pay vastly more while France pays far less? He said he told Macron bluntly: either France pays more — double or triple — or it won’t get the same deal.According to Trump, Macron refused. So Trump’s response — again, in his telling — was: fine, then France will face steep tariffs into the US market, including punitive tariffs on signature exports like wine and champagne.Now, I’m not endorsing every tactic — I’m interested in the underlying logic.If the American consumer really has been paying multiples of what others pay for the same medicines, something is off. And no US leader has tackled it like this — until now.Trump’s claim is that, as other countries pay more, US medicine prices could fall dramatically — he even spoke of reductions on the order of 90%. We’ll see. But even the direction of travel matters, because it has big implications for how health systems are funded.In the US, healthcare is largely private and employer-linked. In Britain and France, you have national health systems often held up as models — admired, even romanticised. But they’re already under strain as populations age. If one of the major input costs — medicines — jumps sharply because the US stops underwriting global discounts, that’s a serious problem.And now bring it back to South Africa.We’re told, “Look at the UK, look at France — why can’t we have the same?” Well, first: we can’t afford it. Our NHI debate too often sounds like wish fulfilment — wanting the mansion on the hill without the means to pay for it.Second: if South Africa thinks the NHI, as constructed, is expensive now, wait until the global price of pharmaceuticals rises under a new US pricing regime. If countries everywhere are forced to pay more, the ripple hits us too — and it hits any grand promises of “free” national healthcare.This is why Trump’s Davos speech is well worth listening to, even if it’s long — and even if he’s a polarising figure.People have compared Trump’s rough-edged style with the polish of other Davos speakers — like Mark Carney, who delivered a sharp, well-crafted address. I respected what I watched with Carney. But I connected with what Trump was saying because it felt grounded in the real world — not in airy platitudes for elites with little skin in the game.Maybe that’s what’s happening at the WEF: a move away from abstractions and towards the hard realities of power, money and consequences.That thought brings me to Africa, to elections, and to democracy — an area I’ve been reflecting on after reading Yuval Noah Harari’s latest book, Nexus. Harari traces communications and information flows from the Stone Age to now, and he spends time on how democracy was built on an ideal — one person, one vote — but has become contaminated by vested interests and abuse.Here’s what I’m seeing: as AI spreads, more people get more access to more information. For the first time, voters can do their own research at scale. You don’t have to vote for “the guy your friends say is best” because you assume they know better. You can check: was this person cited in the Zondo Commission? Are they credible? Are they the people you want shaping your children’s future?Now, why mention Africa?Because right now we have a situation in Uganda that — if our government were as credible as it likes to claim — it would be condemning loudly.Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, is in his 80s and has been in power for around four decades. Uganda held another election, and his main challenger, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, claims the vote was stolen. The official result delivered Museveni an implausibly large margin.According to reporting we’ve carried from our partners at The Economist, Bobi Wine has been under intense pressure, and the security apparatus has treated the election as a military operation. What makes this even more alarming is the conduct of Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the army chief. He has made vile threats online against the opposition — and has boasted about violence against opponents.And we’re supposed to call this “democracy”.The Economist’s framing is cutting — and I’ll quote just the central question: “What then is the point of an election…?” It’s a fair question when the regime treats elections like warfare, the opposition sees them as a sham, and large parts of the electorate abstain.Uganda isn’t alone. Similar patterns have played out across the region — elections used to recycle elites and win international legitimacy, rather than to deliver real change. And even that norm — international legitimacy — is eroding.All we want, as Bobi Wine put it, is to be free.That’s quite a lengthy Friday discussion for you. I hope it made you think — because we’ve got a weekend ahead, and there’s a lot on our minds right now. After Davos, there always is.I used to say that after the World Economic Forum it took time for all that “undiluted wisdom” to settle into my thinking. This week feels like one of those again.I’m going to leave it there for today. Keep an eye on your Premium newsletter for links to our freshest published content.Thanks for trusting us with your time. I’m Alec Hogg. Until Monday — cheerio.

The Editor's Desk - Fri 23 Jan 2026: Musk’s Davos debut, Trump’s pharma squeeze – and Africa’s election farce

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