This podcast is brought to you by Ukwazi - Bringing relevant mining engineering consultancy services to dynamic industry.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

On Tuesday, the Department of Trade and Industry's head of industrial policy, Nimrod Zalk, said that South Africa expects to make a decision on a scrap metal export tax early next year. But, he said it might postpone its introduction as prices have fallen sharply in the global economic slowdown.

The government has been discussing the measure to discourage exports of scrap metal and ease input costs for downstream manufacturing to boost value-added exports.

But the plan has faced wide criticism from the recycling industry, which says the tax would benefit the bigger players.

Zalk said the government was still evaluating its options and might look at a price-based system or at a quantitive restriction, or a combination of both.

The South African Bus Operators Association has warned that its members might be forced to halt operations, after the Department of Transport wrote to it saying that it was unable to pay subsidies for the last four months of the financial year. This is owing to a subsidy shortfall of R1,2-billion.

The association said that the only other way to avoid a withdrawal of services, which would leave commuters stranded, was if its members doubled bus fares to cover the deficit. However, this would defeat the purpose of the subsidies, which are paid to keep bus fares at affordable levels for commuters who are mostly drawn from low-income groups.

A disruption of bus transport on this scale would be damaging for South Africa's reputation as the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup draws nearer, with just six months before the start of the Confederations Cup in 2009.

Transport economist and Saboa advisor professor Jackie Walters said it would raise concerns and doubts about the provision of public transport in South Africa ahead of the world cup.

Also making headlines:

Private-fund owned satellite firm Intelsat and a South African investment consortium plan to build and launch a $250-million satellite.
Civil engineering and construction group Stefanutti Stocks is the lead partner in the Kusile civils joint venture.
State-owned petroleum company PetroSA has appointed US-based engineering firm KBR as the engineering contractor for the proposed Coega refinery.
And, major companies and investors appeal for "decisive action" by representatives attending the United Nations climate talks in Poland.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.