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Economy News

New global costs report confirms new renewables are undercutting existing coal

By: Terence Creamer Updated 1 hour 38 minutes ago The cost of electricity from new solar and wind plants is increasingly undercutting the operating costs alone of existing coal‑fired power plants and strengthening the case for their early retirement, a newly released International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) report confirms. Published on... →

CSIR launches roadmap to address challenges that hinder smart settlements in South Africa

By: Simone Liedtke Updated 2 hours 12 minutes ago The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has partnered with the departments of Science and Innovation (DSI); Human Settlements (DHS) and Water and Sanitation (DWS) to launch a Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Settlements Roadmap. The roadmap, meant to upscale... →

Ports authority to become an independent subsidiary of Transnet

By: Yvonne Silaule Updated 4 hours ago President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) will become an independent subsidiary of Transnet. During a site visit to the Port of Cape Town on June 22, the President commented that the creation of a separate subsidiary would allow the ports authority... →

The Port of Cape Town

South Africa to host vaccine technology transfer hub

By: Yvonne Silaule Updated 7 hours ago South Africa has welcomed the opportunity to host a vaccine technology transfer hub and to build on the capacity and expertise that already exists on the continent as Africa struggles to obtain Covid-19 vaccine doses. President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the establishment of the first messenger RNA... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Seifsa tables three-year wage offer

By: Tasneem Bulbulia Updated 7 hours ago The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa), which represents 19 affiliated employer organisations, has tabled a three-year wage deal. This followed after negotiations were held with labour unions, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, Solidarity,... →

Batteries can help improve South Africa's rail network, says First National Battery

By: Simone Liedtke 21st June 2021 Reliable and well-maintained infrastructure is needed for passenger and freight trains to reach their destinations safely, and a key part of this infrastructure includes reliable and resilient railway batteries that powers trains and rail systems, says battery manufacturer First National Battery.... →

PPC mulls several low-carbon opportunities as it shows signs of business stabilisation

By: Terence Creamer 21st June 2021 Cementitious products manufacturer PPC is considering several initiatives aimed at lowering the carbon footprint of its operations and products as its far-reaching organisational and financial restructuring begins yielding results and creates space for the JSE-listed group to start focusing on... →

PPC CEO Roland van Wijnen

Tourism dept says unable to reinstate Tourism Relief Fund

By: Simone Liedtke 21st June 2021 The Department of Tourism has confirmed that it is unable to reinstate the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) owing to the unavailability of financial resources to do so. The department is, therefore, focusing on the implementation of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP) to ensure a sustained return to... →

BLSA CEO pays tribute to former chairperson Jabu Mabuza

21st June 2021 In her weekly newsletter, Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso pays tribute to Jabu Mabuza. Today we will be bidding farewell to one of business’s giants and former BLSA chairperson Jabu Mabuza during his memorial service which will be held at 10:00. He helped business find its voice... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Jabu Mabuza

South Africa’s labour law architect Mboweni sees need for change

By: Bloomberg 18th June 2021 Tito Mboweni, the architect of many of South Africa’s labour laws, said it may be time to review them to ensure they aren’t impeding economic growth. South Africa’s current finance minister told an investment conference on Thursday that when he served as the first post-apartheid labour minister... →

100 MW reform ‘precursor’ to new market-driven electricity supply industry – De Ruyter

By: Terence Creamer 18th June 2021 Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has described the decision to lift the licence-exemption cap on own- or embedded-generation plants from 1 MW to 100 MW as not only positive for addressing South Africa’s immediate electricity shortages, but also as “the precursor to the development of a new electricity... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

Gauteng economic development dept needs to do more with less

By: Natasha Odendaal 18th June 2021 The Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED) has to do more with less as budget’s shrink and the Covid-19 pandemic ravages small businesses. Delivering the 2021/2022 departmental budget on June 18, Gauteng Economic Development and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Parks... →

Draft data, cloud policy not aimed at controlling data, says Ndabeni-Abrahams

By: Schalk Burger 18th June 2021 Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on June 18 said the draft Data and Cloud Policy was not intended to control and direct how data should be used, but aims to serve as an enabler for socioeconomic development. She was speaking at a colloquium to discuss the... →

Association offers value to stakeholders

By: Nadine Ramdass 18th June 2021 Stakeholders in the biofuels and biogas industry can advocate for better legislation and connect with other stakeholders by being active members of associations such as the Southern African Biogas Industry Association (SABIA). The association also makes it possible for stakeholders and interested... →

BIOGAS FACILITY ON FARM Anaerobic digestion converts hazardous organic waste

Third wave weighing on trade conditions

By: Simone Liedtke 17th June 2021 Trade conditions during December 2020 and January 2021 suffered a severe second wave of Covid-19 infections, which negatively impacted trade. While trade conditions have subsequently improved, South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) CEO Alan Mukoki says these were down again in May... →

S Africa won’t budge on State wage bill, finance chief says

By: Bloomberg 17th June 2021 South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni told an investment conference the Treasury won’t back down on its insistence that any wage agreement for state workers mustn’t breach the government’s fiscal ceiling. Mboweni made the comments at a conference organized by JSE Ltd. and sponsored by... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Emergency power fiasco compounds South Africa’s energy crisis

By: Bloomberg 17th June 2021 The debacle surrounding South Africa’s bid to secure emergency power supplies has highlighted a dysfunctional energy policy that’s subjecting Africa’s most-industrialised nation to intermittent blackouts. Since March, the energy department has identified companies it wants to provide almost 2 000... →

South Africa will continue to remove barriers to growth and investment, Ramaphosa tells investors

By: Terence Creamer 17th June 2021 Having already announced a key reform for the electricity sector, President Cyril Ramaphosa told international investors on Thursday that the country will continue to remove barriers to growth and investment through the Operation Vulindlela delivery mechanism. In an address to the SA Tomorrow... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

RMB CEO commends govt for ‘taking the steps needed’ to mitigate South Africa’s economic challenges

By: Simone Liedtke 17th June 2021 Private sector banker Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) CEO James Formby has commended government for “finally taking the steps needed to tackle persistent power outages” by lifting the licensing-exemption threshold for embedded generation projects to 100 MW, from the previous 1 MW. He says it is an... →

GreenCape’s 2021 market intelligence reports highlight Western Cape investment opportunities

By: Simone Liedtke 17th June 2021 GreenCape’s 2021 market intelligence reports (MIRs), produced in partnership with the Western Cape Government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism, are now available for download. The reports highlight the investment opportunities in key sectors of the green economy in the province,... →

Business sector mourns loss of Jabu Mabuza to Covid-19 complications

By: Schalk Burger 17th June 2021 The business sector, State-owned power utility Eskom and family members have paid tribute to Dr Jabu Mabuza, describing him as a man of integrity, courage and honesty. Mabuza passed away on June 16 from Covid-19-related complications. “Jabu was a role model for all South Africans who aspire to... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Dr Jabu Mabuza

SAPVIA adds voice of support for 100 MW distributed generation licensing-exemption threshold

By: Simone Liedtke 17th June 2021 The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) has added its voice to the growing number of supportive voices following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the licensing threshold for embedded generation plants will increase to 100 MW. In welcoming the news, SAPVIA... →

SAPVIA COO Niveshen Govender

Emergency power fiasco compounds South Africa’s energy crisis

By: Bloomberg 17th June 2021 The debacle surrounding South Africa’s bid to secure emergency power supplies has highlighted a dysfunctional energy policy that’s subjecting Africa’s most-industrialized nation to intermittent blackouts. Since March, the energy department has identified companies it wants to provide almost 2 000... →

IMF says Zimbabwe economy to grow 6%, deep reforms needed

By: Reuters 17th June 2021 The International Monetary Fund forecast that Zimbabwe's economy would grow 6% this year, almost double its initial projection, but said debt restructuring and other reforms were needed to create the conditions for a lasting recovery. The Fund said higher agriculture output and improved power... →

Ramaphosa announces move to Level 3 lockdown

By: Creamer Media Reporter 15th June 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the country will move to Level 3 lockdown from June 15. A curfew will be in place from 22:00 to 04:00 and gatherings will be limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Shoprite spends R700m over five years training more than 30 000 youths

By: Schalk Burger 15th June 2021 Retail chain Shoprite Group has spent more than R700-million over the past five years on skills development and training programmes to enhance the career options of South Africa’s unskilled and unemployed youth. It has trained 24 308 people in its own Retail Readiness Programme, provided 1 027... →

Ramaphosa to address nation on Covid-19 response

By: Sashnee Moodley 15th June 2021 As South Africa heads into the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address the nation at 20:00 on Tuesday. According to a statement from the Presidency, he will provide updates on developments in government’s current response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Suppliers to lose contracts for failing to cut carbon emissions – study

By: Donna Slater 15th June 2021 A new study by financial services provider Standard Chartered reveals that multinational companies will cut suppliers for failing to curb carbon emissions, with 78% of multinational corporations (MNCs) planning to cut ties with suppliers that endanger their carbon transition plans by 2025. For... →

PwC embarks on new global strategy to tackle modern issues

By: Donna Slater 15th June 2021 Assurance, advisory and tax services firm PwC launched its new network strategy narrative – called The New Equation – on June 15, with the aim of focusing on two interconnected needs that clients are facing and will increasingly face in the coming years. PwC Africa CEO Dion Shango says The New... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
PwC Africa CEO Dion Shango

Global stock-taking report points to only modest renewables gains in total final energy consumption

By: Terence Creamer 15th June 2021 A new international stock-take of the global transition to renewable energy highlights an “alarming gap between targets and actions” with the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption failing to decrease for the tenth consecutive year in 2020, despite a 4% Covid-linked fall in demand. Published... →

APDP Phase 2 to take effect on July 1

By: Marleny Arnoldi 15th June 2021 Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel has advised that amendments to the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) will be gazetted on June 25 and implemented from July 1. The APDP is an automotive industry support policy consisting of rebates and refunds of... →

Nigeria’s cratering economy may become Africa’s biggest threat

By: Bloomberg 15th June 2021 If there was ever a time Nigeria could have taken off, it was in 1999. Democracy had been restored, with its economy reopening after decades of mismanagement and plunder under military dictatorships. Tomi Davies, a systems analyst, was one of thousands of Nigerians who came home to help rebuild... →

Reinvestment in South Africa needed to ‘plant the seeds’ for a better future, says Exxaro

By: Simone Liedtke 15th June 2021 Reinvestment is needed to “plant the seeds” and create a better future for South Africa, says diversified miner Exxaro Resources projects and technology executive head Johan Meyer. This is especially critical considering that Covid-19 has made it more challenging to secure investments, but also... →

G7 DFIs, partners to invest over $80bn in African businesses

By: Donna Slater 14th June 2021 Development finance institutions (DFIs) of the Group of Seven (G7) economies, together with several multilateral partners, have announced their commitment to investing $80-billion in the private sector over the next five years to support sustainable economic recovery and growth in Africa. Among... →

Nxesi issues new directive for workplace vaccinations

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th June 2021 Employers should find a reasonable resolution that accommodates all parties where employees refuse to be vaccinated for medical and constitutional grounds. This is contained in the new consolidated directive on occupational health and safety (OHS) measures in certain workplaces, which was... →

Transformational investing a challenge for developing nations – investment panel

By: Donna Slater 14th June 2021 Africa presents a unique case for the type of transformational investing that is required for sustainability, to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to panellists participating in a Sanlam Investments Forum on... →

Rebeca Grynspan appointed Unctad Secretary-General

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th June 2021 Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica will be the new Secretary-General of UN trade and development body Unctad. Her nomination to the post by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was approved by the UN General Assembly on June 11. →

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