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MTN makes Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for its employees

By: News24Wire Updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago MTN has joined a growing number of South African companies that have implemented a vaccine mandate amid the battle with the fourth wave of Covid-19 and the new Omicron variant. Africa's largest mobile network operator said that those employees who refuse vaccinations, without a valid reason,... →

NCCC to convene to assess state of Omicron variant

By: Thabi Madiba Updated 3 hours ago President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday while it is not yet known what impact the Omicron variant will have on hospital admissions government has been preparing hospitals to admit more patients. He said government is also investigating how it can quickly secure medication for treating Covid-19.... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

National Treasury aware of Eskom’s PFMA concerns but denies long delays in responding

By: Terence Creamer Updated 4 hours ago The National Treasury says it is aware of Eskom’s concerns regarding the application of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) at the power utility and reports that there are ongoing engagements in an effort to address these concerns. The matter, it adds, is still being deliberated on and some... →

SA Future Trust, Raizcorp launch programme to assist with small business development

By: Simone Liedtke Updated 5 hours ago The South African Future Trust has partnered with business development service Raizcorp to launch Scaffold, a pilot programme focused on developing high growth potential small businesses in the Alexandra and Tembisa townships that operate in the manufacturing sector. Over time, the strategy will... →

Businesses must drive vaccination uptake, BLSA CEO says

By: Tasneem Bulbulia Updated 5 hours ago Businesses in South Africa must do everything possible to encourage employees and the wider public to get vaccinated, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso says in her weekly newsletter. “There has obviously been much debate about vaccine mandates.... →

Old Mutual Private Equity makes formal proposal for Long4Life buyout

By: Schalk Burger 3rd December 2021 JSE-listed diversified investment management company Long4Life has received a formal proposal from Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE) in relation to its proposed acquisition of all of the issued shares in Long4Life. The proposed transaction contemplates a cash offer by OMPE to acquire all of the... →

Nersa ordered by court to decide Eskom’s 2022/23 tariff by Feb 25

By: Terence Creamer 3rd December 2021 Judge Jody Kollapen has ordered that Eskom’s revenue application for the 2022/23 financial year be decided by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) by February 25 and that it be adjudicated in line with the multiyear pricing determination (MYPD) methodology published in 2016. The... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Eskom presenting at a previous revenue application hearing

Joburg maintains position, Cape Town drops four places in Kearney Global Cities Report

By: Schalk Burger 3rd December 2021 Of the 13 African cities included in management consulting multinational Kearney's 'Global Cities 2021' report, Johannesburg retained the highest ranking at 55, while Cairo climbed five places to 59. Cape Town, however, ranked seventy-seventh last year but dropped four places to 81 in the latest... →

N3 Van Reenen's blockade holds trucking industry hostage, RFA says

By: Schalk Burger 3rd December 2021 The transport and logistics industry is being held captive, as the vital N3 route between the Port of Durban and the interior has been blocked again, with violence and looting having occurred, according to some reports, industry organisation the Road Freight Association's (RFA's) CEO Gavin Kelly... →

Labour Court postpones deadline for Denel to comply with employee contractual obligations again

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd December 2021 Defence company Denel has again failed to comply with a Labour Court order, handed down on August 4, 2020, compelling the enterprise to honour all outstanding contractual obligations with Uasa members, the trade union said. Uasa spokesperson Abigail Moyo said the trade union was “disappointed”... →

Shell can proceed with seismic survey after environmental groups lose urgent court bid

By: News24Wire 3rd December 2021 The high court has dismissed an urgent application to block Shell from proceeding with a seismic survey off the Eastern Cape coast. The ruling was delivered by Judge Avinash Govindjee at the Eastern Cape Division of the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday. Earlier this week, four environmental and... →

UJ implements mandatory vaccination

By: Sashnee Moodley 3rd December 2021 The University of Johannesburg announced on Friday its decision to institute mandatory vaccination at all its campuses and facilities from January 2022. It will consider religious and medical exemptions but stressed that collective rights will take precedence as per Section 36 of the... →

Basa launches PAJA review application for lockdown alcohol bans to be declared invalid

By: Schalk Burger 3rd December 2021 The Beer Association of South Africa (Basa) has launched a review application in the North Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) and/or the principle of legality, for the previous alcohol bans imposed by government to be declared... →

Business activity rose in Nov after metal strike ended - PMI

By: Reuters 3rd December 2021 South Africa's private sector business activity recovered in November after staff in its biggest metal-workers union returned to work after striking in October, a survey showed on Friday. IHS Markit's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) jumped to a six-month high of 51.7 in November from 48.6 a... →

Emalahleni owes Eskom over R5 billion, urges its customers to pay or face darkness

By: News24Wire 3rd December 2021 The Emalahleni local municipality in Mpumalanga has revealed that it owes Eskom over R5-billion for unpaid electricity. It has, therefore, handed over to its lawyers the accounts of some 30 defaulting customers, in a quest to collect the revenue and pay the debt. Emalahleni's communications... →

Latest Eskom, Nersa legal wrangling

3rd December 2021 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the latest legal wrangle between Eskom and Nersa, why Eskom sought the court's intervention against Nersa, some of the highlights of the judgment and the way forward. →

Latest Eskom, Nersa legal wrangling coming to a head

Omicron may throw wrench in companies' plans to return to office

By: Reuters 3rd December 2021 Company executives are beginning to consider different permanent work models for their employees as the coronavirus pandemic, and the spread of the Omicron variant, destabilise their latest return-to-office plans. With Omicron so new, companies are struggling to understand how the variant might... →

Virus-battered South Africa readies mandatory vaccine policy

By: Bloomberg 3rd December 2021 South Africa, which is contending with a massive upsurge in coronavirus infections following the onset of the omicron variant, is readying a mandatory vaccine policy and is set to implement it early next year, a senior labour union official said. Broad agreement has been reached on the policy in... →

More growth expected for diesel generators

By: Darren Parker 3rd December 2021 South Africa’s diesel generator market is expected to grow at a compound yearly growth rate of more than 2% from 2020 to 2025, according to a report released this year by research organisation Mordor Intelligence. Factors such as an increase in throughput of peaking plants and demand for... →

Photo by Adobe
DIESEL GENERATOR Diesel generators in South Africa are not generally used as a primary source of energy, but rather as a backup during power cuts or blackouts from the utility grid.

Sugar master plan to help ailing industry

By: Nadine Ramdass 3rd December 2021 With the South African sugar industry having experienced various challenges in the past few years, the Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan 2030 aims to address some challenges and assist with the industry’s growth. Over the past 20 years, local yearly sugar production has declined by nearly 25%,... →

An image of SASA executive director Trix Trikam

TRIX TRIKAM Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan 2030 to set to address industry challenges

South Africa sees rise in Covid reinfections from Omicron, mild symptoms – scientist

By: Reuters 2nd December 2021 South Africa is seeing an increase in Covid-19 reinfections due to the Omicron variant but symptoms for reinfected patients and those infected after vaccination appear to be mild, a scientist studying the outbreak of the new strain said. The new variant, which has caused global fears of a surge... →

South African food security linked to innovation, improving productivity in agriculture

By: Schalk Burger 2nd December 2021 South Africa's food security is linked to the competitiveness of its agricultural production. Therefore, improving productivity through innovation and global best practices will support food security amid challenges, including climate change, local electricity and water supply constraints, as... →

If more people don't vaccinate, mandatory vaccinations could be the only option - David Makhura

By: News24Wire 2nd December 2021 Gauteng Premier David Makhura has warned that if more people don't have themselves vaccinated voluntarily, mandatory orders could be implemented. Speaking during an update on the province's Covid-19 situation, the premier lamented the low vaccination turnout. So far, more than seven-million... →

Gauteng Premier David Makhura

Households’ ability to incur, manage debt improving

By: Marleny Arnoldi 2nd December 2021 The Altron Fintech Household Financial Resilience Index (Afhri) for the second quarter has confirmed that the average household in South Africa enjoys a more advantageous disposition towards incurring and managing debt than before the Covid-19-pandemic. The results of the Afhri index released... →

Opinion: What does AfCFTA mean for South Africa’s importers and exporters?

2nd December 2021 In this opinion article, Standard Bank head of trade Justin Milo and head of product Nompilo Mtshali write about the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for South Africa's importers and exporters. →

Standard Bank head of trade Justin Milo

South Africans focussing on wellbeing, balancing purpose with earning more – Deloitte

By: Donna Slater 1st December 2021 Compared with 12 months ago, South Africans show a strong shift to introspection and their wellbeing, while also seeking to better balance purpose with earning more money, professional services firm Deloitte’s 'State of the South African Consumer Tracker' report states. The study obtained... →

PwC describes economic outlook for 2022 as ‘uncertain at best’

By: Marleny Arnoldi 1st December 2021 Professional services firm PwC maintains in its latest economic outlook that the main factors influencing South Africa’s economy in 2022 are likely to be load-shedding, lockdown restrictions, municipal coalitions and fiscal spending, global economic growth and supply chain challenges. The firm... →

Judge to rule next week on latest Eskom-Nersa legal wrangle

By: Terence Creamer 1st December 2021 Judge Jody Kollapen has reserved judgment in Eskom’s application to have the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) rejection of its latest revenue application set aside as irrational and unlawful. Following a virtual hearing on December 1, Kollapen indicated that he expected to... →

E2 crime fighting initiative extends to eight provinces

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 1st December 2021 Industry organisation Business Leadership South Africa and its subdivision Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa) have announced the national roll out of the Eyes and Ears (E2) initiative to eight of the country’s provinces as efforts to combat increased crime during the festive season... →

Solidarity launches SOE corruption whistleblower platform

By: Marleny Arnoldi 1st December 2021 Trade union Solidarity has launched a new protected whistleblower portal to empower employees to expose corruption at Eskom and other State-owned enterprises (SOEs). Although this platform is launched with a specific focus on Eskom, it is also a platform where anyone can blow the whistle on... →

Absa PMI rises to 57.2 in November

By: Simone Liedtke 1st December 2021 The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded a solid increase in November, gaining 3.6 points to 57.2, making it the highest level for the headline PMI since before the third wave of Covid-19 infections and the social unrest shock in July. At 55.4, the average headline... →

Petrol price increase was wrong, energy dept admits

By: News24Wire 1st December 2021 While the petrol price still went up on Wednesday, it was by 75c per litre, and not 81c as the department of mineral resources and energy incorrectly stated this week. "The 6 cents difference is due to the fact that the adjustment of wages for service station workers had already been implemented... →

Eskom CEO sees end to crisis in shift from coal

By: Reuters 1st December 2021 South African state power utility Eskom sees an opportunity to emerge from years of crisis by shifting from coal-fired power generation towards natural gas and renewables, its chief executive told Reuters. Eskom has implemented power cuts for more than a decade in Africa's most industrialised... →

Global trade to increase 23% from 2020 levels – Unctad

By: Donna Slater 30th November 2021 The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) forecasts that global trade will reach about $28-trillion this year – an increase of 23% on 2020 levels, after stabilising in the second half of the year. It notes, however, that the outlook for 2022 is “very uncertain”. →

Altron index shows short-term credit improvement

By: Natasha Odendaal 30th November 2021 The latest Altron Fintech Short-term Credit Impact (AFSCI) Index has revealed an increase in short-term credit during the second quarter of 2021. The second-quarter 2021 AFSCI Index, which tracks the economic impact of short-term lending in South Africa, shows a year-on-year increase of 8.6% and... →

Institute of Risk Management welcomes vaccination drive, mandatory vaccination task team

By: Schalk Burger 30th November 2021 The Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA) has welcomed a renewed call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to accelerate the administration of Covid-19 vaccines and the establishment of a task team to consider mandatory vaccinations. “The laudable discovery by South African scientists of a... →

Unemployment rate hits new record high at 34.9%

By: Reuters 30th November 2021 South Africa's unemployment rate hit a new record high of 34.9% in the third quarter of 2021 from 34.4% in the second quarter, the statistics agency said on Tuesday. Statistics South Africa said the number of unemployed totalled 7.643-million people in the three months to the end of September,... →

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