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Economy News

Covid-19 exacerbating African economic instability

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th May 2020 Countries in sub-Saharan Africa were dealing with a myriad of economic and other challenges prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 and these will continue to impact on the outlook of countries in the region. The pandemic will further exacerbate the challenges faced by the region, speakers... →

Sasol calls for IPP bids to supply 600 MW of renewable energy to South African operations

By: Terence Creamer 14th May 2020 Chemicals and fuels group Sasol has issued a request for information (RFI) for the supply of 600 MW of renewable energy to its South African operations so as to reduce its yearly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 1.6-million tons. The closing date for submissions is Friday, June 5. →

Photo by Creamer Media
Sasol's Secunda complex in Mpumalanga, with power lines in the foreground

Too little, too late says small business chamber on Ramaphosa's speech

By: African News Agency 14th May 2020 The National Small Business Chamber said on Thursday that president Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that the country could move from a level 4 to level 3 Covid-19 lockdown by the end of May had come "too little, too late" for small business owners. Ramaphosa made the statement on Wednesday night,... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

South African trade conditions slump in April due to Covid-19 lockdown

By: African News Agency 14th May 2020 Trading conditions in South Africa were badly affected during April by a lockdown aimed at limiting Covid-19 transmissions, with an index that tracks activity declining 11 points, a leading business chamber said on Thursday. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its latest... →

Lockdown hampers business and trade activity for April – Sacci

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th May 2020 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) notes that trade conditions were badly affected in April as a result of the lockdown measures implemented to halt the spread of Covid-19. It notes that this called for extraordinary efforts by businesses to keep afloat. →

Unions Numsa and Sacca strongly denounce SAA BRPs

By: Rebecca Campbell 14th May 2020 Two of the trade unions which represent employees at the financially embattled State-owned airline South African Airways (SAA), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) have condemned “in the strongest terms” the decision by... →

Most of SA can prepare for Level 3 lockdown at the end of May – Ramaphosa

By: News24Wire 14th May 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the country will drop to Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown by the end of May, but some parts of the country with higher infection rates of Covid-19 will remain at Level 4. Ramaphosa made this announcement during his address to the nation on Wednesday. →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa's treasury schedules June 24 for coronavirus budget

By: Reuters 13th May 2020 South Africa's National Treasury on Wednesday said it would table a new budget on June 24 to ratify plans for a R500-billion stimulus package aimed at easing the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. ""A revised fiscal framework will also be presented, to account for substantial revenue... →

Photo by Reuters
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Gautrain delays yearly fare increase owing to Covid-19

By: Simone Liedtke 13th May 2020 The Gautrain will not be increasing its fares in June this year, as would normally have been the case. Instead, the Gautrain Management Agency and Bombela Concession Company will be delaying the fare increase to later in the year once more accurate information is available as to when the lockdown... →

New venture set up to explore South Africa’s offshore floating wind-farm potential

By: Terence Creamer 13th May 2020 A South African renewable-energy company has teamed up with a Swedish floating wind-farm developer and technology designer to explore the development of large-scale floating wind farms offshore South Africa. In a joint statement released in Stockholm and Cape Town, Hexicon AB and Genesis... →

PwC finds most businesses are considering operational changes as they reopen

By: Marleny Arnoldi 13th May 2020 A Covid-19 CFO Pulse survey conducted by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has revealed a sense of optimism among finance leaders about their companies’ ability to safely reopen, as Covid-19 restrictions slowly start to lift in some countries. PwC says most businesses in Africa, similar... →

Global trade set to slump 27% in Q2, report warns

By: Terence Creamer 13th May 2020 Global trade is projected to record a quarter-on-quarter slump of 27% in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, after falling by three percent in the first quarter, a new report by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) warns. The report,... →

DTIC defends Patel on taking economic impacts of Covid-19 seriously

By: Marleny Arnoldi 13th May 2020 The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has published a statement in support of Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel, after media reports and public domain commentary created the impression that he had underplayed the extent of the lockdown costs on the economy. The DTIC... →

Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel

Commission refers face mask pricing cases to Tribunal for prosecution

By: Donna Slater 13th May 2020 The Competition Commission has referred cases against two major protective face mask suppliers to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution. Sicuro Safety and Hennox Supplies are said to have allegedly charged excessive prices for face masks, with the commission saying prices had increased... →

AfriSam now operating under Level 4 restrictions

By: Simone Liedtke 13th May 2020 The first steps in relaxing South Africa’s national coronavirus lockdown will allow critical supplies of cement and construction material to reach specified markets. “With the lowering . . . to Alert Level 4, the new regulations permit AfriSam to resume some of its production and to supply... →

Drilling of first inclined well to start at Renergen’s Virginia gas project

By: Simone Liedtke 13th May 2020 Emerging domestic natural gas and helium producer Renergen has signed a contract with hydraulic exploration drilling rig manufacturer Bohrmeister Technik to start the drilling of the first inclined well for the delivery of gas to Phase 1 of Renergen’s Virginia gas project, in the Free State.... →

TNPA's ship repair facilities operating at 100% capacity

By: Simone Liedtke 13th May 2020 Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA’s) ship repair facilities are operating at 100% capacity following the easing of the lockdown restrictions to Level 4. Operations will be guided by the agents’ docking schedules in the respective ports, the ports authority said in a statement on May 12. →

Cape Town in landmark suit to open South Africa’s power system

By: , Bloomberg 13th May 2020 The city of Cape Town is awaiting a court ruling on whether it can buy its own electricity from suppliers other than national power utility Eskom Holdings without getting approval from the energy minister. Judge Leonie Windell of South Africa’s High Court on Tuesday reserved judgment in the case... →

CEF denies nine ‘requests’ for support amount to a bailout

By: Terence Creamer 12th May 2020 South Africa’s State-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF) has outlined an extensive list of support measures – including access to a portion of the fuel levy and carbon-tax proceeds – which it argued on Tuesday would help extricate the group from a “precarious financial position”, precipitated by... →

Photo by Creamer Media
The PetroSA refinery in Mossel Bay

Policy, people-centred approaches vital to energy development in a post-Covid-19 world

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th May 2020 Energy experts during a PowerGen Africa hosted webinar on May 12 agreed that Covid-19 presents an opportunity for policy renewal and structural reforms in the energy sector. The webinar forms part of a virtual webinar series leading up to the African Utility Week event, which will be hosted... →

Govt avails more than R5bn in support to municipalities

By: Simone Liedtke 12th May 2020 National government has made more than R5-billion available in support to municipalities to assist them in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2019/20 municipal financial year. The support is assisting municipalities to provide additional access to basic services for vulnerable communities... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

SBI calls on govt to revise lockdown regulations for small businesses

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th May 2020 The Small Business Institute (SBI) has implored government to urgently revise regulations that are preventing small businesses from operating during the continuing Covid-19-related lockdown. In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the SBI says the harm being done to the economy as a... →

Mkhize salutes nurses who died of Covid-19 in International Nurses Day speech

By: African News Agency 12th May 2020 Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Tuesday dedicated this year’s International Nurses Day to the health practitioners who died in the ongoing arduous battle against the novel coronavirus. “As a department, we recognise the need to prioritise the nursing profession along with the well-being of... →

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize

Mboweni, Reserve Bank kick off loan guarantee scheme to save banks, consumers

By: News24Wire 12th May 2020 A multi-billion loan guarantee scheme announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month is set to begin operating from Tuesday, with the assistance of the country’s major banks, including FNB, Investec, Standard Bank and Absa. According to a joint statement issued by National Treasury, The South... →

US govt donates 1 000 ventilators to S Africa

By: Thabi Madiba 12th May 2020 The US government has donated up to a thousand ventilators and accompanying equipment to South Africa, which will be sent to all intensive care units in hospitals that can accommodate them. US Ambassador Lana Marks said the donation was another example of the “American spirit of generosity” as... →

SAA failing to pay tax deducted from staff salaries to Sars

By: African News Agency 12th May 2020 South African Airways has not paid over the income tax the company deducted from its employees to the South African Revenue Service and is therefore in breach of the bailout conditions imposed on it by the National Treasury, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday. The stricken airline's failure... →

Barloworld, Tongaat to evaluate starch sale terms amid Covid-19 impacts

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th May 2020 JSE-listed industrial group Barloworld believes Covid-19-related impacts on the earnings of JSE-listed sugar manufacturer Tongaat Hulett’s starch business has resulted in a material adverse change (MAC) to the terms of a sale and purchase agreement between the companies. Barloworld in February... →

South Africa urged to leverage the full industrial potential of the IRP 2019 as part of post-Covid recovery

By: Terence Creamer 12th May 2020 The allocation, in the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019), to renewable energy represents a major opportunity not only to diversify South Africa’s coal-heavy electricity mix, but also to create new domestic industries and jobs, Kearney senior energy principal Prashaen Reddy argues. To fully... →

Kearney senior energy principal Prashaen Reddy in conversation with Terence Creamer on the outlook for renewables in South Africa. Editing: Nicholas Boyd

Budget reductions to impact on IT services providers

By: Schalk Burger 12th May 2020 Providing technology services that enable digital transformation is a major area of business for information technology (IT) services vendors but, in the short-term, this business will come under pressure as clients look to reduce costs, says data and analytics company GlobalData Thematic... →

Little insurance cover for Covid-19 impact on business

By: Schalk Burger 12th May 2020 Companies should seek professional advice on whether they are entitled to any insurance benefits against the consequences of the state of disaster declared in response to Covid-19, says legal firm Knowles Husain Lindsay director Nicholas Taitz. The reality is that most commercial policies issued... →

DTIC incentives to be calibrated to maintaining South Africa’s industrial base post-Covid

By: Terence Creamer 11th May 2020 The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) indicated on Monday that a significant portion of its industrial-financing resources were likely to be redirected to firms and industries that were now in distress as a result of the country’s efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.... →

Photo by Creamer Media
DTIC director-general Lionel October

Dealing with Covid-19 impact calls for moral resilience

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 11th May 2020 With the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, South Africans and all the different sectors of the country are faced with moral dilemmas, and the best way to manage this is to turn to moral resilience. This was indicated by speakers during a webinar held by independent public institute, the... →

ViroGOLD launches back-to-school label design competition

By: Simone Liedtke 11th May 2020 ViroGOLDSchool, a range of hypochlorous acid products developed specifically for schools, has launched a back-to-school label design competition and is calling on learners from across the country to participate and stand a chance to win cash for themselves and product for their schools.... →

GovChat to digitise Covid-19 social relief grant campaign

By: Simone Liedtke 11th May 2020 South African civic engagement technology platform GovChat and the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have entered into a partnership to support the digitisation of the Covid-19 social relief grant application process. Sassa’s partnership with GovChat enables millions of unemployed... →

GovChat founder and CEO Eldrid Jordaan

People need to adapt to new normal or risk mental health fallout

By: Donna Slater 11th May 2020 People around the world are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19, with many working from home or in different and unfamiliar environments that have been adapted to be safe while the disease spreads. This is resulting in an increasing number of mental health... →

NSBC urges big business, govt to continue paying SMEs during Covid-19

By: Simone Liedtke 11th May 2020 Covid-19 and the economic downturn has and will continue to have a “devastating” impact on the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector throughout South Africa, the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) founder and CEO Mike Anderson laments. In a statement on May 11, he again implored big... →

NSBC founder and CEO Mike Anderson

Group Five to delist from JSE

By: Simone Liedtke 11th May 2020 Embattled construction company Group Five will delist from the JSE in June. The last day of trading for the company will be on June 9, with the record date for the delisting being June 12 and the company’s listing to be officially removed from the JSE on June 15. →

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