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Economy News

Publication detailing domestic startup ecosystem to be launched

By: Donna Slater 3rd June 2022 Startup-focused news and research company Disrupt Africa will, in the second week of June, release its South African Startup Ecosystem Report 2022 in partnership with the SA SME Fund and Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). Since launching its research arm in 2016, Disrupt Africa has... →

Western Cape government launches dashboard to boost opportunities for small businesses

By: Yvonne Silaule 3rd June 2022 The Western Cape government has launched a new Web-enabled dashboard as part of efforts to reduce the red tape on small businesses that are interested in becoming suppliers to the province. The new dashboard allows users to filter information they wish to access and interrogate it further. It... →

National rail policy to support local industry, manufacturing

By: Schalk Burger 3rd June 2022 The National Rail Policy White Paper has a deliberate bias towards local manufacturing to ensure industrialisation and the local production of steel, railway lines, rolling stock and supplies, and the State and private sector operators should procure all supplies from South African manufacturers,... →

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula

Rail White Paper stresses private sector participation, move to standard gauge

By: Schalk Burger 3rd June 2022 The National Rail Policy White Paper will see the rail network opened to participation by the private sector, along with a progressive national move to standard gauge to increase the average speeds of trains, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on... →

Labour Court rejects Denel’s technical points in dispute over failure to pay Uasa-affiliated employees

By: Donna Slater 3rd June 2022 Trade union Uasa reports that the Labour Court has rejected State-owned defence company Denel’s technical points aimed at further delaying payments to Uasa members, in their dispute over delayed salary payments. The urgent court application brought by Uasa against Denel in April to honour all... →

Commission meets with domestic airlines to fill Comair void, avoid price gouging

By: Donna Slater 3rd June 2022 The Competition Commission has called on major airlines in South Africa to help bring capacity into the market following a decision by Comair to suspend all British Airways and kulula.com flights, with immediate effect on May 31. Comair’s decision to suspend the flights will significantly reduce... →

South African business activity picks up slightly in May - PMI

By: Reuters 3rd June 2022 South African private sector activity rose slightly in May as the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal started recovering from severe floods, lifting demand and reducing supply chain delays, a survey showed on Friday. The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.7 in May... →

Renergen says gas project can catalyse Free State manufacturing revival

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd June 2022 Emerging integrated energy producer Renergen is confident that its Virginia gas project, in the Free State, will become a catalyst for “more than just gas” in South Africa, with CEO Stefano Marani expressing optimism about the project’s positive impact on the province as it develops into a... →

Tech company commissioned to run upgrades in UAE

3rd June 2022 Global technology company ABB has installed ABB Ability System 800xA, called the market-leading distributed control system (DCS) automation platform, to upgrade three grinding units at Star Super Cement in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), →

Automation supplier launches MV VSDs

By: Mandisa Nyathi 3rd June 2022 Earlier this month electrification and automation product supplier ElectroMechanica (EM) extended their portfolio with the launch of the high-performance and cost-effective Delta MVF23/MVF20 series medium-voltage variable speed drives (VSDs). →

NEW DRIVES The Delta MVF23/MVF20 series offers advanced flux-oriented vector control techniques, with or without the use off-speed sensors

Company performs complex breakdown repair on rotor

3rd June 2022 Electro-mechanical services and repairs company Marthinusen & Coutts (M&C) recently performed comprehensive repairs to the rotor of an aging 30 MW generator which had failed during operation at JSE-listed forest group Sappi’s Saiccor pulp mill in Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal. →

MECHANICAL REBUILD Generator rotor undergoing dimensional checks in M&C mechanical rebuild

Local assembly of MACC drives to slash lead times

3rd June 2022 Drive technology supplier SEW Eurodrive’s expanded local capability out of its new Aeroton facility will include the assembly of SEW M-Series Air Cooled Condenser (MACC) air-cooled condenser drives for delivery at a rate of three units a week →

AIR COOL CONDENSERS Air-cooled condenser (ACC) systems used in steam-driven power generation plants.

Mantashe confirms IRP 2019 review, but offers no timing specifics

By: Terence Creamer 2nd June 2022 Minerals Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe reported on Thursday that the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019), which is widely acknowledged to be out of date, would be reviewed. However, he said he could not yet provide a timeframe for the publication of the update or indicate... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Solar-battery hybrids worth R16bn only projects to cross ‘emergency procurement’ finishing line

By: Terence Creamer 2nd June 2022 The South Africa government and Eskom have signed agreements with three of the 11 projects named as preferred bidders in March 2021 under the much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). The 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) and associated... →

Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog

WoodMac’s Maade expects economy to bounce back in 3 years if risks are mitigated

By: Darren Parker 2nd June 2022 Despite the most aggressive policy tightening cycle in decades, research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) metals and mining markets head Derryn Maade has said the global economy is expected to manage a “soft landing pace of growth”, easing back to pre-Covid-19 trends within the next... →

Parly committee calls for long-term fix to soften the blow of fuel price hikes

By: News24Wire 2nd June 2022 Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy has called on the government to undertake a "comprehensive review" of South Africa's fuel pricing regime. This comes after the National Treasury stepped in to provide relief to South African motorists ahead of this week's fuel price... →

Eskom warns power system is 'severely constrained'

By: News24Wire 2nd June 2022 Eskom warned on Thursday afternoon of a "severely constrained" power system and said it might have to implement load-shedding at short notice. "Should there be any significant breakdowns, load-shedding may be required at short notice, most likely during the evening peak of 17:00 and 22:00," the... →

PIC suspends COO, two executives resign

By: Donna Slater 2nd June 2022 The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has suspended COO Vuyani Hako as a precautionary measure after allegations of misconduct were levelled against him. The PIC says Hako’s suspension is in the best interest of both the employee and the employer to ensure that an independent inquiry can... →

Land Bank aims for debt solution by end-Sept

By: Reuters 2nd June 2022 South Africa's Land Bank is working on a new debt restructuring plan that it hopes will be finalised by the end of September, the National Treasury said on Wednesday. The state-owned agricultural bank defaulted on its debt in April 2020 and missed a restructuring deadline in March 2021. It has so... →

AfDB launches dedicated circular economy fund

By: Schalk Burger 1st June 2022 Development finance institution the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has launched the Africa Circular Economy Facility – its first dedicated fund to support circular economy innovations and policy frameworks. The facility will focus on three strategic areas, namely institutional capacity... →

Converting truck fleets to LNG could reduce transport costs by 30% – Renergen

By: Darren Parker 1st June 2022 With diesel prices at a record high, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has the potential to lower the transportation costs of major logistics companies by up to 30%, LNG and helium developer Renergen CEO Stefano Marani said at the Junior Mining Indaba on June 1. “This means that the conversion of their... →

Renergen CEO Stefano Marani

Kusile Unit 4 enters commercial operation, two more units to go

By: Terence Creamer 1st June 2022 Eskom has announced that Kusile Unit 4, in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, has entered into commercial operation, adding some 800 MW of much-needed generation capacity to South Africa’s load-shedding-prone electricity system. The unit is the fourth of six units to enter commercial operation at the... →

Photo by Supplied
The Kusile power station project

Former Denel CEO is back as restructuring boss

By: News24Wire 1st June 2022 Former Denel group CEO Riaz Saloojee has returned to the state-owned defence technology company after he was forced out during the state capture period. Saloojee was one of three Denel executives suspended in 2015 by then-newly appointed board chair Daniel Mantsha. →

Shell, Mantashe's lawyers defend environmental plan for seismic blasting

By: News24Wire 1st June 2022 Both Shell and Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe's lawyers assert that an environmental management plan for the proposed seismic survey off the Wild Coast qualified as environmental authorisation, a court heard. A full bench at the Port Elizabeth High Court in Gqeberha on... →

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe

Contracts for ‘emergency’ power procurement programme to be signed on June 2

By: Terence Creamer 31st May 2022 Power purchase agreements arising from the much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme will be signed on June 2, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy revealed on Tuesday. The DMRE did not indicate whether all 11 projects would be signed, saying only... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

NPC and Operation Vulindlela to work together on reform agenda

By: Terence Creamer 31st May 2022 The National Planning Commission (NPC) and Operation Vulindlela have announced that they intend working together to support the implementation of the structural reforms identified as a constraint to higher levels of growth and job creation. The two entities met on May 26, where Operation... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says efforts will be redoubled to ensure that the reforms facing implementation challenges access the support they need to progress

Zuma’s former spokesperson appointed to Ramaphosa Presidency

By: Sashnee Moodley 31st May 2022 Vincent Magwenya joins the Presidency as Cyril Ramaphosa’s new spokesperson from June 1. He takes over from acting spokesperson Tyrone Seale, who has filled the role since July 2020. Previously the spokesperson for former President Jacob Zuma from 2009 to 2010, Magwenya takes on the role with... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa’s unemployment rate improves modestly to 34.5% in the first quarter

By: Marleny Arnoldi 31st May 2022 The official South African unemployment rate has decreased by 0.8 of a percentage point to 34.5% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the unemployment rate of 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Statistics South Africa statistician-general Risenga Maluleke on May 31 shared the... →

Connectivity expected to drive entrepreneurship across Africa – World Mobile

By: Schalk Burger 31st May 2022 The expansion of Internet connectivity in Africa will be a key contributor to an anticipated increase in entrepreneurial activity over the next three years on the back of an improved environment for business and greater political stability, a study undertaken for blockchain-based mobile network... →

Agri SA proposes diesel rebate scheme increase to buffer food prices from fuel hike

By: Schalk Burger 31st May 2022 A targeted intervention to increase the diesel rebate to the agricultural sector would buffer the cost pressures that impact food prices, while also being a more sustainable option over the coming months given pressures to the fiscus, says agricultural industry organisation Agri SA chief... →

PwC South Africa lowers growth expectations amid local, global headwinds

By: Schalk Burger 30th May 2022 Enterprise services and advisory company PwC South Africa said its baseline scenario forecasts real gross domestic product growth of 1.8% for the country this year, compared with its estimate of 2.5% GDP growth at the start of the year. Economic growth is facing a myriad of headwinds this year,... →

Khulisani Ventures provides R20m for e-commerce platform Rentoza

By: Schalk Burger 30th May 2022 The Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) Khulisani Ventures fund has provided a R20-million funding boost to on-demand subscription platform Rentoza, which developed a subscription model to drive access to consumer goods, including consumer electronics, appliances and baby goods, at affordable... →

CDC, Orion Engineered Carbons celebrate sod turning festival at Coega SEZ

By: Darren Parker 30th May 2022 The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has jointly hosted a sod-turning ceremony with new global investor Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC) to demonstrate the success of the CDC’s 9 003 ha Coega special economic zone (SEZ) in the Eastern Cape as a preferred investment destination in Africa. OEC... →

OEC CE Corning Painter

South Africa aims to factor climate-related spending into budget

By: Bloomberg 30th May 2022 South Africa’s Treasury intends using 11 pilot projects that it instituted to track climate-change related expenditure as a starting point to determine how to incorporate environmental factors and objectives into the national budget. The so-called climate-budget tagging pilot projects, which... →

Load shedding to kick in again on Monday night after further breakdowns, says Eskom

By: News24Wire 30th May 2022 Load shedding be implemented at Stage 2 during the peak hours on Monday evening after generation units broke down at Majuba and Medupi power stations. Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said three generation units were expected to return to service by Monday evening, which would ramp up through... →

New MEIBC agreement guided by inputs from employers’ organisation

By: Darren Parker 30th May 2022 The Consolidated Employers’ Organisation (CEO) has secured a “landmark” victory for its members after lengthy discussions with other stakeholders at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC), whereupon a new MEIBC main agreement has been agreed upon. “The agreement was... →

Mavuso says South Africa winning expenditure, investment-ratings battles

By: Schalk Burger 30th May 2022 A global recession poses immense risks to South Africa's economy and the country will need to be in strong fighting shape. The recession that followed the 2008/9 financial crisis hit South Africa hard, sparking the spiralling decay of government finances, and corporate profits have never... →

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