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Macro and Micro News

Initiative launched for corporates to 'adopt' riot-affected SMMEs

By: Schalk Burger 23rd July 2021 Women-owned local technology company One Linkage has launched the #RiseUpSA Campaign, which aims to enable corporates to connect with and "adopt" small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) that need support following last week's riots and looting. Corporate South Africa is invited to help... →

Insurers advise on claims related to civil unrest

By: Donna Slater 23rd July 2021 Following the looting that took place during the civil unrest of mid-July in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, insurance experts advise that claimants ensure they have proof of damage or loss or destruction of stock, to ensure they are able to submit claims within the 30-day threshold. During a webinar... →

South Africa on track to vaccinate 420 000 people a day by mid-September

By: Marleny Arnoldi 23rd July 2021 Business for South Africa (B4SA) says the 230 000 daily vaccination rate is testament to what business and government can achieve if they work together. B4SA steering committee chairperson Martin Kingston on July 23 presented an update of the private sector’s contribution to the vaccination... →

Venture capital industry survey highlights, tackles pivotal issues

By: Simone Liedtke 23rd July 2021 In 2020, in spite of the ripple effect the Covid-19 pandemic created throughout the global economy, the venture capital (VC) and private equity industry in South Africa surged forward, with 74 South African early-stage fund managers having invested more than R1.3-billion into 122 entities through... →

More municipalities procuring their own power

23rd July 2021 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the increasing number of big cities and medium-sized municipalities that are looking to either build or procure new electricity capacity. →

More municipalities procuring their own power

Young African project leaders highlighted

23rd July 2021 Industry association Project Management Institute (PMI) announced its second yearly Future 50 list, which features 50 rising leaders using bold and innovative thinking to transform the world through notable projects. The 50 standout project leaders, highlighted in a new digital experience on the... →

LEADING THE WAY The 50 individuals on the Future 50 list are changemakers whose range of projects exemplify the power and potential of transformation

Investment event targets S Africa and Germany

By: Halima Frost 23rd July 2021 The annual Africa Financial Services Investment Conference – Investing in Africa event, known as AFSIC, organised by hosting company Africa Events Limited, will be held in London, UK, on October 11 and 12. The event provides a forum for investors, business leaders and dealmakers to build... →

Panel discussion at AFSIC Investing in Africa event

SEATED DEBATE The forums and mini country-summits will focus on highlighting investment and business opportunities in Africa

Municipalities’ project management falling short

By: Darren Parker 23rd July 2021 Municipalities are falling short in terms of project management in “nearly all aspects”, University of Pretoria (UP) project management associate Professor Giel Bekker tells Engineering News. Municipalities draft and present Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) every year, in which all projects... →

Photo of construction workers and engineers on site

Photo by Adobe
CONTAINED IMPACT Construction activities were only delayed for three months by the pandemic last year

SARB keeps rates unchanged, says unrest likely to slow recovery

By: Reuters 22nd July 2021 South Africa's central bank said on Thursday that recent unrest would probably slow an economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, as it left its repo rate unchanged at 3.5% in a unanimous decision. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has now kept rates on hold in its last six meetings,... →

Stage 2 load-shedding to hit SA on Thursday amid cold front

By: News24Wire 22nd July 2021 Eskom will implement stage 2 load-shedding from 16:00 to 21:00 on Thursday night due to generation issues, combined with the severe cold weather, the power utility announced. "Unfortunately, a generation unit each at Tutuka and Medupi Power Stations were forced offline this afternoon, increasing... →

Pick n Pay to reopen 58 stores by end of next week, calls for lifting of liquor sales ban

By: Simone Liedtke 22nd July 2021 Supermarket chain store Pick n Pay (PnP) is planning to reopen up to 58 of its PnP and Boxer stores by the end of next week. This follows the recent violent protests in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal that resulted in 136 of PnP’s food, grocery, clothing and building stores being looted or damaged,... →

eThekwini issues RFI as it gears up to procure 400 MW of IPP power

By: Terence Creamer 22nd July 2021 The eThekwini municipality, which has been badly affected by recent deadly rioting and looting, is pushing ahead with its electricity procurement plans and has issued a request for information (RFI) as part of preparations for the procurement of 400 MW of new generation capacity from independent... →

The Durban skyline in the eThekwini municipality

Alcohol industry asks govt to allow legal liquor trade to resume from July 26

By: Schalk Burger 22nd July 2021 Five industry associations in the alcohol industry is calling on government to release the scientific data it uses to justify the repeated bans on the sale of alcohol. They also request that legal liquor trade be allowed to resume from July 26. →

Study finds a third of companies will retain hybrid working models

By: Schalk Burger 21st July 2021 The 'Digital Corporation in South Africa 2021' study, undertaken by technology market research firm World Wide Worx, shows that one-in-four medium-sized and large companies in South Africa are fully digitally transformed and that about one-third of companies will not insist that employees return... →

100-MW reform set to spur rapid increase in larger-scale solar projects – SAPVIA

By: Terence Creamer 21st July 2021 The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) is optimistic that the decision to increase the licence-exemption threshold for distributed-generation facilities from 1 MW to 100 MW will support a rapid increase in the deployment of larger-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, with... →

SAPVIA spokesperson Maloba Tshehla

SBI partners with GalaxyNova to facilitate collaboration between business, municipalities

By: Simone Liedtke 21st July 2021 Business chambers affiliated to the Small Business Institute (SBI) have partnered with GalaxyNova systems to facilitate collaboration between the business sector in local communities and municipalities. The SBI chambers are taking the lead to start assisting local communities through the... →

Western Cape making progress on pioneering municipal power projects

By: Terence Creamer 21st July 2021 The Western Cape provincial government is currently evaluating responses to a request for information (RFI) issued by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to assess the potential for renewable-energy projects in six municipalities included as part of its Municipal Energy Resilience... →

Image of solar rooftops with a Cape mountain in the background

Ramaphosa tells business social and economic relief package being finalised

By: Terence Creamer 20th July 2021 In a meeting with business leaders on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that an “extensive social and economic relief package” would be launched in the coming days to respond to the recent crisis and called for the creation of a “special social contract” to build a more inclusive... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Carbon emissions to reach record levels in 2023 as stimulus spending fails to match net-zero ambition

By: Terence Creamer 20th July 2021 The financial resources allocated by governments globally to clean-energy measures in response to the Covid-19 crisis currently represents only 2% of the $16-trillion in total fiscal support set aside for economic stimulus, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) new Sustainable Recovery... →

IEA executive director Fatih Birol

Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi laments youth unemployment crisis in South Africa

By: News24Wire 20th July 2021 Young unemployed South Africans had "it tough" even before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi. And, now that the full effect of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions is being felt, they find themselves in a situation that's deteriorating more and more with... →

M&A value grows significantly in H1

By: Marleny Arnoldi 19th July 2021 The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in South Africa soared in the first half of this year, law firm Baker MacKenzie states. The value of M&A transactions for the six months amounted to $52-billion, with 169 deals announced in the period. →

Chichi Maponya thanks community for protecting Maponya mall

19th July 2021 Maponya Group chairperson Chichi Maponya thanks the community of Soweto for pulling together to protect the mall during the recent unrest that engulfed parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. →

Maponya Group chairperson Chichi Maponya

UIF opens applications for extended TERS payments

By: Schalk Burger 19th July 2021 Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has signed a direction for the Unemployment Insurance Fund to implement a third extension of the Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme benefits. The Unemployment Insurance Fund will open the system for applications from July 19 and commence... →

Venture capital opportunity to ‘push the boundaries’ when investing in township economy

By: Simone Liedtke 16th July 2021 It is up to venture capital (VC) fund managers to “push the boundaries” with funders to bring across examples of businesses that are outside-the-norm and to challenge funders to consider investing in these, enterprise and supplier development company Edge Growth Ventures investment principal... →

Massmart says 41 stores, two distribution centres affected by riots

By: Schalk Burger 16th July 2021 JSE-listed consumer goods group Massmart said rioters gained access to and made off with merchandise in 18 Cambridge, ten Game, eight Builders Warehouse , three Cash & Carry and two Makro stores. Two of the company's distribution centres have also been directly impacted and four facilities in... →

Industry tech event postponed to next year

16th July 2021 Event organiser Specialised Exhibitions – a division of Montgomery Group of companies – along with other organisers of KwaZulu-Natal’s premier trade show for the industrial technology sector has made the decision to reschedule the KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition (KITE) that was due... →

THE REAL DEAL Face-to-face events provided numerous opportunities to connect with others in a way that cannot be achieved online

Afrox working with authorities to ensure deliveries of medical oxygen to hospitals

By: Creamer Media Reporter 15th July 2021 Gas supplier Afrox says it is working with the authorities and that hospital deliveries to areas affected by civil strife remain a priority where police escort is available. As a result of the unrest across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in recent days, and in order to meet demand for medical oxygen,... →

Opinion: Inclusive process now vital to define a collective electricity industry vision

15th July 2021 In this opinion article, Energy Intensive User Group CEO Fanele Mondi says that, although reforms allowing for higher levels of own generation will make a significant difference, there is also an urgent need for South Africans to collectively shape the future of the electricity supply industry... →

An image of Fanele Mondi, the CEO of the Energy Intensive User Group

Sub-Saharan African countries not yet coming to grips with pandemic

By: Marleny Arnoldi 15th July 2021 Fitch Solutions Country Risks & Industry Research maintains that the vaccination rollout is still of huge concern in sub-Saharan Africa, considering that few vaccines get administered owing to lack of infrastructure for distribution, particularly into rural regions. Sub-Saharan Africa remains... →

Looting dies down in places as more troops expected

By: Reuters 15th July 2021 A week of violence, arson and looting that has engulfed South Africa slowly began to ebb on Thursday as several districts rocked by the mayhem were quiet ahead of an expected surge in soldiers on the streets. Pockets of looting continued in the eastern port city of Durban. →

Zikalala estimates damage to infrastructure is at least R3bn

By: Yvonne Silaule 15th July 2021 KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala estimates that more than R3-billion of infrastructure has been damaged so far in the province, as looting and protests continue. Warehouses and shopping centres, in particular, have been affected, with the hardest hit areas being the districts of Msunduzi and... →

Nedbank leverages additional tier one instruments to help drive a net-zero economy

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th July 2021 To strategically finance the transition to a net-zero economy, financial services provider Nedbank has once again approached the investment market to raise ‘use-of-proceeds’ green finance, this time through the issuance of the first listed green additional tier one instrument by a financial... →

Liquor industry calls for state of emergency as 200 shops looted

By: Schalk Burger 14th July 2021 The South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba) and the National Liquor Traders (NLT) have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling on government to declare a state of emergency after more than 200 liquor stores were looted. Millions of rands worth of stock at warehouses and retail... →

Barloworld brings industry veteran Gwagwa on board as chairperson

By: Marleny Arnoldi 14th July 2021 Industrial services company Barloworld has appointed Dr Nolulamo Gwagwa chairperson of the board, effective October 1. This is in addition to her appointment as independent nonexecutive director. →

RFA foresees shortages of retail goods soon

By: Marleny Arnoldi 14th July 2021 Mass looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, as well as the wanton destruction of trucks and goods, has damaged the wholesale and retail sectors and their distribution centres in these provinces. The Road Freight Association (RFA) in a statement on July 14 pointed out that 80% of South African... →

RFA CE Gavin Kelly

Consortium unveils plans for zero-emission Eastern Cape e-methanol plant

By: Terence Creamer 14th July 2021 An agreement for the development of a greenfield facility in Humansdorp, in the Eastern Cape, to manufacture zero-carbon e-methanol for sale locally and for export has been concluded by a consortium comprising Earth and Wire, ENERTRAG South Africa and 24Solutions. The proposed facility will... →

An ENERTRAG green hydrogen facility in Germany

Ports, key rail line disrupted by violence - Transnet

By: Reuters 14th July 2021 Durban port has suffered major disruption after days of unrest, and operations have also been badly affected at the Richards Bay port and on a national freight rail line, logistics and freight companies said on Wednesday. The violence erupted last week in KwaZulu-Natal province, where Durban is... →

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