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Eskom to seek authorisation to proceed with repurposing of four coal stations

By: Terence Creamer 7th July 2020 State-owned electricity producer Eskom aims, within the coming months, to seek authorisation from its board and government to initiate a formal bidding process for the repurposing and repowering of the Camden, Komati, Grootvlei and Hendrina coal-fired power stations using lower-carbon generation... →

Public Enterprises calls on unions to agree among themselves on SAA’s future

By: Rebecca Campbell 7th July 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises has urged unions representing employees of financially-embattled State-owned airline South African Airways to hold bilateral meetings among themselves to establish an agreed future for the carrier. SAA was under business rescue and its creditors were scheduled... →

BER says some criticism of Treasury is misplaced

By: Simone Liedtke 6th July 2020 The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) says a heated debate is raging about the fiscal consolidation outlined in the supplementary budget tabled by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on June 24. "The debate ranges from vociferous critique against the planned spending cuts from 2021 to scepticism from... →

Numsa, Sacca to take legal action to prevent SAA liquidation; call for Mboweni to be fired

By: African News Agency 5th July 2020 The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) intend to take legal action to prevent the liquidation of South African Airways (SAA), and have urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. Numsa and Sacca... →

Zondo Commission is biased, a 'farce', says letter from ex-Prasa CEO Lucky Montana

By: News24Wire 3rd July 2020 The former CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Lucky Montana, has lashed out at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, accusing the committee's chairperson, Deputy Justice Raymond Zondo, of "bias" following days of hearing damning evidence about alleged corruption at the rail... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Former Prasa CEO

Public Enterprises states that four SAA unions willing to accept severance packages

By: Rebecca Campbell 2nd July 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises reported on Thursday that four of the unions representing employees of State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways had indicated that they were willing to sign the voluntary severance packages being offered by the DPE to SAA employees. SAA is... →

TFR implementing new online truck scheduling system at City Deep Terminal

By: Simone Liedtke 2nd July 2020 Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) will implement the Navis Truck Appointment System at its City Deep Terminal in Johannesburg from July 6. The online truck scheduling system will not only regulate the flow of trucks to the terminal, but will also enable physical distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. →

Local medical radioisotope producer continues exports despite lockdown

By: Rebecca Campbell 2nd July 2020 South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) subsidiary company NTP Radioisotopes (NTP) has reported that, since the imposition of South Africa’s national lockdown in late March, it had been able to dispatch more than 120 shipments of medical radioisotopes to customers around the world. Both... →

Tariff implications not yet clear as Nersa loses another court battle with Eskom

By: Terence Creamer 30th June 2020 Power utility Eskom has welcomed the June 29 ruling of the North Gauteng High Court to review and set aside three regulatory clearing account determinations made by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for the financial years 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17. In his judgment, Judge Jody... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
The Nersa panel at the MYPD4 hearing in 2019

South African court sides with Eskom in clawback dispute

By: Reuters 30th June 2020 South Africa’s High Court on Monday sided with Eskom in a dispute over the amounts energy regulator Nersa allowed the state utility to claw back from customers for electricity supplied in the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years. Nersa’s 2018 decisions to allow Eskom to recoup... →

Eskom widens its funding search to sukuk market

By: Bloomberg 29th June 2020 South Africa’s indebted power utility Eskom Holdings plans to issue a R1-billion sukuk bond as it tries to diversify funding sources to reduce borrowing costs. Eskom has appointed a lead arranger “to work towards establishing time lines for the issue,” spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in... →

Unions slam public enterprises department over exit from SAA consultative forum

By: African News Agency 29th June 2020 The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the South African Cabin Crew Association have slammed the decision by the department of public enterprises to abandon the leadership consultative forum set up to deliberate on troubled national carrier SAA. In a statement on Sunday, the... →

BLSA’s Mavuso laments downgrades, state of SOEs

By: Simone Liedtke 29th June 2020 As South Africa gears up to drive an economic recovery, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busisiwe Mavuso has lamented the continuing downgrades of the country and some of its institutions, noting that these “make it more difficult” to fund investment to support the economy. The... →

Acsa reacts to downgrade, assures on financing

By: Rebecca Campbell 29th June 2020 State-owned Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has stated that it “notes” the recent decision by ratings agency Moody’s Investor Service to down grade Acsa’s ratings and to change its outlook for the airports operator from “under review” to negative. Acsa, however, has also reported success in... →

Unions welcome adjournment of SAA business rescue vote

By: Rebecca Campbell 26th June 2020 In a joint statement on Friday (June 26) the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) have expressed their relief that 69% of the creditors of South African Airways (SAA) voted to adjourn (to July 14) the vote on the proposed... →

Eskom has plan to avoid unexpected power supply disruptions – Mabuza

By: African News Agency 26th June 2020 South Africa's state power utility Eskom has put a clear maintenance plan in place to avoid unexpected electricity supply disruptions, the country's Deputy President has said. In a written response on Thursday to questions in Parliament, David Mabuza said the government had taken a view that the... →

Deputy President David Mabuza

South African Airways restructuring vote delayed until next month

By: Reuters 26th June 2020 A vote on a restructuring plan for loss-making South African Airways (SAA) was delayed until next month on Thursday, after some creditors and trade unions secured an adjournment after months of wrangling over the airline's future. The administrators, who took over SAA in December after almost a... →

Airlink will vote against business rescue plan for SAA

By: Rebecca Campbell 25th June 2020 South African private-sector airline company Airlink has stated that it respects, but is disappointed by, the decision of the South Gauteng High Court not to interdict the Thursday meeting of creditors of State-owned South African Airways (SAA), which is currently under business rescue. The... →

Public Enterprises announces SAA severance packages, urges approval of rescue plan

By: Rebecca Campbell 25th June 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) announced on Thursday that, should the creditors of State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA), which is currently under business rescue, vote in favour of the business rescue plan for the airline, voluntary severance packages (VSPs)... →

Land Bank to get additional R3bn in extra budget, nothing for other SOEs

By: African News Agency 24th June 2020 South Africa's National Treasury on Wednesday said it would allocate an additional R3-billion to the recapitalise the Land Bank, but said no other in-year spending adjustments were proposed for state-owned companies in budget adjustments related to the Covid-19 crisis. In a supplementary budget... →

South African government urges creditors to support SAA rescue plan

By: Reuters 24th June 2020 South Africa's public enterprises ministry on Wednesday urged creditors to vote in support of a rescue plan for cash-strapped South African Airways. Creditors are due to vote on the plan, which was published by the state-owned airline's administrators last week, on Thursday. →

Trade union attacks State and Denel management over unpaid salaries and goes to court

By: Rebecca Campbell 24th June 2020 The Solidarity trade union has blasted the South African government and the management of State-owned defence industrial group Denel over their mishandling of the affairs of the company, causing it to be in so bad a condition as to be unable to pay its employees their full salaries. In May, some... →

Next renewables bidding round to be launched only in second quarter of 2021

By: Terence Creamer 23rd June 2020 The new head of South Africa’s Independent Power Producers Office (IPPO), Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro, reported on Tuesday that the next bidding round for the procurement of utility scale renewable-energy projects, often referred to as Bid Window 5, would be launched only in the second quarter of... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro

Gordhan says private sector showing interest in restructured SAA

By: African News Agency 23rd June 2020 The South African government has received proposals from funders and potential airline partners in the private sector eager to play a role in South African Airways if it is restructured into a new national carrier, the ministry of public enterprises said on Tuesday. "The South African government,... →

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

Public Enterprises reports that there is interest in SAA

By: Rebecca Campbell 23rd June 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has reported that there is indeed investor interest in the State-owned national airline, South African Airways (SAA), which is currently under business rescue. The DPE stated that the government had received unsolicited proposals from private equity... →

SAA business rescue plan would see severe cut in airline’s fleet

By: Rebecca Campbell 22nd June 2020 In their business rescue plan for State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA), published on June 16, business rescue practitioners (BRPs) Siviwe Dongwana and Leslie Matuson proposed a massive downsizing in the airline’s fleet, followed by a slow expansion after it resumed... →

Mpondo institutes investigation into leak of confidential PRASA documents

By: Simone Liedtke 22nd June 2020 Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo has ordered an investigation into the illegal leaking of confidential company documents related to a security tender. Mpondo has directed the acting head of PRASA Security, Brigadier General (Ret) Tebogo Rakau, to... →

South African munitions and explosives company announces plant engineering contract

By: Rebecca Campbell 22nd June 2020 South African defence company Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), part of the Germany-based Rheinmetall Defence group, has reported that it has won a more than R200-million ($13-million) industrial plant engineering contract. The project includes the upgrading of an existing plant and will start as... →

Public Enterprises to seek to oppose court applications against SAA business rescue

By: Rebecca Campbell 22nd June 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has announced that it will approach the courts for permission to intervene in a court application against State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) lodged by local private-sector airline SA Airlink (Airlink). The latter is applying to... →

SA unions threaten legal action against business rescue plan for SAA

By: African News Agency 19th June 2020 The National Union of Metalworkers of South African and the South African Cabin Crew Association said they had lost faith in the department of public enterprises, accusing it of sanctioning a business rescue plan for troubled national carrier South African Airways which would lead to 3 700 job... →

Denel briefs Parliament on the future opportunities it has identified

By: Rebecca Campbell 18th June 2020 Liquidity-starved State-owned defence industrial group Denel has identified opportunities that would allow it to generate revenues and even create new revenue streams in the coming years. It reported this in its recent briefing to Parliament (which was released by the legislature on June 17). The... →

Photo by Creamer Media
The Rooivalk combat support helicopter is Denel’s flagship product

Denel briefs Parliament on its restructuring progress

By: Rebecca Campbell 17th June 2020 In a presentation released by Parliament on June 17, financially-embattled State-owned defence industrial group Denel reported on its progress and plans regarding its turnaround strategy. The group pointed out that it had been classified as a national security asset, with a main role of... →

In open letter to SOE Council, BLSA appeals for ‘radical transparency’

17th June 2020 Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has written an open letter to the members of the newly appointed Presidential State-owned Enterprises Council. In it, the organisation calls for full transparency and an openness to alternative solutions where the rot is too deep and where systems and... →

SAA business rescue plan might not be adequate, govt says

By: African News Agency 17th June 2020 South Africa's government said it was concerned that a business rescue plan for troubled national carrier South African Airways published late on Tuesday might not be adequate. The government placed financially strapped South African Airways under business rescue last December, but efforts to... →

Mantashe justifies controversial nuclear RFI on basis of ‘long lead-time’ involved

By: Terence Creamer 14th June 2020 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has justified the issuance of a controversial request for information (RFI) relating to a possible 2 500 MW new nuclear build programme on the basis of the long lead-time involved for the building of such power stations. In a Tweet following... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Public renewables ownership in South Africa could aid in removing potential barrier to decarbonisation

By: Terence Creamer 12th June 2020 A new study of electricity sector reform in South Africa warns that opposition to private ownership has the potential to become a barrier to decarbonisation and recommends further research into how public, municipal or community ownership could be incorporated into the deployment of renewables.... →

Foskor says fire at acid plant won't impact output

By: Reuters 11th June 2020 South African phosphate producer Foskor said on Thursday that a fire on Wednesday at its acid plant in the coastal city of Richards Bay will not impact production and supply, even though conveyors were damaged. The fire, the cause of which is still being investigated, broke out on Wednesday at a... →

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