Новости за 16.08.2021

The Covid Business Rescue Assistance (Cobra) initiative has been engaged by the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) to help with the identification of funders and the disbursement of donor funding to help rebuild and repair independent pharmacies affected by the unrest in July. The historic disbursement of millions of rands of donations will be made to independent pharmacies that were damaged or destroyed by the waves of looting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng recently, says Cobra CEO Adam Craker.

The South African National Roads Agency Limited's (Sanral's) upgrade of the portion of the R573 Moloto road from Slovo to Siyabuswa in the Elias Motsoaledi local municipality, in Limpopo, will create subcontracting opportunities for small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) in the municipality, the agency says. Sanral hosted information sessions recently to provide project information to various stakeholders and community members within the local municipality, which is facing a jobs crisis... Читать дальше...

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) says its asphalt plant, which was refurbished and reopened in April, has since produced 3 947.55 t for all the JRA depots across the seven regions. The asphalt was used to repair more than 100 000 potholes city-wide through the Accelerated Service Delivery Plan, which ended in June 30.

State-owned freight logistics utility Transnet has initiated a process through which it aims to test whether international port terminal operators have the appetite to partner with it to improve the functioning of two underperforming container terminals at the ports of Durban and Ngqura respectively. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced on Monday that a request for information (RFI) would be released for the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 operation, as well as the Ngqura Container... Читать дальше...

The US space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), and giant US aerospace and defence group Boeing agreed on Friday that the latter’s CST-100 Starliner capsule had to be removed from the top of its Atlas V launch rocket and returned to a Boeing facility for more thorough examination of malfunctioning valves in the capsule’s propulsion and manoeuvring system. This has required an indefinite postponement of the planned launch. Boeing is one of the two companies that was... Читать дальше...

Law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) business rescue and insolvency director Lucinde Rhoodie says South Africa can expect an uptick in business rescue filings, as more businesses will look to it as a means of saving their companies following significant impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Business rescue happens when a company is financially distressed, and found to be either commercially or factually insolvent, but it can only be processed when... Читать дальше...

With the new Thungela Resources only months old, the JSE- and London-listed coal mining company has already put an initial R6-million into a trust for the benefit of the communities living around its coal mining operations. The first distribution to the Community Partnership Plan was made on June 30. Trustees have been appointed and plans are under way to appoint an administrator to ensure the trust delivers on its mandate. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Solar technology and engineering expert Sola has launched its first engineering bursary. The bursary will pay for the tuition of a final-year electrical engineering student and provide them with a job opportunity as a graduate engineer in the solar photovoltaic (PV) field.

South Africa has sent a high-powered delegation to the eighth Brics Business Forum, which is being hosted by India, which started on Monday and will conclude on Wednesday. Brics is the acronym for the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa alignment, created 13 years ago. The South African delegation is seeking to strengthen confidence in the country’s economy as well as encourage investment. The Brics Business Forum was set up at the Fifth Brics Summit, which was held in Durban. The intent... Читать дальше...

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles South Africa (FCA SA) and Peugeot Citroën South Africa (PCSA) have officially merged in the domestic market, reflecting the marriage between its parent companies into a new company called Stellantis. “Stellantis is now an official entity in the South African landscape, however, we still operate as separate companies until we are legally registered as Stellantis South Africa (SA),” says Stellantis SA MD Leslie Ramsoomar.

Green ammonia can be used to transport green hydrogen from the source of production to the end-user in a cost efficient manner and, owing to its endowment of natural resources, South Africa is ideally positioned to become a major international player in this industry, fuel cell components manufacturer Isondo Precious Metals technical adviser Kevin Fothergill says. He was speaking during the “Positioning South Africa for the Green Economy – Execution Strategies” webinar on July 16, which was co-hosted by the Department of Trade... Читать дальше...

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has extended its condolences to former CEO Pakamile Pongwana’s family, former colleagues and friends following his passing. Pongwana was at the helm of Icasa from 2013 to 2017, where he contributed immensely to the work and performance of the authority.

Isuzu Motors South Africa (IMSA) says the second generation seven-seater mu-X sports-utility vehicle will be launched in South Africa later this year.  “The upcoming Isuzu mu-X is a game changer for us, as it offers class-leading driver assistance technology, new state-of-the art powertrains, and a luxurious interior designed for maximum comfort for seven occupants,” says IMSA technical operations senior VP Dominic Rimmer.

South Africa’s carbon-heavy fuels and chemicals group Sasol is poised to announce a “substantially higher” target for the reduction of its greenhouse-gas emissions following an intensive period of financial and organisational restructuring during its 2021 financial year. The JSE-listed group took far-reaching actions – including selling $3.8-billion-worth of assets, slashing capital expenditure (capex) and securing savings of more than $2-billion – to deleverage its unsustainable balance sheet without... Читать дальше...

Development finance institution the African Development Bank (AfDB) has reached financial close on financing agreements for a $20-million of concessional investment from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa) for the Covid-19 Off-Grid Recovery Platform (CRP). The five-year, $50-million CRP blended finance initiative is designed to provide relief and recovery capital to energy access businesses, supporting them through and beyond the pandemic, the bank said on August 15.

The 2Africa consortium has added four new branches to the 2Africa cable, extending its connectivity to the Seychelles, the Comoros Islands and Angola, as well as bringing a new landing to south-east Nigeria. The new branches will join the extension to the Canary Islands.

Business for South Africa (B4SA) has confirmed that all private sector vaccination sites across South Africa are now accepting walk-ins from anyone eligible for vaccination, including those without medical aid. As of August 16, those eligible for vaccination include those over the age of 35. From September 1, people under the age of 35 will become eligible for vaccination.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has authorised local biotechnology company CapeBio to manufacture rapid Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits. The test kits, co-developed by CapeBio and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), would help reduce South Africa's reliance on imports, making it easier for the country and the rest of the continent to gain speedy access to test kits, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said at the weekend.

Diversified chemical manufacturing company Omnia intends to “settle down” following the completion of its strategic restructuring, and to take some time to focus on its people, culture and setting a “firm foundation to grow from”. Omnia CEO Seelan Gobalsamy tells Engineering News the company is “spending a bit of time moving things around, increasing its bench strength, developing its people and focusing on its talent”.

It is possible for 10 GW of new power generation capacity to be built in the next seven years, now that the amended Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act has paved the way for easier distributed generation, says Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso. The amendment has the potential to spur major new investment in electricity generation, since companies can now go ahead with building their own generation plants of up to 100 MW without first obtaining a licence from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).

Telecommunications group Telkom said the telecommunications industry has lost a stalwart and the sector is poorer following the passing of Dr Gabrielle Celli. “It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of former colleague Dr Gabrielle Celli,” the company said in a statement, sending its deepest condolences to family, friends and colleagues.

A recent study undertaken by mineral processing expert Mintek has confirmed that there is no viable business case for South Africa to invest in lithium-ion (li-ion) battery recycling. Mintek bio-metallurgy manager Mariekie Gericke spoke during the Battery Technology conference on August 13 about the existing li-ion battery recycling facilities globally and how South Africa could leverage off existing technology in future, when the economics potentially make more sense.