Новости за 27.08.2021

President Cyril Ramaphosa has commended German business leaders on their continued engagement with South Africa. Following a CEO roundtable in Berlin, on August 26, the President pledged that the South African government would sustain economic reforms aimed at facilitating greater investment as a key to addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Upgrades to the Huguenot Tunnel are well under way, with no major spike in traffic volumes in the Du Toits Kloof Pass during the night-time closures, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) reports. The pass is currently closed from 22:00 to 06:00 on Mondays to Thursdays to allow for work to be done on the tunnel.

The interim results of JSE-listed retail group Massmart, owned by retail multinational Walmart, demonstrates that the company has stabilised its operations and is delivering on its turnaround plan, CEO Mitchell Slape said on August 27. The group's turnaround plan is delivering expected outcomes and it driving efficiency into the business.

To give motorists a fair opportunity to renew their licences, while it is rolling out a number of measures to improve efficiencies and resolve challenges at licensing departments, the Department of Transport is extending the grace period for the renewal of licences to March 31, 2022. All learners licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits that expire during the period that began on March 26, 2020, up to and including August 31, this year, are deemed... Читать дальше...

Sustainable technology company Rubicon will combine its operations, currently spread across six different locations in Cape Town, into one tailor-made multimillion-rand facility that includes a 7 900 m2 warehouse and 1 400 m2 of offices incorporating a 250 m2 showroom. Construction of the facility will start in November for completion and occupation in mid-2022.

TotalEnergies' liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique could be back on track within the next 18 months after African armies deployed to help quell an insurgency, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Friday. The French energy giant declared force majeure on the $20-billion project in April after Islamic State-linked fighters overran the town of Palma, on the doorstep of its facilities in the northern Cabo Delgado province. It estimated at the time the disruption would delay development by at least a year.

The State-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has disposed of an interest in the ordinary shares of Murray & Roberts (M&R), taking its shareholding to 14.96%. This compares with its previous shareholding in M&R of 19.27%.

Vox has launched an interactive weather channel with meteorologist Annette Botha to deliver informative, educational and credible weather analysis. Amid increasing adverse weather events and a global movement to deal with the climate crisis, Vox Weather aims to provide top-tier credible forecasts and inspire consciousness and activism around climate change and protecting the planet.

In response to recently introduced waste management regulations, the Polyolefin Responsibility Organisation (Polyco) has decided to broaden its focus to all plastic types under extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations. This decision has been made to increase its support to producers to manage their products’ lifecycles responsibly.

Kenya Airways, the East African country’s national flag carrier, released its financial results for the first half of this year (1H21) in a virtual investor briefing on Thursday afternoon. The group’s total revenues, of 27.35-billion Kenya shillings (Kshs), represented a 9% decrease (apparently, half-on-half, not year-on-year). This was the result of national and international measures aimed at containing the Covid-19 pandemic, which significantly reduced the number of passenger flights the airline could operate. Читать дальше...

The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) has cautioned that the apparent increase in the number of agricultural jobs during the second quarter of this year (2Q21) in comparison to the first quarter (1Q21) might be illusory. According to the figures released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the number of agricultural jobs in 2Q21 was 862 000, an 8% increase over the 792 000 such jobs in 1Q21. Looking only at farm workers, the quarter-on-quarter increase was 12%. However, as the ...

Real estate investment trust (Reit) Resilient has proposed investing in JSE-listed Dipula Income Fund, but only if Dipula first simplifies its dual share capital structure. Resilient envisages that it will co-own suitable retail assets with Dipula and will continue to support Dipula to play a leading role in the listed property sector, Dipula noted in an August 27 statement.

The University of Pretoria (UP) has launched a pilot of software among a small group of subtends and academics, which aims to make digital courses more accessible to all students. UP is the first higher education institution to partner with education technology software company Blackboard, which developed the Ally solution, which integrates seamlessly into most learning management systems.

The 2021 virtual edition of the SingularityU South Africa Summit is gearing up to stimulate the African innovation investment ecosystem by connecting South Africa and Africa's top entrepreneurs and innovative businesses with global venture capitalists, institutional funds, property investors and global thought leaders. Combined with this year’s summit, which will be held from October 12 to 15, will be the Exponential Finance Summit, which was initially scheduled to take place in July.

International diamond miner De Beers and magazine National Geographic have launched the Okavango Eternal, a landmark partnership to protect the source waters of the Okavango Delta and the lives and livelihoods they support. The five-year commitment represents critical inward investment in Botswana’s resilience and long-term recovery in the years ahead and is focused on working with communities in the Okavango to deliver ecological solutions that lead to collective economic opportunity.

The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has successfully hosted its first industry consultation on the Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW). The session was attended by government representatives and members from voluntary association.

Ports and logistics operator Grindrod is positioning itself to take part in the private sector participation (PSP) opportunities to be created by government in the rail and port sectors, says Grindrod Freight Services CEO Xolani Mbambo. “Government has called for international players to come and assist South Africa to inject capital and improve the efficiency of these operations.”

The 34.5 MW Wesley-Ciskei wind energy farm (WEF), in the Eastern Cape, achieved its commercial operations date this month, reports renewable energy developer and operator EDF Renewables. After successfully completing the final Grid Code Compliance tests, the project has reached commercial operations and is supplying electricity into the grid, says EDF Renewables project manager Carl Wlotzka.

A new report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) has confirmed that Botswana has considerable opportunity to enhance its domestic energy security and increase access to modern energy services. The agency says the country’s significant wind and solar resources, as well as abundant biomass residues, can be effectively harnessed for power generation, should policy, regulation and investment be aligned with that goal.

The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has welcomed the arrest of a 39-year-old bookkeeper who is accused of allegedly swindling the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) of R11.1-million. The suspect is scheduled to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on August 31.

Opposition parties in the Western Cape legislature have attacked the City of Cape Town's electricity hike and questioned whether relief to residents will be widened. GOOD general-secretary Brett Herron accused Local Government and Environment MEC Anton Bredell of being a "messenger for the City".

The Steve Tshwete local municipality, in Mpumalanga, which is at the epicentre of South Africa’s coal industry, is revising its Local Economic Development (LED) strategy to take account of the anticipated closure of coal mines and power stations and create the framework for a more diversified economy. LED department assistant director Michael Nkosi reports that the council recognises the need to decouple the municipality from its current reliance on coal, as well as the risk that the mining towns... Читать дальше...

As telecommunications firm Cell C swings to a profit, the embattled group has taken another step closer to the conclusion of a long-awaited recapitalisation. Cell C majority shareholder Blue Label Telecoms said on August 26 that the operator had reported a significant turnaround in profitability, achieving a net profit after tax of R2.45-billion during the period from June 1, 2020, to May 3, 2021, compared with a net loss after tax of R10.86-billion in the comparative period last year.

Financial services firm Absa Group and visual impaired economic empowerment organisation Hein Wagner Academy will launch South Africa's first cybersecurity academy for the visually impaired.  It will represent the next evolution of the Absa Cybersecurity Academy, which is focused on providing training to marginalised, unemployed youths in a globally scarce skill.

A video round up of this week’s magazine, highlighting our cover story, features and Business Leader.