Новости за 27.03.2024

While more incendiary rhetoric related to the main agreement negotiations in the metals and engineering industry can be expected in the run-up to the negotiations later this year, common purpose must be found between stakeholders to craft solutions to entrenched differences, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) CEO and chief negotiator Lucio Trentini says. "The economy has been hit by a double-digit contraction, battered by an unprecedented and alarming jobless rate... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Professor Mthuli Ncube and Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency CEO Tafadzwa Chinamo will host an investment summit at the Radisson Hotel, in Kempton Park, near OR Tambo International on May 2 and 3. The summit theme “People you can invest in” is inspired by the Zimbabwe idiom “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo or lizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo”, which is loosely translated to mean “a country is built by its owners”.

Despite record renewable-energy installations of 473 GW last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) says the pace of deployment remains well below that needed to match the global goal of tripling capacity by 2030. In addition, the geographic distribution of new investment was highly uneven, with Africa lagging in particular. The ‘Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024’ report states that the installed renewables base climbed 13.9% to 3 870 GW in 2023, underpinned by solar photovoltaic (PV) installations... Читать дальше...

South Africa's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 8.25% on Wednesday, saying that on balance risks to the inflation outlook were skewed to the upside. It was the fifth meeting in a row that the bank has maintained its repo rate at the same level. All economists polled by Reuters had forecast that the rate would be left unchanged.

Executives from the South African Poultry Association (Sapa) met with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel last week to discuss, among other matters, tariff rebates on chicken imports that were introduced as a safeguard against potential shortages on the back of bird flu outbreaks. “We appreciate the reason that the tariff rebates were published, which is to address a potential shortage of chicken on the market. However, our data indicates that there has not been and is no shortage in the supply of chicken to the market... Читать дальше...

Metair is still very much open for business and the group is able to accommodate new clients should they need automotive components or energy solutions, says new CEO Paul O’Flaherty. O’Flaherty, now two months into the job after former CEO Sjoerd Douwenga bowed out owing to health reasons, comes to Metair with executive experience at companies such as Absa, Group Five, ArcelorMittal and Eskom.

South Africa may import significant amounts of white corn, used to make a staple food, for the first time since 2017 as the El Nino weather pattern withers the crop, the chief economist for the main farming business association said. Dry and unseasonably hot weather that’s persisted across much of the country so far this year has slashed forecasts for the size of the harvest. The government’s Crop Estimates Committee on Tuesday slashed its outlook for the white-corn crop by 11% to 6.28-million tons... Читать дальше...

Coal phase-out campaign the Life After Coal Campaign, in its comments on the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2023, said the plan has fundamental flaws and expressed skepticism in the plan's ability to ensure cost-effective electricity supply, energy security and to uphold the Constitutional right to live in a healthy environment. “The IRP 2023 does not, in real terms, commit to a least-cost pathway and instead opts for expensive technology and fuel choices. This will perpetuate energy poverty... Читать дальше...

South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have jointly launched a new fund to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in the country’s tertiary education sector. The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), as it is called, is intended to support those, at the country’s universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, who seek to be innovators and tech entrepreneurs. The ambition is to grow the fund to a total of R1-billion. Читать дальше...

Automotive glass fitting and repair services company Glasfit and road safety initiative Arrive Alive have announced a partnership to enhance road safety. The collaboration is part of the partners' commitment to making South African roads safer for everyone, especially ahead of the busy Easter weekend.

Revenue growth in cement producer PPC’s South African and Botswana cement businesses were driven by price increases during the ten months ended January 31, positively offsetting the declining sales volumes experienced in the six months to September 30, 2023. In an operational update issued on March 27, PPC said its overall group revenue increased by 27.6% for the ten-month period, although this was driven mainly by continued strong growth in its Zimbabwe operations relative to the low base in the comparable period in 2022.

Scientists from the UK, Germany and Australia have successfully converted carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol, a green fuel, using a new technique that they have developed. The research involved chemists from the University of Birmingham, the University of Ulm, the University of Queensland and was led by scientists at the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. The new approach does not require the use of hydrogen, as is the case of the existing methods of converting CO2 into useful products. Читать дальше...

Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) has entered into a transaction agreement alongside Actis to jointly acquire 100% of independent owners, operators and developers of mast and tower infrastructure Swiftnet from Telkom South Africa, with RMB acting as financial adviser to RBH on the transaction. With an enterprise value of R6.75-billion, it is one of the largest tower transactions in South Africa to date by deal value.

Process and optimisation company Metso has brought its Concorde flotation cell technology to Africa for the first time. Mining Weekly recently attended the launch of the first Concorde cells in Africa at local steel fabricator Betterect in Krugersdorp. Darren Parker tells us more.

JSE-listed telecommunications group Telkom has established a technology committee to boost technology strategies. According to an update to shareholders on Sens on Wednesday, the new Technology Committee governance structure was constituted to assist the board with oversight of technology and innovation strategies, plans and operations related to information security, cybersecurity, data privacy and third-party technology strategies.

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has officially launched its Water Security Strategy to connect to existing strategies and policies to offer an aligned approach to water security and provide a guideline towards becoming a water secure Johannesburg by 2040. The strategy was designed to understand and review the current situation and state of the urban water system under the CoJ’s mandate; to reflect and identify the key challenges that face the municipality currently and in the future, and to codevelop... Читать дальше...

The City of Johannesburg’s infrastructure arm the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has started the procurement process for a new contractor for the Watt Street Public Environment (PEU) project. This follows the termination of the main project contractor owing to poor performance.