Новости за 15.04.2024

Illegal connections are one of the leading causes of electricity-related injuries and deaths in South Africa, while also posing a risk of fires and electrocutions in communities. It also adds to the costs incurred by power utilities and municipalities and, in turn, impair their ability to provide services and repay debts, says CBI-electric: low voltage engineering executive Dr Andrew Dickson.

The market development aspect of the platinum group metals (PGM) industry is fundamentally key, it was repeatedly stated at last week’s 2024 Resources for Africa Platinum Day. There is strong consensus that PGMs are amazing metals that are incredibly useful as future green metals across a broad range of applications.

There is sufficient funding available for South Africa to progress its green hydrogen objectives, however, certain elements need to be addressed for this to materialise. This was outlined by speakers during the ‘Investment opportunities in green hydrogen’ session, during the 2024 Hydrogen Economy Discussion event, held in Johannesburg last week, where stumbling blocks were identified and various suggestions proffered.

Despite a forecast of slowing oil demand and a likely peak in consumption by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Monday of heightened global oil security risks in the near term, owing to growing tensions in the Middle East. In a newsletter released only days after the publication of its latest monthly Oil Market Report, the IEA said the spike in Middle East tensions following Iran’s unprecedented air attacks on Israeli military facilities, raised the risk of increased volatility in oil markets.

Following last week’s withdrawal of proposed new visa regulations that would have eased the way for skilled workers to come to South Africa, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busisiwe Mavuso says comments from the public and business sector are often overlooked by government. “In the case of the visa regulations, the proposed changes were welcomed by BLSA. However, poorly conceived legislation often works its way into the lawbooks without any apparent notice of the... Читать дальше...

Young South Africans, aged 35 and younger, are demonstrating a growing preference for private mobility. This is evident in recent WesBank data that shows a consistent increase over the past three years in the number of vehicle finance applications for new and pre-owned cars by Millennials and Gen-Zs.

China’s Jaecoo brand has launched its first vehicle in South Africa – the J7 sports-utility vehicle (SUV). Chery/Omoda & Jaecoo South Africa (SA) says the “urban off-road SUV brand” is “poised to take the local market by storm”, with the three J7 derivatives “priced from just R549 900”.

Telecommunications and managed services provider Seacom has launched its low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service for its enterprise clients after a two-year process of consultation with industry partners. LEO satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of up to 2 000 kilometres – the same altitude at which the International Space Station currently orbits – an area is essential for economic-related activities such as communication, transportation and observation.

Hydrogen could play a key role in addressing South Africa’s pressing energy challenges and platinum group metals (PGM) will have a pivotal role to play in the hydrogen economy, as the metals are a catalyst in many of the processes in the value chain. It is also critical for the country to act now to undertake projects and build up component manufacturing capacity so that this is in place when demand increases.

Half of the world's 75 poorest countries are experiencing a widening income gap with the wealthiest economies for the first time this century in a historical reversal of development, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. The differential between per capita income growth in the poorest countries and the richest has widened over the past five years, according to the report.

Pan-African telecommunications group Paratus Group has launched the fastest fibre express route from Johannesburg to Europe. Using Infinera FlexILS and GX Series DWDM equipment, latency on the new route is 123 milliseconds and the Infinera equipment can support wavelengths of up to 800 Gb.

South Africa's health regulator said on Saturday it is recalling batches of Johnson & Johnson's children's cough syrup after detection of high levels of diethylene glycol. The affected batches were sold in South Africa, Eswatini, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, the statement added.

The establishment of a national register of polluters will be key to dealing with the pollution of the environment and water sources in South Africa, says Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu. This emerged as one of the resolutions of a workshop on ‘Water Services Authorities impacting the Vaal River’, where he told delegates that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is set to deal with pollution “head-on” for the benefit of the environment, business, and communities.