Business noted on Thursday that while Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana outlined government’s strategy to avoid a full-blown fiscal crisis and systemic risks to the economy, it is concerned that although the focus is now firmly on structural reform as demanded, those responsible for its implementation cannot be trusted as the nation “has been here before”. [...]

Independent power company Globeleq and its project partners, energy developer Source Energia and Mozambican national power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), have received formal notification from EDM (the offtaker) that commercial operations at the 19 MW Cuamba solar photovoltaic (PV) and 7 MWh energy storage plant began on September 12. In September, Mozambique President Filipe [...]

A panel of experts has found that new technology in the nuclear space is enabling a nuclear renaissance after two decades of low investment into new projects in this sector, especially as energy mixes are becoming more diversified globally. Speaking on a panel hosted by British newspaper Financial Times during its Energy Transition Summit, on [...]

Treasury has been forced to make painful revisions to the latest Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, which updates government’s spending plans over the next three years, after its expectations in the February Budget turned out to be over-optimistic. Government now expects to earn almost R57-billion less in taxes than it previously forecast. Much lower commodity prices [...]

The National Treasury has confirmed that a total of 67 municipalities, which collectively owe Eskom R56.8-billion, or 97% of the municipal arrears debt of over R58-billion owed to the utility at the end of March, have formally applied to participate in the debt write-off programme. The National Treasury also confirmed that 36 municipalities had already [...]

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has not “closed the door” on Transnet’s move to secure a reported R100-billion in balance-sheet support to assist with its recently released turnaround plan. However, in a Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) briefing, he insisted that far more engagement was required by the troubled State-owned freight logistics utility to build trust [...]

The National Treasury has confirmed that there is no immediate plan for a review of the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account (GFECRA), which some economists have argued should be drawn on to help narrow the gap between revenue and expenditure. The GFECRA reserves are said to stand at about R450-billion currently.

Industry body South Africa Wine (SA Wine) has emphasised the importance of South Africa’s trade relationship with the US under the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) trade regime, particularly since R798-million of wine exports were made to the US last year. South Africa exports R10.5-billion worth of wine every year to more than 125 countries [...]

Telecommunications group MTN Ghana has posted double-digit growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), profit after tax, revenue and service revenue for the nine months to September 30, 2023. During the period under review, the company’s Ebitda increased 32.6% year-on-year to GHS5.4-billion, with a margin decline of 1.5 percentage points to 56% [...]

Eskom has warned that it is likely to report another R23-billion-plus loss for its current financial year to the end of March 2024, having belatedly confirmed a loss of R24-billion (R12-billion) for its 2022/23 financial year, during which loadshedding was implemented on a record 280 days. Acting CEO Calib Cassim confirmed the dismal outlook during [...]

Johannesburg- and Sydney-listed Orion Minerals has continued its transition to mine developer and operator at the Prieska Copper Zinc Mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The diversified base metals company, which is developing three complementary base metal production hubs in the Northern Cape, is prioritising the development of projects capable of meeting the growing demand [...]

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has published an expression of interest (EoI) document to determine market appetite for small- to medium-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports through the ports of Durban, Cape Town, East London, Saldanha Bay and Mossel Bay. The EoI seeks to explore areas that include the market size, technologies, and overall operating [...]