Cape Times 2025-12-17

Transnet saw a steady operational improvement in the six months to 30 September as higher rail volumes and increased tonnage throughput breached the 80 million tons, helping to narrow losses. The State-owned logistics group last week reported that rail volume performance increased by 4.4% to 81.4 million tons, compared with 78.0 million tons in the same period last year. Transnet said momentum strengthened towards the end of the reporting period, with September 2025 recording throughput of 14.8 million tons, the highest monthly performance since the 2022 financial year, despite maintenance-related disruptions to manganese volumes. Group CEO, Advocate Michelle Phillips, said the improved operational performance translated into a 17.7% reduction in the reported net loss to R1.8 billion, from R2.2bn a year earlier. “Transnet’s volume performance has been on an upward…

Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) has partnered with the University of Pretoria and global animal health company Zoetis to investigate the economic and regulatory impact of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) virus persistence in slaughtered cattle, as the industry seeks science-based reforms to outdated slaughter regulations. The initiative follows Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen’s announcement that government plans to vaccinate South Africa’s entire national cattle herd of approximately 7.2 million animals as part of efforts to contain ongoing FMD outbreaks. RMIS said the study, titled Evidence-Based Risk Reduction for FMD Virus Persistence at Slaughter, aims to generate the scientific evidence needed to revise current regulations that impose blanket restrictions on meat and by-products from cattle that have recovered from FMD. “These restrictions are not only outdated but also result in significant wastage, especially…

Electricity and Energy Minister, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, has stressed that South African companies will be positioned to secure preferred bidder status in later phases of the country’s 10-year transmission expansion programme, even as international firms dominate the first phase of the landmark Independent Transmission Project (ITP) initiative. Ramokgopa on Monday announced seven pre-qualified bidders for the initial R17 billion, 1 064-kilometre phase of the transmission development programme, selected from 17 respondents to the prequalification process. A request for proposals (RFP) for the first phase is expected to be issued in the second half of 2026. The pre-qualified consortia are: n The Adani Power Middle East–Momentous Energy Consortium, led by Adani Power Middle East Limited, based in the United Arab Emirates; n The AREF Cobra Transmission Consortium, led by the South African…

Minister Ramokgopa confident of breakthrough in negotiations to rescue ferrochrome smelter industry Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa has said that he is confident that negotiations to rescue South Africa’s struggling ferrochrome smelter industry are nearing a breakthrough, with electricity tariffs of between 60c and 70c per kilowatt-hour (kWh) emerging as a realistic target. Speaking to the media on Monday, Ramokgopa said the proposed range was significantly lower than the 87c/kWh currently on the table and would bring South African smelters closer to the pricing enjoyed by competitors in other jurisdictions. Ramokgopa said other countries that South African smelters compete with are offering electricity in the range of 60 to 70 cents per kilowatt-hour. He said despite South Africa holding more than 70% of global ferrochrome ore reserves, much of…

There are years that pass quietly, and there are years that remove our ability to pretend. 2025 was not a year of isolated scandals or unexpected failures. It was a year that exposed patterns we have tolerated for far too long. It revealed the real danger facing South Africa today, which is not simply corruption itself, but ethical neutrality. The posture of watching without acting. The comfort of commenting without consequences. The silence of acquiescence in the face of wrongdoing. Ethical neutrality is one of the most damaging positions a society can take. It is not overt wrongdoing. It is the decision to stand in the middle when the facts are clear. It shows up when leaders acknowledge problems privately while avoiding public accountability. When boards wait for reports, reviews…

The Group of Twenty (G20) remains a critical pillar of global economic co-operation but risks losing relevance unless it sharpens its focus and streamlines its agenda, according to a major review released under South Africa’s 2025 G20 Presidency. The G20@20 Review, published on Monday, assesses the bloc’s first full cycle of presidencies since it was elevated to a leaders’ forum during the 2008 global financial crisis. The report concludes that while the G20 has delivered decisive outcomes during moments of global crisis, its effectiveness has declined in recent years due to geopolitical tensions, an overcrowded agenda and weak continuity between presidencies. Commissioned by G20 leaders at the 2024 Rio de Janeiro Summit, the review was conducted through surveys, Sherpa-level discussions and expert input, with support from the OECD, the South…