Star 2023-03-08

NEDBANK CEO Mike Brown, while delivering robust results for the year ended December 31, 2022, yesterday, called for urgent and decisive leadership on Transnet’s woes, load shedding and water infrastructure. Brown said the network infrastructure provided largely by State-owned monopolies, which were needed to enable higher levels of gross domestic product growth and sustainable job creation in South Africa, had been deteriorating over many years. “In addition, municipal service delivery is poor, and levels of crime and corruption are unacceptably high. Progress on structural reforms to address these matters has been far too slow, and the will of the political and public sector to make meaningful changes is uneven and actual delivery is poor,” he said. Brown said: “This cannot continue, and more urgent and decisive leadership and action are…

AFRICAN energy ministers yesterday wrestled with plans to meet the continent’s vast energy requirements and meet targets of the global energy transition in only a few decades, in the context of an industry fragmented by different country policies and where energy projects can take years just to reach financial closure. Speaking at the 2023 African Energy Indaba yesterday, Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, who allowed protesters with anti-coal burning and pro-renewable energy placards to stand in front of the stage while he spoke, said there must be a balance between energy demand for socio-economic development and energy supply that is premised on low carbon emissions, and he reiterated that, in the South African context, coal-fired power stations would be part of the country’s energy mix for many years…

THE BUSINESS sector yesterday welcomed the appointment of Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa as South Africa’s “Mr Fixit” with cautious optimism, warning of potential “turf wars” between all the ministries responsible for Eskom. Ramaphosa on Monday named Ramokgopa as the Minister of Electricity whose primary task will be to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding and oversee the implementation of the Energy Action Plan. Ramaphosa said he would transfer certain powers and functions, in terms of section 97 of the Constitution, to enable Ramokgopa to do this work. Ramokgopa is expected to facilitate the co-ordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations, and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity. Business Leadership…

SOUTH Africa’s economy is expected to shrink deeper into troubled waters after gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell below pre-pandemic levels in the final quarter of 2022 on the back of intensified load shedding. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday revealed that GDP shrank by 1.3% in the fourth quarter after rallying to an upwardly revised 1.8% rise in the third quarter. This was the sharpest contraction since the third quarter of 2021, following the big surge in rotational power outages towards the end of 2022. StatsSA said seven out of 10 industries recorded declines during the quarter, with finance and trade the biggest drags on growth. Agriculture recorded the largest contraction of 3.3% in the quarter, pulled lower mainly by weaker production figures for field crops…

SEA HARVEST’S shares plunged 7% after it released its annual results, slicing its dividend to its shareholders as its profit tumbled 33% amid a storm of challenges. The share fell 7.39% to close at R9.90 on the JSE yesterday. The group posted a dividend of 38 cents per share, a 32% reduction from 56c per share the prior year and said Sea Harvest had experienced a challenging year to December 31, 2022. Despite volume losses from the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (Frap), compounded by a reduction in the Total Allowable Catch (Tac), revenue was up in all segments with firm demand in all markets and strong pricing in all channels, it said. However, Sea Harvest said this firm demand was offset by “unprece- dented” cost inflation with cost…

MPACT, which yesterday reported a strong financial performance in the year to December 31, will focus on organic projects to extend its products and services, and generate sustainable energy, CEO Bruce Strong said yesterday. “We’re pleased with our performance. It hasn’t been a very easy year, but we never lost sight of where we are heading,” he said in a telephone interview. The share price of the leading paper and plastics packaging business and recycler gained 1.70% to close at R30.50 on the JSE yesterday, which is about midway between its 12 month high and 12 month low. Apart from robust operations through the past year, investment in solar and backup power increased, while research and product innovation brought the group closer to its customers, he said. Mpact recently announced…