Star 2023-04-21

THE WORLD Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday that it had launched an mRNA vaccine technology hub in Cape Town. The hub was launched during a five-day visit by WHO delegates working with the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme. The hub was established during the Covid-19 pandemic to help poorer countries that struggled to access life-saving medication. During the launch, the WHO also reviewed the progress of mRNA technology. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “I am delighted to be here in Cape Town with our partners to support a sustainable model for mRNA technology transfer to give low- and middle-income countries equitable access to vaccines and other life-saving health products. “I am immensely proud of the achievement of all those involved in this project. In less than two years we have…

There will be no assistance for SA consumers ELECTRICITY consumers will not be getting any relief from the more than 18% tariff increase as the government aims to use a portion of this hike to reduce the debt owed by municipalities to Eskom. This was revealed by the Deputy President Paul Mashatile to the National Council of Provinces in Parliament yesterday. Mashatile was replying to oral questions relating to the municipal debt to Eskom and water entities, illegal electricity connections, critical economic infrastructure sabotage, and animal vaccine shortages, among others. The debt owed by municipalities to Eskom stood at R56.3 billion at the end of December 2022, and the debt is rising each month. Mashatile reiterated that the government has introduced a debt relief package for Eskom intended to…

NAMPAk, the biggest packaging group in Africa that is implementing a turn-around plan, said yesterday non-executive director Phildon Roux had been appointed as interim CEO, a move that analysts described as promising. Nampak said yesterday in a statement that Erik Smuts had resigned from its board and as CEO with immediate effect. The group said that the role of CEO had changed, given the substantial restructuring process, including both the imminent disposal of non-core assets and divestitures from unprofitable operations, and Smuts had opted to step down. Phildon Roux, currently an independent non-executive director, member of the nominations and remuneration committee and chairperson of the restructuring committee, had been appointed as interim CEO from yesterday, until such time as a permanent appointment was made. Roux’s membership on the nominations and…

CLICKS Group continued to show its defensiveness in tough trading conditions as retail turnover increased 11.9% in the six months to February 2023, with market share gains in all product categories and expansion plans well in place, CEO Bertina Engelbrecht said yesterday. Earnings per share for the health and beauty group, adjusting for the impact of the KwaZulu-Natal civil unrest and related insurance payments, increased by 10.2%. Directors forecast adjusted diluted headline earnings per share to increase between 8% and 13% for the full financial year, compared with 936.6 cents for the 2022 financial year. Diluted headline earnings per share were expected to be between -2% and 3% compared with 1 032.7c last year. The forecast was based on an assumption that the trading environment would remain constrained…

STEINHOFF International’s European discount retailer Pepco said yesterday that its second-quarter revenue surged 23%, boosted by store rollout, despite a continued inflationary environment for both customers and the business. Despite the strong update, Steinhoff’s share price had slipped 4.55% to close at 21c on the JSE yesterday. Its share is down 92.49% in a year. In its trading update for the second financial quarter of the 2023 financial year ending March 31, 2023, Pepco Group, the owner of the Pepco and Dealz brands in Europe and Poundland in the UK, said its revenue increased by more than 22.8% in constant-currency terms to about €2.8 billion (R55.8bn), driven by its Pepco brand, which reported revenue growth of 36.9%. Pepco Group CEO Trevor Masters said: “Pepco has recorded an encouraging second-quarter…

SOUTH Africa needs to produce its own Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine, which would be a great win for local Veterinary Services, according to National Animal Health Forum (NAHF). The NAHF aims to promote and improve the health status of the national livestock herds and flocks in order to promote sustainable livestock production and food safety. Gerhard Schutte, the chairperson at NAHF, said this week in an interview with Business Report that the organisation along with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (Dalrrd) supported this process. “The insufficient provision of critical strategic vaccines has identified the need for the private sector to work together with the government to produce and distribute these vaccines where needed to provide preventative measures for curbing outbreaks of diseases,” Schutte said.…