Star 2023-07-10

This comes as the US Federal Reserve signalled intention to resume interest rate increases DEBT-LADEN consumers in South Africa will be facing yet more hardship as the cost of borrowing looks likely to increase later this month and remain elevated for at least another 2 months on the back of stubborn consumer inflation. This comes as the US Federal Reserve signalled its intention to resume interest rate increases amid a growing consensus that more tightening was needed to stamp out high inflation in the world’s largest economy, in spite of leaving rates unchanged for now, at 5% to 5.25%. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) this week gave the strongest indication yet that it would probably tighten its monetary policy further and implement another rate hike, though most experts predict…

MINISTER of Electricity Dr Kgosien- tsho Ramokgopa has warned that the delays being experienced in returning the 920MW Unit 1 of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station to the national grid posed a significant risk that could undermine the progress being made in implementing the Energy Action Plan. In December 2022, Eskom belatedly took Unit 1 Koeberg off line for at least six months to replace three steam generators in a bid to extend the life of the power station for an additional 20 years at an estimated cost of R20 billion. However, the power utility has pushed the deadline for returning Unit 1 to the grid twice, moving it by 45 days from the scheduled July 23, due to numerous reasons, including resource utilisation, safety incidents, physical…

A MAJOR corporate stand-off is brewing between one of South Africa’s largest fishing groups, I&J Ltd, and its empowerment partners over lucrative fishing rights. AVI, parent company of I&J, has abruptly terminated a long-standing BBBEE partnership with a consortium led by prominent entrepreneur and former anti-apartheid activist Khusta Jack. Jack, chairperson of Main Street 198 Ltd, was asked to resign voluntarily or face removal from the board as I&J starts a new partnership with a different group of BEE partners. Jack has slammed AVI for adopting what he says is a revolving door approach to dealing with its BEE partners. “I told them I will not resign under duress. This is a vile perversion of the spirit and principles that underpin the policy of broad-based black economic empowerment and endeavours…

The United National Transport Union (Untu) has drawn a line in the sand on signing any agreements pertaining to Transnet’s Public Sector Participation (PSP) programmes until the state logistics utility shows transparency and addresses a myriad outstanding issues, information and questions. Earlier in the week, Transnet met Untu and the South African Transport Workers Union (Satawu) over two days, where no clarity was obtained by organised labour on Transnet’s execution of the PSP programme, which Transnet had started by handing over the C101 berth in the Port of Ngqura to a private sector group despite concerns from labour. Labour is concerned about the fate of the more than 45 000 workers employed by Transnet and the possible repeat of “Gupta incidents” if the process leads to the benefit of politically…

THE TELKOM board has decided to walk away from talks of an unsolici- ted non-binding indicative bid with a consortium proposing to acquire its controlling stake, as the offer was “not in the best interest of shareholders”. This came after the group received an unsolicited non-binding indicative letter from the consortium which is led by its former CEO, Sipho Maseko, Afrifund Investments, comprising Axian Telecom, and the Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the Public Investment Corporation. “The Telkom board of directors, having considered the indicative proposal, decided not to continue discussions with the consortium as the board was of the view that the indicative proposal was not in the best interest of shareholders and that the current Telkom strategy would yield better value for shareholders. “Accordingly, caution is no…

THE FOSCHINI Group board has appointed Jan Potgieter and Nkululeko Sowazi as independent non-executive directors with effect from July 10, 2023, and January 1, 2024, respectively. In a statement, the group said Potgieter will also serve as a member of the Audit and Risk Committees. “Potgieter is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and has extensive senior-level experience in the manufacturing, retail, and supply chain sectors, having most recently served as CEO of Italtile and formerly CEO of Massdiscounters, a division of Massmart. “He also served as a business manager at Clover and spent eight years at SABMiller in senior financial roles. Jan currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Italtile Limited and Fortress Real Estate Investments Limited. He is also chairperson of Janette Media Consulting,” it said. Sowazi…