Star 2024-09-23

SOUTH Africa needs to do much more to uplift economic productivity, with the improvement in electricity supply un- likely to transform the country’s supply- side performance on its own over the medium-term outlook, said Fitch Ratings on Friday. Eskom’s electricity supply has improved over the past few months, bringing much respite to industry producers and miners that had battled against the backdrop of load shedding. However, the Minerals Council of South Africa has flagged the cost of electricity as a major driver of input costs for the sector. Now, according to analysts at Fitch, South Africa’s production and supply- side will not benefit much from the stable electricity supplies unless the Government of National Unity addresses other attending challenges, which include high unemployment. “More reliable power will not transform South…

Makate says since YeboYethu is a shareholder, it cannot be an amicus curiae at the same time YeboYethu, an investment vehicle initially set up by Vodacom in 2018 to empower its staff members, will also be going to the Constitutional Court when the Please Call Me matter, a legal case that has been ongoing since 2008, is set to be heard. Vodacom is asking the apex court for leave to appeal a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision handed down in February that South Africa’s largest mobile operator should pay Please Call Me inventor, Nkosana Makate, what could work out to be an amount of between R29 billion and R63bn. Vodacom’s stock is worth R230bn on the JSE. YeboYethu now wants to join the matter as an independent amicus curiae…

ESKOM and Sasol on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaboratively explore and research potential future liquefied natural gas (LNG) requirements. This landmark move was set to reshape South Africa’s energy landscape with the collaboration enabling the country to find a solution for gas users who require longer-term certainty of supply beyond this decade. Delivering the keynote address at the signing ceremony, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said they had made it clear that they were serious about LNG solutions for the country, that its demand for gas across both industrial and energy frontiers would unlock these solu- tions. “This collaboration between our two energy champions – one public, one private – will provide a data-driven and commercially sound basis for gas-fed industrialisation and for us to…

FORMER Eskom Group CEO and now Member of Parliament, Brian Molefe, has charged that ordinary South Africans are paying through the nose for high coal prices not being negotiated along with more than R900 billion in guarantees for the Just Energy Transition (JET) technology. “Coal is a resource God has put for South Africans as a birthright. We should use it to take people out of poverty. The price of coal should be revisited by regulation, but nobody wants to talk about that, including the guarantees of more than R900bn for the JET that nobody wants to admit about. “There are questions to ask but nobody is asking them”, Molefe told Business Report in an interview yesterday in the aftermath of his inaugural presentation to Parliament on Eskom. Molefe…

THE PAST THREE months has seen commodity prices and mining shares, excluding gold equities, under-perform versus the broader market as concerns around global growth re-emerged. In the past two weeks, three of the four large South African platinum group metals (PGM) equities have reported results. While the companies are driven by similar fundamentals – namely the US dollar prices of platinum, palladium and rhodium, mining efficiencies and grade – the market responded very differently to their reported earnings and outlook. Resurrection rising: Impala’s turnaround Impala was the first to report. Production was up 13% (in line with guidance), while unit costs (+5%) were below the low end of guidance. In the second half (H2) of 2024, Impala generated roughly R1 billion in free cash flow, a significant turnaround…

AS CHINA and South Africa maintain a comprehensive strategic partnership, there are significant opportunities for South Africa to up its agricultural exports to that country, says AgriSA. The chief executive of South Africa’s biggest agricultural organisation, Johann Kotzé, said on Friday that collaborating with Chinese partners could strengthen agricultural development, creating pathways for higher- value exports and further solidifying the trade relationship between South Africa and China. “Food security remains the top priority for organised agriculture in South Africa. Food security is closely tied to trade, as it ensures the affordability and availability of essential agricultural products,” Kotzé said. “Trade enhances the quality and safety of food supplies, allowing access to diverse and nutritious options. Additionally, sustainable trade practices can foster adaptability in agricultural systems, enabling them to respond effectively…