Star 2024-10-17

Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth has argued for an increase in occupational health and safety standards across the board given that levels of non-compliance were still high in South Africa. Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Occupational Health and Safety strategy for the period between 2024 and 2029, which has been endorsed by the International Labour Organization, Meth said that the strategy would improve the occupational health and safety of workers in South Africa and serve as a guiding road map. “We want to ensure that prevention principles are inculcated in all work practices,” she said. At the ceremony, stakeholders from compensation funds, the department, business bodies, and organised labour signed the new accord, which aims to reduce workplace injury and sickness payouts so that the money…

12.2% plunge on JSE comes as longs division continues to operate at a loss Optimism is waning for South Africa’s steel industry, ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) said yesterday, identifying the influx of cheap imports, high costs for energy and logistics and weak demand as contributing to this against the backdrop of fresh uncertainty for its long steel business that has continued to operate at a loss. There had been renewed optimism that the steel industry would recover but headwinds and imports have persisted. Market analyst Dave Hazelwood wrote on X yesterday that the South African steel industry was at a precarious point, with the government trying to prop up Amsa and risking prospects for related downstream industries that rely on imports. “(The) local market just isn’t big enough to support…

Shopping in South Africa rebounded as the retail sector recorded a notable uptick in sales during August, reflecting a gradual positive shift in consumer behaviour and market conditions. Data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) yesterday revealed a year-on-year increase of 3.2% in retail sales following a downwardly revised 1.7% increase in July. This marked the sixth consecutive month of growth in retail activity, and at a robust pace as six of the seven retail groups recorded a positive month. Stats SA said the most significant contributor to this increase was the general dealers category, which saw a robust rise of 4.6%. This upswing was notably supported by food and beverages, which reported growth of 5.4%. Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, FNB senior economist, highlighted that this improvement surpassed market expectations, previously…

AFRICA-focused e-commerce retailer Jumia Technologies will close its South African online fashion retailer Zando and its Tunisian operations by the end of the year to sharpen its focus on its other markets, the CEO said. Jumia is aggressively cutting costs to try to turn profitable, including by reducing head count, exiting everyday grocery items and food delivery, and cutting delivery services not related to its e-commerce business. “The trajectory of the countries did not align with the strategy of the group,” CEO Francis Dufay said, citing complex macroeconomics, the competitive environment and low medium-term potential for growth and profitability. “It enables us to refocus our resources on the other nine markets where we see more promising trends in terms of scale and profitability.” Jumia’s remaining markets include Egypt, Kenya, Morocco…

Russia is seeking to convince BRICS countries to build an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions when it hosts the group’s leaders at a summit next week. President Vladimir Putin is keen to build up BRICS – which has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa the original members – as a powerful counterweight to the West in global politics and trade. The October 22-24 summit in the city of Kazan is being presented by Moscow as evidence that Western efforts to isolate Russia have failed. It wants other countries to work with it to overhaul the global financial system and end the dominance of the US dollar. Central to that is…

Africa needs to use technology from China and US and have all work together, says Wangari Muchiri, the Africa director at the Global Renewables Alliance. She was speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural Investment Forum for Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya. Muchiri is a visionary renewable energy engineer leading initiatives to advance wind power. She has several awards under her belt, including being named a Global Climate Leader by Insider, an Africa Power & Energy Elite and Obama Leader for Africa. Mchuri renewed her call for global North-South and South-South collaboration on renewable energy amid global geopolitical volatility. She first made this call at the SDG Media Zone held on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York…