Star 2025-07-09

The Vodacom-Maziv deal got a breath of new life after the Competition Commission reached agreement with the parties on conditions that remedy competition and public interest concerns. The matter will now proceed to the Competition Appeal Court on an unopposed basis and the Commission will inform the Court how the enhanced conditions address the concerns it previously raised with the proposed transaction. Vodacom announced in 2021 that it would pay R6 billion in cash and in certain fibre assets valued at R4.2 billion for a 30% stake in Maziv (Business Venture Investments no 2213), the parent company of Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel. The Competition Tribunal last October had blocked the proposed merger. However, on Tuesday the Commission said it has reached an agreement with Vodacom and Maziv on revised…

High tariffs imposed by the US on South African exports from August 1 will be a blow that will further de-industrialise South Africa, kill economic growth, and cause further unemployment, Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said yesterday. Speaking in an online discussion held by the Motor Industry Staff Association of South Africa (MISA) about the US’s plans to resume its threat of 30% import tariffs for South African goods, Roodt said the tariffs will result in lower investment into South Africa and will impact manufacturing and agriculture particularly, sectors that are among the most capable of growing job opportunities in the country. He said while South Africa’s participation in the US’s Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) later this year was not formally over and uncertain - Agoa allows…

Beginning August 1, the Trump Administration will levy a staggering 30% tariff on all SA products entering the US Industry players have warned of the wide-ranging implications resulting from the hefty import tariffs imposed by the United States on the country’s products. Beginning August 1, the Trump Administration levied a staggering 30% tariff on all South African products entering the US, potentially reversing the many benefits gained under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Economists and industry leaders are concerned that this sweeping tariff policy, which applies indiscriminately to “any and all South African products,” could spell disaster for key sectors reliant on the US market. Major South African exports to the US include precious stones and metals, motor vehicles, parts and accessories; iron and steel, machinery; aluminium products,…

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen on Tuesday said the department's mission was to build a food system that was inclusive, competitive and sustainable. Steenhuisen highlighted the potential of this sector to generate jobs, contribute to economic growth, strengthen exports, and revitalise rural economies. “On the other side, we confront persistent risks: climate shocks, high input costs, biosecurity failures, land degradation, weak infrastructure, and uneven access to markets and finance,” he said. Steenhuisen added that there was also a human reality behind the figures—of smallholder farmers locked out of opportunity, of families facing food insecurity, of veterinary professionals overburdened and under-resourced, and of a nation that too often reacts to crisis rather than prepare for it. “This budget is designed to change that trajectory,” he said. Steenhuisen said that for the…

In a time of global uncertainty and fierce industrial competition, South Africa must decide whether it wants to remain an industrialised economy with strategic capabilities – or become a mere consumer of others’ manufactured goods. The answer lies, in part, in whether we choose to preserve and modernise our domestic primary steel capacity. Although the steel industry in South Africa has been damaged by the realities of the past four years, there are some early signs of revival. As the only integrated producer of flat and long steel in South Africa, ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa) is an irreplaceable part of that recovery and a national asset. And its preservation is a critical investment in the country’s reindustrialisation, job creation, and economic sovereignty. Primary steelmaking matters because it adds value at…

South Africa is facing a looming economic crisis following the United States' announcement of a sweeping 30% tariff on its exports - a move that has sparked widespread concern among trade unions, political leaders, and business analysts. Cosatu Parliamentary Coordinator, Matthew Parks, on Tuesday said Cosatu is deeply concerned about the 30% tariff announced by US President Donald Trump, because it will have a devastating impact on the economy that has been languishing at 1% growth rate and a shockingly high unemployment rate of 43.1%,. Sectors that will be hard hit include the automotive, agriculture, clothing, chemical and jewelery. "Worryingly, the impact of the impending tariff is already being felt in the Eastern Cape with 900 jobs on the line at Good Year SA and Mercedes Benz "temporarily" shutting down…