Star 2025-07-29

As US President Donald Trump's sweeping and wide spread tariffs close in on South Africa, the citrus and wine industries have called for action to be taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa to stave off the detrimental effects it could have on them. On Monday, the wine industry said that South Africans should double down on supporting the local wine industry to offset the 30% tariffs that the United States government has slapped on South African wine exports. The industry stated that the tariffs threaten to erode the gains the local wine industry has achieved in the bumper harvest of 2025 and will potentially haemorrhage the jobs in the wine industry ecosystem. Eustace Mashimbye, Chief Executive Officer of Proudly South African said, "Spurred by favourable preferential trade terms from the African…

Power utility Eskom argues that a Supreme Court of Appeal judgement has become conflated with an arbitration process and that there are two, separate, matters ongoing at the same time and that the ruling was handed down after it paid the debt. This follows a matter recently heard in the Western Cape High Court during which Eskom challenged what was a rather messy process of arbitration, which led to an order from the arbitrator that Eskom owed Framatome money for breaching a contract. Framatome had been hired to install steam generators at Koeberg nuclear power station. In an October 2021 matter before the Supreme Court of Appeal, Framatome was successful in an appeal to set aside a high court ruling stating that Eskom was in breach of a contract and…

Germany has finalised a €500 million (around R10.4 billion) loan aimed at supporting South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) through the KFW Development Bank (KFW). The National Treasury on Monday said this KFW loan, which forms part of the country's third Development Policy Operation, signified a continued commitment to structural reforms crucial for enhancing the efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of the country's infrastructure, particularly within the energy sector. The loan agreement, signed in the presence of prominent stakeholders including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the OPEC Fund, builds on two previous policy loans concluded in 2022 and 2023. Altogether, these initiatives represent Germany's pledge made at the COP26 summit to aid South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership, which is designed to combat…

SARB expected to act in dealing with mounting pressure from rising inflation The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) is expected to moderate its monetary policy stance once more on Thursday despite mounting pressures from rising inflation, export tariffs, and modifications to administered prices. This move would reflect the bank’s responsiveness to an evolving economic landscape, which is increasingly characterised by unpredictability. With the annual headline consumer inflation rates remaining ticking up from 2.8% in May to 3.0% in June, analysts are closely monitoring how the Sarb will navigate the delicate balance between stimulating economic growth and curbing price escalation. The influence of global market trends, particularly those relating to commodity prices and supply chain disruptions, cannot be overstated as these factors play a crucial role in shaping local inflationary pressures.…

The interdependence of water, energy, and food systems is crucial for securing essential services, fostering economic growth, and protecting vulnerable communities. This nexus is particularly significant in South Africa and the broader Global South, where water scarcity, energy instability, and food insecurity are deeply interconnected issues, each exacerbating the others. Extreme weather events linked to climate change are rendering water scarcer and more unpredictable, according to the United Nations. Unreliable power sources compromise sanitation processes, resulting in untreated sewage contaminating water bodies and increasing water purification costs for service providers. Consequently, water pollution poses significant risks to human health, contributing to waterborne illnesses and severely impacting ecosystems, as toxic elements enter the human food chain through contaminated fish and aquatic organisms. Municipalities’ consistent failure to maintain and expand energy and…

Kaspersky researchers warned on Monday they have discovered a new wave of scam attacks that use Google Forms to target crypto users. Knowing the email address of the potential victim, the attackers send a scam email through Google Forms, which is designed to appear as a notification from a crypto exchange service. Users are invited to receive an alleged transfer in cryptocurrency by following a link to a website where they are instructed to contact “blockchain support” and make a “commission” payment in crypto to receive the transfer. Following these instructions could lead to the loss of funds, as the whole “transfer” story is a hoax. The attackers used Google Forms – a free tool for online surveys – to create a short questionnaire with just one slot to fill…