Star 2025-07-30

Rand Water is anticipating a change in legislation that could enable it to override poor municipal management of water and sanitation budgets, the provision of water services, and facilitate a choice of supplier for consumers while also ringfencing water and sanitation payments. This comes as the bulk water provider is set to rollout more than R40 billion upgrading the bulk water infrastructure and upgrading waste-water treatment works in municipalities over the next five years. Speaking at the latest PSG Think Big Series webinar on Tuesday, Rand Water CEO, Sipho Mosia, said this initiative was a direct response to the escalating challenges faced in municipal water management. Mosia said the entity was confident of the immediate future with reviews in legislation that would enable it to play a more proactive…

Cautious stance reflects IMF’s assessment that SA is failing to implement crucial structural reforms South African economists are voicing serious concerns as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) holds steady on its meagre growth forecasts for the country, projecting a mere 1% growth in 2025 and 1.3% in 2026. This cautious stance, reiterated in the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) published on Tuesday, reflects the IMF’s assessment that the nation has made insufficient progress in implementing crucial structural reforms, particularly in critical network industries such as logistics and energy. The latest estimates mirror the IMF’s April predictions, which marked a notable 0.5 percentage point reduction due to sluggish activity among key trading partners and the mounting pressure of rising US tariffs. The forecasts contrast with those from the National Treasury, which…

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, has announced a comprehensive lifestyle audit for 400 high-risk individuals—approximately 10% of the workforce within his department. This unprecedented initiative comes in the wake of a detailed forensic investigation by PwC into the award of a controversial tender, valued at over R800 million, for the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant by the Independent Development Trust (IDT). Highlighting the anomalies within the department, Macpherson on Tuesday pointed out that many who engaged in multi-million-rand construction projects had been found driving luxury cars, including R3 million Porsche models, without clear financial justification. "That is a red flag. It's not targeting anyone, it's ensuring that we have people that put the country first as opposed to own bank accounts first. So we introduced two…

South Africa’s government has reiterated its commitment to secure a favourable tariff deal with the United States, despite a conspicuous lack of communication from Washington D.C. The looming potential of a 30% levy on South African exports has sparked concern as businesses brace for what could significantly impact trade relations between the two nations. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) on Tuesday said negotiations remained the best tool to deal with the issues that are on the table. The dtic Minister Parks Tau said South Africa was not in a unique position as the US attempts to finalise negotiations with some 185 countries around the world. Tau said the government remained committed to the cause as it awaited substantive feedback from the US counterparts on…

Business Report on July 28 ran the story JSE fines former EOH director Bogdanov R500k for faking qualification. Anushka Bogdanov in a right of reply says she is aware of the SENS announcement published by the JSE on July 25, 2025 referencing her academic qualifications. She claims the announcement contains several factual inaccuracies and misrepresentations. Bogdanov says she is a highly qualified governance and risk management specialist with over three decades of professional experience in senior leadership positions in various financial and development institutions. She says she has submitted all supporting documentation from accredited institutions, including her doctoral research, to the JSE in good faith and in full transparency. Bogdanov says she is deeply concerned by both the content and the governance processes led to the announcement, including the lack…

The global energy transition is not unfolding in straight lines. It is a contested and uneven process where climate ambition often collides with infrastructure gaps, and global priorities clash with local needs. Few sectors embody this tension more than coal: a fuel still essential to energy access, industrial growth, and economic stability in many regions, yet increasingly under pressure to wind down. This is the central paradox. The world must decarbonise with urgency, but it cannot do so while leaving behind the billions who still lack reliable, affordable energy. This is where leadership is most needed, and where the coal industry now stands. For over a decade, coal has been pulled in opposing directions. It has been tasked with delivering affordable power while reducing emissions, criticised in global forums yet…