Star 2025-09-01

Sasol, a leader in the energy and chemicals sectors, has announced an important expansion in its Mozambique operations and locally, extending the timeline for South Africa's transition to liquid natural gas (LNG). The company's President and CEO, Simon Baloyi, revealed in an integrated report released on Friday that the gas production plateau has now been extended to the end of its 2028 financial year with additional investments, offering a crucial reprieve to South Africa's industrial gas users who had been anxious about potential shortages in the country. Previously, concerns had arisen when Sasol indicated that its gas reserves in Mozambique would be depleted by 2028. However, through its innovative solutions, the company is now poised to offer a bridging strategy that incorporates methane-rich gas, which will be redirected from their…

The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) has assured stakeholders that the Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) was making steady progress despite earlier setbacks. Mpho Brown, Public Relations Manager of LHDA, last week outlined the project's foundational objectives, which initiated with Phase I to address water demands in Gauteng, while simultaneously enhancing Lesotho’s energy independence. “LHWP phase 1 came about due to South Africa needing water for mining operations that were ramping up in Gauteng, and Lesotho had a need for energy sufficiency and there was a need for electricity in Lesotho, and there was a need for the Government to generate revenue,” Brown said. “It was decided that both Lesotho and South Africa would share the cost of LHWP. It was decided that Lesotho would receive…

Government Pensions Administration Agency says it will conduct a forensic investigation over source of leaked documents The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has confirmed it will conduct a forensic investigation to uncover the source of leaked internal documents, a move that has ignited fierce criticism from employee representatives who deem it a “witch hunt against whistleblowers.” The embattled agency has been rocked by allegations of serious financial mismanagement of pension funds amounting to more than R500 million after an audit being prepared for the financial year-end flagged administration issues. The GPAA has written to the chairperson of the price quotation committee seeking approval to appoint Nexus Forensics to conduct an investigation on the allegations of unethical conduct of the removal of confidential information without authorization. This comes after Business Report’s…

Alibaba Group Holding reported a surge in revenue from China’s AI boom, helping assuage investors nervous about the fallout from a worsening battle with Meituan and JD.com Inc. in internet commerce. China’s e-commerce leader reported a triple-digit percentage gain in AI-related product revenue as well as a better-than-anticipated 26% jump in sales from the cloud division - the business most closely tied to the post-DeepSeek artificial intelligence boom. Its shares gained more than 6% in pre-market US trading, after investors looked past a disappointing 2% rise in revenue and 3% decline in operating income to 35 billion yuan ($4.9 billion). Alibaba’s AI wing - considered among the frontrunners in Chinese artificial intelligence development - helped gloss over concerns about an intense price war with JD and Meituan in the giant…

as construction advances at Polihali Dam The chief resident engineer of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) has given assurances to government ministers in South Africa and Lesotho that good progress was being made on the construction of Polihali Dam. This was revealed in a media tour to check on the progress of the Phase II of the water project hosted by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority in Lesotho last week. Ivano Vanzaghi, the chief resident engineer who is the supervising consultant for the construction of the Polihali Dam under Matla a Metsi Joint Venture, said that the Polihali Dam was being constructed just downstream to get the benefit of the two catchment areas Khubelu River and Orange River. “We have the advanced infrastructure construction we originally planned for 1…

South Africa is a nation that knows both endurance and despair. The economy limps along at 0.6 percent growth, unemployment traps more than 32 percent of the labour force and infrastructure strains continue to test confidence. Against this backdrop, it is easy to assume that competence is absent and that leadership has collapsed into permanent decline. And yet, beneath the headlines of failure, there are pockets of renewal. Quietly, and often under immense pressure, a generation of leaders across state-owned enterprises, corporates and new ventures have demonstrated that South Africa is not short of excellence. These stories do not erase wider challenges, nor are they immune to fragility. But they show that discipline and consistency can deliver measurable turnarounds even in the hardest conditions. Few expected Airports Company South Africa…