Star 2025-11-18

Groundbreaking research says Africa-focused green investments can outperform global benchmarks The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has released groundbreaking new research showing that Africa-focused green investments can outperform global benchmarks while generating significantly more jobs and long-term economic value than traditional sectors. The paper titled “Scaling Institutional Capital for Green Jobs in South Africa” was developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford and published on Monday ahead of the G20 Leadership Summit. It forms part of the PIC’s Perspectives: G20 Dialogues series and is the fourth such research contribution this year. With the right policy environment and coordinated public-private action, the paper argues, South Africa can position itself as a continental leader in green finance, job creation and industrialisation while delivering competitive returns for long-term investors. The study finds that…

The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) has welcomed the United States’ decision to exempt South African citrus, particularly oranges, from import tariffs, saying the move restores competitiveness and opens the way for growth in the 2026 season. South Africa exported 4.3 million 15kg cartons of oranges to the US in the past season. While the 2025 season has already concluded, the CGA on Monday said the exemption will significantly benefit exports from April 2026 onwards. The CGA said the exemption once again makes South African oranges competitive in the US market, a market that holds opportunities for increased exports and local job creation. The 30% tariff on South African citrus imports only came into effect in August 2025, near the end of the export window, limiting its impact…

In a significant move aimed at bolstering labour rights and ensuring compliance with employment regulations, Minister of Employment and Labour, Nkosazana Meth, has announced plans to petition the National Treasury for additional funding. This funding is intended to increase the number of labour inspectors across all nine provinces of South Africa. The move comes as the Department reports persistent non-compliance in workplaces across the country, with non-compliance rates ranging between 13% and 66% across provinces and sectors over the past five years. Between 2021/22 and 2025/26, the Department conducted 1,265,135 workplace inspections and received thousands of complaints regarding non-compliant workplaces. During the same period, a total of 1,662 labour inspectors were employed. In a parliamentary reply to questions posed by Rise Mzansi MP Songezo Zibi, Meth said that the Department…

The United Nations, alongside leading South African and global business figures, on Monday launched the South Africa Business Initiative for Impact (SABII)—a new platform aimed at accelerating sustainable development, inclusive economic growth, and job creation across the country. SABII is South Africa's national anchor of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI). It brings together business, the United Nations, and government through four pillars or national priorities: Energy Transition, Digitisation, Human Capital Development, and Food Systems Transformation. The partnership includes the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, the UN Global Compact, business champions including Naspers as founding partner, and the South African government. SABII is the first country-level platform under the UN’s GABI and is designed to strengthen local entrepreneurship, expand South African business access to African and global markets, and attract foreign…

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has welcomed the government’s decision to revive the country’s Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) programme, saying it marks the beginning of a new era in reactivating the full nuclear fuel cycle and restoring South Africa’s leadership in advanced nuclear technologies. This follows Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s announcement on Sunday that the PBMR will be lifted out of care and maintenance and formally transferred from Eskom to Necsa. The move brings back to life one of the country’s most significant scientific and industrial assets, mothballed since 2010. Necsa Group CEO Loyiso Tyabashe said the decision represents a major milestone for the country’s nuclear innovation pathway. “Nuclear energy remains central to achieving a low-carbon, sustainable energy mix that supports industrial growth and job…

This is a big week for South Africa, as we host the leaders of many of the world’s biggest economies at the G20 meetings, while business leaders from across the world meet at the B20 Summit. This comes hot on the heels of an upgrade in our sovereign credit rating by S&P Global from BB- to BB, which maintains a positive outlook. These provide both the opportunity and the evidence to demonstrate to the world that South Africa is back in business. We have a government that is starting to regain control of the nation’s finances and turning the trajectory toward sustainable, growth-supporting fiscal management. The medium-term budget policy statement last week showed continued fiscal discipline, with Treasury on track to deliver another primary surplus despite weak growth. We have…