Calls for greater participation by black professionals in the energy industry were made during public hearings into the Integrated Resources Plan (IRP), held at Parliament, on Tuesday. The Black Energy Professionals Association, an organisation of black professionals that practice their trade within the energy sector, said there was still "inadequate participation of black people in the energy industry".
Calls for greater transformation in the energy industry
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City of Johannesburg, Eskom reach agreement to electrify Zandspruit
Eskom and the City of Johannesburg have reached an agreement to rid the Zandspruit informal settlement of illegal electrical connections. The area has been rocked by protests, which flared up when two children were reportedly electrocuted last week. The protests entered their second day on Tuesday, with residents blocking roads and burning tyres. On Tuesday, the City and Eskom had a meeting, which was also attended by community members, according to Nico de Jager, MMC for environment and ...
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South Africa slips in WEF Global Competitiveness Index
South Africa has fallen another five places in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index (WEF GCI), placing 67 out of 140 countries. The 2018 WEF GCI, released on Wednesday, scores 140 economies using 98 indicators organised into 12 pillars – institutions, infrastructure, ICT adoption, macro-economic stability, health, skills, product market, labour market, financial system, market size, business dynamism, and innovation capability.
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Zambian power firm CEC divests from telecoms business
Copperbelt Energy Corp (CEC) has sold its 50% stake in CEC Liquid Telecom to Pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecommunication Holdings, the power firm said on Tuesday. CEC, Zambia's main supplier of power for its mines, and Liquid Telecom were equal partners in the joint telecoms firm since 2011, which is a market leader and has been rolling out a fibre optic network across Zambia.
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Cape Town e-bus rollout in limbo until Whitehead investigation wraps up end-2018
The City of Cape Town’s bid to use electric buses within its MyCiti system has been stalled by the investigation into former Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) commissioner Melissa Whitehead. A fleet of eleven electric buses was scheduled for arrival by the end of 2017, “operating by the beginning of 2018, or sooner”, noted Whitehead in 2017.
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Informal waste pickers should be integrated into formal waste management sector, suggests analyst
The informal waste economy in South Africa has been largely responsible for the high rates of post-consumer material recycling that have been achieved, GreenCape Sector Development Agency waste economy analyst Dr Kirsten Barnes noted during a presentation at WasteCon 2018, on Wednesday. Her presentation dealt with the value and concerns of waste pickers operating in the informal waste sector in South Africa.
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Workers strike over pay at South African arms maker Denel
Hundreds of South Africa's Solidarity union members held a strike on Wednesday over a pay dispute at cash-strapped State-owned weapons manufacturer Denel. Denel, which produces military kit for South Africa's army and foreign forces, has held talks with unions over voluntary severance packages, reduced working hours and salary cuts for some staff as it struggles to emerge from a financial crisis.
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E-waste recycling sector still underdeveloped in South Africa
The South African electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling industry has not yet reached a point where most components are recovered for reuse, University of KwaZulu-Natal rare earth recycling technologies researcher Mark Williams-Wynn told delegates at the WasteCon 2018 exhibition on Wednesday. He explained that the South African government has, over the last decade, introduced legislation to encourage the development of a waste management hierarchy, and a large percentage of items such as plastics, metals and glass are recycled.
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Nigeria State oil company denies existence of $3.5bn fuel subsidy fund
Nigeria's State oil company on Wednesday denied parliament's accusation that it had a $3.5-billion fund to surreptitiously subsidise imports of gasoline. The upper house Senate said on Tuesday it would investigate the fund it said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was using without subjecting the monies for parliamentary scrutiny via the national budget.
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More trains subject to manual authorisation due to signalling defects, MPs told
The number of passenger trains on South African railway tracks subject to manual authorisation because of defective signalling systems continues to rise, MPs heard on Tuesday. Briefing Parliament's portfolio committee on transport, the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) acting chief executive Tshepo Kgare explained the rationale behind the suspension of the operating permit for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) following yet another train collision on October 4, which left 320 passengers injured. The crash was caused by a train being wrongfully manually authorised to continue on a track where another train was operating.
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Latest WEF global competitiveness report raises red flags for South Africa
The World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) latest findings in its Global Competitiveness Report for 2018/19 again raised several flags about factors in South Africa’s economic performance, which are having a serious negative impact on its international competitiveness, says North West University economist Professor Raymond Parsons. Featuring the new Global Competitiveness Index 4.0, the WEF’s report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 140 economies, providing insight into the drivers of economic growth in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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Poverty comes with a data premium – Competition Commission hears
Just over a year since initiating a market inquiry into data services, the Competition Commission on Wednesday kicked off its three-day public hearings to obtain a clear understanding of what is causing or leading to high data prices, along with the current state of competition, in South Africa. Early indications emerging from the presentations are that poor South Africans are left on the periphery of the economy as they face price discrimination for buying airtime and data in the small quantities that they can afford at a time, and are disproportionately situated in rural areas that receive poor network quality.
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GE calls for more coal power within the IRP
General Electric (GE) has called on the South African government to reconsider investing in a further 1 600 MW of coal-fired power generation capacity, describing it as "the lifeblood" of South Africa’s economy, a significant job creator and important source of foreign exchange. “The removal of 1 600 MW as envisaged in the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) would be a big blow to investor confidence and aspiring new black entrants and regress the country’s transformation agenda of skills development and job creation,” a team from GE Steam Power Systems said in a submission to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Energy on Wednesday.
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Sanral e-toll proposals are desperate threats – Outa
The South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s) various proposals to try and force motorists to pay outstanding e-toll bills are desperate threats and will be extremely difficult to implement, said the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on Wednesday. Sanral CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma explained to the Transport Parliamentary Committee on Tuesday how the parastatal planned to recover money from motorists. He proposed that vehicle licences be withheld over unpaid e-toll debt, using the South African Revenue Service (Sars) as Sanral’s collection agents, and urging insurance companies not to insure vehicles with outstanding e-toll payments.
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It’s a tough market out there and it’s not getting better, says CMH
It has been a challenging year for corporate South Africa, says Combined Motor Holdings (CMH). “The economy has suffered from the after-effects of years of corruption and mismanagement, [as well as] the ANC's recent pronouncement that it intends to amend the Constitution to allow land redistribution without compensation.
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First electricity from Imaloto slated for 2021
Aim-listed Bushveld Minerals, parent company of coal and energy company Lemur Holdings, on Wednesday announced that the Imaloto project is on track to deliver electricity to south-western Madagascar by 2021. The Imaloto project is a developing integrated thermal coal mining and independent power project in Madagascar.
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Improved, integrated healthcare waste management policy needed – health dept
A survey conducted by Department of Health found that the majority (79%) of Gauteng public healthcare facilities have a healthcare waste management policy (HCWMP) in place; however, the policy was not always integrated with the various environmental, occupational health and safety as well as community aspects. The findings of the survey were presented at WasteCon 2018, on Wednesday, by the department’s healthcare waste and occupational hygiene risk management officer Tumi Ramodipa.
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African countries can leapfrog technologies, if they understand the requirements
The world, in trade and industrial terms, is being disrupted by both technological and political developments, providing opportunities but also posing risks to African countries. So highlighted University of Cape Town Mandela School of Public Governance Professor Carlos Lopes. On the technological side, advances in recent years created possibilities of leapfrogging over existing technologies well-established in more mature economies. However, he cautioned that to leapfrog technologies "you need a certain level of sophistication".
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Organisations raise objections to the draft IRP
Industry bodies and organisations have welcomed aspects of the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2018 but have also raised concerns during public hearings held in Parliament on Wednesday. They are hoping that their suggestions will be included in a final plan for South Africa’s energy future.
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Renewable energy industry comments on draft IRP
The renewable energy sector in South Africa has welcomed the draft Integrated Resource Plant (IRP) 2018, but has also expressed concerns. “While the IRP forecasting is rational in its choices, it unfortunately requires us to accept some overly optimistic assumptions,” said the South African Renewable Energy Council (Sarec). This included the ability of the two new coal-fired independent power producer project to overcome legal and financing challenges in a bid to reach financial close.
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