October 31, 2023
Mozambique: Oil and Gas Hunters Target the Last Refuge of Vanishing Dugongs
The global oil and gas survey company Searcher is gearing up to blast powerful sound waves into the Indian Ocean, directly adjacent to the last viable population of dugongs on… Read more »
South Africa: Power Utility Posts Record Financial Loss
Eskom earned less revenue than anticipated as a result of not recovering electricity payments, and spent more money, especially on diesel, to run its emergency generation fleet… Read more »
October 30, 2023
South Africa: No Good Budgetary Choices in Troubled Times Ahead of a Crucial 2024 Election
Having assured the governing ANC's national executive committee that South Africa was not running out of money - and that fiscal discipline wasn't austerity - Finance Minister… Read more »
October 29, 2023
South Africa: Godongwana's Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement Likely to Present a Gloomy Fiscal Outlook
Fiscal consolidation is no longer on the cards. Government expenditure has exceeded revenue by about R200-billion this year, raising jitters that Treasury will have to borrow more… Read more »
South Africa: Energy Sector Explores Strategies to Limit Bird and Bat Fatalities At Wind Farms
Fatal bird and bat collisions with rapidly spinning wind turbine blades in South Africa occur more frequently than previously thought and are one of the most significant ecological… Read more »
October 26, 2023
South Africa: Transnet's Turnaround Plan Is Premised On Securing a R100bn 'Capital Injection' From Government
The more than R100bn financial support package that Transnet has asked the National Treasury for includes a R47bn equity injection or loan, and for the government to take over… Read more »
South Africa: Ahead of Crucial Agoa Forum, Pretoria Again Treads Fine Line With Stance On Israel, Palestine, Gaza
After engaging in energetic diplomacy with the US over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, South Africa is once again walking a tightrope, this time on the Israel-Palestine-Gaza crisis. Read more »
Africa: Continent Is Key Source of Minerals for Global Energy Transition - But There Are Hidden Dangers
If Africa is to successfully exploit its critical mineral endowments, it must navigate a complex geopolitical environment, manage important policy trade-offs and foster regional… Read more »
October 25, 2023
South Africa: More Than 15,000 Excess Deaths Feared If Country Doesn't Shut Coal-Fired Power Plants - Study
What is the cost of extending the life of our coal plants? A new study finds that delaying the decommissioning of our coal fleet may help with load shedding, but it will cause… Read more »
South Africa: Anglo American, Coal Producers to Be Slapped With Class Action Over Miners' Lung Diseases
In an effort to rectify mining injustices, human rights lawyers at Richard Spoor Inc have filed a class action suit against some of South Africa's biggest mining companies, on… Read more »
October 24, 2023
South Africa: 'Mr X's' Testimony At Lily Mine Inquest Paints Chilling Picture of Illegal Mining Facilitated By Employees
The findings from the Lily Mine inquest included first-hand accounts of the mine's collapse in 2016 as well as extensive allegations of illegal mining, which was allegedly… Read more »
South Africa: Sanral Board Withdraws Controversial Preferential Procurement Policy, Cancels Advertised Tenders
About 80 Sanral tenders that are yet to close -- with a value of more than R11bn -- will be affected by the board's decision to withdraw a new preferential procurement policy, with… Read more »
South Africa: Media Speculates Reserve Bank's Kuben Naidoo Could Be a Great Fit for Nedbank
Nedbank has firmly declined to comment on media speculation that the South African Reserve Bank's Kuben Naidoo could be a great fit for its open CEO position. Read more »
Africa: Africa Energy Week - Where Climate Science Makes Way for the Gods of Gas and Coal
Over the course of the week, the organisers of Africa Energy Week 2023 gave a key platform to alleged fraudsters, sanctioned Russian energy companies, oil giants and people who… Read more »
October 23, 2023
South Africa: Gold One Mine 'Hostage' Drama Signals Possible End of NUM-AMCU Honeymoon
More than 500 National Union of Mineworkers members are allegedly being 'held hostage' at the Gold One mine on the East Rand by the rival Association of Mineworkers and… Read more »
South Africa: Kuben Naidoo Resigns As SA Reserve Bank Deputy Governor
Naidoo's successor must have the blessing of the ANC, and, according to one analyst who spoke to Daily Maverick on condition of anonymity, there is no real succession plan in the… Read more »
South Africa: New Push for Coal Mine On Kruger National Park Boundary Raises Alarm
An obscure mining company has revived a rejected proposal under a new name - and Kruger management says it has been kept in the dark about an environmental impact assessment that… Read more »
October 22, 2023
South Africa: How the Presidency Aims to Fix South Africa's Collapsing Logistics Sector
Amid a new sense of urgency over a R500bn loss to the economy, the Cabinet will soon be shown a plan to increase private sector involvement in SA's railways and ports. Read more »
South Africa: Airbnb Says It Contributed R23.5bn to South Africa's Economy Last Year
The online marketplace says short-term rentals are not only helping South Africans earn money, they provide guests with stays in parts of the country that are not traditionally… Read more »
October 19, 2023
South Africa: Police, Govt Department and Mine Owners 'All Contributed to Deaths' in Horror 2016 Collapse - Inquest
An inquest into the deaths of mineworkers Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyirenda found that they probably died on the day the ground collapsed under a container at Lily… Read more »
East Africa: Standard Bank Ponders U.S.$120 Million Investment in East African Pipeline While Awaiting Clarifications
Standard Bank, one of Africa's biggest banks, has been under fire for its potential involvement in the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline project. The bank says the… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Expected to Retain Its Agoa Status Despite Differences With U.S.
It is almost certain that South Africa's Agoa status will be renewed despite it and the US often being on opposite sides over geopolitical crises in the past year. Read more »
October 18, 2023
South Africa: Stats SA's Latest Figures Show Retail Trade Is Feeling the Pinch
Four of the seven retail categories included in the index contracted on a year-on-year basis, with food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores, as well as furniture,… Read more »
South Africa: Consumer Inflation Rate Increases in September, Driven By Fuel and Food
All eyes will be on the food price basket to see if the outbreak of avian flu -- already negatively impacting the poultry industry -- will push the prices of chicken and eggs even… Read more »
October 17, 2023
South Africa: Amazon Set to Go Live in 2024
The American e-commerce giant announced it would be open for business in the new year, but kept its cards close to its chest, saying only that it would happen sometime 'in 2024'. Read more »