President Cyril Ramaphosa tasked the SIU to probe allegations of corruption and maladministration at the embattled Endumeni Local Municipality in KZN. view more

Lifeguards will work late into the evening, childminders will help care for children, Beach Buddies will assist beachgoers at the beachfront view more

They allege police won't accept their charges against taxi association drivers view more

A Hawks spokesperson confirmed the arrests and said they would appear in the Vryheid Magistrate's Court on corruption charges on Friday. view more

Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) wants government to take decisive action in 2019 to ensure that departments and State-owned companies (SoCs) honour their obligations to purchase designated steel products from domestic manufacturers. The organisation is also urging government to finalise the mechanism for monitoring whether the designation element of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act is in fact being implemented. view more

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a high-level task team to come up with solutions to the many challenges that Eskom faces, the Presidency said in a statement on Friday. And as a signal of the urgency of its task, the President has asked the Eskom sustainability task team to submit initial recommendations by the end of January 2019, the statement said. view more

A debt swap for cash-strapped state power company Eskom would spiral the country into more debt, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday, adding there was a need to look at other options to shore up the company's balance sheet. Eskom, which has had to implement power cuts due to coal shortages and poor plant performance, said last week it wants the government to take on R100-billion of its debts, about a quarter of its total borrowings of R420-billion. view more

Perusing the floor of the 67th IAA commercial vehicle fair, held in Hannover, Germany, in September, it was clear that the electric truck (ET) is not just a passing fancy. Yes, the so-called electric revolution may not happen in the next year, and not yet for long-distance, heavy-duty deliveries, but judging by the number of electric models that were parked on the stands of 95% of the many truck brands present at the German show, it won't be long before the current tentative first steps evolve into larger-scale commercial sales, especially in sectors such as short-trip urban logistics and refuse removal. view more

Shoddy and incomplete accounting at South Africa's troubled state-run arms firm Denel left the country's Auditor General unable to make a judgement on the soundness of its most recent financial statements, according to the firm's annual report. In the report the Auditor General listed more than 30 problems at Denel, which reported a 1.7 billion rand ($118 million) loss for 2017/18 and recently fired its Chief Financial Officer over allegations of misconduct, that left it unable to offer an opinion on its accounts. view more

 Power utility Eskom's request for government to take up R100-billion of its debt could cause the country's overall debt ratio to jump two%age points from the current 55.8%, ratings agency Moody's said on Friday. Moody's, the last of the top three ratings firms to still rate Pretoria's debt at investment grade, said in a research note dated Dec. 12 that granting Eskom's request would have a neutral credit impact and was unlikely to accelerate the firm's long-promised turn-around strategy. view more

Air cargo revenue is expected to increase by about 5% to $116-billion in 2019, despite potential escalations in the US-China trade war and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, International Air Transport Association (Iata) chief economist Brian Pearce told attendees of the Iata Cargo Day, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday. He explained that Brexit - if it happens - would impact on the UK's business confidence and cause volatility is the currency, regardless of whether it is a 'deal' or a 'no deal' scenario. view more

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba on Friday said the provincial government had reduced the city's Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) funding by R180-million for the current financial year, a move he said would worsen its housing crisis, and urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene. Mashaba's Democratic Alliance runs Johannesburg in a coalition with other opposition parties, while Ramaphosa's ruling African National Congress controls Gauteng province under which the city falls. view more

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has reappointed Mark Kingon as acting Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for a further 90 days, beginning December 13, or until such date as a new Commissioner for Sars is appointed by the President. Section 7 of the Sars Act empowers the Finance Minister to appoint an acting Commissioner. view more

South Africa's foreign direct investment inflows fell by nearly R3-billion in the third quarter, the central bank said on Friday in its quarterly bulletin, as foreign firms sent less money to local subsidiaries. South Africa's direct investment liability fell to R27.9-billion from R31.6-billion, the Reserve Bank (SARB) said. view more

The Centurion Aerospace Village (CAV) industrial park could be transformed from a national State-owned non-profit entity into a Gauteng Provincial Government-owned for-profit company, CAV CEO Lance Schultz told "Engineering News Online" on Thursday. "We are conducing a due diligence into our possible incorporation," he reported. "This would give us access to Government incentives. The preliminary report has been completed and it looks good." If the CAV was "provincialised" it would fall under the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, which, in turn, was under the Gauteng Department of Economic Development. In the meantime, the CAV was in the advanced stages of talks with the (national) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), concerning its short to medium term financing. Meanwhile, work was continuing on the site, in preparation for the two new tenants that CAV announced at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2018 exhibition in September. "We are currently concluding all the minimum bulk earthworks and infrastructure," he stated. This would allow the agency to receive the necessary authorisations from the Tshwane (greater Pretoria) Metropolitan Municipality for the new buildings to be occupied. These were expected by April. view more

If you take a train from Metrorail's Bosman station in Pretoria as part of your commute to work, you'll need to consider other modes of transport. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) will be carrying out maintenance at the station, completely closing it to the public for at least 40 days. Gauteng Metrorail spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng says trains will be monitored to ensure their safe movement, but commuters will not be able to embark at the Bosman station. She says this move is ... view more

The United States plans to counter the rapidly expanding Chinese and Russian economic and political influence in Africa, US national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday, calling business practices of the two nations "corrupt" and "predatory." Washington's No 1. priority will be developing economic ties with the region to create opportunities for American businesses and protecting the independence of African countries along with US national security interests, he said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation. view more

CemAir can no longer operate as an airline or air operator or fly any of its 21 aircraft, following a decision by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) to suspend two of the airline's air operator certificates (AOCs). The suspension became effective at around 15:30 on December 13. view more

JSE-listed agriculture and agroprocessing group Tongaat Hulett is finalising the appointment of a permanent CEO and said on Friday that it would make an announcement before the end of January. Sydney Mtsambiwa is currently interim CEO, following retirement of long-serving CEO Peter Staude on October 31. view more

Ministers are working around the clock to complete and strengthen the rules for making a landmark agreement to combat climate change operational, with one day of talks remaining. Delegates from nearly 200 nations are on a self-imposed deadline to produce a "rule book" to flesh out details of 2015 Paris Agreement which aims to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 ºC and which comes into force in 2020. view more

Aspen Pharmacare said on Thursday it expected the conditions for the sale of its infant formula business to be in place by the first quarter of 2019. The drugmaker's shares tumbled 35% within a week after it announced the sale of its infant formula business in September to French company Lactalis for R12.9-billion to focus on its core pharma business. view more

To convert Willow Wood Office Park, in Fourways, Gauteng, to using solar energy, Heartwood Properties has partnered with SolarSaver, which offers a rent-to-own model that does not require any capital outlay, to reduce the building's footprint and save on electricity costs. All indications are that solar energy is the fastest growing alternative energy industry globally, Heartwood said in a statement this week. view more

Sandton Central Management District has introduced new initiatives at Sandton Central, that of traffic signals that improve streets for pedestrians, including those with impaired vision, and all other road users. Working closely with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Sandton Central, which is a business and lifestyle hub in Gauteng, has introduced sensory pedestrian crossing traffic signals for the visually impaired at several intersections across the district. view more

Maluti Crescent Shopping Centre, formerly Setsing Crescent in Phuthaditjhaba, in the Free State, has unveiled the first part of its major redevelopment and expansion undertaken by JSE-listed retail real estate investment trust Vukile Property Fund; and is well on track for its official launch on March 21, 2019. Developed and leased by Flanagan & Gerard Property Development & Investment and designed by MDS Architecture for Vukile, the redevelopment will become the largest shopping centre in the town. view more

The City of Cape Town has agreed, "in principle", to sell the Salt River Market site to a "social housing institution (SHI)" for 10% of its market value for an 820 unit mixed-use development, it announced on Thursday. "I'm elated by Council's decision to agree, in principle, to transfer this City-owned land," said councillor Malusi Booi, member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for human settlements. He said the market site was valued at R114.3-million, but the council would let it go, with ... view more

Creamer Media's readers continue to be part of the mobile revolution.  Over 20% of Creamer Media's online readers view the websites on their mobile devices. To cater for this growing mobile readership Creamer Media offers an Engineering News Online app for iPhone and Android users.  These apps offer access to all content available on the Engineering News Online website and also offers additional benefits such as push notifications to alert the reader of breaking news items and the opportunity to save articles for a later read through the app's bookmarks functionality. view more

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) on Thursday said Cabinet would, in February, consider a detailed implementation plan to deal with the more than R14-billion in debt owned by municipalities to power utility Eskom. This plan is part of CoGTA's municipal recovery programme, which was launched this year to assist municipalities that need urgent support to deal with governance, financial management and service delivery issues. view more

State-owned electricity producer Eskom is going back to the future as it seeks to close an estimated 1.3-billion ton coal shortfall that it calculates will arise over the remaining life of its coal-fired power station fleet. The shortfall calculation takes account of the decommissioning of the power stations in line with the schedule outlined in the Integrated Resource Plan, which also assumes that new Medupi and Kusile power stations will continue to be operational in 2050. view more

Emira Property Fund has, to date, successfully refinanced more than R1.2-billion of its debt maturing in the current financial year ending June 30, 2019, and is experiencing "keen demand and favourable pricing" in the process, the company noted in a statement on Thursday. In September, the JSE-listed real estate investment trust refinanced maturing secured listed domestic medium term notes (DMTN) through the issue of new three- and five-year notes. view more

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on Friday launched the South Africa Biennial Update Report Explorer (BURE) app on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Katowice, Poland. The BURE app is part of South Africa's Climate Change Response Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System. It is a new platform, which expands the functionality of the system, by offering accessible and dynamic data and visualisations of South Africa's climate change response. view more

Eskom and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on Thursday signed a R1.5-billion loan agreement to support the electricity utility's investments in extending and strengthening its power transmission grid along the west coast of South Africa. This loan constitutes the first tranche of a R6.5-billion multitranche loan facility signed between the two institutions in March 2017. view more

Transport Minister Dr Blade Nzimande on Thursday unveiled Air Traffic and Navigation Services' (ATNS') new three-dimensional (3D) mobile simulator during the commemoration of the annual International Civil Aviation Day, in Mbombela, Mpumalanga. ATNS chairperson Simphiwe Thobela said the 3D mobile simulator is intended to bring the interior of an air traffic services tower and the airport environment into display. view more

Lawyers for the Nigerian government said they had filed a $1.1-billion lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in a commercial court in London on Thursday in relation to a 2011 oilfield deal. The OPL 245 oilfield is also at the heart of an ongoing corruption trial in Milan in which former and current Shell and Eni officials are on the bench. view more

Eskom said on Thursday it had signed a loan agreement with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for R1.5-billion to extend its transmission grid along the west coast. It is the first tranche of a R6.5-billion loan facility agreed last year. view more

Two South Africans will be jetting off to the United States next month for the coveted international business intern program (IBIP) at the Boeing Company's head office in Seattle, Washington. The American multinational aircraft maker said the University of Witwatersrand students, Robert Clark and Makhosazana Ncube, had caught the attention of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and were selected for its six month internship programme in Seattle, USA. view more

The South African polyethylene terephthalate (PET) industry's biggest celebration of recycling and waste management excellence, the Petco Awards, are now open for nominations. The awards recognise leadership and future-thinking across the PET industry and beyond in addressing a reduction in, as well as the recycling and reuse of, waste. view more

The Nigerian telecoms regulator said on Thursday that an $8.1-billion dispute between South African telecoms group MTN and the Nigerian central bank "is being resolved and very soon it will be over." Nigeria's government "is disposed to (an) amicable resolution," Umar Garba Dambatta, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, told reporters in Abuja. view more

The Japanese trading giant Mitsubishi has thrown its weight behind technologies that harness the high-performance characteristics of platinum group metals (PGMs) by joining Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC) as an investor in AP Ventures, which has a special investment interest in hydrogen infrastructure, fuel cell electric mobility and energy storage. In July, the PIC and Amplats each committed R1.3-billion to AP, the first venture capital fund of its kind specialising in pioneering technologies and businesses that make use of PGMs. view more

Against a backdrop of subdued economic growth during the past two years, which Afrox believes will prevail in the medium term, the company has reviewed its operating model to enable continued growth in earnings, the company said in a trading statement released on Thursday. Particular areas have been targeted to extract further efficiencies. These are a refined go-to-market approach; the continued centralisation of support functions; the continued integration of production and distribution; and optimised supply and distribution networks. view more

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Rebecca Campbell about the changes that have been made to the board and management of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation and what the entity's new board will need to focus on going forward. view more

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) will kick 2019 into gear with the launch in January of the prequalification for construction of the Phase 2 main works of the Polihali dam and Polihali transfer tunnel. "The call for expressions of interest for the construction of the 165-m-high Polihali dam and the 38-km-long Polihali transfer tunnel is expected to attract the interest of major engineering and construction companies," says LHWP Phase 2 divisional manager Tente Tente. view more

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has launched its Turbulence Aware data resource, which aims to assist airlines avoid turbulence, by augmenting the airlines' ability to pre-empt turbulence by pooling and sharing real-time data, Iata meteorological programme head Katya Vashchankova told Iata Media Day attendees on Wednesday. She explained that turbulence was the leading cause of nonfatal accidents and injuries to cabin crew and passengers and that it cost airlines millions of dollars a year owing to in-flight diversions as a result of injury, damaged aircraft interiors and excessive fuel burn. view more