An expert witness, Robert Wilkens from Benrob Construction, has been called to testify at the inquiry investigating the cause of the collapse of a building. view more

KZN power couple S'bu and Shauwn Mpisane, known for their lavish lifestyle and lucrative multi-million rand state construction tenders, are getting divorced. view more

Spokesperson for IPSS Medical Services Paul Herbst said all the passengers were trapped inside the car. view more

More than 60 000 households in the eThekwini Municipality's northern regions have not been receiving refuse removal services from Durban Solid Waste. view more

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has turned down a proposal for R100-billion of Eskom's debt to be transferred across to the National Treasury, but has instead announced R23-billion a year in financial assistance for the debt-laden utility that is directly tied to a restructuring of the business. Over a three-year period the assistance would amount to R69-billion, which Mboweni stressed was designed to help Eskom with its reconfiguration and pay off debt and "not to pay salaries". view more

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni used his inaugural Budget address on Wednesday to outline the "tough steps" required to fix South Africa's deteriorating fiscal position and the country's failing State-owned enterprises (SoEs). He told lawmakers there were "no quick fixes", while confirming a R23-billion-a-year bail-out for Eskom over three years, which had been made conditional on the unbundling of the power unity into three separate SoEs. The unbundling plan is currently being opposed by several trade unions, which see it as a precursor to privatisation. view more

With State-owned entities (SOEs) posing very serious risks to the fiscal framework, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday said that National Treasury was "taking very serious steps to fix the fiscal position and SoEs". With funding requests from South African Airways (SAA), the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Denel, Eskom and other financially-challenged SoEs having increased, Mboweni said that government had revised the contingency reserve upwards to R13-billion for 2019/20 to respond to possible requests for financial support. This excludes any requests from power utility Eskom, which is in severe financial distress. view more

National Treasury will be reprioritising resources towards President Cyril Ramaphosa's infrastructure fund and away from the wage bill, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday, with government committing R100-billion over the next decade towards the building and operation of key infrastructure assets. In several instances, the private sector will be responsible for the design, build and operation. view more

Government has made a three-year allocation of R19.8-billion to support industrial business incentives, 48% of which goes to manufacturing development, the National Treasury announced on Wednesday. The medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) allocation includes a reprioritised amount of R600-million for the Clothing and Textile Competitiveness Programme, which aims to reposition South Africa to compete against other low-cost producing countries. view more

A carbon tax on fuel of 9c/l on petrol and 10c/l on diesel will become effective from June 5, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday. Further, the general fuel levy will increase by 15c/l for petrol and diesel from April 3, while the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy will be increased by 5c/l, also from April 3. view more

Given an "unsustainable" wage bill, the National Treasury has shifted expenditure to investment, meaning that national and provincial compensation budgets will be reduced by R27-billion over the next three years. According to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, who delivered his maiden Budget speech on Wednesday, the first step to reducing the bill is to allow older public servants to retire early. view more

In the fight against poverty and inequality, government has allocated R567-billion for social grant payments. In 2019, grants for old age, disability, war veterans and care dependency grants will increase by R80. view more

Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) should this year produce a record number of vehicles at its Uitenhage plant, in the Eastern Cape, says CEO Thomas Schäfer. He says the local arm of the German car maker should produce 161 900 vehicles, of which 108 000 are scheduled to be exported. view more

South Africa's new-vehicle market should reach roughly 550 000 units this year, 0.4% down from last year's 552 226 units, says Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) president and CEO Andrew Kirby. He says TSAM expects the first half of 2019 to be tough, especially with elections looming in May. view more

Power pooling is an effective means of mitigating electricity supply risk over a large area served by numerous utilities, information technology services company EOH divisional manager Rob Surtees said during the second day of the Africa Energy Indaba. During a panel discussion on energy trading and power pools, he stressed the need for an interchange of power flow among the various regions in Africa. view more

The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative, which has so far been signed by 28 countries, is of great significance for the continent's air transport sector. So affirmed participants in a panel discussion at the Air Cargo Africa 2019 conference and exhibition. "SAATM is a very important initiative," stated Kenyan airfreight airline Astral Aviation founder and CEO Sanjeev Gadhia. "It is the initiative that is going to save the air transport industry in Africa." He pointed out that the continent was divided by what he called "walls in the sky", with many African countries shutting out carriers from other African countries. "This is a continent that is disconnected." Also, air transport in Africa was expensive. These barriers had to be broken down. view more

South Africa's largest technology group EOH Holdings said on Wednesday its founder and CEO Asher Bohbot would resign from the board, effective Feb. 28. The resignation of Bohbot, who has been at the helm for 19 years, comes days after Microsoft terminated its channel partner agreement with EOH Mthombo, a unit of EOH. view more

EOH Holdings, the South African information technology company reeling after an anonymous complaint prompted Microsoft to abruptly cancel a contract, has created an app that will make that process easier for future whistle-blowers. Expose-It, which was made available for download on Monday, enables those with sensitive information about their company or organization to pass it on to relevant authorities without fear of being identified. The app is designed to encourage "the safe, anonymous exposure of wrongdoing, both within EOH and without," CEO Stephen van Coller said in an email to employees. view more

South Africa faces an impending food security crisis if there isn't urgent action to correct unsustainable practices, says an environmental organisation. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), South Africa will have to produce 50% more food by 2050 to feed an estimated population of 73 million people. "We need to understand that our current approach to food production is by no means benign. Both globally and in South Africa, agriculture is the largest land use and has the heaviest ... view more

Food producer Bid Corporation Ltd (Bidcorp) reported on Wednesday a 9.2% increase in half-year earnings, supported by positive trading performance in its developed markets. Bidcorp, which operates in Europe, United Kingdom, Australasia and emerging markets, posted headline earnings per share (HEPS) from continuing operations of 700.2 cents in the six months ended Dec. 31, compared with 641 cents a year earlier. view more

Tiger Brands on Wednesday reported a one% rise in group revenue from continuing operations for the four months to January 31 on Wednesday helped by overall price inflation and volume growth. South Africa's leading food producer had reported a 5% fall in revenue in the corresponding period last year. view more

A consortium led by State-owned mining company African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) has been awarded the post-commencement funding (PCF) bid for Optimum Coal and its associated assets to the value of R1-billion.  PFC is finance granted to a company in business rescue and is meant to address the business rescue practitioner's (BRP's) remuneration, employee costs, working capital and other means of maximising the probability of a successful turnaround. view more

The Constitutional Court has ruled that municipalities are obliged to consider the possibilities that a new development could devalue nearby properties before approving building plans. The court said that when a proposed building is being considered, the decision-maker should check against whether the proposed property could disfigure the area, or reduce the value of the adjacent properties. The ruling comes as the apex court heard whether the legitimate expectations test, which is used to ... view more

Makana municipality in the Eastern Cape has declared all its water, except in Riebeek East, free from E. coli as the Gift of the Givers rejoices over the quick discovery of underground water in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) that could help the troubled region pull through its water crisis soon. "The February results, according to the National Health Laboratory Service report, indicates failure in Riebeek East only in terms of E. coli, with all other testing areas/sampling points complying, ... view more

The national budget allocates R1.8-billion for 262 priority land reform projects over the next three years, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced on Wednesday. A further R3.7-billion will go to emerging farmers seeking to acquire land. view more

Diversified mining company Glencore said on Wednesday that it was furthering its commitment a low carbon transition, following engagement with the investor signatories of the Climate Action 100+ initiative. As one of the world's largest diversified mining companies, Glencore sees itself as having a key role to play in enabling the transition by prioritising capital investment to grow production of commodities essential to the energy and mobility transition and to limit its coal production capacity broadly to current levels. view more

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies says the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Mozambique and South Africa on economic cooperation is a milestone.  Davies was speaking at a signing ceremony in Cape Town with his Mozambican counterpart, Dr Ragendra Berta de Sousa, who signed on behalf of his country.  view more

Despite the technical recession in the first quarter of its financial year, South African aviation group Comair performed well to deliver a record 12% increase in revenue for the interim period ended December 31, 2018. However, the company said on Tuesday that the revenue growth was offset by elevated fuel prices and unforeseen short-term aircraft leasing costs. view more

Digitalisation within the African energy sector is accelerating at a rapid rate, creating demand for innovation and adaptation to new market technologies and the development of new skill sets within organisations, Trade and Industry Policy Strategies executive director Saul Levin told delegates at Africa Energy Indaba, on Tuesday. By adopting digitalisation, $300-billion could be added to Africa's economy by 2026. However, prominence should be given to an African approach to maximise the benefit for Africa, a panel discussion led by Levin found. view more

Following 58 mineworkers suffering fatal occupational accidents in South Africa in 2018, Kumba Iron Ore CE Themba Mkhwanazi on Tuesday drew attention to 2019 beginning globally with the tragic loss of life at Brumadinho, in Brazil, as a result of an iron-ore tailings dam collapse that killed 170 people, left at least 140 missing and caused major environmental damage. Mkhwanazi said at Kumba's presentation of 2018 results that the tragedy brought home the reality of the risks of mining and why the safety of its people should always come first and why environmental protection should receive high priority. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video). view more

The African Development Bank (AfDB), which has extended billions of rands in loans to Eskom, says it is optimistic the actions being taken to turnaround the embattled South African power utility will bear fruit. Power, energy, climate and green growth complex VP Amadou Hott told Engineering News Online on Tuesday that the bank was not concerned about its exposure to Eskom, despite revelations that the State-owned company would required a capital injection by April to remain a going concern. view more

Parliament on Tuesday approved the long-delayed Carbon Tax Bill as it seeks to reduce harmful carbon emissions in Africa's most industrialised and polluting country. Big energy users including Sibanye-Stillwater and ArcelorMittal's local unit have opposed plans by South Africa to enact carbon tax laws in 2019, arguing the levies are unaffordable and should be scrapped or delayed. view more

A number of trends and influences are driving change in the energy sector, with the collective drive towards a safer, more environment-friendly, reliable and sustainable future. Leading a panel discussion at the Africa Energy Indaba, on Tuesday, Strategic Concepts chairperson Sean Cleary said the transition to a low-carbon economy could not be insensitive to social needs. view more

South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore, which stands head and shoulders above its peers when it comes to iron-ore quality, is achieving major price premiums well above historical heights. Structural change and strong growth in particularly the China steel market has placed the Anglo American group company in pole position to receive record prices going forward. view more

Trade union Solidarity on Tuesday said it had received a retrenchment notice from South32's Hillside aluminium smelter, in Richards Bay. The trade union stated that the retrenchment process could impact the lives of up to 30 000 people and, consequently, the entire Richards Bay area. view more

JSE-listed engineering group Murray & Roberts (M&R) expects a significant improvement in total earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended December 31. Basic EPS for the period are expected to increase by between 57% and 75% year-on-year to between 44c and 49c, while basic HEPS are expected to increase by between 54% and 71% year-on-year to 43c and 48c. view more

Air transport would play a crucial role in the growth of intra-African trade, because of the poor terrestrial communications across the continent and the number of landlocked countries it contains. So affirmed South African Airways (SAA) CEO Vuyani Jarana in his keynote address at the opening of the Air Cargo Africa 2019 conference and exhibition in Kempton Park on Tuesday. But, he pointed out, increasing air cargo traffic within Africa would require the development of the necessary infrastructure at airports. Moreover, air traffic charges and levies should be set to promote air traffic -- excessive charges and levies served to discourage air traffic and could make some routes uneconomic to operate. view more

Load-shedding is "extremely dangerous" to the local automotive industry, says Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) president and CEO Andrew Kirby. Kirby is also chairperson of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa). view more

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) marched to Parliament on Tuesday - the day before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is set to deliver his maiden Budget - to call for job security and an end to retrenchments.  The trade union federation held marches in eight of South Africa's nine provinces last week, but scheduled its Western Cape march for Tuesday to be closer to the Budget. view more

Murray & Roberts (M&R) subsidiary Clough will acquire Houston-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Saulsbury's Gulf Coast downstream and chemical business unit, as well as its EPC portfolio, for $5.2-million.  In the statement issued on Tuesday, M&R CE Henry Laas commented that the acquisition of a US-based EPC contractor in the oil and gas sector would enable its oil and gas platform to deliver projects to a rapidly growing market. view more

Energy Minister Jeff Radebe listed the finalisation of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity as South Africa's main energy priority and indicated on Tuesday the policy should be approved in March. Speaking on the sidelines of the 2019 edition of Africa Energy Indaba he said he would be meeting the business and labour constituencies at the National Economic Development and Labour Council on March 5 and expected the IRP to be finalised soon thereafter. view more

JSE-listed Balwin Properties' subsidiary Balwin Rentals has secured a right of first refusal to acquire 4 544 rental apartments that will be developed by Balwin. The developments are Greenpark, comprising 1 056 apartments, in Boksburg, which is expected to be completed by December 2021; Greenlee, comprising 1 728 apartments, in Linbro Park, which is scheduled for completion in March 2024; and Greencreek, comprising 1 760 apartments, in Riverwalk Estate, in Pretoria, which is expected to be completed in March 2025.   view more