SA dive champ, Beth Neale, has captured some amazing underwater footage of the annual sardine run. view more

The Hawks have denied social media posts which sought to suggest that members of their national anti-corruption task team had resigned with immediate effect. view more

On Thursday, the municipality issued a statement informing the public that testing of all council staff and councillors will be concluded next week. view more

It is alleged that on Sunday morning the 30-year-old man allegedly barged into the home where the grandmother lived with her two grandchildren aged 6 and 12. view more

National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) fulltime member for electricity Nhlanhla Gumede has called for the regulatory methodology used to set electricity tariffs in South Africa to be overhauled, arguing that the multiyear price determination (MYPD) approach is not aligned with the changes taking place in the sector. Speaking during a virtual briefing only days after Nersa lost another court battle with Eskom over its application of the MYPD, Gumede argued that the ongoing disputes between the regulator and utility were largely about the "outputs of models, rather than the construct of those models". view more

For the duration of South Africa's Covid-19 lockdown period, Creamer Media is providing free digital access to our flagship Engineering News & Mining Weekly news magazine. Click now to read our latest edition. view more

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa indicated on Thursday that it intended providing concurrence this month for a Ministerial determination that would open the way for the procurement of new electricity generation capacity in line with allocations contained in the 2019 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan. The regulator also confirmed that it would provide its concurrence in the absence of public hearings, given the difficulties of hosting such hearings amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. view more

The Department of Public Enterprises reported on Thursday that four of the unions representing employees of State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways had indicated that they were willing to sign the voluntary severance packages being offered by the DPE to SAA employees. SAA is currently under business rescue. The unions concerned are the Aviation Union of Southern Africa, the National Transport Movement, Solidarity and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union. In addition, representatives of SAA's non-unionised staff have also accepted the proposed VSPs. view more

AutoTrader data shows that the value of used-car sales through its platform increased by 46% month-on-month in June, while the market in the Western Cape - which saw a 101% increase in sales last month - is on the boil.  The Volkswagen Polo Vivo was the most popular used car sold in the Western Cape in June, says AutoTrader, which is the country's largest digital automotive marketplace. view more

The South African new-vehicle market returned to its first full month of sales in June since the Covid-19 lockdown started.  However, this did not mean a return to the level of sales seen before the pandemic, as the domestic market remains under pressure. view more

South Africa recorded its first current account surplus in 17 years in the first quarter of 2020 as the trade balance more than doubled, central bank data showed on Thursday. The current account swung to a surplus of 1.3% of gross domestic product, or 69.7 billion rand ($4.12 billion), in January-March from a deficit of 1.3% of GDP or 68 billion rand in the previous three months. The last recorded surplus was in the first quarter of 2003. view more

South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) subsidiary company NTP Radioisotopes (NTP) has reported that, since the imposition of South Africa's national lockdown in late March, it had been able to dispatch more than 120 shipments of medical radioisotopes to customers around the world. Both Necsa and NTP are State-owned companies. Because of a worldwide shift of healthcare priorities to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a decline in demand for nuclear medical treatments, this number is only a small  proportion of what NTP would normally had sent out over this period. However, these shipments have brought the company essential revenue, which has been particularly important given that it had been on the brink of being closed down only a year ago.  view more

Petrochemicals company Astron Energy has confirmed that two people were killed and seven injured in a fire at its 100 000 bbl/d Milnerton refinery, in the Western Cape, in the early hours of July 2. The company immediately activated its emergency response procedures and notified the relevant authorities when the incident occurred. The fire has been contained and the plant stabilised. view more

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) on July 1 said it had, in collaboration with Evraz Highveld Steel, applied for safeguards on structural steel products produced at the Highveld Structural Mill, being the only producer of these products in the country. AMSA emphasised that it haD not approached the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) to ask for safeguards on long steel products in general. view more

A significant and concerted global push to accelerate innovation will be needed to pave the way to the energy sector reaching net-zero emissions, according to International Energy Agency's (IEA's) Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) Special Report on Clean Energy Innovation. The report discusses the fact that the world has seen a proliferating number of pledges by numerous governments and companies to reach net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the coming decades as part of global efforts to meet long-term sustainability goals, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change. view more

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is preparing to publish the Invitation To Apply (ITA) for both the Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN) and the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum. While Icasa has made "extensive progress" in developing both ITAs following the analysis of the submissions on the Information Memorandum, the complexity of the process and the additional considerations required have slightly delayed their publication, said Icasa acting chairperson Advocate Dimakatso Qocha. view more

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) will implement the Navis Truck Appointment System at its City Deep Terminal in Johannesburg from July 6. The online truck scheduling system will not only regulate the flow of trucks to the terminal, but will also enable physical distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. view more

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has prepared for a 13% increase in citrus volumes this year, with new equipment being set up to boost operations at the Port Elizabeth, Durban and Ngqura container terminals. This follows the Citrus Growers Association's forecast that new orchards coming into production and good rains across some regions would bode well for citrus harvests. view more

State-owned investment management company, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has disposed of a portion of its interest in the ordinary shares of building materials company PPC. The PIC now holds 13.98% of PPC's shares, compared with the 19.92% it previously held. view more

While JSE-listed industrial and construction materials company Afrimat's Construction Index (ACI) was down by 12 points year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, there is some hope of a recovery for the construction sector in government's infrastructure-led economic growth recovery plan post-Covid-19. The ACI is a composite index of the level of activity within the building and construction sectors, compiled by economist Dr Roelof Botha on behalf of Afrimat. view more

Hydrogen as an energy source will play a key role in transforming aviation into a zero-carbon/climate-neutral system over the next few decades, an independent study states in estimating that the first short-range hydrogen-powered demonstrator could be developed by 2028 if sufficient investments into research and innovation (R&I) are made. Commissioned by Clean Sky2 and Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertakings to assess hydrogen's potential for use in aviation, the study calculates that novel and disruptive aircraft, aero-engine and systems innovations, in combination with hydrogen technologies, can help to reduce the global warming effect of flying by 50% to 90%. view more

The South African cement industry, represented by industry organisation, The Concrete Institute (TCI), has welcomed the outcomes of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (Sidssa), held last week.  The symposium was convened by Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, head of the Investment and Infrastructure Office in The Presidency. view more

Proudly South African (SA) this week launched its new "Buy Local" consumer education campaign that will go live on various platforms, including television, on July 3. The campaign calls on all South African citizens to contribute to putting the local economy and South Africans back to work by making "buy local" choices. view more

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on tourism and travel in Africa; however, there are opportunities for the tourism sector in the medium term, and potential for recovery as borders start reopening, speakers said during a World Health Organisation- (WHO-) hosted webinar on July 2. WHO Africa regional director Dr Matshidiso Moeti emphasised that, as countries start to reopen their borders, they must take health and precautionary measures as advised by the organisation. view more

The Global Top 100 companies performed strongly from March to December 2019, increasing their market capitalisation (cap) by 20%. However, their market cap decreased by 15% from December 2019 to March 2020, a report compiled by professional services multinational PwC shows. These top 100 companies, nevertheless, still outperformed industry peers amid market volatility caused by Covid-19 in the first quarter of this year. view more

South African National Energy and Development Institute (Sanedi) has announced the appointment of CFO Lethabo Manamela to interim CEO, effective May 1. This followed the departure of Dr Thembakazi Mali, who took up a senior position at petrochemicals company Sasol. view more

JSE-listed logistics group Grindrod has announced the appointment of Fathima Ally as group FD, effective September 1. She succeeds Xolani Mbambo, who is moving into an operations position. view more

Property investment company Growthpoint and washroom solutions company Serra Services have achieved the first Green Star Existing Building Performance (EBP) rating for an industrial building in Gauteng, with a 5-Star certification for a 7 400 m2 facility in Meadowbrook, Germiston.   An extensive process was undertaken by both landlord and tenant, in consultation with green building consultancy Solid Green Consulting, to achieve this rating. view more

The global representative body of the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), has called on African and Middle Eastern (AME) governments to abandon quarantine measures for arriving air passengers. These policies were doing grave damage to those countries' aviation and aviation-dependent sectors in particular, and to their wider economies in general. Across the AMR region, 36 countries have imposed quarantine measures. These amounted to 40% of all quarantine measures globally. Surveys indicated that more than 80% of travellers were uninterested in travel if they faced quarantine.  view more

Thirteen mineworkers have now succumbed to the coronavirus, Minerals Council South Africa public affairs and transformation senior executive Tebello Chabana said on Thursday. Of the 13 who have died, seven were employed in platinum mining in North West province, which has the most cases at 1 413 and the most deaths at seven. view more

Beverage multinational The Coca-Cola Company on July 2 announced the appointment of Matrona Filippou as its business unit president for the Southern and East Africa region, while former Southern and East Africa region president Bruno Pietracci has taken up the position as Africa & Middle East president with effect from May 1. "Despite the challenges that Covid-19 presents for businesses at this time, I'm optimistic that from this crisis new opportunities across the Southern & East Africa region will arise. The Coca-Cola Company remains focused on ensuring our products are delivered safely to the stores and communities, while taking every precaution to curb the further spread of the virus," said Filippou. view more

Fintech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) capital provider ProfitShare Partners on July 2 announced that it had secured R100-million from the SA SME Fund, which would enable it to partner with more SME businesses to provide much-needed capital to catalyse growth. In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, SMEs have been severely affected - even after the easing of lockdown restrictions over the past few weeks. view more

The City of Johannesburg's waste management entity Pikitup has received confirmation that a further 30 employees at the Roodepoort depot have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of employees infected by the virus to 45. The Roodepoort depot was initially closed on June 15 when one employee had tested positive for the virus after Pikitup's medical personnel had conducted screening and testing at the site. The employee has since died. view more

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Commissioner has indicated that the fund will continue to accept and process Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) claims submitted for April, May and June as per the directive issued by Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi on March 26. This directive established the Covid-19 TERS benefits to last for a period of three months, which means claims submitted for a period within the three months will be processed and paid. view more

The CDC Group and Finnfund have made a $70-million commitment to AfricInvest Fund IV, a generalist Pan-African fund aiming to foster the growth of African enterprises across the continent. Fund IV will invest in mid-cap and growth-oriented companies in sectors including financial services, agribusiness, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare and education.  view more

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the South African companies that are seeking to generate renewable energy to supply power for their operations in order to reduce emissions and ensure available power supply. He also talks about what is preventing more companies and municipalities from pursuing self-generation. view more

JSE-listed sugar manufacturer Tongaat Hulett has announced that all conditions precedent related to the sale of its entire sugar packaging and distribution business in Namibia have been fulfilled. The company sold these assets, effective July 1, to breakfast cereal company Bokomo Namibia for R220-million. view more

Chemicals and energy group Sasol confirmed on July 1 that the sale of its equity interest in the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investment Company (Rompco) and the Central Termica de Ressano Garcia gas-fired power plant, also in Mozambique, were well advanced, along with partnering discussions for its base chemicals assets, in the US. In a statement to shareholders, the JSE-listed group officially confirmed that the 865-km gas pipeline, in which it has a 50% share, would be sold. view more

Platinum group metals miner Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat), together with the North West Department of Health, has officially opened the 200-bed Royal Bafokeng Platinum Field Hospital, in Rustenburg, at a cost of about R10-million, to support government's already overburdened resources in the fight against Covid-19. Working with the provincial Department of Health and the Bojanala District Health Department, RBPlat converted its unused South Shaft Change House at the Maseve mine, in the province, into the hospital to provide initial Covid-19 medical treatment to its employees and communities. view more

South Africa's seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) expanded in June as an easing of coronavirus restrictions lifted business activity and sales. The index, which gauges manufacturing activity in Africa's most industrialised economy, rose to 53.9 points in June from 50.2 points in May. view more

Local defence company Hensoldt South Africa (Hensoldt SA) has agreed to buy the Defence and Security and Air Traffic Management (ATM) business units of another South African company, Tellumat. The agreement was signed in a virtual ceremony on June 26. It will come into force once all the regulatory approvals have been given. "With this transaction we are combining the activities of two leading defence electronics providers and strengthening our position as a leading defence, security and electronics brand in South Africa," affirmed Hensoldt SA MD Rynier van der Watt. "The complementary product portfolios of Hensoldt South African and Tellumat create a complete sensor solutions offering, that is in line with that of the Hensoldt Group. We will create new products and services that will build upon the significant expertise that is being acquired." view more

The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus and subsequent government prescribed lockdown has had a significant impact on JSE-listed lifestyle investment company Long4Life's various businesses, CEO Brian Joffe told shareholders during an annual general meeting (AGM) on July 1. The requirement to close all retail store premises during the initial Level 5 lockdown resulted in a materially lower revenue in the sport and recreation division. view more