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The surge in borrowing costs affecting most African countries in the wake of the economic and fiscal harm that has accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic poses a serious risk to the much-needed recovery in energy investment across the continent, which is set to collapse by 30% in 2020. International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Dr Fatih Birol, who together with African Union Commission (AUC) infrastructure and energy commissioner Dr Amani Abou-Zeid co-chaired the AUC-IEA Second Ministerial Forum on Tuesday, stressed that a strong investment recovery was urgently required to improve energy access across the continent, which was poised to retreat for the first time in seven years in 2020. view more

South Africa could offer to sell shares in the bankrupt national airline to the public as part of an ambitious new plan to revive the carrier outlined by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. The government could bring the various parts of the South African Airways group into one company that would be co-owned by the state, pension funds, individual investors and an operational partner, Mboweni said in an interview at the Bloomberg Capital Markets Focus virtual event on Tuesday. That includes low-cost arm Mango and maintenance unit SAA Technical as well as the flagship carrier. view more

Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has celebrated the assembly of its four-millionth vehicle at its Uitenhage plant, in the Eastern Cape. The first of these vehicles was manufactured 72 years ago, in November 1948, when the premises still belonged to South African Motor Assemblers and Distributors.  view more

The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) has launched an innovative new platform - Saice Connect - that enables its members to network and engage with potential employers and like-minded individuals. The platform is designed to bridge the gap between skills shortages in many industries and high unemployment rates. view more

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has again called on government to open the way for the procurement of more new electricity capacity in addition to the 11 800 MW outlined in a recently gazetted Ministerial determination, cautioning that the 1 500 MW of new coal included in the determination is unlikely to be built in the timeframes outlined, if at all. Speaking to broadcaster Bruce Whitfield as part of a PSG-organised webinar, De Ruyter said that, even if the capital could be raised for new coal, the projects would struggle to secure environmental approvals and the commissioning schedule envisaged in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019. view more

The risk to the global workforce has reached its highest level since 2016, according to the findings of International SOS's 'Risk Outlook 2021' report. The outlook reveals findings from the Business Resilience Trends survey of over 1 400 risk professionals across 99 countries, carried out by Ipsos MORI. It also brings together insights from the Workforce Resilience Council and extensive International SOS proprietary data. view more

Global crude steel production in October rose 7% year on year to 162-million tonnes as other countries joined China in a recovery in industrial activity. China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of the metal, remained the stand-out performer with a gain of 12.7% to 92.2-million tonnes, data from the World Steel Association showed on Tuesday. view more

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter says progress is being made in the unbundling of the utility and that "by April [2021], we should see a change". He noted that the negative impact of load-shedding on the economy is well known and it is something that Eskom wishes to put behind it as quickly as possible. view more

The establishment of an African hydrogen economy based on renewable energy can provide important impetus in the Southern African region and offer new perspectives, especially to young people. That is the view of German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Energy and Green Hydrogen Technologies Division head Dr Christoph Roevekamp. BMBF or Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - promotes education, science and research and is funding the Green Hydrogen Atlas-Africa project in Southern Africa and West Africa. view more

As South Africa emerges from the Covid-19-induced economic crisis, the most strategic objective would be to relieve the economy and its growth path from the stronghold of insufficient access to sustainable and competitive power generation, advisory Pan-African Investment and Research Services founder and CE Dr Iraj Abedian has said. He has published a research paper on a just energy transition, which states that even before the pandemic struck, the country had already recorded a technical recession, it being the second in just two years, which is in part owing to the State-owned energy utility Eskom's inability to supply adequate and reliable electricity. view more

JSE-listed diversified chemicals group Omnia Holdings is now firmly in the "fix and renew" phase of its turnaround strategy, where implementation of the new operating model during the six months, ended September 30, was "substantially completed" and has already resulted in improved production reliability. Omnia's key businesses in Southern Africa have also been consolidated into a South African Development Community (SADC) market facing unit with manufacturing and supply chain being separated to enhance production excellence, while businesses requiring additional investment have been split from the core business. view more

Sasol Chemicals North America (SCNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of JSE-listed Sasol, has agreed principle terms with INEOS Gemini HDPE Holding Company and a new entity (Newco) to be formed by INEOS to sell its 50% membership interest in Gemini HDPE to Newco for $404-million. Gemini, based in La Porte, Texas, produces and sells bimodal high-density polyethylene. view more

Although South Africa was, only a few years ago, the leader in Africa in the development, deployment and operation of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs, also known as remotely-piloted aircraft systems or RPAS, or more simply called drones), a number of African countries had since overtaken it in terms of operating such systems, exploiting their capabilities and developing their 'drone economies'. So pointed out Drone Council South Africa Chairperson Irvin Phenyane in his address to the Drones and ... view more

The Road Freight Association (RFA) has expressed its dismay at government failing to act against attacks on truckers that started flaring up again earlier in November. Attacks on trucks first started becoming prevalent in March 2018, but, most recently, petrol bombs were thrown at five trucks travelling between Parys and Sasolburg on November 21. view more

The Western Cape government has launched its three-year Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) project to assist municipalities to take advantage of the new energy regulations, which may include buying energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs). view more

Banking institution Nedbank is exploring financing options for solar photovoltaic (PV) installation for homeowners and has implemented several options for businesses wanting to install solar PV plants. Nedbank Home Loans strategy head Bruno Cing'andu noted during a November 24 webinar, hosted by the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association, that Nedbank Home Loans is exploring financing for solar owing to it aligning with the group's strategy and brand positioning. view more

JSE-listed real estate group Growthpoint Properties says it is attracting new business to Woodmead, Sandton, with its significant R290-million investment programme that improves public infrastructure and the company's strategic assets in the area. Growthpoint owns and operates about 250 000 m2 of office and retail space with a combined value of more than R4-billion in Woodmead . view more

IT giant Oracle and the Tony Blair Institute announced on Tuesday the launch of the cloud-based Oracle Health Management System, which will help African countries manage large-scale vaccination programmes. Ghana, Rwanda and Sierra Leone are the initial users of the system, which will create electronic health records for vaccination programmes for yellow fever, HPV, polio, measles and eventually Covid-19. view more

Green economy organisation Greencape is drafting policy recommendations around development and support for green small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), which is being informed by a support programme the company launched with help from the European Union (EU). Greencape had earmarked 12 SMMEs to be supported through the Green Outcomes Fund (GOF), which was established by Greencape and the National Treasury's Jobs Fund. view more

The electrolyser that will generate renewable hydrogen for the world's largest hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle project has been delivered to site by Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, as part of the joint partnership with ENGIE and Anglo American, announced last year. ENGIE is providing the renewable hydrogen solution for Anglo American, which is taking steps to reduce the emissions associated with mining mobility by putting the hydrogen haul truck into operation. view more

A massive increase in projected government debt poses a "major threat" to financial stability in South Africa, the central bank warned on Tuesday, while problem mortgages were also a risk. South Africa's government debt is now set to hit 82% of gross domestic product this year as the Treasury grapples with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. view more

The European Space Agency's (ESA's) sea-level monitoring Sentinel-6 satellite was successfully placed in orbit over the weekend, after being launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in the US State of California on one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets. The Sentinel-6 has, unusually for a satellite, a name as well as a designation: the Michael Freilich. It is named after the former director of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (Nasa's) Earth Science Division. view more

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, on Sunday, launched the uMshwathi Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme, set to service more than 3 000 households in the areas of Albert Falls, Mpolweni, Nadi, Cool Air, Efaye, Kwazibusele, Ntanzi, Mtulwa and Mount Elias. The scheme is being implemented by Umgeni Water and the network has 27 km of bulk pipeline and four reinforced concrete reservoirs. view more

The UN is introducing new technologies to assist in its peacekeeping operations, says UN Support Office in Somalia supply chain management service chief Herbert Pechek. Some of the elements of the UN's programme are arms control, cease fire monitoring, elections, enforcement and combat, public information, protection of civilians, and sanctions and border management. view more

An Mpumalanga coal mine is on the point of entering into an agreement before year-end to have its acid mine drainage water curse turned into potable water at no cost, Mining Weekly can today report. Recovered potassium nitrate, which retails at about R15 000/t and which is marketed at about R11 000/t to R11 500/t, pays for everything - and a return on investment of about 30% is achieved. view more

The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the central importance of people in enabling businesses to adapt to new challenges and ensuring that organisations remain resilient and capable of delivering value to customers. During a recent panel discussion, Central Bank of Kenya governor Dr Patrick Njoroge said that the global health crisis had forced businesses to introspect deeply to determine how they could continue to serve their customers. view more

Capetonian Zirk Botha - a former naval combat officer and adventure racer - is preparing final arrangements to depart from Cape Town on a 7 000-km-long solo rowing trip on his boat Ratel across the Atlantic ocean, to Rio de Janeiro. Sponsored by the company he works for - juwi Renewable Energies - Botha plans to depart from Granger Bay on December 1, following which he will row for about 100 days unassisted. His boat's electrical equipment will run solely from solar panels and batteries. view more

The Centre for Transport Development, within the University of Pretoria's (UP's) Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, has acquired a system that can measure vehicle emissions while driving. The portable emissions measurement system (Pems) unit is a first for Africa, the university says. view more

South Africa may struggle to stick to a plan to rein in government spending by freezing public-sector wages, Fitch Ratings said on Monday. Finance minister Tito Mboweni has outlined a plan to pare the government salary bill, which has surged 51% since 2008, as part of an effort to start bringing its debt trajectory down after 2026. Still, the government hasn't had a good track record in maintaining a lid on public spending during the past decade, according to Jan Friederich, Fitch's senior director, sovereign ratings. view more

The University of the Witwatersrand said on Monday it was encouraged by the results of the Coronavirus vaccine jointly-developed by the University of Oxford and British drug group AstraZeneca. An analysis of the Phase 3 arms of the UK and Brazil studies show a 70.4% efficacy, with data from two different dosing regimens, one with a 90% vaccine efficacy and the other with a 62% efficacy. The vaccine could also be stored at fridge temperature - 2 oC to 8 oC - and distributed using existing logistics. view more

Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) will be entering four crews in the 2021 Dakar Rally, scheduled to start on January 3 in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.  The works team will consist of Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel; Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro; rookie Henk Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings; and Shameer Variawa and navigator Dennis Murphy. view more

Transport group BHL has placed an order for 150 J5N 28.2380FT 6 X 4 trucks with FAW Vehicle Manufacturers South Africa (FAW SA). The order is made up of 140 trucks with a flatdeck superlink combination, and ten units with a tautliner superlink combination.  view more

South African private-sector airline group Comair announced on Monday that it had resumed taking bookings for its operations under the British Airways brand. The airline operated both the Kulula low cost carrier and British Airways in South African brands before it went into voluntary business rescue on May 5. The company restarted selling Kulula tickets early this month. Comair intends to restart British Airways flights within South Africa on December 9. Flights to destinations in Southern Africa, outside of South Africa, will be phased back in over the coming months, as the airline ramps up to full operations again. view more

The latest sovereign ratings downgrades imposed on South Africa have dealt a blow to the country's economic recovery plan and should spur government into action to address the issues raised by Moody's and Fitch. Responding to the news that Moody's and Fitch have pushed South Africa's credit rating deeper into junk status, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) CEO Cas Coovadia said in a statement at the weekend that the downgrades reinforced the "severe socioeconomic crisis confronting the country". view more

Brazil-based major aerospace group Embraer and Portugal-based energy group EDP have signed a partnership to carry out research into electrically-powered aircraft. Through its EDP Smart division, the company, which is one of the largest private-sector players in the Brazilian energy sector, will contribute financially to the project, which will employ a modified Embraer EMB-203 Ipanema agricultural aircraft as a test bed. view more

Deputy Chief Justice and chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Raymond Zondo has instructed the commission's secretary to lay a criminal complaint against former President Jacob Zuma with the South African Police Service. This follows Zuma's walkout from the commission last week, without having been excused, after Zuma's application to have Zondo recuse himself from the inquiry was dismissed.Zondo will summon Zuma to appear before the commission on news dates and an urgent application will also be made to the Constitutional Court to compel Zuma to appear in compliance with the new summons and to not leave without Zondo's permission. Zondo reinforced that the law was binding and it was not up to Zuma to excuse himself, calling his walkout a serious matter. view more

The rand opened stronger on Monday, lifted by global optimism over coronavirus vaccines and shrugging off ratings downgrades that are likely to push up government borrowing costs. At 07:02 GMT, the rand traded at 15.3700 versus the dollar, 0.4% firmer than its previous close. The upbeat global market mood comes after a top official of the US government's vaccine development effort said on Sunday that the first vaccines could be given to US healthcare workers and others recommended by mid-December. view more

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has given stakeholders until February 5 to comment on a Section 34 determination received from Minerals Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe for the procurement of new nuclear capacity post-2030. The draft determination delivered to Nersa by the Minister for its concurrence states that the commencement of the procurement of 2 500 MW of nuclear capacity is in line with "Decision 8 of the Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP2019)", gazetted on October 18, 2019. view more