TRICKY NEXT STEPS

Some have described hard lockdowns in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as the ‘hammer’ and easing as the ‘dance’. South Africans are going to have to show remarkable skill and agility as we begin... 

FALLING FAST

The economic outlook for 2020 is beyond dismal. While the South African government’s swift and decisive response to the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be faulted, it has come at a huge economic cost.... 

RISING FROM THE ASHES

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan disagrees strongly with any winding down of South African Airways (SAA), which he says was never the original purpose of the business rescue process.... 

ON A KNIFE-EDGE

The restrictions imposed to delay the spread of the Covid-19 virus have given our healthcare system much needed space and time to prepare for a peak in infections. As the lockdown restrictions are... 

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

South Africa desperately needs to get its already fragile economy going again. The extended lockdown has left many firms in a precarious position and millions of jobs are on the line. As operations... 

NEXT PHASE

As Professor Salim Abdool Karim so expertly outlined in his April presentation outlining the possible next steps for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa will need to find ways to... 

REFORM & STIMULATE

The effectiveness of South Africa’s economic response to the Covid-19 pandemic could be significantly boosted if it is accompanied by the structural reforms that have long been required to bolster... 

COVID-19 FALLOUT

The full economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are not yet clear. What is certain, however, is that the virus, and the response to it, is kicking lumps out of businesses and economies. For... 

LOCKDOWN LEGACY

The economic effects of the 21-day lockdown are likely to be painful and long lasting. The monetary authorities have acted swiftly to increase liquidity, while the fiscal authorities have also made... 

ECONOMIC HEALTH WARNING

There is now little question that the world economy is heading for a recession in 2020 as governments, correctly, adopt extreme measures to ‘flatten the Covid-19 curve’ such that it does not... 

GOING DESTRUCTIVELY VIRAL:

There were already some concerns at the start of 2020 that the global economy was showing signs of slowing. With the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, however, the outlook has worsened considerably.... 

FISCAL FIREFIGHT

There is little question that South Africa’s powerful public-sector unions are preparing for a showdown with government over the 2020 Budget, which contains wage-bill cuts of R160-billion over... 

SERVED UP COLD

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, who is known to moonlight as an amateur chef, lacked some critical elements when he delivered his 2020 Budget this week. Besides lacking the fiscal spice and electric... 

BAD IDEA

While State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are crashing and burning all around us, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s big hairy audacious goal for overcoming the failures of our... 

CARPET OR RUG?

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe got pulses racing for the right and wrong reasons earlier this month. Firstly, he indicated that he was finally ready to roll-out the red carpet... 

NO WORKLOAD SHEDDING:

There will be no honeymoon period for Eskom’s new CEO, Andre de Ruyter. South Africans are beyond frustrated at the poor performance of the State-owned power utility and irritated by the prospect... 

DELICATE OPERATION

On February 26, all eyes will be on Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when he delivers the 2020 Budget. No doubt, National Treasury officials are working tirelessly and with surgical precision to... 

NO ESCAPE

The wreck of South Africa’s ‘lost decade’ looms large in the rear-view mirror as we enter the 2020s. The country’s ‘decade horribilis’ was characterised by load-shedding, which sapped confidence... 

BITTER TASTE

In what is arguably the biggest corporate scandal since Steinhoff, several former Tongaat Hulett executives have been fingered in what appears to amount to accounting fraud. This “undesirable... 

CLOCK IS TICKING

There is growing frustration at the lack of progress in initiating bidding processes for the procurement of new electricity generation. Despite the fact that the Cabinet-endorsed Integrated... 

SUSTAINABILITY TAILSPIN

For two decades, possibly even longer, South African Airways’ (SAA’s) operational and financial sustainability has been highly questionable. Various turnaround strategies have been attempted but,... 

SALDANHA SHUTDOWN

ArcelorMittal South Africa announced this month that it would be placing the Saldhana Steel mill on care and maintenance. The decision was attributed to a steady erosion of the input cost... 

TIME FOR KICK-OFF

During 2019, South Africans arguably came to terms with the damage caused by State capture to the country’s economic playing field, as well as its key players. It became clear that repairing the... 

WATER WORRIES

Following an extremely dry start to the rainy season in the north-eastern parts of the country and with ongoing drought conditions in other regions, concerns over water security are increasing.... 

INCONVENIENT TRUTH

The fact that South Africa has not procured any new electricity capacity from independent power producers since 2014 is biting. Despite absolutely no demand growth for a decade, the country is... 

WRESTLING OVER REVENUE

For years, Eskom has been unhappy with the way the Energy Regulator has been applying the methodology used for calculating the State-owned utility’s allowable revenue. This calculation is highly... 

ON THE MENU

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will not have his staple Lucky Star pilchards available to add some much-needed flavour to what is likely to be a relatively foul-tasting Medium-Term Budget Policy... 

BACK TO THE FUTURE

After a short-lived profit reprieve in 2018, South Africa’s upstream steel industry is under severe financial pressure yet again. In fact, it’s looking more and more like “déjà vu all over again”,... 

SINKING FEELING

For several years, the South African economy has been dragged down by politics and politicians. During the Jacob Zuma Presidency, corruption and State capture tore into the economy much like the... 

PULLING THE RUG

With little or no prospect of cash-strapped Eskom being able to close the country’s emerging supply gap, South Africa’s reliance on independent power producers (IPPs) is undoubtedly going to rise... 

GROWTH PUZZLE

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has come in for some heavy criticism following the release, for public comment, of an economic strategy document. The howls of disapproval have also not been confined... 

KNIFE EDGE

Slowly but surely the severity of South Africa’s fiscal situation is starting to sink in. The country is simply not expanding at a pace that is supportive of securing the revenue growth required to... 

MIND THE GAP

South Africa’s fiscal balance has entered dangerous territory, owing to a combination of years of low growth, under collection of revenue by an institutionally weakened South African Revenue... 

RAND RUCTIONS

South Africans have become somewhat accustomed to the fact that their currency is among the most volatile globally. For that reason, many citizens keep close tabs on the dollar/rand exchange rate,... 

HEALTH WARNING

There is no question that South Africa’s current health system is failing to meet the needs of its citizens, especially those who do not have the means to access private healthcare. There is also... 

TIME & MONEY

Government’s commitment to transfer a further R59-billion to Eskom during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years has bought the State-owned utility some time. By its own estimation, the transfers... 

TIGHT SPOT

In a note explaining its revision of South Africa’s credit outlook from stable to negative, Fitch Ratings said the decision reflected a marked widening in the Budget deficit as a result of lower... 

WRECKING BALL

The Constitutional Court’s scathing judgment when upholding a North Gauteng High Court ruling that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s pay 15% of the South African Reserve Bank’s legal fees in... 

TRUMP CARDS

Compared with his ‘Stalingrad Defence’ of old, the legal strategy adopted by former President Jacob Zuma during his recent appearance before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture was far... 

DIRTY DEEDS

The credibility of the Office of the Public Protector rose dramatically during Thuli Madonsela’s tenure. Sadly, it is being severely undermined by her successor, Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Already several...