GEO-JUGGLING

Hardly a week goes by without at least one headline pointing to an issue that could result in the collapse of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which has been widely welcomed at home and... 

INFLATION TARGET

South Africa’s official inflation-target band is 3% to 6%, but South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has made it clear for some time now that his target is actually the mid-point. In... 

SORE THUMB

Business and the markets have reacted positively to South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU). Cooperation also seems to be the order of the day in many departments and provinces. South... 

NEW TARGET

There is scepticism about the current close relationship between government and organised business, but there is also broadbased acceptance that their collaborative efforts in the areas of Covid... 

HIGH-WIRE ACT

The lack of grid capacity has emerged as a key constraint to South Africa’s renewable-energy ambitions. While the National Transmission Company South Africa has a plan, it lacks the balance sheet... 

TARIFF TUG OF WAR

With the official release of Eskom’s allowable revenue application, which confirms that it is indeed seeking a hefty 36% hike next year, all eyes will now turn to the National Energy Regulator of... 

FISSION AGAIN

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is the latest government champion of nuclear. He has described opposition to the technology as unscientific and has insisted that South... 

GROWTH RETHINK

A combination of external shocks and internal own goals has left South Africa in a low-growth trap. With the Government of National Unity now prioritising inclusive growth, organised business... 

WRECKING BALL

Extortion rackets are in the news, but construction sites have for too long been especially vulnerable to so-called business forums, who greedily distort well-intentioned localisation policies to... 

TARIFF TUSSLE

South Africans are gearing up for another hostile round of public hearings into Eskom’s revenue application for the coming three financial years. Most of the attention will be on the potential for... 

MAYORAL CHAIRS

There has been little public enthusiasm shown following the election of Dada Morero as Johannesburg’s mayor for a second stint. He is the eleventh mayor since 2016 and the city has become the... 

ORANGE SQUEEZE

South Africa has, for the first time, requested the establishment of two dispute panels under the World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement system to review measures affecting the import of... 

ADDED PRESSURE

The world has become a true pressure cooker both geo-politically and in the domain of domestic politics. The deadly drums of war can be heard across several regions, elections are often not only... 

DEMOCRATIC RELAY

Races have not been confined to the Olympic tracks, fields and pools this year, with nearly 100 countries having also held elections. Many of these polls have been highly competitive and... 

CLOSED SHOP

The objection lodged by Eskom’s distribution unit to the issuance of licences to private traders in areas where it currently holds a licence has sent shockwaves through the nascent industry (see... 

NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

Municipal electricity distributors are facing a perfect storm of rising wholesale electricity tariffs, falling demand from affluent households and businesses that have invested in rooftop... 

GROWTH LEVER

There are indications that the Presidency and the National Treasury would like the next phase of Operation Vulindlela to move beyond a focus on binding constraints, such as loadshedding and a... 

CHAIRS AT THE TABLE

South Africa’s government of national unity is unquestionably the best outcome from what was a potentially treacherous political moment. Given the number of issues and interests at stake, it is... 

ACTION POTION

To succeed, the government of national unity will be a case of ongoing negotiation and daily give and take. It will be crucial, therefore, that visible progress be made where there is either full... 

HIGH-WIRE ACT

The maturity shown by South Africa’s political parties following what was the country’s most competitive elections since the advent of democracy was truly impressive. The fact that a government of... 

PORT PRESSURES

The World Bank Port Index, which ranked South African ports near to the bottom of the global pile, is backward-looking and is, thus, not fully reflective of recent efforts made to address... 

COALITION ANGST

Coalitions were always the most likely scenario for a country that selects political representatives using a system based on proportional representation. Nevertheless, actually moving from a... 

TARIFF THREAT

The reforms under way in the freight rail sector are advancing at an impressive clip and should soon open the system to new private operators. However, there are warnings of a prohibitively high... 

AFTER THE STORM

The election storm, which has just past, carried with it developments that were at times entertaining, at times revealing and at times downright disconcerting. Now that it has passed, attention... 

DEVASTATING

The deadly collapse of a building in George while under construction is simply devastating for the families of the workers who perished. It has also raised a number of questions about the state –... 

THE OTHER POLL

There has been much discussion about South Africa’s attractiveness to investors following BHP’s bid for Anglo American’s non-South African assets and confirmation that Shell will be disinvesting... 

HEAT IS ON

Reaction to BHP’s bid price for Anglo American may be cool, but it has definitely ignited renewed interest in mega mining mergers. It has also brought to the fore the importance of copper to the... 

COALITION MATHS

With the polls suggesting that the African National Congress is unlikely to secure an outright majority in this year’s election, much attention is being given to coalition politics. While this is... 

STILL FLYING

Years of State capture, corruption and ongoing crime and violence have left deep scars and have taken most of the gloss of any celebrations marking 30 years of democracy. Nevertheless, South Africa... 

STORM WARNING:

The storms that lashed the Cape earlier this month caused devastating damage, with many still picking up the pieces. One can only hope that the coming election storm is far more benign, but some of... 

UNDERWHELMED

While voters will receive three quite different looking ballots on May 29, this seeming increase in choice is not necessarily translating into greater excitement. Yes, some independents will... 

SHOCKING

As expected, stakeholder responses to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s gas-heavy Integrated Resource Plan 2023 has been far from complementary. While still a draft, some... 

WATER WORRIES

Gauteng’s three metropolitan councils are now failing regularly to ensure that their residents and businesses have a constant supply of water. The massive outages in March brought to the fore not... 

EXTREME PRESSURE

The Competition Commission’s Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry has thrown some light on the existential crisis being faced by South Africa’s media. Part of the problem lies in the weak... 

GAS CLIFF

Warnings of a gas day zero in 2026 are alarming, but not new. There has however, been very little progress on possible remedies. Disputes over gas pricing have arguably made cooperation difficult,... 

LOADSHEDDING GRIEF

There is grave peril in forecasting any improvement to the loadshedding outlook, as President Cyril Ramaphosa found recently when Eskom declare Stage 6 days after he suggested in his State of the... 

OWN GOALS

The 2024 Budget has, once again, highlighted what happens when government scores one own goal after another. True, there have been some disruptive external shocks, most recently the Covid lockdowns... 

HANGING ON

HANGING ON: There was a near audible sigh of relief when ArcelorMittal South Africa announced a six-month deferral to its plan to close its loss-making long-products business. While the group sees... 

BUDGETARY MAZE

It is now almost impossible to remember a time when commentators were not describing the South African Budget as the most difficult ever for a post-apartheid Finance Minister to navigate. Given... 

ADDING CAPACITY

Concerns over under-investment into South Africa’s electricity grid have come to the fore strongly in recent years, with the lack of connection capacity having already prevented the construction of...