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State Companies News

Good roads needed for economic growth – Chikunga

By: Schalk Burger 6th February 2024 Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, on February 5, inspected the R1.1-billion upgrade of the R23 regional road in Standerton, Mpumalanga, as well as the implementation of the Vala Zonke campaign to repair potholes. “As government, we recognise that good roads help to grow the economy and that... →

Hill-Lewis urges Ramaphosa to fast-track devolution of rail, policing powers to deal with crises

By: Sashnee Moodley 6th February 2024 Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is looking to President Cyril Ramaphosa for answers on the delay of the national Rail Devolution Strategy, which could save lower-income families R932-million every year. Hill-Lewis pointed out that Ramaphosa had promised that the strategy would be out in 2023,... →

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis

Transnet receives locomotive batteries through RBCT partnership

By: Schalk Burger 6th February 2024 State-owned Transnet has taken delivery of seven full sets of batteries procured by the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). The delivery of these critical spares will improve the reliability of Transnet Freight Rail's available locomotive fleet. The Transnet Recovery Plan, which seeks to improve... →

CPI score shows SA edging closer to being failed State – risk body

By: Sashnee Moodley 6th February 2024 Risk body, the Institute of Risk Management South Africa has warned that it is essential to deal with corruption in South Africa if the country is to begin repairing its “poly-crisis”. According to the latest global ranking of perceptions of corruption, South Africa has fallen to its lowest level... →

Denel shows off its products at global defence show in Saudi Arabia

By: Schalk Burger 5th February 2024 State-owned defence company Denel is showcasing several of its products in the fields of missile technology, air defence systems, precision guided munitions, artillery systems and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems at the World Defence Show, in Saudi Arabia, from February 4 to 8. It is... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Denel interim CEO Mike Kgobe

Organisations voice their concerns about national minimum wage increase

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 5th February 2024 Various organisations have responded to government’s decision to increase the national minimum wage by 8.5% to R27.58 an hour, effective from March 1. Youth development agency Afrika Tikkun says that while this increase will enhance the quality of life and dignity of the poorest of poor, there... →

An image of Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi

Photo by Creamer Media
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi

We are turning ports around, but it will take time – Ramaphosa

By: Sashnee Moodley 5th February 2024 While the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area will provide advantages for South African companies, the efficiency and competitiveness of the country’s logistics architecture needs to improve, which President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured will happen. In his weekly letter to the... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Clear commitment to reform implementation needed in SoNA – Mavuso

By: Schalk Burger 5th February 2024 Business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to show a clear commitment to the hard work of reform implementation during his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Thursday evening. South Africa's electricity crisis remains a... →

Locomotives operating on Transnet Freight Rail's rail lines

Business organisations call on Ramaphosa to test NHI Bill’s constitutionality

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 5th February 2024 Business organisations Business Unity South Africa (Busa) and Business for South Africa (B4SA) have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to act in accordance with the commitment he made in late November 2023 to test the constitutionality of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. “Given its... →

Busa CEO Cas Coovadia

De Berg Nature Reserve designated as country’s thirtieth Ramsar site

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 2nd February 2024 Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has welcomed the declaration of the De Berg Nature Reserve as South Africa’s thirtieth Ramsar site under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. De Berg Nature Reserve is located along the headwaters of the Dwars... →

An image of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has welcomed the declaration of the De Berg Nature Reserve as South Africa’s thirtieth Ramsar site under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance

Transnet says rail volumes recovered slightly in the last quarter of 2023

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 2nd February 2024 Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) says it experienced an improvement in rail volumes in the last quarter of the 2023 calendar year, as the implementation of Transnet’s recovery plan got under way. The quarterly rate of delivery to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) increased from 47.10-million... →

Nersa formally publishes licences for new grid company

By: Terence Creamer 2nd February 2024 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has officially published on its website the three licences required for the operationalisation of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), having approved their transfer from Eskom to the NTCSA last year. The NTCSA is in the... →

City reiterates call to allow private sector contribution to Cape Town port

2nd February 2024 The City of Cape Town has called on national government to immediately publish the Freight Logistics Roadmap and to encourage private sector involvement in the Port of Cape Town. Economic Opportunities MMC Alderman James Vos says private sector involvement in running the port cannot come soon... →

Eskom to roll-out ‘load limiting’ to more Gauteng areas following Fourways pilot

By: Terence Creamer 1st February 2024 Eskom is aiming to expand the coverage of its so-called ‘load limiting project’ – where households equipped with smart meters continue to receive limited power supply during periods of Stage 1 to 4 loadshedding – to more Gauteng suburbs, following a pilot project in the Fourways area. The... →

Eskom backs Necom-level consultation on use of electricity tokens to upscale virtual wheeling

By: Terence Creamer 30th January 2024 Eskom Distribution MD Monde Bala has signalled the utility’s willingness to consider the integration of an Electricity Credit Token (ECT) financial instrument to accelerate the implementation of a virtual wheeling model that allows multiple generators to transact with multiple customers in... →

Eskom Distribution MD Monde Bala

Night loadshedding escalates to Stage 3

By: News24Wire 29th January 2024 Loadshedding will jump to Stage 3 at 16:00 Monday after a delay in the return to service of two generating units. "Over the past 24 hours, five generation units were taken offline for repairs. Additionally, the return to service of two generating units that were on planned maintenance was delayed... →

Eskom’s new curtailment addendum unlocks 3 470 MW of grid for wind in Western and Eastern Cape

By: Terence Creamer 27th January 2024 Eskom has taken a major step in unlocking much-needed grid capacity for wind projects in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces by publishing the highly-anticipated curtailment addendum to its latest Generation Connection Capacity Assessment, or GCCA 2025. The addendum, which has been published... →

Substation with wind turbines in the background

Government's new plan to shift cargo from roads back to rail

By: News24Wire 26th January 2024 Government is seeking to finalise a plan aimed at improving its rail network and move cargo away from its overburdened roads. While the economy loses a billion rand per day to its logistics crises, government has said an urgent turnaround is needed to improve its 31 000km locomotive network as... →

Transnet appoints law firm to investigate allegations against TNPA management

By: Schalk Burger 25th January 2024 State-owned freight and logistics group Transnet has appointed an independent law firm to undertake an in-depth investigation into allegations that certain Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) managers flouted procurement processes. The matter has also been referred to the Special... →

Germany’s KfW donates equipment to South Africa’s public healthcare system

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 24th January 2024 Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla will, on January 25, preside over an official handover ceremony of mobile health clinics, cold chain and information technology equipment from the German Development Bank (KfW) to support efforts by the South African government to strengthen the public health... →

Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla

Independent transmission project office to be set up to procure new grid using build, operate, transfer model

By: Terence Creamer 23rd January 2024 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that government plans to establish an independent transmission project office, located either at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) or the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), to procure new transmission capacity using a build,... →

Financial closure for $90m small-scale LNG plant in Tanzania imminent

By: Darren Parker 22nd January 2024 Energy solutions company KS Energy is targeting financial closure this year for the first phase of a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain in partnership with a Tanzanian gas producer, with first gas offtake expected in early 2026. The capital expenditure for the liquefication... →

TPDC MD Mussa Makame and KS Energy Group CEO Steve Martin sign agreement

TPDC MD Mussa Makame and KS Energy Group CEO Steve Martin sign the agreement

South Africa must build renewable energy momentum, and then move on to other sectors – Mavuso

By: Schalk Burger 22nd January 2024 The rapid pace at which South Africa is building renewable energy projects, driven by private sector investment, is viewed as positive in the global context, including at the recently held World Economic Forum's (WEF's) yearly Davos meeting, said business organisation Business Leadership South... →

BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso

Koeberg manager suspended by De Ruyter is back and is 'crucially needed', says Eskom

By: News24Wire 22nd January 2024 Velaphi Ntuli has returned as the general manager of Koeberg nuclear power station after he was suspended in June 2021 over performance issues - allegations of which he has since been cleared. At the time of his suspension, Koeberg's Unit 1 had not returned to service in May 2021 as scheduled.... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Koeberg nuclear power station

Marokane to officially report for duty as Eskom CEO on March 1

By: Terence Creamer 19th January 2024 Eskom has announced that Dan Marokane – who was named group CEO on December 8, almost a full year after André de Ruyter formally resigned – will assume office on March 1, 2024. Previously, Eskom indicated that Marokane would join the organisation no later than March 31, 2024, so as to allow him... →

Dan Marokane

Transnet partially restores service on coal export line

By: Reuters 19th January 2024 South African freight rail operator Transnet said late Thursday it resumed partial service on the line connecting to the country's main coal export terminal, four days after two trains collided and blocked the tracks. The first line leading to the Richards Bay coal terminal was declared safe for... →

Coal being transported on South Africa's railway

Transnet plans to partially reopen coal line after derailment

By: Reuters 18th January 2024 South African freight rail operator Transnet plans to reopen the first of two coal lines to the country's major coal export terminal on Thursday after it was blocked following a train collision last weekend, the company said on Wednesday. The second line is expected to be operational by Saturday,... →

RFA urges investigation into outdated TFR systems following derailment

By: Schalk Burger 17th January 2024 Industry organisation the Road Freight Association (RFA) says the collision of two coal trains on the Richards Bay ore line at the weekend underscores the vulnerability of the multi-ore line owing to the inherent risks of outdated manual systems and poor operational control. The derailment will... →

RFA CEO Gavin Kelly

Recovery efforts under way following derailment of two trains near Richards Bay

By: Schalk Burger 16th January 2024 State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is busy with recovery efforts after a derailment in which two trains collided in the early hours of January 14 at Elubana, outside Richards Bay, in KwaZulu-Natal. TFR teams were dispatched to the scene immediately and started recovery efforts. No serious... →

Rival bidders question selection of proposed partner for Durban container terminal

By: Bloomberg 12th January 2024 South Africa’s selection of Filipino billionaire Enrique Razon’s harbour firm as a partner to revive sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest container port is being questioned by losing bidders. Companies that lost out to International Container Terminal Services Inc. for the right to buy almost half of the... →

Construction begins on Lilian Ngoyi Street rehabilitation project

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 11th January 2024 A contractor has been appointed for the Lilian Ngoyi Street rehabilitation and construction has officially begun, following the gas explosion in Bree street on July 19, the City of Johannesburg reports. The rehabilitation project is being managed by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) through a... →

Durban Container Terminal Pier 2's performance improving but ‘not out of the woods’

By: Darren Parker 11th January 2024 The Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 has averaged single-digit vessels at anchor over the last two weeks, having earlier ensured that all priority cargo across the retail, automotive, energy and fast moving consumer goods sectors reached shelves at the required time. “We are not out of the... →

Preferred bidder selected to build and operate Richards Bay LNG terminal

By: Terence Creamer 10th January 2024 South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has announced that it has selected a public-private consortium as the preferred bidder to develop and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Richards Bay’s South Dunes precinct. The Vopak & TPL Consortium... →

The Port of Richards Bay, which is currently a coal export hub, has been earmarked for gas infrastructure

South Africa prepares Bill to form State-firm holding company

By: Bloomberg 10th January 2024 South Africa’s minister of public enterprises will soon introduce a bill in parliament to establish a government firm that will own and manage at least 13 of the country’s state-owned companies. The National State Enterprises Bill will establish the State Asset Management and provide for the... →

Ramokgopa seeks to unlock private finance for 6 000 km of new grid in coming three years

By: Terence Creamer 9th January 2024 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the current plan for rolling out grid infrastructure, particularly in the coming three years, is insufficient to end loadshedding and should, thus, be accelerated with the support of private investment, as well as funding from the Just Energy... →

Lineworkers on a high-voltage powerline

Transnet pipeline thieves sentenced to 10, 15 years imprisonment

By: Donna Slater 19th December 2023 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reports that criminals tampering with Transnet pipelines with intentions to steal petrol and diesel, have been successfully prosecuted following their arrest. A fuel thief was prosecuted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment in the Vrede... →

Photo by Creamer Media
A Transnet Pipelines employee attends to infrastructure at the utility's Multi Product Pipeline in Jameson Park

Crumbling South African rail prompts Botswana to forge new route

By: Bloomberg 19th December 2023 Botswana has received unsolicited bids from investors to build a rail line to a Namibian port that will help avoid South Africa and its disintegrating logistics network. The 1 500 km Trans-Kalahari Railway project is gathering momentum as Transnet, the State rail and ports monopoly in Botswana’s... →

Coal shipments on Transnet freight-rail network have plunged to 30-year lows and iron-ore railings are at their lowest in a decade

Photo by Bloomberg
Coal shipments on Transnet freight-rail network have plunged to 30-year lows and iron-ore railings are at their lowest in a decade

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