Cape Times 2023-04-18

THE BUREAU for Economic Research (BER) has warned that growth in South Africa will probably contract deeper in the second quarter of 2023 as intensified power cuts cripple activity, denting potential investment prospects. Eskom yesterday confirmed that stage 6 load shedding would continue to be implemented indefinitely, as it fails to meet demand due to generation capacity constraints. Breakdowns yesterday amounted to 17 325MW of generating capacity, with 5 457MW of generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance. BER chief economist Hugo Pienaar said severe load shedding has had a debilitating impact on broader industrial output since the year began. He said this would result in another decline of real gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, as output in the primary sectors of…

Derek Hanekom has been appointed as interim non-executive director and chairperson of SAA THE DEPARTMENT of Public Enterprises (DPE) came under fire yesterday for being secretive and not informing the market of its plans to replace the SAA board of directors. This comes after the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) forced the DPE’s hand to reveal the new interim board after the labour union said in a statement it had been reliably informed that the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, had removed the SAA board, replaced it with an entirely new board, and had done so without informing the public or the governing party. “We are told that the entire SAA board was removed as of the 14th of April and replaced with new board members…

AFTER a four year hiatus mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) recently hosted a Citrus Summit, bringing together more than 500 citrus growers and key stakeholders from across the country. This was a significant event for the industry, which is poised for major growth over the next decade. Citrus exports are set to increase by 10 million (15kg) cartons per year over the next ten years, with a target of 260 million cartons by 2032. This increase could generate an additional R20 billion in annual revenue, and sustain a further 100 000 jobs over and above the current 130 000 jobs supported and R40bn attracted annually. However, critical to attaining this target is the industry working in partnership with…

ALTRON group’s operations generated double digit turnover growth in the year to February 28, but headline earnings a share growth was expected to be slower due to once-off impairments. The share price slipped 4.89% to close at R8.75 on the JSE yesterday. The IT group said in an operational update yesterday – the results are expected to be released on May 15 – that the good results were achieved in spite of increasingly challenging trading conditions. Revenue was expected to be between 14% to 18% higher, while headline earnings per share was expected to be 8% to 28% higher at 81 cents to 96c per share. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was expected to increase by 1 to 21% to between R1.21 billion and R1.45bn.…

AFTER SA Canegrowers sounded the alarm that Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow mills’ payment defaults would cost the sugar industry R1.5 billion, the South African Farmer Development Association (Safda) said yesterday that it was uncertain on how the new season was going to unfold, since farmers depended on the millers to collect levy on behalf of the Growers Associations. SA Canegrowers chairperson Andrew Russel said yesterday that Tongaat Hulett was unable to pay more than R900 million due to the South African Sugar Association (Sasa) at the end of March, while a further default by the Gledhow mill – which is also in business rescue – had resulted in an 8% drop in the final RV price (the price that growers receive for the cane processed) for the…

The THREE-day 2024 African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA) Business Forum, which got under way at the Cape Town International Conference Centre yesterday, is the first in-person forum of its kind since AfCTFA was established in July 2019, and is aimed at implementing an actionable plan arising out of their first report “AfCTFA: A new era for global business and investment in Africa”. This report was released at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this year, which detailed an enthusiasm for investment in Africa and all its attendant opportunities. As a WEF veteran, media owner, businessman and someone who has a deep commitment to fostering Africa’s economic growth and prosperity, it is therefore a pleasure to welcome so many delegates, VIPs, former heads of state, ministers, members of the…