Star 2026-02-25

Up to 600 jobs at Transalloys hang in the balance as the company warns it may be forced to retrench workers if the upcoming National Budget fails to deliver meaningful electricity tariff relief for the smelting sector.Transalloys is Africa's leading producer of manganese ferroalloys. This comes as Merafe Resources last week also warned that an interim, lower electricity tariff approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) ERSA to ferrochrome smelters is insufficient for them to operate viably over the long term, and 3000 jobs remain at threat at the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture. Transalloys CEO Konstantin Sadovnik on Tuesday said he was not optimistic that significant relief will be announced by finance minister Enoch Godongwana in the Budget on Wednesday, despite electricity being the company’s single largest input…

As the countdown begins to Enoch Godongwana’s 2026 National Budget Speech, the nation's economists and consumers alike are eagerly anticipating insights into fiscal policies that are expected to shape the financial landscape of South Africa. With the optimistic signals following last year’s Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement and current economic indicators, the expectation is a focus on fiscal discipline and a concerted effort to balance the budget. South African households are facing heightened pressure as inflation gnaws at their purchasing power. While it has been widely speculated that the government will keep Value Added Tax (VAT) and personal income tax rates unchanged, the spectre of 'bracket creep' looms large. This phenomenon occurs when tax brackets remain static while inflation rises, effectively pushing individuals into higher tax brackets without an…

Portfolio committee drawn into a bitter dispute between the IDC and Nafcoc Parliament will establish a formal inquiry into the affairs of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) following allegations that the state development financier discriminated against black-owned enterprises and deviated from its transformation mandate. The decision comes after Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade and industry was drawn into an escalating dispute between the IDC and the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) on Tuesday. Nafcoc petitioned Parliament in October 2025, prompting Speaker of the National Assembly Thoko Didiza to formally refer the matter to the committee for investigation and report back. Nafcoc, which describes itself as the historic voice of black business representing approximately 2.3 million affiliated and associated enterprises, is accusing the IDC of undermining black…

The rand traded just below R16.00 to the US dollar on Tuesday, hovering at its strongest levels since 2022, as investors positioned ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2026 National Budget. The local currency’s resurgence marks a dramatic turnaround from the weakness seen in late 2025 when it touched levels near R18.50/$, to its current range of roughly R16.00–R16.15/$, a recovery of about 17%. The rebound has been driven by soaring gold and platinum prices, a softer US dollar, easing load shedding and renewed investor confidence under South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU). Markets are now looking to the Budget for confirmation that fiscal consolidation remains on track. Expectations are building that National Treasury will present a faster pace of deficit reduction, a widening primary surplus and stabilising public…

The PayInc Net Salary Index for January released on Tuesday, which tracks the nominal net salaries of an estimated 2.1 million salary earners in South Africa, indicated a marginal increase in January 2026. Economists have had some reservations about the slight increase Shergeran Naidoo, Head of Stakeholder Engagements at PayInc, said that the average nominal salary was R21 506 in January 2026, representing a 2.2% growth from last year’s level. PayInc said that although still early days, the data indicates that the upward trend in net salaries since 2024 has continued into 2026, driven by a gradual improvement in economic activity and the economy’s resilience, despite multiple challenges. “Given the moderate increase in consumer inflation, in real terms, the PayInc Net Salary Index declined by 1.4% compared to a year…

As Parliament opens and the national budget is presented, public debate inevitably focuses on the headline issues: large infrastructure programmes, rail and port performance, market access, and other macroeconomic levers. These are undeniably important to South Africa’s growth prospects. But their sheer scale also creates the impression that only grand, multi-billion-rand interventions can make a difference. In reality, some of the most effective economic reforms are not the largest or most expensive. They are often the practical, well-designed systems that once worked, delivered measurable results, and were later abandoned. A case in point is waste tyre management. As recently as eight years ago, the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA) operated a functional national waste tyre programme. Between 2013 and 2017, it created more than 3,000 jobs…