Pretoria News 2022-10-07

THE PRICE OF petrol in South Africa could remain above R20 a litre for a prolonged period as the global oil supply is set to contract by a significant margin in November. This comes as Opec and its allies (Opec+) agreed on Wednesday to further tighten global crude supply. Opec+ agreed to a deal to reduce oil production by about 2 million barrels per day beginning in November, the largest reduction since 2020. The move is designed to shore up a recovery in oil prices, which had fallen to roughly $80 (R1 420) a barrel from more than $120 per barrel three months ago. As a direct result of the Opec+ decision, the price of Brent crude oil rose above $93 per barrel yesterday having rallied about 10% so…

ESKOM chief executive Andre de Ruyter yesterday announced that next Friday the parastatal is set to sign some land lease agreements to renewable power producers as part of its turn-around strategy. Speaking at the Joburg Indaba yesterday, De Ruyter said there were a couple of other things Eskom has launched. “We are leasing land, close to our power stations with grid access. We were delighted by the first responders, and we will be signing those agreements on the October 14, that’s about 2 000 megawatts. It was three times oversubscribed, by highly capable investors.“ “Why do we lease the land? Why don’t we sell the land? Because we want to retain control. If you don’t use the land to erect renewable generation capacity. We want to kick you…

TRANSNET is taking a hard line on the strike begun by majority labour, the United National Transport Union (Untu), yesterday, as it is expected today to meet with both unions over picketing rules of the protest expected to escalate on Monday, when the South African Transport Workers Union (Satawu) enters the fray. Addressing delegates at the Mining Indaba in Johannesburg yesterday, chief executive Portia Derby insisted that the strike was protected and that Untu in particular had not adhered to all requirements legitimising its rights to strike after negotiations started in May reached a stalemate. “It is an unfortunate moment for the rest of our workers in particular, because as you know, if you are in this room and you are a black person, or there is a black woman…

EMBATTLED parastatal Transnet yesterday outlined its progress to fix its rail and logistics lines for the mining industry and said it has increased its transport of commodities despite unprecedented disruptions related to natural disasters. Recently, a host of companies in the mining industry, and other sectors blamed it for their financial losses due to its inefficiencies in supply chain infrastructure, railway network, cargo trains, and ports. Transnet Ports Terminals yesterday evening declared force majeur due to the current strike. Transnet said the main impediments to rail capacity were the rampant theft and vandalism of infrastructure and equipment, a shortage of locomotives due to the refusal of original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to sell spares to Transnet over the last two years, deteriorating infrastructure, and reduced income as a direct result of…

IT’S A TOUGH time for entrepre- neurs, between interest rate hikes affecting the bottom line and eating into cash flow and fuel price hikes that push the costs of doing business even higher. Add inflation, skills shortages, load shedding, and the onerous administration that’s synonymous with running a small or medium enterprise (SME) in South Africa, and it’s easy to see why the country’s emerging companies need all the support they can get. Business owners need to consider the impact that future interest rate hikes will have on their business, the knock-on effect on their ability to service their debt, and find ways to stay sustainable. Working capital management is a crucial focus for small business leaders during this time when macro-economical factors make for a complex operating environment, with…

PAN AFRICAN Resources has closed its R50 million cash deal to acquire Mogale Gold and Mintails SA Soweto Cluster, both of which are 100% owned by Mintails Mining SA, a company that was placed in provisional liquidation in 2018. Pan African did a feasibility study on the Mogale Gold tailings storage facilities and announced the results demonstrated “compelling economics and the potential to significantly increase group gold production – an increase in excess of 25% compared to current annual production – over an initial life of mine of 13 years. Re-mining of the MSC tailings storage facilities has the potential to add further production upside and extend the life of mine to 21 years. Pan African Resources had secured funding with FirstRand Bank, acting through its Rand Merchant…