Pretoria News 2022-10-31

THERE is one thing the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other agriculture organisations agree on – if Tongaat Hullet’s business rescue fails, it will have dire consequences for South Africa. The success of the business rescue is vital to ensure farmer livelihoods, thousands of jobs, food security, the sugar sector, and stability in KwaZulu-Natal. Failure would also have economic ramifications for the whole South Africa. This is what stakeholders had to say: If Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue failed the Sugar Master Plan could be derailed, South Africa could experience an influx of imports leading to an estimated 700 000 jobs being lost. This would make the local market less competitive, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents approximately 3 000 businesses, said on Friday. “As…

A REVIEW of the strategic stock policy amid a changing industry landscape is needed, says Muzi Mkhize, the National Energy Regulator of SA’s full-time member primarily responsible for the petroleum pipeline, who spoke to Business Report on Friday. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy insisted last week that there was no imminent shortage of liquid fuel in South Africa. This followed the Liquid Fuels Wholesalers Association warning this month that if South Africa did not implement the Moerane Report recommendation of 2006, which said that 90 days’ strategic stock should be maintained in the country, South Africa might face “fuel shedding in the future”. Mkhize clarified on Friday that the department had implemented the Moerane Report’s 2006 recommendations, albeit in a limited manner and capacity. He said the Moerane…

THE INTERIM pre-tax operating loss in JSE-listed natural gas producer Renergen worsened by 9.9% to R30 million for the half year period to the end of August, dragging down its share performance by nearly 5% to R25 on Friday despite its transition from an explorer to a producer of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). The higher operating loss for Renergen for the period under review came against the backdrop of flat revenue generation at R1.2 billion. The interim headline loss per share for the period widened by 8.3% to 19.31 cents per share. Investors on the JSE responded to this negatively, with shares in Renergen shedding off 4.89% to close Friday’s trade session on the JSE at R25.67 per share. Although higher cash balances and higher interest rates…

Power utility needs R72bn in the next 5 years to upgrade high voltage lines ESKOM’S quest for a R72 billion injection over the next five years to upgrade more than 2 890km of extra high voltage lines and 60 transformers may hit a snag as the power utility does not inspire the confidence of international funders. Eskom’s Managing Director for Transmission, Segomoco Scheppers said on Friday the entity is placing a strong focus on the implementation of these projects over the next five years. “The analysis carried out reflects a requirement of approximately R72.2bn will be required to expand and strengthen the transmission grid over the next five years,” he said. Scheppers said: “This requires that some challenges beyond Eskom’s full control, such as the lead time to…

IN A WEEEK of drama on the political front, both domestically and in Hong Kong, financial markets were uncertain and volatile, and could not share in the strong recovery on Wall Street. Domestically, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his second Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). The Department of Finance is expecting that that local gross domestic product (GDP) will grow at 1.9% this year, lower than the estimate of 2.1% during the main budget. Over the next three years, the economy is expected to grow at an average of 1.6% Godongwana said: “This level of growth is too low to support our developmental goals. Accordingly, we must take action to put our economy on a higher growth trajectory.” The minister announced a policy framework that differs considerably from the one…

Whether it’s kale, fitness fads, or creative new ways to reduce weight, there are always a variety of food and beverage trends happening throughout the world. We’ve never heard of “weight loss sunglasses”, one of the strangest trends, which originated in Japan. Everyone has heard the joke about the person who is overweight being on a “see food” diet. Well, a Japanese company by the name of Yumetai appears to have given the issue some serious thought as they have developed “dieter’s sunglasses” with dark blue lenses that, well, make the food you’re eating look horrible. The lenses of these sunglasses are blue for a very good reason, according to science: blue serves to relax the brain's centre for appetite. In essence, these weight loss sunglasses are said to aid…