Cape Times 2023-05-02

SOUTH African workers have not backed down from demanding a bigger slice in ongoing wage negotiations to make up for the shortfall on their paycheques on the back of escalating cost of living, elevated levels of unemployment and economic recession. The country commemorated the workers’ May Day yesterday with rallies across the country’s major cities attended by thousands of workers who have grown despondent by the prevailing economic climate. This comes as the Independent Commission on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers recommended that all Political Office Bearers should get a 3.8% salary increase, a decision that has incensed unions. The workers unions have slammed the government’s persistence with “neo-liberal macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policies”, saying these policies have left many living lives of brute survival. The Congress of SA…

AS SOUTH Africa commemorated workers’ May Day yesterday, youth-focused organisations highlighted how the country’s young people are struggling to secure jobs. They also highlighted the importance of support skills development and placement initiatives, as well as entrepreneurship. Young people aged 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 are the most vulnerable in the South African labour market today, with the unemployment rate in these age groups reaching 61% and 39.9%, respectively, last year, according to Afrika Tikkun Services. The Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment advisory, recruitment, training and placement company's chief executive, Onyi Nwaneri, said this staggeringly high unemployment rate should be cause for grave concern. “Not only are young people excluded from participating in the labour market, denying them their right to work towards income security, they are…

THE GOVERNMENT has called on South Africans to use electricity sparingly, especially during periods of high energy consumption, typically from 5pm to 9pm, as part of demand-side management (DSM) initiatives. The call comes after last week’s Cabinet meeting which discussed, among others, tools to help the crisis-stricken power utility reduce power cuts. Demand-side energy management measures have proved effective in reducing peak demand and promoting energy conservation. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the DSM target was to save about 1 000MW of power, equivalent to about one stage of load shedding. She said the country had demonstrated this was possible during the 2010 World Cup. Lowering consumption reduced pressure on the electricity grid and saved households money, without affecting business productivity or quality of life, she said.…

INDUSTRIALS Reit (real estate investment trust) the owner of multi-let industrial parks in the UK, saw 4.8% growth in passing rents buoyed by strong tenant demand, the London- and JSE-listed group said in its fourth-quarter trading statement on Friday. The group recently received a 168 pence (almost R38.60) cash all-share offer from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset management firm with $975 billion (R17.8 trillion) of assets under management. The offer is still subject to shareholder approval. The share price closed at R37.70 on the JSE on Friday, and was 167p on the London Stock Exchange in the morning, with the premium between the Blackstone offer and the share price narrowing sharply this month after the offer was received. CEO Paul Arenson said that from January 1…

BELL EQUIPMENT is investigating making more of its trucks at its German factory, sourcing fabrications from outside South Africa, and installing a grid-tied solar system for its Richards Bay factory to cope with load shedding, according to the company’s chairperson, Gary Bell, and its CEO, Leon Goosen. Writing in the 2022 annual report that was released on Friday, they said it was expected that South Africa would experience between 200 and 250 days of load shedding in 2023, predominantly at stage 4. “Eskom’s long-term implementation of extended load shedding in 2022 had far-reaching effects on the group, our local suppliers, and customers. Besides the disruptive impact on business, the mitigation action of running generators significantly increased the cost of doing business. Power interruptions and changeovers also increase the risk of…

DIGITAL gold tokens being introduced by Zimbabwe on May 8 can be used as a means of payment and a store of value, according to the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s economy has im- ploded, with its currency tail spinning by more than 70% in the past week. Shortages of foreign currency have worsened the country’s monetary crisis, and worsened inflation. The Zimbabwean central bank is now introducing a new currency – gold backed digital tokens – that will ultimately be used for transaction settlements and other payments. The central bank hopes this will help fight inflation and incessant value losses by its unit of exchange, the Zimbabwe dollar, by mopping up excess liquidity. The Zimbabwean digital tokens, which the central bank says will be “backed by…