Inhoudsopgave van 2023-07-19 - Star

Intensified energy crisis, slowing global economic activity weighs on local economy FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana might have to concede to revising South Africa’s growth forecast for 2023 lower in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in October on the back of intensified energy crisis, which is exacerbated by slowing global economic activity. This comes after Fitch Ratings slashed South Africa’s gross domestic product growth forecast for 2023 to zero, saying the severe power shortages in recent months were likely to weigh heavily on growth. The ratings agency has become the first to firmly pronounce that South Africa’s economy will not grow at all this year, even when the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) is hoping for a slightly higher growth of 0.3%, though load shedding is expected to deduct 2 percentage…

META IS RELEASING a commercial version of its open-source artificial intelligence model Llama, the company said yesterday, giving start-ups and other businesses a powerful free-of-charge alternative to pricey proprietary models sold by OpenAI and Google. The new version of the model, called Llama 2, will be distributed by Microsoft through its Azure cloud service and will run on the Windows operating system, Meta said in a blog post, referring to Microsoft as “our preferred partner” for the release. The model, which Meta previously provided only to select academics for research purposes, also will be made available via direct download and through Amazon Web Services, Hugging Face and other providers, according to the blog post and a separate Facebook post by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Open source drives innovation because it…

DESPITE an improvement in electri- city supply, Strive Masiyiwa’s Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe is facing difficulties raising the $135 million (R2.4 billion) it requires in capital expenditure over the next 12 months as a result of a non-supportive tariff regime, currency depreciation and rampaging inflation. In the quarter to the end of May, Econet recorded a 30% rise in voice revenues and a 31% rise in data revenues, largely attributed to improved network availability after the Zimbabwean State power utility declared an end to load shedding. The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has upgraded the Hwange power station unit 7, adding 300MW of power to the national grid, and resulting in an improvement of power supply and “network availability” for telecom operators. This yielded a 137% firming in revenues in…

The negative sentiments and biased arguments devoid of real facts on the ground if not unwarranted, and attacks on the South African nuclear industry by the Greenies and those against nuclear power are baseless. Real evidence of what is happening in both the developed Western Economies and developing World Economies point to the contrary. Leading economies in the world are including nuclear power in their Net Zero Carbon Emissions by year 2050 targets. The snapshots below highlight the nuclear power activities in some of the developed countries and developing leading economies. Current global trends in new nuclear programmes involving Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Large-Scale Reactors: Countries such as US, Canada, Western Europe, United Kingdom, India, China and Middle East are leading programmes for the commercialisation of both large-scale nuclear…

R135 billion. This is the amount of solar panels (R31bn), lithium-ion batteries (R22 million), wind turbines (R30bn) and inverters (R52bn) imported by South Africa over the 2010 to 2022 period. Yet South Africa has noteworthy manufacturing capabilities in the renewable energy and battery storage value chains. And market demand is booming. This points to a key industrial development opportunity for the country – the kind that only presents itself once in a century or so. To date, the development of South Africa’s industrial capacity in renew- able energy and battery storage has been stifled by a series of challenges. Market demand has historically been concentrated almost entirely on the Renew- able Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, the country’s public procurement of utility-scale generation capacity. Since 2015, the stop-start…

One of the greatest joys of attending the National Arts Festival is the opportunity to witness some of the country’s best productions in their earliest stages. The festival serves as a platform for emerging and established creatives to showcase their works and receive audience feedback. I was privileged to be part of the first group to experience the art of storytelling in the captivating theatre production Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater, during the 2022 National Arts Festival, in Makhanda. The production is testament to the power of theatre and its ability to transport audiences into different worlds and provoke deep emotions and reflections. And this is the trance-like state we left with after watching the show at the Rhodes Box auditorium. Isidlamlilo//The Fire Eater is a mesmerising theatrical thriller that follows the…

Convicted sex trafficker Gerhard Ackerman suffers from a “pervasive paedophilic disorder”, which means the sex ring leader who sold boys to his moneyed clients cannot be rehabilitated. These are the words of clinical psychologist Colonel Kirsten Clarke during convicted sex and child porn ring leader Ackerman’s sentencing before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. Ackerman, who ran a sex and porn ring against young boys, appeared for the resumption of his sentencing yesterday. State prosecutor advocate Valencia Dube argued for the maximum possible sentence to be imposed against Ackerman, who was charged with 700 rape, attempted murder, porn and child trafficking counts. Dube also dismissed Ackerman’s psychological report, which was meant to give an account of the sex trafficker’s state of mind, saying the report, which was instrumental in the…

DESPITE all the gloom and doom of load shedding and Rand Water supply challenges, Mandela Day presents an opportunity to celebrate the work ordinary South Africans do to uplift the lives of underprivileged communities. This was said by Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, who took time out from his busy schedule yesterday to celebrate the day by planting 67 spekboom plants at the Walter Sisulu Environmental Centre in Mamelodi. He applauded the selfless work done by the centre and also talked to learners about the importance of preserving the environment. Later in the day, Brink made a second stop at Pat-rico old age home based in Hammanskraal township and looking after more than 100 elderly people. There, he led stakeholders to hand over a few items, which included groceries, to assist…

Dr SULTAN Al Jaber, the president-designate of COP28, has called on world leaders to start delivering on climate finance reform and accelerate the development of technology that will mitigate climate change. COP28 will be held in the United Arab Emirates between November 30 and December 12. The conference which will be hosted at Dubai’s Expo City is expected to draw more than 70 000 delegates from across the world and deliver the first-ever Global Stocktake - a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals. Speaking in Britain during the recent London Climate Week, Al Jaber said money was not flowing to the places that need it most. “Less than 2 percent of the $1.5 trillion of clean tech finance was invested in vulnerable and low-income countries across the Global South.…

The Constitutional Court never ceases to amaze. Our learned justices, when it suits them, elect to excuse themselves from the duty to give decisions with direct injunction. Sometimes they concoct a lacuna to weave ambiguities into a ruling with the intent to somersault on their misjudgements. In the same way, they stumble for imposing their own subjective prejudices and then hide behind a judicial discretion that doesn’t serve to redress the balance or promote equity and justice. When “Please Call Me” service proponent, Nkosana Makate, sought a fair and just compensation from the mobile network operator Vodacom, the court opted not to arbitrate in the duel. Instead, it asked Vodacom to make its own determination without a return date to the court for adjudication. Apart from exacerbating the hardship and…

NESTLÉ South Africa has announced its R79 million investment in localising the production of Nescafé coffee mixes, marking a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to meeting local market needs and supporting economic development. The Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate inaugurated the coffee mixes manufac- turing plant in Babelegi, Hammans- kraal, yesterday, showcasing dedica- tion to employment creation, community upliftment and economic development. The coffee mixes that will be produced at the plant are the Nescafé Gold range, which includes Cappuc- cino Original, Cappuccino Original Reduced Sugar, Cappuccino Salted Caramel Latte, Cappuccino Vanilla Latte, Cappuccino Hazelnut Latte, and Cappuccino White Chocolate, and Nescafé Ricoffy 3-in-1. Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region business executive officer for coffee and beverages, Carl Khoury, said they were excited at opening…

SOUTH Africa could boost coal shipments to ports after last year’s record decline if it secured locomotives that were idled following a dispute with a key Chinese supplier, the State-owned rail and ports operator said yesterday. Transnet Freight Rail CEO Sizakele Mzimela said resolving an impasse with China’s CRRC E-Loco could help it ramp up shipments to about 81 million tons of the fuel to ports. South Africa’s shipments fell to about 50 million tons last year, the lowest on record, as a workers’ strike, floods, cable thefts and vandalism of vital infrastructure plagued Transnet’s operations. The lack of locomotives means Transnet is failing to move 18.5 million tons of coal per year, Mzimela said. This has forced producers such as Thungela Resources, the nation’s largest shipper of thermal coal,…

THE DRAFT South African Renew- able Energy Master Plan (Sarem) has drawn a mixed response after it was released by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) late on Monday. Over the past 18 months, the DMRE, working with industry stakeholders, experts, labour, and other government departments, produced the Sarem which articulates a vision, objectives, and an action plan for South Africa to tap into opportunities linked to the booming market for renewable energy and battery storage technologies, both domestically and globally, it said in a statement. It called on stakeholders to review and provide comments on Sarem by July 31. The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) said in a statement yesterday the proposed master plan supported its…

JUST ON THE eve of the 30th week of the year, Eskom suddenly lost in excess of 5 000MW in power plant units. Well, there should be a logical reason as to why there was a sudden drop in the Electricity Availability Factor (EAF) and plant failure. But to lose 5 000MW overnight is not a norm in the energy sector. Ever since the newly-appointed Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, took over, we have witnessed a significant reduction in load shedding from stage 6 plus to lesser stages. He has been at battle to ensure that more power units are brought back into operation. He battled for weeks to add a further 10% improvement on the EAF and power plants’ performance over his short tenure. When…

NEARLY half of the projects awarded under the re-launch of South Africa’s renewable power purchase programme have failed, two government sources told Reuters, undermining plans to use wind and solar to ease the nation’s power crisis. Regular breakdowns at State power utility Eskom’s ageing coal-fired plants mean the continent’s most developed economy faces daily planned power cuts. President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the country needs to fill a 4 000 to 6 000MW electricity production deficit. Following a six-year hiatus, South Africa held a bidding round in 2021 for wind and solar projects that attracted aggressive proposals from more than 100 firms and consortia. “We had celebrated when the tariffs in the fifth renewable round were announced,’’ said one top government official directly involved in the renewables programme.…

Apple Music Live is set to debut global superstar Burna Boy’s performance at the London Stadium. The concert, which marked the first time an African artist headlined a stadium show, was held on June 3 and will be available to stream on Apple Music Live today, at 12pm. The London Stadium show precedes the singer’s recent triumph as the first African artist to sell out a stadium show in the United States, filling 41 000 seats on July 8 at New York’s Citi Field Stadium. In April, the Nigerian also sold out Madison Square Garden with over 30 000 tickets purchased. Apple Music Live is a live performance series that gives the biggest stars in music a stage to connect with audiences around the world. So far, the series has…

THE husband of a woman who claimed that Rivers of Living Waters Church leader Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo “shoved his private part” into her mouth, testified that when he confronted Zondo, he was so arrogant that he and his wife decided to leave the church. The man, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of his wife, took the stand in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, this week. The man said his wife told him on December 24, 2018, about what had happened to her while she was praying with Zondo in his office at the church. He and his wife then confronted Zondo about this in March the following year. He told the court that Zondo’s “arrogance” regarding the matter finally caused them to “part ways”. Yesterday, the…

THE Bloemfontein High Court has dismissed, with costs, Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s application for leave to appeal her arrest. Yesterday, Judge Philip Loubser upheld the high court ruling on Magudumana’s arrest, meaning she is denied permission to appeal a ruling declaring her arrest illegal. “The version that the applicant had consented to the disguised extradition process nor is it her version that she had actually consented to anything that was taking place at the time. It is simply their version: they wanted her to return to South Africa with her children. “This was proof of her consent, in my view. The other cases referred to are therefore distinguishable from the present case,” said Judge Loubser. He disagreed with the applicant’s contention that the Supreme Court of Appeal should be allowed to…

Team South Africa had just six finalists in last year’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, as well as two athletes in the men’s marathon. Of course, there were no medals earned by the 38-strong team across 26 events, but that could change in the upcoming edition in Budapest, Hungary, next month. That is largely due to the form of two superstars, Wayde van Niekerk and Akani Simbine, over the last few months, although there have been improvements from other SA athletes too. Van Niekerk’s sensational victory at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, Poland, on Sunday was one to remember, and underlined the fact that the 400m world record-holder is back to his best from his pre-knee injury days in 2017. Having celebrated his 31st birthday on Saturday, Van…

STEEL-MAKER ArcelorMittal’s share price plummeted more than 35% on the JSE yesterday, after it forecast a massive 114% to 177% decline to a headline loss per share for the six months to June 30. The group said in a trading statement yesterday that its trading and markets during the six months had suffered from load shedding, high inflation and interest rates, and negative growth in key steel consuming sectors such as manufacturing, automotives, mining and construction, which affected already fragile consumer confidence. The share closed 42.69% lower at R2 on the JSE yesterday. The poor trading statement followed the surprise “with immediate effect” resignation of the group’s chief financial officer, Siphamandla Mthethwa, for “personal reasons” just the previous day. Gavin Griffiths, the Chief Strategy Officer was appointed to act as…

INDLUPLACE Properties, the first resi- dential property focused Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) to list on the JSE’s Main Board in 2015, will pay a clean-out distribution of 7.7356 cents per share on July 31, ahead of its delisting. SA Corporate Real Estate Limited and Indluplace said in a joint statement yesterday that, all conditions precedent for the scheme of arrangement for SA Corporate to acquire the entire share capital of Indluplace had been met. Indluplace owns more than 9 000 residential apartments in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. SA Corporate’s portfolio consists of 157 industrial, retail and residential properties, with 1 350 666 square metres of gross lettable area valued at R15.2 billion, a 50% joint venture interest in three Zambian entities…

MINING CEOs yesterday showed support for ailing power utility Eskom and said while load shedding was a concern, they were optimistic about the future. Speaking at the Coal and Energy Transition day held in Johannesburg yesterday, the 91% black-owned and controlled Seriti Resources CEO Mike Teke said what was happening in the country concerned him. He said State-owned enterprises were facing challenges and that the list was endless. “If you’re a citizen of a country, you want everything in your country to function without any problems. Reality is the day Eskom collapses completely. Then we are in trouble. “Where I stand as Seriti, we collaborate with partners, and we aim to assist Eskom. I want to make sure that the power stations that I supply coal to, I do…

Public Protector’s husband, David Skosana, takes on ANC secretary-general SUSPENDED Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s husband, David Skosana, has called out ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, calling him a “moron” and a “lunatic”. Skosana also referred to Mbalula as a “nothing” and as a person who lacks manners while challenging him to face him if he wanted to “make things personal”. Skosana was speaking at a media briefing hosted by the National Press Club in Pretoria yesterday. It was meant to give the suspended public protector an audience regarding the Section 194 proceedings and the Constitutional Court judgment that ruled against her. The apex court ruled that there were no malice intentions in President Cyril Ramaphosa suspending her, making her suspension valid. Mkhwebane and her husband are accusing Mbalula of meddling…

The leadership at Eskom has severed yet another executive after the departure of Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter. Former Eskom Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer has resigned from the power utility. Eskom stated that Oberholzer was on a fixed-term contract to provide support to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station long-term operation and Kusile Power Station projects. “Eskom expresses gratitude to Mr Jan Oberholzer for his dedicated service, expertise and valuable contributions during his tenure. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” read the statement. The trade union organisation Solidarity said that they were dismayed to learn about Oberholzer’s departure from Eskom after years of selfless service in extremely difficult conditions. As the former COO, Oberholzer’s tenure of 30 years ended in April. However, he has…

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s confidential affidavit, which has now been made public after the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, ordered that it be done, has revealed that South Africa told the International Criminal Court that it had issues in executing the warrant of arrest for President Vladimir Putin, and it cannot risk South Africa going to war with Russia. Yesterday, the high court ordered the release of Ramaphosa’s confidential affidavit he filed in response to the DA’s application calling for Putin’s arrest if he arrived in South Africa for the BRICS Summit in August. Ramaphosa told the court that the DA’s application was “completely incompetent and neither just nor equitable”. In his affidavit, Ramaphosa said the DA acknowledged that the obligation to arrest and surrender Putin would only arise “if” he came…

THE majority of South Africans are today poorer than they were during the apartheid regime. This was a view of ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, during an entrepreneur seminar with students at Tshwane University of Technology in Ga-Rankuwa campus yesterday. He recalled that in the 70s and 80s the-then South Africa used to be short of manpower and that apartheid government would arrest people who were idle and not working. “Today it hurts me deeply. When I go to every township, to every village (and) to every informal settlement, 12 million South Africans are unemployed,” he said. Mashaba also recounted a story of his humble beginnings captured in his book called, Black Like Me. He used to live in a two-room shack with his family, lost his father at the age…

Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Pholetsi Moseki has stressed that the Proteas’ Test tour of New Zealand next year will “under no circumstances” be cancelled due to the pending clash with the Betway SA20. The New Zealand Cricket Association released their home schedule yesterday, which has the Proteas playing a three-day warm-up match in late January, before two Test matches against the Black Caps from February 4 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and February 13 at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Both Test matches form part of the new World Test Championship cycle. The tour, however, falls directly in the window that has been allocated for South Africa’s premier T20 franchise tournament. CSA set a precedent last season when the Proteas returned home after the Sydney New Year’s Test…