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Darlene Creamer

By Darlene Creamer

TARIFF TUG OF WAR: With the official release of Eskom’s allowable revenue application, which confirms that it is indeed seeking a hefty 36% hike next year, all eyes will now turn to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. The upcoming public hearings in November and December are likely to be robust and hostile, particularly for Eskom, which won’t receive much support, if any, even from government.

TARIFF TUG OF WAR

4th October 2024

With the official release of Eskom’s allowable revenue application, which confirms that it is indeed seeking a hefty 36% hike next year, all eyes will now turn to the National Energy Regulator of... 


FISSION AGAIN: Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is the latest government champion of nuclear. He has described opposition to the technology as unscientific and has insisted that South Africa should be gearing up to add more capacity beyond Koeberg. The question that this latest ‘fission expedition’ needs to answer is not the science, however, but rather the hard-nosed technoeconomics.

FISSION AGAIN

27th September 2024

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is the latest government champion of nuclear. He has described opposition to the technology as unscientific and has insisted that South... 


GROWTH RETHINK

GROWTH RETHINK

20th September 2024

A combination of external shocks and internal own goals has left South Africa in a low-growth trap. With the Government of National Unity now prioritising inclusive growth, organised business... 


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WRECKING BALL

13th September 2024

Extortion rackets are in the news, but construction sites have for too long been especially vulnerable to so-called business forums, who greedily distort well-intentioned localisation policies to... 


TARIFF TUSSLE

TARIFF TUSSLE

6th September 2024

South Africans are gearing up for another hostile round of public hearings into Eskom’s revenue application for the coming three financial years. Most of the attention will be on the potential for... 


MAYORAL CHAIRS

MAYORAL CHAIRS

30th August 2024

There has been little public enthusiasm shown following the election of Dada Morero as Johannesburg’s mayor for a second stint. He is the eleventh mayor since 2016 and the city has become the... 


ORANGE SQUEEZE

ORANGE SQUEEZE

23rd August 2024

South Africa has, for the first time, requested the establishment of two dispute panels under the World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement system to review measures affecting the import of... 


ADDED PRESSURE

ADDED PRESSURE

16th August 2024

The world has become a true pressure cooker both geo-politically and in the domain of domestic politics. The deadly drums of war can be heard across several regions, elections are often not only... 




DEMOCRATIC RELAY: Races have not been confined to the Olympic tracks, fields and pools this year, with nearly 100 countries having also held elections. Many of these polls have been highly competitive and unpredictable, including South Africa’s, where no single party secured an outright majority. Without question, the gaze of the world has now turned to the US, which will be holding its tightly fought contest in November and where the stakes for Americans and the rest of the world could not be higher.

DEMOCRATIC RELAY

9th August 2024

Races have not been confined to the Olympic tracks, fields and pools this year, with nearly 100 countries having also held elections. Many of these polls have been highly competitive and... 


CLOSED SHOP

CLOSED SHOP

2nd August 2024

The objection lodged by Eskom’s distribution unit to the issuance of licences to private traders in areas where it currently holds a licence has sent shockwaves through the nascent industry (see... 


NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE: Municipal electricity distributors are facing a perfect storm of rising wholesale electricity tariffs, falling demand from affluent households and businesses that have invested in rooftop generation, aging network infrastructure, skills shortages, electricity theft and a revenue model that does not fully reflect network and service costs. An urgent intervention is required, or power disruptions will continue despite the recent stabilisation of generation.

NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

26th July 2024

Municipal electricity distributors are facing a perfect storm of rising wholesale electricity tariffs, falling demand from affluent households and businesses that have invested in rooftop... 


GROWTH LEVER: There are indications that the Presidency and the National Treasury would like the next phase of Operation Vulindlela to move beyond a focus on binding constraints, such as loadshedding and a collapsing freight logistics network, to growth. The details of how this will be pursued are not yet clear, but it is also possible this ambition could be overwhelmed by emerging binding constraints in areas such as water supply and failing municipal services.

GROWTH LEVER

19th July 2024

There are indications that the Presidency and the National Treasury would like the next phase of Operation Vulindlela to move beyond a focus on binding constraints, such as loadshedding and a... 


CHAIRS AT THE TABLE: South Africa’s government of national unity is unquestionably the best outcome from what was a potentially treacherous political moment. Given the number of issues and interests at stake, it is also no surprise that the number of Ministerial seats at the Cabinet table has increased. It is nevertheless ironic, given that some of those occupying them were among the most vociferous critics of the previous ‘bloated’ Cabinet.

CHAIRS AT THE TABLE

12th July 2024

South Africa’s government of national unity is unquestionably the best outcome from what was a potentially treacherous political moment. Given the number of issues and interests at stake, it is... 


ACTION POTION

ACTION POTION

5th July 2024

To succeed, the government of national unity will be a case of ongoing negotiation and daily give and take. It will be crucial, therefore, that visible progress be made where there is either full... 


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HIGH-WIRE ACT

28th June 2024

The maturity shown by South Africa’s political parties following what was the country’s most competitive elections since the advent of democracy was truly impressive. The fact that a government of... 


PORT PRESSURES

PORT PRESSURES

21st June 2024

The World Bank Port Index, which ranked South African ports near to the bottom of the global pile, is backward-looking and is, thus, not fully reflective of recent efforts made to address... 


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COALITION ANGST

14th June 2024

Coalitions were always the most likely scenario for a country that selects political representatives using a system based on proportional representation. Nevertheless, actually moving from a... 


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TARIFF THREAT

7th June 2024

The reforms under way in the freight rail sector are advancing at an impressive clip and should soon open the system to new private operators. However, there are warnings of a prohibitively high... 


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AFTER THE STORM

31st May 2024

The election storm, which has just past, carried with it developments that were at times entertaining, at times revealing and at times downright disconcerting. Now that it has passed, attention... 




DEVASTATING: The deadly collapse of a building in George while under construction is simply devastating for the families of the workers who perished. It has also raised a number of questions about the state – including the state of safety – of South Africa’s building and construction industry. The industry today is almost unrecognisable from what it was before so many of the country’s listed building majors either closed due to financial distress or exited the sector.

DEVASTATING

24th May 2024

The deadly collapse of a building in George while under construction is simply devastating for the families of the workers who perished. It has also raised a number of questions about the state –... 


THE OTHER POLL

THE OTHER POLL

17th May 2024

There has been much discussion about South Africa’s attractiveness to investors following BHP’s bid for Anglo American’s non-South African assets and confirmation that Shell will be disinvesting... 


HEAT IS ON

HEAT IS ON

10th May 2024

Reaction to BHP’s bid price for Anglo American may be cool, but it has definitely ignited renewed interest in mega mining mergers. It has also brought to the fore the importance of copper to the... 


COALITION MATHS: With the polls suggesting that the African National Congress is unlikely to secure an outright majority in this year’s election, much attention is being given to coalition politics. While this is arguably an inevitable outcome of our proportional-representation system, many voters are rightfully concerned, given the poor performance of many municipal coalitions.

COALITION MATHS

3rd May 2024

With the polls suggesting that the African National Congress is unlikely to secure an outright majority in this year’s election, much attention is being given to coalition politics. While this is... 


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STILL FLYING

26th April 2024

Years of State capture, corruption and ongoing crime and violence have left deep scars and have taken most of the gloss of any celebrations marking 30 years of democracy. Nevertheless, South Africa... 


The storms that lashed the Cape earlier this month caused devastating damage, with many still picking up the pieces. One can only hope that the coming election storm is far more benign, but some of the pre-election rhetoric is cause for concern, while some pre-election coalition pacts seem to be facing real headwinds.

STORM WARNING:

19th April 2024

The storms that lashed the Cape earlier this month caused devastating damage, with many still picking up the pieces. One can only hope that the coming election storm is far more benign, but some of... 


UNDERWHELMED: While voters will receive three quite different looking ballots on May 29, this seeming increase in choice is not necessarily translating into greater excitement. Yes, some independents will feature for the first time and, yes, there are some interesting new parties. But with some form of coalition likely, voter enthusiasm has been dampened by the poor performance of such arrangements at the municipal level. Before treating the day as a day off, however, South Africans would do well to remember the sacrifices made to ensure that all adult citizens have the right to vote.

UNDERWHELMED

12th April 2024

While voters will receive three quite different looking ballots on May 29, this seeming increase in choice is not necessarily translating into greater excitement. Yes, some independents will... 


SHOCKING: As expected, stakeholder responses to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s gas-heavy Integrated Resource Plan 2023 has been far from complementary. While still a draft, some commentators believe it should simply be recalled, given its outlandish assumptions, lack of transparency and utter failure to craft a credible response to ongoing loadshedding.

SHOCKING

5th April 2024

As expected, stakeholder responses to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s gas-heavy Integrated Resource Plan 2023 has been far from complementary. While still a draft, some... 


WATER WORRIES: Gauteng’s three metropolitan councils are now failing regularly to ensure that their residents and businesses have a constant supply of water. The massive outages in March brought to the fore not only the poor state of the province’s water infrastructure, which is prone to leaks, but also worrying capacity problems at Rand Water, both physical and human – epitomised for many by that notorious “closed valve” that prevented vital water flows for days on end.

WATER WORRIES

29th March 2024

Gauteng’s three metropolitan councils are now failing regularly to ensure that their residents and businesses have a constant supply of water. The massive outages in March brought to the fore not... 


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EXTREME PRESSURE

22nd March 2024

The Competition Commission’s Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry has thrown some light on the existential crisis being faced by South Africa’s media. Part of the problem lies in the weak... 




GAS CLIFF: Warnings of a gas day zero in 2026 are alarming, but not new. There has, however, been very little progress on possible remedies. Disputes over gas pricing have arguably made cooperation difficult, but that is what is desperately needed. All eyes are now on the government-led task team set up to develop a joint strategy and whether that strategy will be sufficient to ensure a so-called seamless transition to non-Sasol gas.

GAS CLIFF

15th March 2024

Warnings of a gas day zero in 2026 are alarming, but not new. There has however, been very little progress on possible remedies. Disputes over gas pricing have arguably made cooperation difficult,... 


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LOADSHEDDING GRIEF

8th March 2024

There is grave peril in forecasting any improvement to the loadshedding outlook, as President Cyril Ramaphosa found recently when Eskom declare Stage 6 days after he suggested in his State of the... 


OWN GOALS: The 2024 Budget has, once again, highlighted what happens when government scores one own goal after another. True, there have been some disruptive external shocks, most recently the Covid lockdowns and the energy shock associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, far too many of the current fiscal problems stem from doing the wrong thing consistently over a long period of time. Turning the crisis around requires more than the penalty-saving heroics of our Bafana Bafana keeper.

OWN GOALS

1st March 2024

The 2024 Budget has, once again, highlighted what happens when government scores one own goal after another. True, there have been some disruptive external shocks, most recently the Covid lockdowns... 


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HANGING ON

23rd February 2024

HANGING ON: There was a near audible sigh of relief when ArcelorMittal South Africa announced a six-month deferral to its plan to close its loss-making long-products business. While the group sees... 


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BUDGETARY MAZE

16th February 2024

It is now almost impossible to remember a time when commentators were not describing the South African Budget as the most difficult ever for a post-apartheid Finance Minister to navigate. Given... 


ADDING CAPACITY

ADDING CAPACITY

9th February 2024

Concerns over under-investment into South Africa’s electricity grid have come to the fore strongly in recent years, with the lack of connection capacity having already prevented the construction of... 


ADMINISTRATIVE KNOT: The continued growth and development of South Africa’s mining industry is stated policy. Sustaining the sector’s jobs, tax and export contribution requires ongoing exploration and development. This, to replenish resources and reserves ahead of the rate of depletion and to create new sources of production. Doing so, particularly in a highly regulated setting, requires clear and efficient administration of exploration and mining rights. Currently, the system is so broken there is a real risk of the industry’s lifeblood being cut off.

ADMINISTRATIVE KNOT

2nd February 2024

The continued growth and development of South Africa’s mining industry is stated policy. Sustaining the sector’s jobs, tax and export contribution requires ongoing exploration and development.... 


THE WORLD VOTES

THE WORLD VOTES

26th January 2024

Countries making up over 60% of the world's economic output and more than half of its population hold elections this year, including South Africa. While this should be a sign that democracy is... 


LONG SHADOW

LONG SHADOW

19th January 2024

It is difficult to argue against the principles underpinning the National Health Insurance Bill, approved by lawmakers late last year. As with all legislative interventions, however, the devil is... 


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NOWHERE TO HIDE

15th December 2023

2023 has been a difficult year for South Africans. Besides being the worst-ever year yet for growth-sapping and jobs-destroying loadshedding, the years of corruption and mismanagement at Transnet... 


The most recent bout of Stage 6 loadshedding by Eskom was not only a reminder that South Africa is far away from truly tackling the scourge, with the current focus on fixing Eskom in preference to adding new capacity proving itself, yet again, to be a high-risk strategy. It was also a tipping point for the country’s mood, which lifted slightly during the relative electricity stability that accompanied the Springboks’ World Cup triumph – an unhappy mood shift from pure joy to deep-seated anger.

GRIEF & ANGER

8th December 2023

The most recent bout of Stage 6 loadshedding by Eskom was not only a reminder that South Africa is far away from truly tackling the scourge, with the current focus on fixing Eskom in preference to... 


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COSTLY CONGESTION

1st December 2023

The pile-up of ships outside South African ports is a costly reminder of the risks associated with mismanagement and corruption at a State-owned monopoly. Some vessels have been left at anchorage... 


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