There has been an important, yet largely overlooked, shift in South Africa’s approach to meeting its goal of providing universal electricity access by 2030. A proposed revision to the delivery... 

The idiom ‘one step forward, two steps back’ has surely arisen in the minds of those who have been monitoring developments in the electricity industry over the recent past. It is undeniable that... 

There are worrying signs that the economic reforms under way in the electricity sector are stalling, or are even facing active resistance. Arguably, this development is predictable given the... 

A picture has started to emerge of the potential economic fallout of America’s existing, as well as potentially imminent, tariffs on South African goods. Recent econometric modelling has helped to... 

The decision by US President Donald Trump to implement ‘reciprocal tariffs’ of 30% on those South African goods not specifically exempted or subject to sector-specific duties is a major blow... 

South Africa’s recent trade policy interventions have been nowhere near as attention grabbing as President Donald Trump’s April 2 Rose Garden performance that included a giant cardboard chart... 

One of the marvels of the post-Covid era is the ongoing ability to participate in live events that are many miles away. Although technology fails from time to time, there are several government... 

Memories of that ‘dim-the-lights’ Oval Office ambush have been enveloped in a fog of billionaire-bro brawls, immigrant raids and protests, the militarisation of law enforcement, vaccine-committee... 

Few would argue that South Africa’s procurement of electricity generation capacity from independent power producers (IPPs) is one of the country’s very few public procurement success stories. But... 

The fact that it takes an exceedingly long time in South Africa for policy decisions to be made let alone implemented is something of a doubled-edged sword. On the positive side, it can sometimes... 

If there were but one lesson to draw from the 2025 Budget, it must be that inadequate consultation seriously reduces the chances of navigating the new normal of coalition governance. To their... 

In a world turned upside down by the performative antics of US President Donald Trump, it is easy to lose one’s bearings and one’s cool. And while the South Africans that entered the White House... 

Updating South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity has always been a perilous endeavour. Despite various attempts, it took nearly ten years for the 2010 edition to be updated,... 

The announcement by Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa that the load factor for proposed gas-to-power (GtP) plants in South Africa will be increased from 25% to above 50% was... 

The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) has initiated two major tariff reviews that could have significant implications for the country’s existing real-economy... 

The full implications for South Africa of US President Donald Trump’s untargeted trade and industrial policies are not yet fully known. They are unlikely to be pain-free, however. Besides for the... 

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has outlined the case for why the State-owned utility will be entering the renewable-energy space more assertively over the coming months and years, as well as how the group... 

Methodical progress is being made ahead of the launch, later this year, of South Africa’s inaugural procurement of independent transmission projects (ITPs). Following a market-sounding exercise... 

There’s some concern that government is delaying the inevitable, after more support was extended to ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) to facilitate a six-month pause of the shutdown of its longs... 

Developments in those transport sectors hitherto dominated by Transnet reflect not only a belated acknowledgement of South Africa’s fiscal predicament, but also a growing awareness of the risk... 

There are arguably three ways to view recent developments around South Africa’s Budget process. The first, is to lament. 

Listening recently to a live rendition of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as South Africa descended into yet another unwelcome bout of loadshedding, it did not require much imagination to compare... 

US President Donald Trump’s recently published trade policy agenda leaves absolutely no room for nuance. Not even the tiniest crack has been left to allow light to be shed on the possible... 

The perils associated with assigning shareholder responsibilities for State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that previously fell under the Department of Public Enterprises to line ministries can no longer... 

Absent that dreaded black sharpie, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana (consciously or unconsciously) engaged in a manoeuvre last week that bore more than a passing resemblance to the performative... 

Amid much hand wringing over President Donald Trump’s hostility towards South Africa, some clear-eyed analysis has emerged confirming that Trump’s enmity has not been triggered only by the new... 

In normal times, the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) would be the dominant political event in South Africa during the week of its delivery. These are far from normal times, however, so the SoNA... 

Recent developments in South Africa’s electricity market point to there being growing, albeit still nascent, momentum behind the country’s energy transition. They also suggest that the transition... 

Be it apartheid, State capture or even the government of national unity, South Africans know firsthand the importance and influence of politics on all aspects of life. There is a strong... 

There is every reason to expect that 2025 will be a year of disruption. It’s an expectation informed largely by the reality of widespread national political rupture, epitomised by the return of... 

News that the struggling Newcastle Works will close at the end of this month is yet another painful reminder of South Africa’s ongoing deindustrialisation. The development itself is not surprising,... 

Trade and industrial policy will play a more prominent and potentially more destabilising role given that President-elect Donald Trump has signalled his intention to leverage tariffs as part of his...