The Standing Committee on Appropriations (SCOA), while noting room for improvement, said that it is satisfied with the progress the Employment Creation Facilitation Fund (Jobs Fund) has made thus far. The committee met with the National Treasury Wednesday to be briefed on progress and expenditure with the fund. While commending the Jobs Fund for creating […]
GDP grows by 1.4% in the fourth quarter
The South African economy grew by 0.8 percent in 2018 5 March 2019 South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) soared by 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2018, Statistics South Africa announced on Tuesday. This comes after the GDP increased by 2.6% in the third quarter of 2018. Stats SA’s deputy director-general responsible for economic […]
Belt-tightening at Armscor
defenceWeb – 28 February 2019 State-owned defence and security acquisition agency Armscor will, like the national defence force, have to do more with less judging from National Treasury’s Estimates of National Expenditure (ENEs) for the current financial year. This will, at least in part, have to be accomplished without a permanent chief executive or chairman. […]
ZIMBABWE – Corruption and Incompetence
Eddie Cross, Bulawayo – 26 February 2019 Zimbabweans are incredibly patient and have put up with many failures of the State for many years. But the present shambles in the fuel industry simply goes too far. It is time heads rolled and those responsible punished. Enough is enough. I think it is clear to everyone […]
What a major offshore gas find means for South Africa’s energy future
Many South African politicians, economists and specialists in the energy sector are celebrating the news that a promising show of natural gas has been discovered in deep water south of Mossel Bay. It was found in an offshore prospecting area called Brulpadda (Afrikaans for bullfrog), which is licensed to global energy giant Total. The […]
Why South Africa’s latest plan for state-owned power giant could work
Lauren Hermanus, Research associate, University of Cape Town and Catrina Godinho, Research associate, University of Cape Town South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled a new plan for the country’s beleaguered state owned power utility, Eskom. During his State of the Nation Address on 7 February, Ramaphosa announced that Eskom would be unbundled into “three […]
Total makes significant SA offshore gas discovery
French oil and gas major Total’s South African offshore discovery could contain 1 billion barrels of total resources and is “probably quite big”, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Thursday. 7 February 2019 Total has made a significant gas condensate discovery on the Brulpadda prospects, located on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, 175 kilometers […]
South Africa needs a radical rethink about how it runs its economy
In the present scheme of things, monetary policy tools – such as raising or cutting interest rates – have reached their limit. It is fiscal policy – decisions by National Treasury to increase spending, raise taxes – that requires attention. Matthew Kofi Ocran, Professor of Economics, University of the Western Cape Since South Africa adopted […]
WEF: President Ramaphosa briefs the media
President Cyril Ramaphosa at the WEF Global Press Conference, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland 23 January 2019 Ministers and officials from South Africa, Members of the media, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for this opportunity to brief you on the visit by Team South Africa to Davos 2019 and to offer some views on developments in our […]
World Bank president: list of reforms African states should be demanding
The race is on to see who will replace outgoing World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Danny Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of Pretoria The World Bank will launch the process for selecting the new World Bank President on 7 February. There’s been a great deal of talk […]