Gauteng is the next potential Day Zero region in South Africa if it is hit by another drought, according to Mike Muller, adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance. Speaking at the Agri SA Water Symposium in Somerset West on Monday, he said a report on what to do to avoid Day Zero in Gauteng was already brought to the attention of authorities in the province a year ago. Prioritise farming “The Cape Town water crisis showed agriculture’s importance for the regional economy. Society recognised this…
Read MoreDay: Aug 28, 2019
SA will rely on coal for decades, key miner says
Seriti Resources, poised to become Africa’s second biggest coal producer, is betting that South Africa will rely on coal for decades even as Africa’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases implements carbon taxes and is under pressure to improve air quality. The most-industrialised economy on the continent will soon release an energy blueprint to outline the sources it will get its power from in the future. The carbon tax, designed to incentivise a move away from the coal that accounts for almost all power generation, could eventually cost state-owned power utility…
Read MoreToyota, Suzuki to deepen ties
The automakers are taking stakes in each other. Ma Jie, Bloomberg / 28 August 2019 The collaboration aims to strengthen the alliance between the automakers to keep up with technological advances in the transportation industry. Picture: Moneyweb Toyota Motor and Suzuki Motor are strengthening their alliance by taking stakes in one another, seeking to bolster their position as the auto industry shifts further toward electrified and self-driving cars. Japan’s biggest automaker will acquire about 5% of Suzuki shares for about 96 billion yen ($907 million), while Suzuki will get a smaller holding…
Read MoreFake-branded bars slip dirty gold into world markets
Fraudulently-stamped bars are a way to flout global measures to block conflict minerals and prevent money-laundering. Reuters / 28 August 2019 High gold prices have triggered a boom in informal and illegal mining since the mid-2000s. Picture: Bloomberg A forgery crisis is quietly roiling the world’s gold industry. Gold bars fraudulently stamped with the logos of major refineries are being inserted into the global market to launder smuggled or illegal gold, refining and banking executives tell Reuters. The fakes are hard to detect, making them an ideal fund-runner for narcotics dealers or…
Read MoreMozambique’s vast gas fields will fuel growth, says Grindrod
JSE-listed freight logistics and financial services group Grindrod is planning further investments in Mozambique, which is on the cusp of an economic growth spurt thanks to its vast offshore gas fields. “Mozambique is set for take-off,” says CEO of Durban-based Grindrod Andrew Waller, adding that the country’s nascent gas fields are getting the attention of international oil and gas companies. On the back of this, Grindrod is planning to make further investments into Mozambique. Grindrod CEO Andrew Waller. Image: Moneyweb Waller was speaking to Moneyweb at the company’s interim results presentation…
Read MorePharmaceutical operations gives Adcock Ingram a boost
CAPE TOWN – The Adcock Ingram Group has reported an 11 percent increase in headline earnings per share to 421.7 cents from continuing pharmaceutical operations for the year to June 30, 2019, in spite of weaker consumer spending. The share price increased 4.3 percent to R57.90 Wednesday morning after the release of the results, in a market where the JSE All Share index barely moved. Turnover rose 11 percent to R7 billion and trading profit was up 12 percent to R955 million. A final dividend of 100 cents per…
Read MoreThe time has come for financiers to take female entrepreneurs seriously
OPINION / 27 AUGUST 2019, 4:30PM / MOSIBUSI MAKGATO JOHANNESBURG – South African female entrepreneurs are growing in numbers, but too many continue to battle to get access to funding, making the sustainability of their start-ups a struggle. Many do not make it to the theee-year mark. When my sister and I launched our entrepreneurial journey in 2015 in the production of our traditional ginger beer, Yamama Gemmer, we never imagined that financing our business would be such a hard task. There are many reasons why we might have quit seeking funding through…
Read MoreNewly forged partnership to improve disposal of hazardous medical waste in SA
JOHANNESBURG – A new South African partnership known as Tshenolo Green Solutions (TGS) said on Tuesday it was combining the use of a locally developed on-site waste disposal technology with a comprehensive logistic approach to improve healthcare waste disposal. In a statement, TGS said the safe and effective management of healthcare waste emanating from hospitals and other healthcare facilities had long been a matter of grave concern locally and internationally. The World Health Organization says the management of healthcare waste requires increased attention and diligence to avoid exposure to infectious…
Read MoreOpening up on shut downs: Rand-Air takes the stress out of mine shutdown equipment hires
With the vast amounts of capital invested in them, the production pressures on major mines are immense and unscheduled production stoppages need to be avoided at all costs. However, a mine’s major plant installations such as compressor and metallurgical facilities are pivotal to production. Breakdowns in these areas can be hugely expensive to recover from. Planned shutdowns provide a mine with the means to avoid unscheduled stoppages, as these allow for maintenance, repair and upgrading of plant and facilities, which, because they often work a 24/7 duty cycle, cannot be…
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