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UNDER PRESSURE
By: Darlene Creamer 25th November 2022 The South African Institution of Civil Engineering launched its 2022 Infrastructure Report Card earlier this month, which uses a five-point scale from A (world-class) to E (unfit-for-purpose) to score the state of the country’s infrastructure. This year’s report had an overall score of D, which... →
HEAVY LIFTING
By: Darlene Creamer 18th November 2022 After significant research, lobbying and consultative efforts, the first concessional finance has started to flow towards Eskom’s plan to repower and repurposed those coal power station sites that are scheduled for retirement. The World Bank Group has approved a 497-million finance package for... →
JOURNEY ENDS & BEGINS
By: Darlene Creamer 11th November 2022 The scrapping of e-tolls became inevitable when there was massive civil disobedience, led by the well-organised civil society grouping initially know as Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, or OUTA, which later transitioned to become the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse. The resistance weakened... →
WATER WORRIES
By: Darlene Creamer 4th November 2022 With electricity loadshedding now a part of daily life in South Africa, there is growing anxiety about the prospect of water-shedding. Already several towns across the country are struggling either with water supply or face serious water quality problems. The recent disruptions in Gauteng also... →
PUNCH DRUNK 
By: Darlene Creamer 28th October 2022 South African business has had a torrid 2022, with intense loadshedding, a freight-logistics strike and serious flooding all harming production and exports. Sadly, these electricity, transport and weather-related risks are not likely to abate soon, and the environment will be worsened by water... →
DARK SPACE
By: Darlene Creamer 21st October 2022 Even the most determined proponent of State-owned companies and their supposed developmental role will have a hard time proving their case when it comes to Eskom and Transnet. The loadshedding crisis has caused untold damage to the economy for more than a decade, weighing on both productivity and... →
OLD HAT
By: Darlene Creamer 14th October 2022 There is limited room for any surprises as South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who is known for his many homburg hats, puts the final touches to his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, to be delivered on October 26. Indeed, the market also has a limited tolerance currently for... →
NO JOY RIDE
By: Darlene Creamer 7th October 2022 As South Africans we are disconcertingly accustomed to major changes to the value of the rand. However, the US dollar’s rampant performance in September left many other currencies quite shaken, including the British pound, whose performance was also rocked by some questionable fiscal... →
TIPPING POINT:
By: Darlene Creamer 30th September 2022 As South Africans are forced to endure the worst-ever year for power cuts, questions continue to be asked about how we arrived at this confidence-sapping point. Even absent incompetence and corruption, which have undoubtedly contributed, load-shedding became a near certainty once Medupi and... →
THE OTHER GREEN FINANCE
By: Darlene Creamer 23rd September 2022 When medical cannabis-focused special purpose acquisition company Cilo Cybin Holdings debuts on the JSE later this year it will reportedly be Africa’s first such listing. The company will seek about R2-billion, which will be used to acquire and expand an existing cannabis manufacturing facility... →
SERIOUS THREAT
By: Darlene Creamer 16th September 2022 A recent Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime report showed that at least 183 infrastructure and construction projects in South Africa worth more than R63-billion were disrupted by the so-called ‘construction mafia’ in 2019 alone. Typically organised under the banner of... →
WILLFUL BLINDNESS
By: Terence Creamer 9th September 2022 Determined reportage by News24, which has exposed in detail the circumstances surrounding the murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran, leavea little room for doubt that some Gauteng officials were chillingly incompetent and insensitive at best, if not complicit. Deokaran was killed in a drive-by... →
MISSING PIECE
By: Darlene Creamer 2nd September 2022 South Africa has the solar, wind and land resources to make it one of the most competitive electricity market globally as countries transition from centralised, fossil-based power systems to decentralised and decarbonised structures. However, the grid remains a key enabler and, for the... →
HEAT IS ON
By: Darlene Creamer 26th August 2022 Following deadly flooding in 2021, the latest Northern Hemisphere summer has been characterised by extreme heat waves, droughts and wild fires, which have definitely thrown a spotlight on climate change and its destructive consequences. Less obvious, however, is what is being down to both... →
WATER WORRIES
By: Darlene Creamer 19th August 2022 The water stresses being experienced in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape, should serve as a wake-up call to the leaders and citizens of all cities and provinces. While some parts of the country are likely to become wetter as a result of climate change, large parts will become drier and more drought... →
TIGHT SPOT
By: Darlene Creamer 12th August 2022 It came as something of a shock when the South African Reserve Bank decided in July to increase interest rates by 75 basis points rather than the 50 basis points that had been anticipated. By doing so, it signalled that it believes there to be a real danger that inflation is becoming more... →
MANY HANDS
By: Darlene Creamer 5th August 2022 While much of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s plan to tackle load-shedding is focused on utility scale solutions, it also includes some space for micro-level action, mostly in the form of rooftop solar. The plan includes a proposal for a feed-in tariff, which could help unlock the ‘rooftop... →
COLD SHOULDER
By: Darlene Creamer 29th July 2022 South Africa has had several run-ins with the European Union (EU) over the past number of years with regard to the bloc’s trade rules governing citrus. The most recent dispute relates to a stipulation that South African oranges be subjected to cold treatment of between 0°C to -1°C for at least 16... →
CHOKE HOLD
By: Darlene Creamer 22nd July 2022 The record fuel prices in South Africa, and in many other parts of the world, are squeezing businesses and citizens alike, with petrol and diesel used to produce and move nearly everything we consume. The fuel-levy relief granted to date has been welcome, but has been insufficient to ease the... →
GRIEF TO ANGER
By: Darlene Creamer 15th July 2022 The implementation of Stage 6 load-shedding in late June and early July has moved many citizens from grudging resignation to intensifying anger. Visible action is needed and needed fast to start closing the supply gap that has persisted for years and is growing as Eskom’s neglected coal fleet... →
TIME TO ACT
By: Darlene Creamer 8th July 2022 Just looking at the tower of Zondo Commission Reports, packaged into several parts and volumes, is exhausting enough. Now is not the time to rest, however. Now is the time to act firmly against the predatory elite who took this country to the brink and have left a trail of destruction – from... →
HOME TO ROOST
By: Darlene Creamer 1st July 2022 The electricity crisis has been casting a confidence-sapping shadow over the South African economy for nearly 15 years. The chickens of Eskom debt, corruption and inefficiency, policy mixed signals, regulatory bottlenecks and procurement delays have been roosting for some time and have been... →
TIED DOWN
By: Darlene Creamer 24th June 2022 South Africa’s mining production plummeted by nearly 15% year-on-year in April, with gold production slumping 27.8%, platinum group metals output shrinking 22.6% and coal production falling 14.7%. The poor performance has been attributed to strikes, electricity and rail disruptions, and ongoing... →
DEADLY & DEMORALISING
By: Darlene Creamer 17th June 2022 South Africans are dealing with many burdens currently: rising food and fuel prices; load-shedding; finding ways to recover from Covid disruptions professionally and personally; and a toxic political climate. Adding to these worries is the rising threat of violent crime, as reflected in the... →
THROUGH THE ROOF
By: Darlene Creamer 10th June 2022 The outlook for food price inflation is deeply worrying, with Tiger Brands CEO Noel Doyle warning recently that the price of certain food items could “go through the roof”. Even more worrying are warnings that the shortages of grain and fertiliser, caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, could... →
BRIGHT SPARK
By: Darlene Creamer 3rd June 2022 The City of Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Mpho Phalatse, has become something of a bright spark despite the ongoing load-shedding gloom. Phalatse has outlined a new vision for City Power and has indicated that the city will seek to partner with independent power producers on a R26-billion... →
DARK DAYS
By: Darlene Creamer 27th May 2022 There is no question that South Africans are far better prepared for rotational power cuts than they were when the scourge first appeared some 14 years ago. Eskom has regular and brutally candid briefings, load-shedding schedules are more or less accurate and the EskomSePush App ubiquitous.... →
COLD & DARK
By: Darlene Creamer 20th May 2022 Eskom has given its assurance that it will do what it can to limit rotational power cuts during the winter months. There are signs, however, that this winter could be both cold and dark. The under-maintained coal fleet is simply in no state to offer reliable supply and South Africa has not... →
EXTREME PRESSURE
By: Darlene Creamer 13th May 2022 Recent developments in South Africa, especially the deadly July 2021 riots and the horrific KwaZulu-Natal floods, have seriously undermined confidence in the future. The negative effects of these developments are being amplified by a series of international factors – including horrific conflicts,... →
HANGING TOUGH
By: Darlene Creamer 6th May 2022 Consumer inflation nudged the upper end of South Africa’s 3% to 6% target band in March when it reached 5.9%, and it is expected to rise further. In a context of low growth and high unemployment, questions will naturally arise about the wisdom of holding on to a target, which will required yet... →
SHAMEFUL GOVERNANCE
By: Darlene Creamer 29th April 2022 Chinese philosopher Confucius is said to have expressed the following about governance: “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” In South Africa, where governance is now equated with money and... →
WORRYING RISE
By: Darlene Creamer 22nd April 2022 The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s gauge of global food prices rose at a record pace in March, fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the United Nations body has warned of further increases to come. Food inflation in South Africa also continues to accelerate, with the Bureau for Food... →
SLOTS FOR SALE
By: Darlene Creamer 15th April 2022 State-owned freight logistics group Transnet is turning to the private sector in a bid to revive the fortunes of two underperforming rail corridors. The group’s rail unit has officially launched a bidding process for 16 rail slots on both the container corridor from Durban to City Deep and its... →
EXPLOSIVE SHACKLES
By: Darlene Creamer 8th April 2022 South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to a record 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey showed that the number of unemployed people increased by 278 000 to 7.9-million. It’s a terrifying figure. Even more terrifying, however, is a youth unemployment rate... →
HIKED TO HURT
By: Darlene Creamer 1st April 2022 While nothing even resembling the pain being experienced by Ukrainians living in towns and cities being attacked by the Russian military, South Africans are not immune from the economic hurt flowing from the invasion. Fuel prices will rise sharply again in April after having already surged in the... →
INFLATION MONSTER
By: Darlene Creamer 25th March 2022 After a relatively long hibernation, the inflation monster is awake and ready to eat the income and wealth of all citizens, poor and rich alike. Initially awakened by uneven supply-chain recovery efforts following the Covid lockdowns, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has poked the monster further.... →
SHAMEFUL
By: Darlene Creamer 18th March 2022 While it’s not difficult to point out the West’s hypocrisy in its response to Russia’s vicious invasion of Ukraine, South Africa’s own response has been shameful. The decision to abstain in a United Nations vote condemning Russia has been rationalised on the basis on this country’s commitment to... →
CROSSING THE LINE
By: Darlene Creamer 11th March 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin made the world a less safe place than it already was when he authorised the invasion of his democratic neighbour on February 24 on the false pretexts of “demilitarisation and de-Nazification”. The steep escalation in tensions when Russian troops crossed the... →
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