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Terence Creamer
Terence Creamer is the Editor of Engineering News and a Deputy Editor for Mining Weekly. He also has editorial responsibility for Polity.org.za and Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa.
Editorial Insight
Plan, but no man
By: Terence Creamer 9th December 2016 South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor Lesetja Kganyago does little to hide his frustration about the lack of progress in pursuing the structural reforms required to improve South Africa’s growth prospects and deal with its serious unemployment problem. He argues that the National Development... →
Scenario sampling
By: Terence Creamer 2nd December 2016 First the good news. The Department of Energy (DoE) has, finally, released the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) base case for public comment and consultation. Despite what has been an unacceptable delay in updating a plan that is six years out of date, at least South Africans have something... →
Eskom: What now?
By: Terence Creamer 25th November 2016 The fast-moving nature of developments at Eskom following the November 2 release of Thuli Madonsela’s ‘State of Capture’ report, have left many of us expecting the unexpected. To steal a phrase from some post-Brexit and post-Trump commentators, it is as though “all the world’s black swans have... →
Some lessons as Molefe goes
By: Terence Creamer 18th November 2016 Much has been written about the initial response of the Eskom board, its chairperson, Dr Ben Ngubane, and its CEO, Brian Molefe, to the contents of the Public Protector’s ‘State of Capture’ report. All the respondents, including the chairperson of the board subcommittee on social ethics and... →
Rediscovering democracy
By: Terence Creamer 11th November 2016 Since the shocking events of the 9/12 last year when President Jacob Zuma made the fatal error of removing – seemingly with the prior knowledge of his friends outside of government – Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in a brazen attempt at “capturing” the National Treasury, there has been something... →
The order is fading
By: Terence Creamer 4th November 2016 A line from American folk singer Bob Dylan’s 1964 classic ‘The Times They Are a-Changin'’ has deep resonance for the position the domestic and international electricity supply industry currently finds itself. Dylan, who was recently awarded the Nobel literature prize (a fact he has scarcely... →
Quick, quick, slow
By: Terence Creamer 28th October 2016 A week, as they say, is a long time in politics. And in South Africa, where there is never a dull political moment, a week can feel like an eternity. However, unlike some other parts of the world where fast-moving political events can lead to overnight change, dramatic news flow in this country... →
Green shoots
By: Terence Creamer 21st October 2016 In a September 22 statement, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) reiterated the “grave concern” it had expressed in an earlier open letter to Preside Jacob Zuma about ongoing threats to charge, or even arrest, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. However, it also used the statement to urge... →
Africa sliding? 
By: Terence Creamer 14th October 2016 Over the past number of years, the Africa Rising narrative has asserted itself. It has been a story of improving economic growth, rising investment and greater democracy. Between 2003 and 2008, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) enjoyed average yearly growth of 6.8% and was home to many of the... →
Peak trade?
By: Terence Creamer 7th October 2016 Along with the shock announcement that world trade will expand by only 1.7% in 2017, the slowest pace since the financial crisis of 2009, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) highlighted a weakening in the relationship between trade and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. This is significance, as... →
Ethical conduct relies on values and capability
By: Terence Creamer 30th September 2016 The fact that the main lecture hall at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs), in Johannesburg, was bursting at the seams last week for a discussion on ethics and its importance in driving trust in society and business is a strong reflection of the ‘signs of our times’. While attendance... →
Power trends
By: Terence Creamer 23rd September 2016 In light of recent disruptions in the sector, as well as sharply rising tariffs, electricity remains a hot topic in South Africa. There is an especially heated debate currently under way about what would be the lowest-cost generation mix, particularly in light of the country’s weaker... →
Refinery ‘wipe out’ warning
By: Terence Creamer 16th September 2016 South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) has once again appealed for “decisive action” to resolve the prevailing policy uncertainty on cleaner fuels, as well as how the $4.9-billion cost of upgrading the country’s existing refineries to produce such fuels will be recovered.... →
In need of decisive leadership
By: Terence Creamer 9th September 2016 Given the fast-moving nature of developments surrounding State-owned electricity producer Eskom, it is quite possible that there may well have been new developments in the ongoing saga between the utility and independent power producers (IPPs) since the time of writing. Nevertheless, Eskom's... →
Should versus could
By: Terence Creamer 2nd September 2016 In the absence of context, the statement released by Minister in The Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe following the August 16 to 19 Cabinet lekgotla appears fairly benign, even bland. However, against the setting of a divided and weakened African National Congress,... →
Rising vigilance
By: Terence Creamer 26th August 2016 In all spheres of South African public life, the level of civil-society engagement and vigilance is rising. Increasingly, too, citizens are not merely tackling issues at the level of principle, but are also taking into account the minutiae of procedural fairness, executive responsibility and... →
Can Eskom sustain plant recovery?
By: Terence Creamer 19th August 2016 In its most recent presentations on the performance of its power stations, Eskom has pointed to improvements in the energy availability factor (EAF) from its coal-fired power stations over the past few months as evidence of a solid operational turnaround. The State-owned utility shows, for... →
Eskom letter opens festering wounds
By: Terence Creamer 12th August 2016 Revelations last month that Eskom is insisting on consultations with Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson before signing any further power purchase agreements with private generators has opened up all manner of wounds that have been quietly festering for the last number of years. Firstly, it... →
Injury & Protection
By: Terence Creamer 5th August 2016 Much anticipated moves to increase protection for both the primary and downstream steel sectors are advancing, with a safeguard investigation completed into hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports and a review initiated on whether protection should be increased across a range of downstream products. The... →
Sustainable availability? 
By: Terence Creamer 29th July 2016 At the peak of South Africa’s load-shedding crisis, much emphasis was given to adding new capacity, especially private capacity, as well as to increasing energy efficiency. These remain laudable objectives. However, in the absence of demand growth, the most important issue then, and now, lies in... →
Changing course
By: Terence Creamer 22nd July 2016 During a recent interaction with business chambers, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan agreed that South Africa should seek to create up to ten-million new businesses to properly tackle its serious unemployment problem – one that lies at the very root of the country’s poverty and inequality crisis.... →
Think long
By: Terence Creamer 15th July 2016 For some time now, State-owned electricity utility Eskom has been signalling that it intends overhauling the way it sources coal. Ever since Brian Molefe took over as CEO, he has questioned whether it is appropriate for Eskom to invest directly in mines through cost-plus supply contracts with... →
The best of a bad situation
By: Terence Creamer 8th July 2016 The decision by the majority of British voters to place their crosses in the box alongside ‘Leave the European Union (EU)’ in a referendum where the only question was ‘Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?’, was obviously unexpected and shocking. That said, the economic... →
Common good
By: Terence Creamer 1st July 2016 It was more than refreshing to listen to a recent lecture by Paul Polman, the global head of consumer goods group Unilever, in which he urged South African companies to eschew short-termism and focus increasingly on their societal purpose rather than merely on shareholder returns. Under Polman’s... →
Gas import tailwinds
By: Terence Creamer 24th June 2016 In May, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson indicated that a request for proposals would be released during the current fiscal year for a floating storage and regasification unit and a gas-to-power programme, with an allocation of up to 3 126 MW. In other words, South Africa is preparing to... →
Positive Shocks?
By: Terence Creamer 17th June 2016 Various interesting points are made in the commentary associated with S&P Global Ratings’ June decision to affirm South Africa’s investment-grade rating, while sustaining its negative outlook. The country’s political situation is highlighted as being of particular concern, arguably displacing the... →
Nuclear ‘spring’?
By: Terence Creamer 10th June 2016 During a recent visit to South Africa, French President Francois Hollande’s special envoy for the French-South Africa nuclear partnership expressed optimism that South Africa’s nuclear request for proposals (RFP) would be issued before the end of the year – probably during South Africa’s... →
Junk D-Day
By: Terence Creamer 3rd June 2016 Today, June 3, is D-Day for the publication by Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) of its much anticipated ratings review of South Africa, which, at BBB- and on negative watch, stands precariously close to junk. In fact, some argue a downgrade is already factored in, pointing to the weakening of rand,... →
Use the auto template
By: Terence Creamer 27th May 2016 Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies reaffirmed on Tuesday that government planned to pursue an increasing number of sector-specific incentive schemes, with an initial focus on the creation of new incentives for the agroprocessing and railways industries. Speaking at a business briefing... →
Growth is a thirsty business
By: Terence Creamer 20th May 2016 There are many issues currently confronting South Africa. However two of the biggest are, undoubtedly, the effects of the worst drought in decades and the country's weak growth performance. Both are deepening the so-called triple scourge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. A newly released... →
South Africa lags Africa’s other oil importers
By: Terence Creamer 13th May 2016 While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects South Africa’s growth to halve to just 0.6% in 2016, growth in other oil-importing countries across sub-Saharan Africa is projected to remain relatively resilient at 5.2%. The further anticipated slump in South Africa’s growth forecast is... →
Out of alignment
By: Terence Creamer 6th May 2016 A preliminary analysis conducted by South Africa’s second National Planning Commission (NPC) of the current alignment between the country’s Budget and the National Development Plan (NDP) reportedly shows there to be only a 47% correlation. This is not all that surprising given the overwhelming... →
Under the microscope
By: Terence Creamer 29th April 2016 Much attention has been paid – appropriately so – to the circumstances that led to Optimum Coal Holdings becoming an asset of Tegeta Exploration and Resources; a company that is closely associated with the Gupta family’s Oakbay Investments. Glencore, the mine’s previous owner, placed the... →
Growth, diversification and Africa’s cities
By: Terence Creamer 22nd April 2016 Two recent reports leave little room for doubt about the importance of urbanisation across Africa, as well as the urgent need to improve the way cities are being planned and managed. The World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse publication notes that 472-million Africans already live in urban areas and... →
Ratings and politics
By: Terence Creamer 15th April 2016 Standard & Poor's (S&P’s) assessment of whether or not to downgrade the South Africa’s sovereign rating in the coming two months will centre on the country’s weak growth outlook as well as the its fiscal risks, including the possibility that government might need to step in to support State-owned... →
Growth problem
By: Terence Creamer 8th April 2016 The African Development Bank’s former chief economist Professor Mthuli Ncube is a close observer of the South African economic condition and he recently raised some serious questions about South Africa’s current monetary policy stance. Speaking at the Wits Business School in Johannesburg he... →
Critical ‘decoupling’
By: Terence Creamer 1st April 2016 A new International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis of global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions points to what it calls a “decoupling” of greenhouse-gas emissions from economic growth. The audit, which was released in March, shows that emissions remained flat in 2015, notwithstanding... →
Junk ‘breathing space’
By: Terence Creamer 25th March 2016 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, following his return from an investor roadshow to the UK and the US, indicated that South Africa had been given “breathing space” until June to implement “concrete” actions that demonstrated its ability to both manage its fiscal constraints and improve its growth... →
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