Original-equipment manufacturer Dynapac recently launched a new soil compaction machine in South Africa to coincide with the company’s 90-year anniversary. Darren Parker tells us more.

Think tank the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) has called for an overhaul of industrial policy to move it away from protectionism and towards a focus on maximising exports. The organisation on November 20 said a new approach to master plans, tariff-setting and competition policy was urgently required.

The departments of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), together with their entities, signal distribution company Sentech and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), have provided an update on the National Communication Satellite Strategy (SatCom), which is aimed at narrowing the digital divide in the country. The parties estimate that the projected R5.2-billion to be spent on building a satellite is an initial starting point for South Africa’s technological sovereignty in this regard and will address the challenge of many remote and underserved rural areas across South Africa that are not yet connected.

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) has added an additional 3 MW solar power to its local grid, bringing the total output of renewable energy to 5.9 MW. This is enough energy to power at least 2 000 two-bedroom houses with geysers and electrical appliances.

A remodelled Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity will be released to the public next week and is expected to deviate materially from the heavily criticised draft IRP2023, which was published for public comment in January. Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the revamped document has taken account of changes in the electricity supply industry since the publication of the draft IRP2023, as well as the 4 338 stakeholder comments received on the document, including 136 “substantive” comments.

South African business sentiment rose its highest level since the first quarter of 2022, as constant electricity supply and political stability supported better business conditions. A quarterly business confidence index compiled by FirstRand's Rand Merchant Bank and Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research rose to 45 for the three months through December, up from 38 during the prior quarter, according to a report published on Wednesday.

A total of 25 countries and the EU are pledging to commit to no new unabated coal power in their next round of national climate plans, the latest global pledge aimed at curbing use of the fuel. Signatories to the agreement, outlined during the ongoing COP29 climate talks in Baku, include Canada, the UK and Germany, according to a statement published Wednesday. China and India, the world’s largest coal consuming nations, aren’t among backers so far, and neither is the US.

Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has expressed concern about the record of the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Department of Military Veterans, regarding their mishandling of public funds. This followed from the briefing to Scopa by the Auditor-General regarding the outcomes of the 2023/24 financial audit of both departments and of State-owned defence industrial group Denel. Consequently, the committee has decided to call before it Defence and Military Veterans ...

According to the ‘Global Competitiveness Index’ compiled by the World Economic Forum and hosted on the World Bank's Prosperity Data360 platform, Namibia ranks highest in sub-Saharan Africa for road quality, achieving a score of 5.31 out of seven on a scale used to evaluate infrastructure. Following Namibia are Rwanda, Mauritius and South Africa, each scoring about 4.5. In stark contrast, Zimbabwe lags significantly, with a score of just 2.8 – well below the global average for road quality.

South Africa's annual inflation rate slowed sharply to 2.8% in October, data showed on Wednesday, setting the stage for another interest rate cut by the central bank this week. Statistics South Africa said falling fuel prices were the primary driver of the slowdown in the headline rate from 3.8% in September. October's reading is the lowest inflation has been since June 2020, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Independent economist Elize Kruger said fuel and food price developments play a greater role in October, which is considered a low survey month. South Africa's government-regulated petrol and diesel prices fell by more than one rand a litre in October. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inflation would slow to 3.1%, well below the 4.5% level the South African Reserve Bank aims for but just within the bank's 3%-6% target range. The Sarb will announce its next interest rate decision on Thursday. A Reuters poll published last week predicted the central bank would lower its repo rate by 25 basis points, the same size of cut as in September, when the Sarb cut rates for the first time in more than four years. "Given recent Sarb rhetoric, the recent rand depreciation and a conservative (monetary policy) committee, a 25 bps cut remains the base case forecast," Kruger said.