Technology company IBM and international organisation Sustainable Energy for All have announced new, publicly available AI-powered solutions to enable decision-makers and policymakers to map urbanisation and identify energy and infrastructure needs for communities in developing regions. The announcement took place at the twenty-ninth UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, which is being held this week in Azerbaijan.

Africa, and more specifically South Africa, is a vital destination for investment from European countries, delegates were told at the eleventh The European House Ambrosetti (TEHA) CEO Dialogue on Southern Africa, held on November 14. “We keep saying, and we believe, that South Africa is the economic hub of the continent, and its best investment destination. We believe so. We want to be in this fantastic country and region forever,” TEHA Africa CEO Pietro Mininni said in the opening address.

Cooperation between the South African government and the steel manufacturing industry is imperative to address the underlying economic and other issues that created the current lack of local demand for steel, as well as protection to assist the local industry in defending itself against outside threats like excessive imports, stainless steel flat products producer Columbus Stainless says in a statement. The company says a fundamental aspect of this coordinated response should be the protection of the country’s national resources and that these resources should be managed in a holistically beneficial manner designed to create the maximum benefit for the total South African economy.

National Treasury has revealed that South Africa's provinces spent 50.6%, or R384.9-billion, of the allocated main budget of R760.1-billion in the second quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, which represents a 4.8%, or R17.7-billion, increase compared with the same period in the 2023/24 financial year. Spending on education amounted to R158.6-billion, or 50.1% of the provincial education main budget of R316.5-billion, from April to September. This was R4.9-billion, or 3.1%, higher year-on-year.

Oil, gas and energy multinational companies TotalEnergies, bp, Equinor and Shell have made a $500-million joint investment commitment to create positive energy access impact for people in key regions over the coming years. The funds will help to support the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all.

The Department of Electricity and Energy is preparing a report to Cabinet to recommend the approval of lifting the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) from care and maintenance to allow South Africa to revive the development of its PBMR capability. “Nuclear is the future and is alive in South Africa. It will play a significant role in the industrialisation and localisation of massive infrastructure development to stimulate economic growth and create high-technology jobs,” Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said.

The Umbogintwini River Bridge, on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal, is part of the R50-billion upgrade programme of the N2 and N3 freeways in the province, and advanced engineering technology will in future prevent the kind of failure of concrete bars that led to its temporary closure. “The supports between the pier and the deck were built using a very old style of design. It was done in the 1960s and is not done anymore. When we upgrade this section, this will be replaced entirely,” said South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) Eastern regional manager Dudley Mbambo.

Sustainable Fitch, a FitchSolutions company, has launched an expanded Transition Assessment analytical product, through the development of new sector-specific methodologies, covering additional hard-to-abate sectors – mining, steel and cement. This is in addition to the Transition Assessment covering energy (oil and gas and power generation).

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the much-anticipated hearings into Eskom's latest revenue application next week, the hearing date that has been set for Eskom’s retail tariff plan application; and the likely outcomes of these the MYPD6 and retail tariff plan hearings.

The South African Reserve Bank will cut its repo rate next week as slowing inflation continues to make way for a series of cuts through the middle of next year, spurring growth to almost 2%, a Reuters poll suggested on Friday. All but two of 22 economists surveyed in the past week said the South African Reserve Bank would cut rates by 25 basis points to 7.75% at its November 21 meeting. Two expected a 50bps cut. The repo rate is expected to fall again by 50bps in either one move or cumulatively in January and March, followed by a 25bps cut at the May meeting to reach 7.00%. "We anticipate a second 25bps cut at the November meeting, supported by the dip in September headline inflation, core inflation remaining slightly below the mid-point of the target range, and continued risks for moderate output growth," Dennis Shen, a senior director at Scope Ratings, said. Inflation is expected to average 4.2% next year before quickening to 4.5% in 2026. The consumer price index is expected to reach a trough this quarter and average 3.6%, 0.9 percentage points below the Reserve Bank's 3%-6% midpoint comfort level, before quickening back to target later next year. It was last around this quarter's level in March 2021.