Laxity has left South Africans without the energy platinum can provide
The date was December 2011. The place was Durban. The occasion was an Anglo American media conference led by then Anglo CEO Cynthia Carroll. The topic was the opportunity to use Anglo’s platinum group metals (PGMs) to generate clean hydrogen power and sustain hundreds of thousands of South African jobs. A roundtable media discussion provided access to many PGM executives to answer questions. Carroll drew on an abundance of old and new research to champion the fuel cell’s cause at a function held by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development and the International Chamber of Commerce for the presidency of the United Nations climate change convention’s seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17).
Cabinet offers fuel assurances as task team mulls response measures
President Cyril Ramaphosa has established a Ministerial Task Team to coordinate government’s response to the impact on the cost of living, fuel and food security because of the disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz that have followed the military attacks on Iran by the US and Israel. The task team is being chaired by Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, and includes Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, Trade, Industry & Competition Minister Parks Tau, International Relations & Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, Electricity & Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Willie Aucamp and Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
Africa faces sharper growth slowdown if Middle East conflict drags on, report warns
African economies face the risk of a sharper growth slowdown this year if the war in the Middle East drags on, with prolonged disruption to trade, energy and fertiliser supplies threatening to ripple across the continent, according to a report released on Thursday. The report by two UN agencies, the African Union and the African Development Bank said African economies could lose 0.2 percentage points of GDP growth in 2026 if the conflict lasts more than six months.
Ramaphosa appoints Makhubu as new head of Sars
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday appointed Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu as the new commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for a period of five years, effective May 1. Makhubu, currently Sars's deputy commissioner for taxpayer engagement and operations, will take over from Edward Kieswetter, whose tenure ends on April 30.
MKP moves to repeal Section 235 of Constitution, arguing it promotes confusion not protection
The uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) on Thursday announced its introduction of an Amendment Bill that proposes repealing Section 235 of the Constitution, which gives communities with a common cultural and language heritage the right to pursue self-determination. The MKP argued that its Bill was a “necessary intervention” to protect national unity, arguing that Section 235 is ambiguous and that the Bill of Rights already protects language, cultural rights, freedom of association and religious freedom.
Stocks sink, oil leaps back towards $110 as Trump vows to keep hitting Iran
Oil prices surged and global equity and bond markets recoiled again on Thursday after US President Donald Trump dashed hopes of a swift resolution to the Middle East war. Brent crude jumped more than 7% to trade near $108 a barrel after Trump said in a prime-time address that the US would hit Iran "extremely hard" in the coming weeks and "bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong".
South African rand falls more than 1% as Trump vows more strikes on Iran
The South African rand fell more than 1% in early trade on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, spooking investors who had been betting on a fast resolution to the war. At 0635 GMT, the rand traded at 17.0250 against the dollar, 1.3% weaker than its previous close. In a prime-time address to the nation late on Wednesday, Trump said the United States would carry out aggressive strikes on Iran over the next two to three weeks and was nearing "completion of its main strategic objectives" in the conflict.
South Africa’s State-owned IDC to convert Orion loan facility into equity
South Africa’s State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has agreed to convert its convertible loan facility to the Sydney-and Johannesburg-listed Orion Minerals into equity. Orion is reviving the fully permitted Prieska copper/zinc mine (PCZM) in South Africa’s Northern Cape, which last operated in 1991mining resource of 31-million tonnes at 1.2% copper and 3.6% zinc.
Burkina, Mali troops kill more civilians than jihadists do, data shows
Government and allied forces in Burkina Faso have killed more than twice as many civilians as Islamist militants have since 2023, according to a tally of incidents documented in a report published on Thursday by Human Rights Watch. The pattern is broadly consistent with data shared with Reuters by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a conflict monitoring group, and also applies to neighbouring Mali.
WTO membership could boost Ethiopia's economy, even as the trade group faces crisis
Ethiopia's more than 20-year quest to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) is set to come to fruition this year – part of the nation's plans to boost its economy through global integration - just as the WTO itself faces unprecedented uncertainty. The likely accession comes following deep economic reforms in the East African coffee and gold-exporting nation. While analysts said the backdrop of global turmoil and protectionism is daunting, membership could rejuvenate Ethiopia's economy.
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