Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan unveiled the names of the new Eskom board, which includes five engineers and a trade unionist, and which is to be led by Mpho Makwana, who was appointed executive chairperson at the utility in late 2009 following a previous leadership crisis. The board, whose three-year appointment begins on October 1, comprises 13 nonexecutive directors, including Dr Rod Crompton who has been retained from the previous board, and two executive directors, CEO André de Ruyter and CFO Calib Cassim.
The Southern African Biogas Industry Association (Sabia) will introduce its updated business plan and path to reach its 2030 goals at its ‘Vision 2030 – building a sustainable Southern African biogas market’ round table next month. Hosted by Sabia, it will include a discussion by representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), global industry body the World Biogas Association, as well as government and financial representatives in the environmental space.
In its drive to become a leading global supplier of green value from waste solutions, local waste solutions provider Explorius has designed its first coal fines and waste-to-fuel pilot plant for the manufacture of briquettes and pellets from waste generated during industrial processes. The pilot plant has a focus on converting coal fines from the coal mining process into usable briquettes, but the technology can be used to convert a variety of waste products into energy.
The need for and uptake of the circular economy mindset by larger organisations locally and globally was addressed during a webinar hosted by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) last month. The webinar, titled ESGS Webinar: Circular economy: Opportunities and Benefits, was chaired by SAIMM environmental, social, governance and sustainability committee founder Gordon Smith, and the key speaker was leading platinum producer Anglo American Platinum sustainable impact head Steven Bullock.
A substantial portion of plastic waste is not recycled and ends up in landfills, contributing greatly to plastics being regarded as the biggest environmental threat, says industry body Plastics SA executive director Anton Hanekom. Forty-three percent of recyclable plastic waste in South Africa during 2020 was lost, owing to its being contaminated before reaching the dump site where waste is recovered.
For South Africa to become a net exporter of aluminium, local growth must take precedence, says Aluminium Federation of South Africa (Afsa) CEO Muzi Manzi. This can be achieved by developing research and development communities that support local growth areas, innovation and design, as well as young talent who can enter and add value to the industry.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that the current load-shedding crisis is a “calamity of enormous proportions” but has backed Ministers Gwede Mantashe and Pravin Gordhan after the leader of the opposition asked why the two Minister had not been dismissed After noting that the country was experiencing its worst-ever year for load-shedding, despite an assurance given by Ramaphosa in 2015 that the problem would be all by “forgotten” within 18 to 24 months, Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuizen asked at “what level of sustained load-shedding” would the President consider firing the Mineral Resources and Energy and Public Enterprises respectively.
Business organisation the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) says changes to power utility Eskom’s board of directors should take place within normal rotation principles in line with established corporate governance policy. However, it remains concerned as to what credible and established process the Cabinet follows in the selection, recruitment, retention and performance management of the leadership in State-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The business community in the Steve Tshwete local municipality of Mpumalanga, which encompasses Middelburg, have been urged to align their product and service offerings to the opportunities being created by the energy transition and the associated socioeconomic initiatives aimed at cushioning vulnerable coal communities and workers. The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry convened a conference this week under the theme ‘Just Energy Transition – Just for Business’ with a focus on the potential spinoffs for Mpumalanga firms from Eskom’s repowering and repurposing of those coal stations that are scheduled to close in the coming few years.
Stage 4 load-shedding will continue until 05:00 on Saturday morning and reduce to Stage 3 throughout the weekend, Eskom has announced. Eskom will update on plans for next week on Sunday.
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