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IFC provided $9.4bn for private sector development in Africa in the past year

Development finance institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) provided record financing of $9.4-billion in investments between July 2021 and June this year across 36 countries in Africa, helping to develop regional pharmaceutical manufacturing, increase intra-Africa trade, expand access to climate financing and strengthen food security. The investments include $3-billion in trade financing that is unlocking intra-Africa trade for thousands of small businesses; $2.1-billion that is supporting the continent’s green transition, from increasing access to climate finance to funding renewable energy projects; and $861.7-million that is supporting increased digital connectivity.
July 25, 2022 by

TUT team wins South Africa’s first closed-track solar vehicle challenge

The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Solar Team were declared the winners of the first ever Ilanga Cup Solar Challenge, which took place at the 4.2-km-long Red Star Raceway, in Delmas, on July 21. “We would like to congratulate the TUT Solar Team for winning the first event of the Ilanga Cup. The weather was not solar car friendly but the team persevered,” Ilanga Cup director Robert Walker said.
July 22, 2022 by

Load-shedding suspended from Saturday

Stage 1 load-shedding will be implemented from 16:00 to 24:00 on Friday evening. Load-shedding will then be suspended as the generation system has recovered sufficiently at this point. “Eskom thanks the public and all stakeholders for their patience and understanding during this difficult period of load-shedding. While we are able to suspend load-shedding at this point, Eskom cautions that the power system constraints continue to persist,” Eskom said in a statement. Eskom has 3 693MW on planned maintenance, while another 14 261MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.
July 22, 2022 by

Mantashe says De Ruyter is not the right CEO to fix Eskom – report

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has questioned the skills of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, saying he isn’t the type of leader Eskom needs at the moment.  In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, the minister, who is also the national chairperson of the African National Congress, said that the power utility currently needs a “fixer”, and De Ruyter isn’t necessarily that person due to a skills mismatch.
July 22, 2022 by

Bioeconomy could support S Africa’s energy needs

Amid unstable power supply, the development of a wood bioeconomy could help support South Africa’s energy needs while ensuring that the country meets its carbon emission reduction targets, says University of Pretoria Graduate School of Technology Management senior lecturer Schalk Grobbelaar. The country intends to limit greenhouse gas emissions to between 398 t of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) and 510 t CO2-e by 2025 and to between 350 t CO2-e and 420 t CO2-e by 2030.
July 22, 2022 by

S Africa offers pragmatic solution but still far from sustainability

While South Africa offers the rest of Africa practical examples of sustainable infrastructure development, there is still much that needs to be done before the country achieves a sustainable transition, says Stellenbosch University Centre for Sustainability Transition professor Desta Mebratu Belay. The country is reaching for a more sustainable future, but two years after Cabinet approved 62 strategic infrastructure projects (SIPs), including in the energy, water and sanitation sectors, almost one-quarter of these projects, worth R340-billion, were delayed or on hold as of late May.
July 22, 2022 by