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Presidency official links reforms to lifting fixed investment to 20% of GDP

Raising gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) to between 18% and 20% of GDP is key to lifting growth to the 3% target, The Presidency’s project management office head Rudi Dicks argues. While also asserting that there are signs that Operation Vulindlela-linked reforms are starting to spur higher levels of capital investment in the economy. Pressed during a PSG webinar to put a figure to the investments catalysed by Operation Vulindlela, Dicks stated that R500-billion had been unlocked mainly in the form of renewable-energy projects, but also in the areas of telecoms, transport and water.
November 18, 2025 by

EPCs necessary to improve energy efficiency of South Africa’s buildings

The new regulations requiring buildings to display their energy performance certificates (EPCs), which rate their energy-use efficiency, at entrances come into force on December 7. While undertaking the process to obtain an EPC may seem difficult for building owners and tenants, the first step is to register their buildings and then to take progressive steps to gather the information needed, conduct audits and receive EPCs that display the energy efficiency of the building and its operations.
November 18, 2025 by

Marokane wants South Africa’s grid plan to be coupled to larger regional plan

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has called for South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to be complemented by a “regional TDP” to support the development of the grid infrastructure required to enable expanded electricity trade across the Southern African Power Pool. Speaking at a B20 side event on the just energy transition hosted by Standard Bank, Marokane reported that the Department of Electricity and Energy, which is Eskom’s shareholder department, was urging Eskom to adopt a regionally focused strategy now that its operational problems had eased.
November 17, 2025 by

Ramaphosa touts progress as G20 faces boycotts, scepticism

As South Africa hosts the G20 leadership summit this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa has positioned the moment as evidence of national progress. Yet the broader economic picture remains mixed, with many of the country’s underlying structural problems persisting despite pockets of improvement. Ramaphosa’s upbeat public messaging has been somewhat undermined by the fact that the leaders from several of the world’s leading economies have declined to attend the G20, including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and Argentinian President Javier Milei. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s attendance also remains uncertain.
November 17, 2025 by

Necsa to seek PBMR partner after technology is lifted from care and maintenance

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has indicated that it will move to assess what remains of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) intellectual property, which was mothballed in 2010, before initiating a process to select a partner to co-develop the nuclear technology. CEO Loyiso Tyabashe has welcomed Cabinet’s decision to lift the PBMR from care and maintenance and transfer custodianship of the small modular reactor (SMR) technology to Necsa.
November 16, 2025 by

Awareness of mining low among new engineers, but energy transition can prompt them to join …

Engineering group Sandvik’s ‘The future of mining talent: What STEM graduates really think’ report says that, while awareness of mining remains low among young engineers, many are open to joining the sector once they understand its modern realities and role in tackling the global energy transition. While the global mining industry faces a growing shortage of engineering talent, this challenge could be turned into one of the sector’s greatest opportunities, the report states.
November 14, 2025 by

Education, training bolster development

It is possible to bridge South Africa’s engineering and construction sector capacity gaps through education and training initiatives that provide a strong foundation for future infrastructure development projects, says civil engineering professional body South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE). The existing infrastructure gaps – owing to the lack of infrastructure maintenance, operationality, investment and skilled engineers – are not insurmountable, says SAICE advocacy committee members John Samuel and Wynand Dreyer who are both public–private partnerships (PPP), Private Sector Participation (PSP) and infrastructure operations and maintenance experts.
November 14, 2025 by

Norfund makes major investment in South African renewable energy company

The Norwegian investment fund for developing countries, Norfund, has invested $75-million (more than R1-billion) in South African independent power producer (IPP) and renewable energy (solar, wind and battery storage) developer Mulilo, the latter has announced. This investment was managed through Norfund’s Climate Investment Fund. Since 2023, Mulilo’s majority shareholder has been Danish group Copenhagen Investment Partners (CIP). The latter invested in Mulilo through its New Markets Fund I.
November 13, 2025 by

Cabinet officially lifts PBMR from care and maintenance

Cabinet has officially approved the lifting of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear technology from care and maintenance. “This decision provides the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) with a legal basis to engage with potential international partners and investors for the revival and further development of the project,” Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in a post-Cabinet briefing.
November 13, 2025 by