By John Young
pResident Cyril Ramaphosa, who remained South Africa's president after the election on May 29, 2024, supported the support of a coalition of 10 political parties known as the National Unity Government (GNU).
The new government, representing 70% of voters who have encountered the election, covers a wide range of political perspectives and crucially includes parties who are committed to the country's constitution and rule of law. In the parliamentary elections for presidential position, Ramaphosa received 86.5% of the votes of members of Congress.
The African National Congress (ANC), considered the Liberation Party and the governing party since the first Democratic election in 1994, saw its vote share in 2024 drop by more than 40% in 2019, exceeding 57%. As the DA website states, “The government must always be ready to help those who need it, but its main function is to make people feel free to use their lives so they can move on with their own lives.”
Marriage to these two views on economics when it is to complete a five-year period presents some difficulties, but the early sign is to focus on modifying, maintaining and building infrastructure, the subject of the special features of the 2025 edition. South African business.
The spirit of cooperation that created the GNU is also evident in the business community where many of the nation's CEO initiatives support state entities in tackling infrastructure issues.
There were good signs of progress in terms of power availability, port log jams cleared, and important rail link security improvements.
TransNet Port Terminal (TPT) hired 200 additional cargo coordinators and dock workers to support citrus exports during the 2024 reefer season. Citrus exports account for more than 50% of agricultural exports, donating R4.3 billion to South Africa's GDP. In the first six weeks of fiscal year 2024/25, TPT spent R3.9 billion on new equipment, an increase of 10% year-on-year.
Small and Medium Enterprises Release
It is often said that the best engine for job creation is the small, medium micro-enterprise (SMME) sector. However, the Chartered Institute for Business Accountants (CIBA) says that things like 70% of new businesses have not survived for more than two years.
In another example of diverse organizations working together for their economic goals, CIBA aims to change its indicators by partnering with the South African Chamber of Commerce (SACCI), the Corporate and Intellectual Property Committee (CIPC), and Inhlanyelo Hub, an affiliate of the University of South Africa.
The joint initiative is called SME launch and develops startups and provides advice in key areas such as compliance, market access and cash flow management. As SACCI president Mtho Xulu puts it, “Small and medium-sized businesses are a way to adopt new businesses in South Africa, helping them grow into sustainable and prosperous contributors to the economy. With this partnership, new businesses ensure the guidance they need to succeed, creating long-term value for both SMEs and the nation.”
The first offering for the SME launch was a free webinar, where we introduced the concept and explained what is available on the platform.
Global Stage
In 2023, South Africa held the BRICS Summit. As of December 1, 2024, South Africa has won the G20 presidency and will become the third BRICS Nation to hold its position after India and Brazil.
The G20 Summit, held in 2025, will naturally give South Africa the opportunity to present to the world with the best possible light. The event will be held in Johannesburg, Gauten's most important economic hub, the country. The city's infrastructure requires a lot of sprucing before 19 heads of state and AU and EU leaders can visit it. This provides another opportunity for governments and businesses to work together for greater benefits.
South Africa has created a reputation for hosting global events through the FIFA World Cup, racism, COP17 and various other well-run conferences. South Africa has adopted it as the theme of “solidarity, equality and sustainable development” for the G20 president.
It makes sense for President Ramaphosa to focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) programmes for all years to 2030 at the G20 Conference under the President of Brazil, shortly before the deadline for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Energy conversion
The energy landscape in South Africa is changing very rapidly. The huge solar farms in the Northern Cape, as pictured, and the giant wind turbines rising in the Western and Eastern Capes, are beginning Eskom, a process to unlock national utility. South Africa's new national transmission company is a working group, and Wheeling (the idea that independent electricity producers can sell energy to third parties while using the national grid) is booming.
Literally, an interesting new development on the Mpumalanga landscape is to add what will become South Africa's largest wind farm. Seriti Green is developing the Ummbila Emonyeni project to supply Seriti's mines to the area, but the fact that Mpumalanga has several coal-fired power plants to be abolished means that renewable producers have spare grid access. The closure of coal plants has sometimes been pushed back, but they are closed and the connection with the grid becomes gold dust.
Conversations about the global climate crisis have been in the limelight around the world in ways that other topics have rarely had since World War II. The debate in South Africa has its own contours, especially since around 80% of the country's power generation comes from coal. The fact that if coal mines are closed, many people lose their jobs when a large number of people are a key factor in calculations, and is an important reason why South Africa is at the forefront of the need for a “mere energy transition.”
There are excellent programs to source the energy needed for South Africa to expand its economy. This is the Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Program (REIPPPP). In ReIpppp's round 5, the cheapest solar production cost was 37.5c/kWh, while the best wind cost was 34.4c/kwh. These represent very low costs.
Following the City of Cape Town announcement, residents will be able to get cash for power in the second half of 2022, Vertue Solar received 1,500 inquiries in January, and has since experienced a surge in rooftop equipment orders.
R13 billion pledged by the EU, the US, Germany, France and the UK to help COP26 move from oil and coal in South Africa to greener technologies. It comes as a mix of grants, risk sharing means and concessional finances, but South Africa can fund projects that will help the country move away from fossil fuels without further stretching Eskom's volatile finances.
Eskom created a breakthrough in December 2022 when Korean company Hyonsung Heavy Industries broke the ground, signaling the first project of Eskom's Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project. The 8MW facility will move to produce an additional 144MW in the second phase of the project. In 2023, the large Worcester project, Hexbeth, was launched. Another company involved in phase 1 of the national deployment of these projects is the Chinese company Pinggao.
In Cape Town, a Swedish company has spent $30 million to produce vanadium battery electrolytes at its East London factory, installing the assembly plant of Bushveld Energy, a subsidiary of Bushveld Minerals.
