South Africa Energy

The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) launched by the Department of Energy (DoE) in 2011 is key to achieving South Africa’s target of 42% renewable energy consumption by 2030. The scheme is bringing generation capacity, private sector participation and competition to a fossil fuel-reliant electricity market long dominated by a state-...

For over a century, up until the fall of apartheid, the entirety of South Africa’s mining sector was controlled by a small selection of diversified conglomerates, each governed by a group financing model. New, foreign or specialised participation in the sector was a rarity, as the incumbent mining finance houses held titles and rights over unexploited assets.

Industrial action has become an annual event for a number of South African sectors, leading to what is referred to as “strike season” during the second and third quarters of the year. In the mining sector, particularly in the platinum industry, the last couple of years have seen an escalation in terms of the size and scope of labour unrest, which could have significant...

It seems that every year in South Africa, newspaper headlines are filled with a pending shift in policy direction for the mining sector, but rarely with any results. In 2012 fears were of a populist-driven move towards resource nationalisation, which was subsequently quashed by President Jacob Zuma’s administration, while 2013 saw concerns over a new resources tax.