South African Business 2025

Giant renewable projects

Giant renewable projects are redefining South Africa’s energy landscape.The 100MW Redstone Solar Thermal Power Project featuresmolten-salt-energy-storage technology in a tower configuration.AN ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OFSOUTH AFRICAPotentially divisive national elections in 2024 instead produced agrand coalition that has committed itself to grow the South Africaneconomy in a way that creates jobs. Hosting the G20 Summit willallow South Africa to showcase its strengths.By John YoungPresident Cyril Ramaphosa remainedpresident of South Africa after the electionsof 29 May 2024, but only with the supportof a coalition of 10 political parties which hasbeen called a Government of National Unity (GNU).Representing 70% of the voters who turnedout for the election, the new government coversa wide spectrum of political standpoints andcrucially contains parties that are committed tothe country’s constitution and to the rule of law. Inthe National Assembly elections for the position ofpresident, Ramaphosa received 86.5% of the votesof Members of Parliament.The African National Congress (ANC), which wasseen as the party of liberation and had been thegoverning party since the first democratic election of1994, saw its vote share drop in 2024 to just over 40%,having garnered more than 57% in 2019. While theANC historically has a socialist orientation, the largestother party in the coalition, the Democratic Alliance(DA), is inclined to argue for minimal governmentintervention in the economy. As the DA’s websitestates, “Government must always stand ready tohelp those who need it, but its primary function is toempower the people to make use of their freedoms,so that they may progress in their own lives.”Marrying these two views on economics willpresent some difficulties if the government is tocomplete its five-year term but early signs are thatthe focus will be on fixing, maintaining and buildinginfrastructure, the subject of a Special Featureelsewhere in this journal.The spirit of cooperation which created the GNUhas also been evident in the business community,where an initiative of many of the country’s chiefexecutive officers is supporting state entitiesin tackling infrastructure problems. There havebeen good signs of progress regarding electricityavailability, port logjams being cleared and securityimprovements on important rail links.SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 202512PHOTO: SR Energy

SPECIAL FEATURETransnet Port Terminals (TPT) hired 200additional cargo coordinators and port workersto support citrus exports in the 2024 reeferseason. Citrus exports account for more than50% of agricultural exports and contribute R43-billion to South Africa’s GDP. Volumes increasedby 10% year-on-year for the first six weeks of the2024/25 financial year, a year in which TPT willspend R3.9-billion on new equipment.It is often said that the best engine for jobcreation is the small, medium and micro-enterprise(SMME) sector. However, the Chartered Institutefor Business Accountants (CIBA) states thatsomething like 70% of new businesses do notsurvive beyond two years. In another exampleof diverse organisations working together for aneconomic goal, CIBA aims to change that metricby teaming up with the South African Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (SACCI), the Companiesand Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) andthe University of South Africa’s affiliate company,Inhlanyelo Hub.The joint initiative is called SME Launch andwill nurture startups, giving them advice in keyareas such as compliance, market access and cashflowmanagement. As SACCI President Mtho Xulusays, “SME Launch is our way of adopting SouthAfrica’s new businesses, helping them grow intosustainable, thriving contributors to the economy.This partnership ensures new businesses have theguidance they need to succeed, creating long-termvalue for both SMEs and the nation.”The first offering of SME Launch was a freewebinar, introducing the concept and explainingwhat is available on the platform.Global stageIn 2023, South Africa hosted the BRICS Summit.As of 1 December 2024, South Africa will have thepresidency of the G20, becoming the third BRICSnation in a row to hold that position after Indiaand Brazil.The G20 Summit to be held in 2025 will naturallygive South Africa a chance to present itself to theworld in the best possible light. The event will beheld in Johannesburg in the province of Gauteng,the country’s most important economic hub. Thecity’s infrastructure will need a lot of sprucing upSouth Africa on the global stage. When SouthAfrica hosted the BRICS Summit in 2023 SACCIPresident Mtho Xulu, second right, chaired theTrade and Investment Working Group of the BRICSBusiness Council.before 19 heads of state and the leaders of the AUand EU visit it. This presents another opportunityfor government and business to cooperate for thegreater good.South Africa has burnished its reputation forhosting global events through the FIFA WorldCup, the World Conference against Racism,COP17 and various other conferences that havebeen well run. South Africa has adopted as thetheme for its G20 Presidency “Solidarity, Equalityand Sustainable Development”.As President Ramaphosa told a G20 meetingunder Brazil’s presidency that with just a short timebefore the deadline date of the UN 2030 Agendafor Sustainable Development, it would makesense to have a tight focus on the programme ofSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in all of theyears leading up to 2030. According to Ramaphosa,just 12% of SDGs are on target and progress on 50%is “weak and insufficient”.Energy transformationSouth Africa’s energy landscape is changing veryquickly. Quite apart from the giant solar farmsof the Northern Cape, pictured, and the massivewind turbines going up in the Western Cape andthe Eastern Cape, the process of unbundling the13SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2025