AN ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF
SOUTH AFRICA
The CEOs of South Africa’s biggest companies are supporting government in tackling the challenges that are getting in the way of economic growth. Renewable energy solutions are taking off and big mining projects are producing valuable product. By John Young
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Calling itself “Business for South Africa”, the group first came together in response to the Covid pandemic in 2020 and helped to coordinate the successful vaccination rollout of 2021. Spokesmen for the grouping have said that they are responding to national priorities in the spirit of building a prosperous future together. The first steps in a move by the state to partner with the private sector in boosting efficiency at ports were taken in 2022: deals were signed at the Port of Durban, Richards Bay and at East London. In 2023, these first steps became a giant leap when International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), a Philippines-based port operator, was announced as the preferred partner for a joint venture (JV) to run the Durban Container Terminal with Transnet. Part of the plan for Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 is to increase traffic in such a way that it will be able to increase its handling capacity from the present 2.9-million TEUs (two-
s 2023 drew to a close, concerns about the functioning of South Africa’s ports and railways became more urgent. Transnet, the state-run utility which has six divisions covering ports, port terminals, railways, engineering, pipelines and property, is investigating partnerships with private operators, but the immediate priority is to fix dockside cranes and unload ships. President Cyril Ramaphosa himself visited the Port of Richards Bay, pictured, and promised swift action. The inability of the state’s other big utility, Eskom, to ensure a reliable supply of electricity has been a concern for some time. In response to these large national problems, the Chief Executive Officers of 130 South African companies have made a joint commitment to help. In addition to logistics and energy, crime is the third area of focus for a series of Working Groups which regularly meet and report to the President every six weeks.
SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2024
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PHOTO: TNPA
