Natasha Odendaal
Natasha Odendaal is Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.
KPMG unveils app to supply info on doing business in Africa
12th February 2015 Audit, tax and advisory services firm KPMG Global Africa Practice has launched a platform to arm businesses and investors with information on doing... →
Business airs wishlist for SoNA
10th February 2015 As the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) calls on government to foster closer collaboration between the public and private... →
Competition authorities should balance public interest, competition considerations in merger decisions
6th February 2015 As the Competition Commission obtains and mulls the inputs in response to its recently published draft guidelines on public interest decisions in... →
DoE reveals plans for revitalising SWH rebate programme
5th February 2015 Shortly after having taken the reins of the national solar water heater (SWH) programme from State-owned power utility Eskom, the Department of... →
Committee satisfied with input on national minimum wage
4th February 2015 The Portfolio Committee on Labour was satisfied with the number of people who participated in the Gauteng leg of its national public hearings into... →
January PMI indicates business conditions improving
2nd February 2015 The four index point rise to 54.2 in the seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in January suggested that manufacturers have... →
Davies unveils new R200m call centre
2nd February 2015 A new R200-million custom-built call centre for 2 500 employees has been launched in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, by Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob... →
CompComm tables draft policy to guide public interest decisions in mergers
23rd January 2015 The Competition Commission is seeking input from the public on guidelines directing its approach to the analysis of mergers based on public... →
Higher load shedding risk in Feb as a Koeberg unit undergoes maintenance
23rd January 2015 The risk of load shedding would be heightened next month as State-owned power utility Eskom takes half of the Koeberg power station’s capacity off... →
Solidarity confident of Feb synchronisation of Medupi Unit 6
22nd January 2015 Trade union Solidarity on Thursday said there were indications that State-owned power utility Eskom was on track for a mid-February synchronisation... →
Eskom bows out of WEF participation
20th January 2015 Financially strained State-owned power utility Eskom has scrapped much criticised plans to send three executives to the World Economic Forum’s... →
M&A activity in sub-Saharan Africa drops 3% in 2014
19th January 2015 The value of announced merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions involving sub-Saharan African targets contracted marginally to $28-billion in... →
Vodacom assures competition will be stronger post Neotel buyout
15th January 2015 The potential stifling of competition in the telecommunications sector has South Africa’s mobile operators up in arms as they move to block... →
Government extends helping hand to youth as new draft policy tabled
14th January 2015 The South African government hopes to provide the nation’s youth with a “hand up” to meaningfully participate in society and the economy, as... →
SAA achieves highest Iata environmental assessment
13th January 2015 South African Airways (SAA) has achieved the highest level of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) Environmental Assessment (IEnvA)... →
Electricity disruptions threaten manufacturing output – Seifsa
13th January 2015 South Africa is on its way to shedding 23% of production in the metals and engineering sector should the nation’s electricity woes not be resolved.... →
Manufacturing down 1.3% y/y in Nov, below analyst expectations
12th January 2015 Manufacturing output for November fell below analyst expectations, registering a “disappointing” 1.3% year-on-year contraction. This followed on... →
Solidarity raises concern over Labour Law amendment
9th January 2015 Trade union Solidarity has warned of the unintended consequences of the Labour Relations Amendment (LRA) Act No 6 of 2014, which was promulgated on... →
Eskom initiates load shedding
9th January 2015 State-owned power utility Eskom on Friday started Stage 1 load shedding as rising electricity demand from reopening industries and limited capacity... →
Usaasa defends STB tender process
7th January 2015 The Universal Services and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) has criticised the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) “unfortunate and sensational”... →
DA puts STB tender process under microscope
6th January 2015 The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday said it was seeking legal advice after questioning the validity of the now-closed tender for the... →
Vodacom unveils education portal for high school learners
5th January 2015 Telecommunications giant Vodacom on Monday unveiled its Department of Basic Education-endorsed learning platform giving students, teachers and... →
Reduction in financially distressed municipalities, but underspending rises
10th December 2014 While several municipalities have improved their financial status over the past year, 86 of South Africa’s 278 municipalities were financially... →
SAA to test biofuel flight next year
9th December 2014 As project Solaris gains traction, South African Airways (SAA) has made headway on its journey to becoming a biofueled airliner by 2020 through the... →
SA, China ink cooperation deals to enhance bilateral trade
5th December 2014 South Africa and China this week entered into several strategic agreements to strengthen bilateral relations, trade cooperation and create... →
Guidelines to enable consistent public transport planning tabled
5th December 2014 New guidelines have been developed to steer the planning and implementation of public transport infrastructure within district municipalities to... →
SA R&D expenditure not yet on target
3rd December 2014 While South Africa improved its spending on research and development (R&D) during 2012/13 and halted the “worrying” contractions experienced in... →
CEO confidence rises, but fears emerge over power supply constraints
3rd December 2014 South Africa’s continuously constrained power supply has dampened the 2015 outlook for more than half of the nation’s CEOs, who feel the lack of... →
PRASA unveils first new long-haul passenger locomotive
1st December 2014 The next three years will see an influx of new long-haul passenger locomotives enter service in South Africa after the Passenger Rail Agency of... →
Treasury issues RFP to revamp legacy financial management system
28th November 2014 South Africa’s National Treasury on Friday reissued its amended request for proposal (RFP) for the five-year multibillion-rand project to replace... →
Cwele mulls policy review consultation extension
28th November 2014 Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele was considering extending the consultation and comment process for its information... →
Patent lawyer calls on finalisation of IP policy, more expert input
26th November 2014 A Spoor & Fisher partner on Wednesday called on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to finalise its proposed policy for Intellectual... →
Nersa to decide on new fuel storage facility by mid-Dec
26th November 2014 South Africa will know by mid-December whether it would get a new independently owned and operated liquid fuels storage and distribution facility... →
Sanas moves to bolster African accreditation options
25th November 2014 The South African National Accreditation System (Sanas), which operated under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is... →
SA obligated to invest in neighbours – Chinamasa
21st November 2014 South Africa had a moral and business obligation to aide the growth of its neighbours and Zimbabwe was moving to put its best foot forward to... →
Another Majuba silo in danger of collapse – Solidarity
20th November 2014 Nearly a month after the catastrophic failure of the 10 000 t central coal-storage silo at its Majuba power plant, State-owned power utility Eskom... →
Gauteng vows to tackle social service delivery
20th November 2014 The Gauteng provincial government has narrowed its focus to the acceleration of strategic economic infrastructure developments aimed at catching up... →
Utilities show ever-increasing reliance on technology
18th November 2014 With the models of energy utilities worldwide increasingly “turned on their head” on the back of technological advances and an ever-transforming... →
Eskom communications network reaches end of life
18th November 2014 As Eskom battles to keep South Africa’s lights on amid ageing and failing energy infrastructure, it has emerged that its internal... →
ICT policy final discussion paper now on the table
17th November 2014 South Africa has entered the “last consultative stage” for the modernisation and alignment of its information and communication technology (ICT)... →
Ericsson uses technology to bolster humanitarian efforts
10th November 2014 Information and communication technology (ICT) giant Ericsson has moved to contribute to humanitarian efforts in Africa and the Middle East as... →