For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Shomolekae.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa urges long-term partnership with Spain amid broader €62bn investment pipeline; Basic Fuel Price formula in focus amid dramatic shift in South Africa’s supply sources; And, Two South Africa unions accept Eskom 7% wage offer, third union rejects it

Ramaphosa urges long-term partnership with Spain amid broader €62bn investment pipeline

President Cyril Ramaphosa today alluded to a massive pipeline of 85 investment projects, valued at over €62-billion, with investment partners, emphasising that South Africa is open for business, and inviting Spanish capital not only to fund, but also partner in, long-term industrial ventures.

Speaking at the South Africa–Spain Business Forum, in Madrid, Ramaphosa said South Africa saw a strong opportunity to grow its exports to Spain and to the broader European market in several areas.

Ramaphosa explained that through the country’s investment promotion agency, InvestSA, opportunities had been developed into structured, investment-ready projects designed for partnership and phased implementation.

These projects span energy transition infrastructure, green industrialisation, critical minerals beneficiation, agro-industrial value chains, sustainable fuels, digital connectivity and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

He said they are underpinned by clear policy frameworks, targeted investment incentives and dedicated one-stop facilitation mechanisms to ease implementation.

Basic Fuel Price formula in focus amid dramatic shift in South Africa’s supply sources

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, which is now preparing for a prolonged period of fuel supply and pricing pressure as a result of the damage to energy infrastructure during the war in the Middle East, remains confident of ongoing security of supply.

However, the department is deeply concerned about the outlook for fuel prices, especially in relation to diesel, and is also urgently reviewing the composition of its Basic Fuel Price formula to align it to the new sources of supply that have been secured since the start of the crisis and to address the issues that have given rise to the imposition of diesel surcharges.

Deputy director-general for mineral and petroleum regulation Tseliso Maqubela said government does not expect the disruptions to supply being resolved in the near-term.

This analysis is in line with a joint assessment by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the International Energy Agency, indicating that it will take months for supply from the Gulf region to normalise, even if shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is opened, owing to the damage that has been done to energy infrastructure.

And, Two South Africa unions accept Eskom 7% wage offer, third union rejects it

Two of South Africa's major labour unions have accepted state power utility Eskom's 7% wage increase offer, while a third has rejected it and declared a deadlock, demanding a higher raise, union representatives said.

Eskom began pay talks last year with the National Union of Mineworkers, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity, with several rounds of negotiations continuing until this month.

The utility's final offer was a 7% pay increase in each of the three years under negotiation, effective from July 2026.

NUM energy sector coordinator Khangela Baloyi and Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said their members had accepted the offer.

Numsa members are demanding a bigger increase.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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