Le Président sud-africain Jacob Zuma rencontre les responsables reunionnais de RSA

L’Association RSA (Reunion/South Africa Association) rend compte dans un communiqué de la rencontre de ses responsables — Christophe Rocheland, Président, et Richard Apavou, vice-président — avec le président sud-africain Jacob Zuma le lundi 19 octobre, à Johannesburg.

Richard Apavou, vice-président de RSA, Jacob Zuma, président de la République Sud-Africaine, et Christophe Rocheland, président de l’Association RSA.

« Les responsables de l’Association Coopération Réunion/Afrique du Sud (RSA : Reunion/South Africa Association) ont été reçus lundi dernier (19 octobre 2009) à Johannesburg pour une rencontre informelle avec le président de la République d’Afrique du Sud, Jacob Zuma, organisée par le Chef député Mandla Mandela, en la demeure privée de l’ex-président sud africain Nelson Mandela.

C’est à l’occasion d’une visite de courtoisie rendue par le président sud-africain à Nelson Mandela le lundi 19 octobre dernier que les responsables de RSA, Christophe Rocheland, président, et Richard Apavou, vice-président de l’Association, ont rencontré Jacob Zuma.

Les discussions entre les Réunionnais et le Chef de l’État sud-africain ont porté sur les longues relations historiques entretenues par La Réunion et l’Afrique du Sud du temps de l’Apartheid et notamment de la solidarité des Réunionnais envers les combattants de la liberté sud-africains. L’autre sujet de discussion concernait la création d’un Consulat sud-africain à La Réunion, dossier défendu depuis plus de 5 ans par l’Association. Le président sud-africain a chargé le Député Mandla Mandela de ce dossier en lui demandant de faire suivre le processus de création du Consulat avec la ministre des Affaires étrangères, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

L’Association plaide également pour un rapprochement stratégique au plus haut niveau politique et économique avec ce membre du G20 qui, de par sa situation géographique, représente une opportunité de mieux nous intégrer dans notre bloc régional, en accord avec la volonté politique exprimée par les autorités métropolitaines et réunionnaises ».

Les appétits chinois sortent l’économie sud-africaine de la morosité

La crise financière internationale bénéficie à Pékin en Afrique du Sud. Les relations entre les deux pays se sont intensifiées durant le premier semestre de 2009. La Chine est désormais le premier client de la Nation arc-en-ciel. Une situation qui se confirme particulièrement dans le secteur minier.

Lorsque, fin 2008, les producteurs européens de fer ont commencé à réduire leur commande, la plupart des 4300 salariés de la mine de Sishen, qui exploite ce minerai dans la province sud-africaine du Northern Cape, se sont légitimement inquiétés pour leur emploi. Dix mois plus tard, cette anxiété n’est plus qu’un lointain souvenir.

Au cours de cette période, l’augmentation de 35% de la demande de l’insatiable industrie chinoise a permis de compenser le recul de 50% de celle de l’Europe, du Japon et de la Corée du Sud, victimes du choc de la récession. Les responsables de Kumba Iron Ore, filiale d’Anglo-American, propriétaire de la mine, envisagent à présent son développement.

Pour le syndicaliste Eddie Majadibodu, porte-parole des mineurs, cette nouvelle contraste singulièrement avec la situation d’un secteur, gagné depuis plusieurs mois par la morosité à l’image de l’industrie du platinium où des milliers d’emplois ont été détruits. « Nous avons été préoccupés, mais l'entreprise se porte bien à présent », explique-t-il.

Premier importateur de produits sud-africains

Kumba n’est pas la seule société à bénéficier du renforcement des relations entre l’Afrique du Sud et la Chine. Au cours du premier semestre de 2009, alors que les exportations sud-africaines vers l’Allemagne, le Royaume uni, le Japon et les Etats-Unis plongeaient, la Chine a également augmenté ses commandes de chrome et autres matières premières.

Dernier signe en date de l’intensification de ces échanges, Pékin est aujourd’hui la première destination pour les exportations sud-africaines. Il y encore un an, l’Empire du Milieu ne se situait qu’au cinquième rang. Ce nouveau statut de premier partenaire n’est d’ailleurs pas sans rapport avec l’intérêt croissant de la Chine pour l’Afrique. Des industries comme le textile ou les composants électroniques sont autant de débouchés pour la place sud-africaine. (…)

Forte présence

Selon les banquiers, les investisseurs chinois devraient prendre dans les prochains mois des participations dans des mines locales, particulièrement celles qui comme les juniors sous-capitalisées ont souffert de la chute brutale de leur commande l'an passé.

« Il y a de plus en plus de prospections. Nous recevons un à deux investisseurs potentiels par semaine », explique un banquier de Johannesburg. Plus généralement, les communications et les infrastructures de transport font de l’Afrique du Sud un pays attractif pour abriter les filiales des groupes chinois opérant dans la région. Un des plus importants groupes commercial a récemment ouvert une représentation dans la ville de Cape Town pour soutenir un projet de plusieurs millions de dollars en Angola.

Pour d’autres observateurs cependant, la relation entre les deux pays ne se développera pas aussi vite qu’on pourrait le croire. Certains banquiers pointent les problèmes logistiques et les difficultés des entreprises chinoises à se financer en dehors de leur pays.

En outre, la Chine s’est déjà heurtée à des résistances tant politiques que culturelles sur le continent. Et il y a de grandes chances pour que cela se reproduise. Il y a trois ans, l’ancien président Thabo Mbeki avait mis en garde contre le caractère "colonialiste" de cette relation tout en encourageant son gouvernement à imposer temporairement , en 2007 et 2008, des quotas sur les importations de textile chinois. « Ils ne sont pas toujours accueillis les bras ouverts », ironise un banquier.

A court terme, la position dominante de Pékin dans l’économie sud-africaine devrait s’affaiblir avec le redémarrage de l’économie européenne. Mais ces liens ne peuvebnt que se renforcer sur le long terme.

Source: Financial Times et jeuneafrique.com

Les townships sont de nouveau en ébullition en Afrique du Sud

BUSINESS DAY

La police sud-africaine a utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes et des balles en caoutchouc pour disperser les habitants des townships qui manifestent depuis la fin septembre dans la région de Mpumalanga (nord-est). Ils réclament de nouveau de meilleures conditions de vie et l'amélioration des services publics, promis par le président Jacob Zuma. Le mouvement est en train de gagner d'autres townships, dont celui de Palm Ridge, à l'est de Johannesburg, où des incidents violents ont éclaté le 12 octobre.

Sommet Afrique du Sud-UE : une prise de contact à l'ombre du Zimbabwe

De Isabel PARENTHOEN (AFP)

JOHANNESBURG — L'appel de l'Afrique australe à lever les sanctions contre le Zimbabwe devrait faire de l'ombre au sommet Afrique du Sud-Union européenne vendredi, première prise de contact entre le nouveau gouvernement sud-africain et le plus gros partenaire économique du pays.

"Le président (sud-africain Jacob Zuma) soulèvera la question des sanctions" occidentales ciblant le chef de l'Etat zimbabwéen Robert Mugabe et ses proches, a déclaré à l'AFP le porte-parole présidentiel Vincent Magwenya.

"Il aura à l'esprit de convaincre les pays membres de l'UE de revoir leur position", a-t-il poursuivi.

Mais l'Union européenne, qui impose ces sanctions aux côtés des Etats-Unis notamment, n'est pas prête à bouger tant que la situation n'aura pas évolué au Zimbabwe.

"Nous ne pouvons ignorer les violations des droits de l'Homme. Nous ne l'avons pas fait en Afrique du Sud (pendant l'apartheid, ndlr) et ne le ferons pas au Zimbabwe", a souligné l'ambassadeur de l'UE à Pretoria, Lodewijk Briët.

Pretoria joue un rôle clé au Zimbabwe depuis qu'une crise politique sans précédent a éclaté en mars 2008 après la défaite électorale du président Mugabe, au pouvoir depuis 1980. Après des mois de paralysie politique, elle a débouché en février sur la formation d'un gouvernement d'union.

Reprenant le flambeau de son prédécesseur Thabo Mbeki, médiateur de l'Afrique australe, M. Zuma s'est rendu il y a deux semaines à Harare pour demander aux ennemis d'hier de surmonter les dissensions qui entravent ce gouvernement.

Il a également exhorté les bailleurs de fonds à fournir l'aide dont Harare a désespérément besoin pour reconstruire une économie en ruines, que les Occidentaux rechignent à apporter tant que le précaire arrangement politique reste instable.

L'ancienne opposition continue de subir le harassement de la police et aucun accord n'a été trouvé sur certains postes clés, dont celui de gouverneur de la Banque centrale.

Mardi, le président Mugabe a reçu l'appui du bloc régional, qui a appelé "la communauté internationale à lever toutes les formes de sanctions imposées" au Zimbabwe. M. Mugabe impute aux sanctions occidentales la responsabilité des déboires économiques du pays.

Le sommet de Keinmont, près du Cap (sud-ouest), permettra aux dirigeants européens de sonder une équipe gouvernementale sud-africaine entièrement renouvelée, issue d'élections générales en avril qui ont mis fin à une âpre lutte pour le pouvoir au sein du parti dominant.

La présidence suédoise de l'UE veut notamment s'assurer du maintien des engagements de Pretoria pour la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre avant une conférence internationale cruciale à Copenhague en décembre.

La première économie d'Afrique, dont les émissions per capita équivalent à celles de l'Allemagne, est handicapée par une récession qui rogne le budget de l'Etat et une crise énergétique qui la contraint à puiser dans ses immenses réserves de charbon aux dépens des énergies propres.

Les discussions devraient également porter sur les inquiétudes de l'Afrique du Sud vis-à-vis des accords de libre échange avec l'UE dits de "partenariat économique" (APE), qui prévoient une ouverture progressive des marchés aux produits européens.

Pretoria craint que ces APE, déjà signés en Afrique australe par quatre pays, n'entravent les efforts d'intégration régionale.

L'UE n'a pas l'intention de "gêner l'agenda régional de l'Afrique du Sud", a affirmé M. Briët. Le "partenariat stratégique" entre Bruxelles et Pretoria est "un partenariat entre égaux", a-t-il martelé.

Copyright © 2009 AFP

Taj hotel for Cape Town city centre

Thursday, 20 August 2009

The five-star 155-room Taj Cape Town is set to open in December this year. Situated in the heart of the city centre and away from the usually favoured V&A Waterfront, the hotel is a welcome boost for inner city rejuvenation.

Image: www.tajhotels.comThe Taj Hotel will be located in the historic and civic heart of Cape Town, on the vibrant pedestrian precinct, St George's Mall, described by Taj Cape Town GM Michael Pownall as "the cultural and historical centre of this glittering cosmopolitan city" in a press statement by Tourism Cape Town earlier this year.

According to the Taj website, the hotel will offer 155 Heritage and Tower rooms and suites, 10 sectional apartments, 12 fractional suites and one presidential suite, playing host to dignitaries, business heads and discerning travellers from across the world.

It will also feature a business centre and several banquet rooms, fitted with state-of-the-art facilities and capable of hosting up to 100 people on the first floor – directly overlooking St. George's Cathedral and Table Mountain.

The hotel will allow its guests to experience "the rich culture, breathtaking sights and countless activities of Cape Town, from a milieu of warm Indian hospitality and unsurpassed luxury," said Pownall.

Inner-city rejuvenation

According to a Business Day article this week, the hotel, which cost R500 million, is a 50-50 joint venture between city centre property investor Eurocape and Taj, the hotel division of Indian conglomerate Tata.

Pownall believed that with the rejuvenation and reinvestment in the city centre in recent years, the timing of opening the hotel could not be better.

"We could not have done this 10 years ago," he told the paper. "But now the streets (are) safer, there are numerous street cafés and there is a lot more life in the area."

Impeccable service

Emerging from the original façade of two iconic historical Cape Town buildings, Temple Chambers (the Board of Executors building built originally in the 1890s) and the South African Reserve Bank Building, it will seamlessly blend old and contemporary architectural styles.

The hotel's new 17-floor glass tower will rise from the heritage buildings into the city skyline, with guestrooms, suites and residences all offering spectacular views of the city's famous St. George's Cathedral, The Company's Garden, Parliament and the stunning Table Mountain.

According to the statement, guests will be able to experience authentic and traditional Indian Ayurvedic wellness treatments at the Jiva Grande Spa, as well as dine at Masala Kraft, an Indian speciality restaurant known for its delectable fare that is skilfully and uniquely prepared with traditional ingredients.

"Operated by Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, Cape Town's new landmark hotel will continue to uphold our long standing tradition of unparalleled luxury and impeccable service that is over 100 years old," said Pownall.

Source: SouthAfrica.info

Le Forum économique mondial sur l'Afrique cherche à résoudre la crise

11/06/2009 - AFP

Le 19e Forum économique mondial (WEF) sur l'Afrique, qui se tient de mercredi à vendredi en Afrique du Sud, va tenter de déterminer l'impact de la crise économique mondiale sur le continent habité le plus pauvre et y trouver des réponses sur le long terme.

L'Afrique doit "se positionner pour répondre à la crise (. . . ). Elle doit être prête à régler ce problème", a exhorté le président sud-africain Jacob Zuma à l'ouverture du Forum au Cap (sud-ouest).

"Aucune région (du monde) ne va répondre de la même façon" à la crise économique mondiale qui a montré la nécessité de changer le système financier mondial, a-t-il déclaré.

"L'Afrique peut compter sur sa population, jeune et en augmentation", ses ressources naturelles et un possible retour de sa diaspora qui a découvert avec la crise que "l'herbe n'est pas nécessairement plus verte de l'autre côté", a-t-il estimé.

Protectionnisme des pays développés

M. Zuma a aussi dénoncé le protectionnisme auxquels les pays développés ont recours plus que jamais en période de crise et qui handicape le continent noir.

Le WEF réunit jusqu'à vendredi quelque 800 personnes, dont des banquiers et chefs d'entreprise, ainsi que des représentants de pays et institutions d'Europe, des Etats-Unis, de Chine et du Moyen-Orient. Plusieurs dirigeants africains avaient aussi fait le déplacement mercredi, dont M. Zuma et les présidents zambien Rupiah Banda et rwandais Paul Kagame.

"Le but de ce sommet est d'amener les leaders africains et internationaux à discuter ensemble des conséquences de la crise en Afrique", a déclaré à l'AFP la directrice du 19e WEF, Katherine Tweedie.

"Beaucoup de gens viennent pour savoir (. . . ) ce que certains chefs d'entreprise ont fait dans leur propre société en manque de capitaux et sans possibilité de financement, pour savoir si l'Afrique est un endroit sûr pour investir", a-t-elle expliqué.

Chute des cours des matières premières

L'Afrique a été tardivement mais très violemment touchée par la crise mondiale, de nombreux pays étant frappés de plein fouet par la chute des cours des matières premières. Conséquence, après cinq années consécutives de croissance annuelle supérieure à 5%, l'expansion sur le continent noir devrait ralentir en 2009 à 2%, son plus bas niveau depuis une vingtaine d'années, selon l'ONU.

L'Afrique du Sud, première puissance économique du continent, vient ainsi d'entrer en récession pour la première fois en dix-sept ans.

La baisse de la demande en ressources naturelles, principales richesses de nombreux pays africains, sera largement discutée lors de ce forum, tout comme les investissements, le G20, l'agriculture ou encore la promotion des femmes.

"Encourager les leaders à collaborer au-delà des frontières"

Plus largement, les échanges entre l'Afrique et les autres pays seront au coeur des discussions afin d'"encourager les leaders à collaborer au-delà des frontières".

Le WEF se penchera en particulier sur les relations sino-africaines, en s'intéressant à un nouvel angle, le secteur financier, avec le président de la Banque industrielle et commerciale de Chine, Jiang Jianqing.

La situation au Zimbabwe sera également évoquée en présence de son ministre des Finances Tendai Biti, désespérément à la recherche d'aides pour reconstruire l'économie en ruine de son pays.

A un an de la Coupe du monde de football, organisée en Afrique du Sud, le Forum économique mondial sur l'Afrique a prévu une session sur les retombées sur le continent africain de la Coupe des Confédérations, organisée du 14 au 28 juin en Afrique du Sud, et du Mondial-2010.

Afrique du Sud: demande énergétique croissante

On estime que la demande énergétique va doubler d’ici 2014 pour les villes d’Afrique du Sud. Pour répondre à cette demande les experts au cours d’une conférence tenue à Johannesburg conseillent les économies d’énergie et la diversité des sources d’énergie. Eskom, la compagnie nationale d’électricité , prévoit un programme d’installation de 900 000 chauffe-eau utilisant l’énergie solaire, mais seulement 800 avaient été installés à la fin de l’année 2008. Pour inciter les consommateurs à économiser l’énergie diverses taxes sont envisagées. L’Afrique du Sud fait partie des pays qui émettent de grandes quantités de CO2 car le pays utilise massivement les centrales à charbon. Les véhicules automobiles seront aussi souvent à diverses taxes pour préserver l’environnement.

Source Business Day

Le tourisme sud-africain, une contribution majeure à l’économie du pays

Alors que l’industrie minière est sur le déclin, le tourisme est en pleine expansion et a contribué pour 3,5 % du PIB l’an dernier et cette participation va devenir de plus en plus importante. L’hébergement et les transports routiers sont les éléments les plus importants pour l’accueil des touristes en particulier pour la Coupe du monde de football 2010. L’Afrique du Sud attend 300 000 visiteurs pour cet événement. L’île Maurice offrira 3200 chambres pour les amateurs de football qui seront transportés en avion pour les matchs. La campagne publicitaire vient d’être lancée sur plusieurs chaînes de télévision : CNN, BBC world, Sky News et Eurosport et devrait atteindre 600 millions de téléspectateurs.

Source Business Day

South African Economy to see 2.5 % growth in 2010

South Africa’s economy can look forward to growth of 2.5 percent in 2010, Ettienne Le Roux, senior economist at Rand Merchant Bank said on Thursday.

He was addressing the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA's annual conference in Johannesburg. Le Roux said this figure should not be considered a bad performance, "given the global downswing."

"The many shock absorbers we have in place -- such as a flexible rand exchange rate, counter cyclical policies, lower inflation, a social safety net, falling interest rates and infrastructure spend -- these won't prevent recession in SA," he said.

However, he added, these so-called shock absorbers would allow SA to recover around the end of 2009 into 2010. Le Roux said the world was made up of surplus countries and deficit countries.

"Unfortunately SA is a deficit country with a history of overspending," he said. "There's nothing wrong with that, but you have to keep foreigners happy in order to fund the deficit," he added.

Globally, Le Roux said it was not only a property bubble that had caused the trouble, but a financial banking crisis too. “The property bubble burst and assets on balance sheets depreciated ... and if a bank has capital problems it doesn't lend, resulting in a situation where the economy can't grow."

However, Le Roux was of the opinion that the massive stimulus packages by governments had prevented a worst case scenario -- that of a great depression. "Instead we have a great recession in 2009."

Le Roux said that what happened in the global economy was important for South Africa.

"When there is a global upswing, SA tends to outperform global growth, but when there is a global downturn, we tend to underperform global growth."

On the consumer front Le Roux said consumers had concentrated on deleveraging and therefore spending slowed. "The consumer matters when it comes to our economy ... if we can get the consumer going again, the economy will start growing again."

Asked why SA banks were behaving like their counterparts in the US by not lending, Le Roux said: "This is their temporary response to the downturn.

"Banks can't lend to households that may not repay them," he said.

However, he added that once the economy stabilised, banks would most certainly ease lending criteria.

BEE en Sud-Afrique: L'investissement noir en panne

14/05/2009

Le Black Economic Empowerment résistera-t-il à la crise ? Alertés par la baisse des transactions liées à la redistribution du capital des entreprises, les politiques s’affolent. Pas les banquiers.

Pour le moment, l’édifice tient toujours debout mais le vent de la crise souffle suffisamment fort pour que les banquiers sud-africains courent aux abris. Jamais depuis qu’il a été lancé en 1994 le Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) n’avait été dans une telle tourmente. Ce système de redistribution des richesses prend de plein fouet la crise économique et financière. Au même moment, certains politiciens, y compris au sein du parti majoritaire, le Congrès national africain (ANC), commencent à douter de l’efficacité de la mesure.

Le fondement de cette politique qui veut aider la majorité noire du pays à prendre le contrôle de l’économie du pays n’est guère contesté. Le système est simple : un « investisseur » noir peut emprunter de quoi acheter des parts du capital d’une entreprise, la plus prospère possible, et rembourser la banque grâce aux dividendes versés au fil du temps. Ce qui pose problème, c’est la méthode. Depuis longtemps des voix se sont élevées pour critiquer le BEE, qui n’aurait profité qu’à une petite clique et n’aurait rien changé à la vie du plus grand nombre. En 2004, 72 % des accords du BEE avaient bénéficié à seulement six compagnies dont celles de Cyril Ramaphosa, Tokyo Sexwale et Saki Macozoma et quelques autres.

Le gouvernement a donc rectifié le tir, en 2004, avec un nouveau concept et un nouvel acronyme, le BBBEE, pour Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment. Désormais, il ne s’agit plus seulement de redistribuer du capital mais aussi de renforcer l’« empowerment » de façon plus globale. Un système de notation a donc été mis en place, la « scorecard », avec plusieurs moyens de gagner des points, par exemple en travaillant avec des sous-traitants ou des fournisseurs estampillés eux aussi BEE, en assurant la formation et la promotion des employés noirs, ou en finançant des œuvres sociales. Plus la notation de l’entreprise est bonne, plus elle a de chances de remporter des marchés publics ou de devenir fournisseur ou sous-traitant. Par effet de dominos, toutes les sociétés, cotées ou pas, petites ou grandes, locales ou étrangères doivent se conformer à des règles du jeu pas toujours très simples.

Le financement de cette vaste réforme repose sur la bonne santé et le bon vouloir du système bancaire sud-africain qui, jusque-là, a joué le jeu. Solides et plutôt bien notées par les agences internationales, les cinq grandes banques du pays (91 % du marché) ont montré ces dernières années une bonne rentabilité et semblent, parce qu’elles n’ont que peu d’investissements à l’étranger, relativement à l’abri de la crise financière. Elles ne sont pas pour autant épargnées par la crise du crédit. Surendettés, les ménages sud-africains ont de plus en plus de mal à faire face à leurs engagements. Le crédit reste cher, pendant que l’inflation s’envole et que la croissance ralentit.

Tous les spécialistes appellent à la vigilance. « Les banques sont dans une position délicate », avouait récemment dans une conférence du secteur minier Cliff Zephyrine, chef de la section investissement en capital de la banque Absa. Cet économiste s’est dit particulièrement inquiet au sujet des deals BEE conclus ces deux ou trois dernières années : « Les achats effectués avant cette date ont bénéficié d’une longue période de hausse de la Bourse et d’un taux de croissance autour de 7 %. Ceux conclus plus récemment sont plus fragiles. » Les parts en capital ont été libérées au plus haut du marché financier et à une époque où l’or, comme la plupart des autres produits miniers, était aussi en forte hausse. Or la Bourse de Johannesburg a perdu environ un tiers de sa valeur sur les dix derniers mois. Cliff Zephyrine parle d’une « possible banqueroute du Black Economic Empowerment ».

« Cette crise est sans précédent et on ne sait pas combien de temps elle va durer. Dans ce contexte, il est hélas possible que quelques-uns de ces montages s’effondrent », reconnaît James Formby, directeur de la branche entreprise de la Rand Merchant Bank. Mais, pour ce banquier d’affaires, le système bancaire n’est pas menacé d’une catastrophe type « crise des subprimes ». « Nous avons prêté en prenant toutes les garanties, et en plus nous n’avons travaillé qu’avec des entreprises solides », affirme-t-il, avant d’ajouter que le risque pour les banques sud-africaines « reste bas ».

Cinq fois moins de transactions

Entre 2004 et 2008, 200 milliards de rands (environ 16 milliards d’euros) ont été redistribués à des investisseurs noirs à la Bourse de Johannesburg. La tendance est aujourd’hui à la prudence. Dans les deux dernières années, selon l’agence de notation BEE EmpowerDex, le montant des transactions BEE prévues et annulées dépasserait 40 milliards de rands. Pour l’année 2008, la Bourse n’a enregistré que 13 milliards d’échanges, alors qu’un an plus tôt pas moins de 66 milliards de rands avaient changé de main. Pour le moment, aucune des transactions BEE n’a échoué, mais, selon les experts, plusieurs d’entre elles devront être refinancées en cours de route. « Même si les banques vont avoir tendance à prendre de plus en plus de garanties, le processus continuera, le BEE reste la règle à suivre », insiste James Formby.

Sur ce point, Matthew Phosa, trésorier de l’ANC et figure politique de premier plan, est plus réservé : « Je ne crois pas que le BEE ait bien fonctionné. Il a créé des millionnaires et des superstars du business pendant que le peuple aurait eu besoin de recevoir une formation de base, déclarait-il en septembre dernier devant les étudiants de l’université du Free State. Le but du BEE était de permettre aux Noirs de s’insérer dans le tissu économique, pas d’en chasser les Blancs. » Si la crise ne remet pas en cause le fonctionnement du BEE, le plus grand reproche fait à cette politique est qu’elle a créé des riches mais aucune richesse…

SA improves its competitive edge

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

South Africa has improved its economic competitiveness to 48 from 53 according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook released on Wednesday.

It was ranked out of 57 nations by the yearbook, which was compiled by Productivity SA and was published by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.

"That's quite an improvement, because countries usually only move one place a year," said Efficient Group economist Dawie Roodt. "I'd say it was surprising," he said.

Roodt cautioned that he had not seen the report in detail, but he speculated that South Africa's improved ranking could be a result of other ranked countries' decline during the current economic crisis.

In terms of business efficiency, South Africa's ranking jumped from 38 to 30, which the report attributed to the JSE's support of business investment and the regulatory environment of the financial system.

"Corporate governance in South Africa is better," said Roodt. "South Africa has a world-class banking system and this proves that."

Despite the improvements, South Africa still had to address its problems of poverty, labour and skills shortages.

The yearbook indicated that South Africa's tax policy, stock market, social security contributions by employers and employees and low cost-of-living all contributed to its competitiveness.

It also singled-out South Africa's terms of trade index, which marks the relative cost of imports to those of exports.

"Internationally, trading companies in manufacturing and services are key growth drivers, consequently it is vital to ensure that high productivity levels and growth are consistently attained and productivity initiatives at all levels are intensified," said Mosai.

The country showed little improvement when ranked on government efficiency, infrastructure and economic performance. While its ranking in government inefficiency improved to 26 from 28 and infrastructure rose from 56 to 55, economic performance dropped a place from 56 to 55.

Afrique du sud: Trade deficit R512m for March

South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R512-million for March, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) said on Thursday.

It said the deficit was mainly due to increased exports of 17.94 percent and increased imports of 17.58 percent.

The deficit eased from R571-million in February.

Exports for March 2009 of R52.0-billion and imports of R52.5-billion resulted in the deficit of R512-million.

Standard Bank economist Shireen Darmalingam said the improvement in exports in March was likely to be temporary within a general falling trend.

The sustained weakness in the global economy, especially in SA's major trading partners, was expected to continue to the final quarter of the year, she said.

The rebound in exports could very well have been a function of past export orders.

"This view is corroborated by the recent manufacturing data, which point to a severe recession in the sector, having been impacted adversely by poor manufacturing export orders."

Darmalingam said export volumes for manufactured goods were expected to decline by close to 10 percent in 2009, adding considerable downside risks to the recent buoyancy in exports.

"Furthermore, the rand is likely to maintain a strengthening bias, which is supportive of increased imports going forward, but may be offset by weakening demand."

This, combined with the general weak demand for exports, was likely to translate into continued trade deficits for the remainder of this year.

Darmalingam said according to the World Trade Organisation, world trade (including both imports and imports) volumes were expected to decline by 9 percent in 2009.

"The developed world’s exports are expected to decline by 10 percent this year while emerging market economies’ trade may be subjected to a 2 percent to 3 percent decline."

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had pencilled in a larger decline in trade volumes, amounting to 13.2 percent in 2009, she added.

China-Africa Development Fund opens SA office

The South African Department of Trade and Industry and the China-Africa Development Fund (CADF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Johannesburg on Monday.

At the same time, the CADF opened its representative office in South Africa.

Speaking at the ceremony, deputy Trade and Industry Minister Elizabeth Thabethe stated that areas covered by the MoU included mining, energy, infrastructure and information and communications technology.

She pointed out that the creation of the CADF was one of the steps by China to develop a new relationship with Africa. She added that the opening of the CADF representative office in South Africa represented a new era in the relationship between Africa and China.

Also speaking at the ceremony, African National Congress secretary-general Dr Matthews Phosa affirmed that South Africa was quickly learning to look also to the East for economic partners.

He said that China has set an example by becoming one of the leading economic forces in the world and that China had also shown that it wanted to cooperate with Africa.

Phosa added that it was very clear that there was a Chinese focus on investing in South Africa and assured that such investments would be welcomed in the country, the region and the continent.

He expressed the view that the willingness of the China Development Bank (CDB) to invest in Africa at a time of global economic meltdown was hugely impressive.

The CDB is currently the sole shareholder in the CADF, which was launched in June 2007, with an initial tranche of $1-billion and a total capital investment which will ultimately reach $5-billion.

The chief governor of the CDB, Chen Yuan, reported that the CADF had made investments of nearly $400-million in projects in Africa. These investment were facilitating more than $2-billion of further investments in Africa by Chinese companies.

Yuan stated that the representative office in South Africa would provide means to accelerate investments and develop further cooperation between Chinese and African businesses.

Chinese ambassador to South Africa, Zhong Jianhua, reported that the Embassy was seeing more Chinese business coming to South Africa and the African continent.

South Africa Elections

A series of articles on AllAfrica look at South Africa's Wednesday elections as the country's political parties conclude their campaigning.

The Mail & Guardian reports the ruling ANC party faces a new wave of competition in South Africa's "heartland."

ANC faces wave of new competition in heartland
STUART GRAHAM | PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA - Apr 20 2009

The ANC is in no danger of losing its heartland -- the Eastern Cape -- on election Wednesday, but for the first time the party is facing a wave of new competition from disgruntled supporters looking for solutions to old problems. 

On Thursday thousands of supporters wearing yellow Congress of the People T-shirts turned out in force to hear party leader Mvume Dandala speak in the African National Congress strongholds of King William's Town and the town of his birth, Mount Ayliff.

A day earlier, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille had a crowd of hundreds singing and cheering her on in the town of Butterworth, another ANC stronghold. The party's support has grown dramatically from 250 votes in Butterworth in the 2004 national election to more than 5 000 votes in the 2006 municipal election.

“People are starting to move from the past,” says Professor Kofi Etsiah, a political science professor at the University of Fort Hare.

“Five years ago South Africa was too close to the death of the old system. They associated the ANC with their freedom. But now people are questioning more and more whether they are any better off. The more distant the past becomes the less people will identify with it.”

Etsiah believes that opposition parties have no choice but to come together in the future.

“Time and developments compel opposition parties to come together with their one common factor being the dislike of the ruling party.

“The central question in politics is power. Unless you possess it, you cannot put your ideas into practice. You are nowhere.”

For the Eastern Cape, where about 55% of the population is unemployed, voters are increasingly expected to shift their loyalty to parties that are able to come up with ways of creating jobs and providing services.

“Life is very difficult for most of us,” says one woman from the informal settlement of Zweledinga outside Port Elizabeth.

“When it rains the water comes into our shacks. It is very dark at night because there is no electricity in many places. It is not safe."

She says only one tap serves a large part of the settlement and there are also no proper toilets.

“What is very bad is that many of the people do not have jobs,” she says.

“Many of the people are struggling to find work.”

Descriptions like these of life in the Eastern Cape are heard in villages and townships across the province.

Political analyst Protas Madlala says the Eastern Cape's poor are becoming more and more despondent and this might drive them to other political parties. But he believes that parties such as Cope and the DA are not viable alternatives.

“Cope is seen as too disorganised with too much baggage attached to it,” he says.

"The DA is seen as a white party and the scars from the past are still fresh.”

Veliswa Mvenya, a DA councillor in Butterworth who comes from a rural village in the area, says the party's increased support is directly due to its delivery of services and its hard stance against corruption.

“The ANC is afraid of the DA, they are poisoning people's minds about the DA, saying it is a white party,” she says.

“People are tired of corruption in Butterworth. They know they will get something better from the DA.”

What is likely to test voter loyalty in the Eastern Cape province in the coming years will be pressure to come up with solutions for the province's economy, which is heavily reliant on the slowing motor industry. 

Demand for motor vehicles has slowed dramatically since the start of the global financial crisis last year. General Motors, which is a major employer in the Nelson Mandela Bay area, is one example of the slowing industry. Earlier in April it announced it would retrench 700 workers.

“We have to look to other industries to lead us through,” says the DA's Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip, who believes the province will have to make greater use of its agricultural land and tourist assets if it is to fare well in the coming years.

“These are the mines that we are going to have to run in order to stimulate jobs.”

Agriculture is the backbone of the Eastern Cape and the sector with the most potential to combat poverty and create jobs and sustainable livelihoods, says Trollip, himself a farmer.

Poverty, particularly in rural areas, needs to be addressed "by innovative thinking, aggressive training and adequate farmer support".

United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa, once the leader of the Transkei homeland, says that he would like more to be done to rescue the province's motor industry.

“The question is how to rescue this industry without losing the focus in the big picture,” Holomisa says.

He feels that Eastern Cape is under-budgeted “in a big way” with areas such as the rural Transkei and Ciskei still heavily neglected.

“We need to look at a master plan to integrate Ciskei and Transkei into the main economies,” he says.

Cope believes that a lot can be done to improve the province's economy by upgrading infrastructure.

The party's “plan of action” for the province includes developing the corridor between Butterworth and Mount Ayliff by upgrading roads and linking villages to towns. Another of its plans is to revive agricultural production schemes such as pineapple and citrus farms in the Peddie or Fort Beaufort regions.

“Our plan is to modernise the economy of the whole province,” says senior Cope member Wiseman Nkuhlu.

This, he says, means spreading the industrial centres out of the province's two major cities, Port Elizabeth and East London.

ANC executive committee member and former provincial economic affairs minister Enoch Godongwana believes the Eastern Cape's economy has improved dramatically when compared with where it came from.

"We inherited a declining economy,” he says.

“In that context we have inherited huge deficit and debt. We reached a peak of 5% growth in 2006. We're beginning to make an impact in infrastructure.”

The Eastern Cape, he adds, contributes a meagre 7,8% a year to South Africa's economy.

The solutions to the province's problems however, are likely to remain in the hands of the ruling party for at least the next five years.

A recent poll by Plus 94 predicts that the ANC will take 44 of the 63 seats in the Eastern Cape provincial legislature in the election, compared to the 53% has. 

Cope is expected to take 12 seats. The UDM which currently has four seats is expected to win only one in the election. The DA is predicted to keep the five seats it currently holds. The Independent Democrats is predicted to win one seat. 

The African People's Convention, a breakaway party from the Pan-Africanist Party, is likely to lose the one seat it currently holds.

The ANC is aware that its hold on the Eastern Cape may become increasingly precarious.

"Voters do not have infinite loyalty,” says Sicelo Gqobana, who is in charge of the party's election campaign in the province.

“They will not stay patient with the ANC forever. If the ANC wants to stay in power it will have to improve its performance in the Eastern Cape."

Eskom aims to reduce total carbon emissions by 2050

Electricity utility Eskom – which last year set a self-imposed target of 2025 for reducing its absolute carbon-dioxide (C02) emissions – believes it could be back to current emission levels by 2050.

But the State-owned enterprise, which generated 224-million tons of C02 last year alone, is wary of setting a target date for when its emissions might peak, and stresses that emission reductions cannot be made in isolation and will require collaboration with government and other social actors.

In its 2008 annual report, the utility unveiled its climate change strategy for the first time, with the then chairperson Valli Moosa writing that the utility would reduce its relative CO2 footprint until 2025 and thereafter continually reduce absolute emissions in line with national and international targets. 

This was a significant step, given Eskom’s heavy reliance on coal and given that fact that it was building two new coal-fired stations at a cost of R211-billion. Indeed, the utility’s carbon footprint is derived mainly from this heavy reliance on coal, with it having burned a total of 125-million tons of coal in its 2008 financial year.

Its coal consumption is likely to rise materially as the new stations come on line, raising serious questions not only about the 2025 commitment, but also about whether the utility will be able to reduce its total emissions.

Speaking earlier in the month, CEO Jacob Maroga reported that Eskom had an internal goal of reducing “total emissions” by 2050, despite the fact that its system would have to more or less be doubled from its current size of around 40 000 MW.

“It is not clear when the peak will be, though,” he acknowledged, noting that the entry of nonemitting nuclear facilities had been delayed owing to funding strains.

“Therefore, a lot of discussion is still needed for Eskom to achieve that 2050 target, because we need to construct a funding structure that recognises the cost of CO2,” Maroga added.

Such a framework would enable Eskom to properly compare the cost of coal with nonemitting technologies, such as nuclear and renewables. But Maroga stressed, too, that coal and nuclear provided the only realistic base-load technology options.

“We are starting to feel that if we continue with coal we will pay a price.

“The issue is how to fund nuclear and how partnerships can be used to fund it,” Maroga added.

Maroga suggested that the capital costs associated with nuclear were about four times that of coal, which means that the cancelled Nuclear-1 project could have cost anywhere between R250-billion and R300-billion.

But this a figure has been strongly disputed by nuclear vendor Areva, which has argued that, on average, the capital associated with nuclear is 1,7 times that of a coal-fired station.

Eskom is also targeting large-scale solar and wind projects, with the aim of having at least 1 600 MW of renewable capacity by 2025 – a modest target relative to its initial, but now questionable, target of having 20 000 MW of new nuclear capacity by that same date.

source

Marine algae biofuel pilot project launched in the Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape has been selected as the site for a pilot project where marine algae will be used to convert carbon dioxide into biofuels and other products.

This 'green technology' could ultimately be rolled out across the country and into other parts of Africa.

The use of algae as one of the next-generation sources of biofuel has long been a subject of controversy, with past schemes both locally and abroad giving rise to dramatic claims – but with no hard proof.

However, research being carried out by Jacobs University, in Germany, using marine microalgae to capture, through photosynthesis, the carbon dioxide in flue gases at two major power stations, is yielding impressive results. A low-cost, custom-built 800-m² photobioreactor – set up at a lignite coal-based power plant – has been converting carbon dioxide into biomass since August last year.

Jacobs University has now partnered with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), in Port Elizabeth, to expand the research with the intention of establishing pilot sites at various Eastern Cape industrial sources – including breweries, refineries and cement factories – by early next year. The next step is to partner with major industrial facilities, both nationally and in other African countries.

Underpinning the German-South African partnership is a memorandum of understanding, signed in December between Phytolutions, which is jointly owned by Jacobs University and several German investors, and InnoVenton, NMMU’s internationally recognised institute of chemical technology.

InnoVenton’s Professor Ben Zeelie says the Eastern Cape was selected for the pilot project as it boasts “optimal coastal climatic conditions [in which algae can thrive], along with a mix of industrial activity”. That, coupled with InnoVenton’s expertise in bioprocessing, made it the obvious choice.

“The merging of the two scientific capabilities and the proven ability of both to undertake and demonstrate the engineering and viability of the integrated systems are of huge significance and contrast with the negative local and international publicity surrounding past schemes to achieve real results from this next-generation biofuels technology.”

By June, a 200-m² photobioreactor – capable of producing 2 t of dry biomass a year – will be up and running at NMMU. This will be followed early next year by the establishment of two 1 000-m² photobioreactors at sites adjacent to interested industrial partners, to evaluate the technology in industrial applications.

“It is envisaged that, within two years, the technology will have been optimised for African conditions, with photobioreactors sized to match carbon dioxide mitigation targets,” says Zeelie.

To keep costs down, the photobioreactors will be built locally by black economically empowered small and medium-zed enterprises, based on the original Phytolutions designs, with the algae housed in plastic bags on metal frames, and the carbon dioxide piped to each bag through long tubes. Phytolutions has developed software to monitor the process.

Once harvested, the algae will be turned into dry biomass and converted into biofuels, glycerine and protein.

Zeelie says the project’s main goal is the mitigation of carbon dioxide into a form where it is “permanently sequestered on a significant scale, based on an economically and technically sustainable technology”.

Source

SA to invest $1.2bn in wind energy

20 March 2009

Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power has signed a €850-million (about R11-billion) joint venture deal with South African firm Genesis Eco-Energy to build wind farms to generate "an initial pipeline" of over 500 MW of energy in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces by 2014.

SA Good NewsThe joint venture company plans to have two projects - a 30 MW wind farm at Jeffrey's Bay near Port Elizabeth, and a 40 MW project at Colesberg in the Northern Cape - ready for construction early in 2010.

The two projects "are both at advanced development stages and are expected to be fully operational early in 2011," Mainstream said in a statement on Thursday.

"Wind energy is very much an untapped resource in South Africa, and this is a huge opportunity for us," said Mainstream chief executive Eddie O'Connor.

A shortage of power generating capacity is constraining South Africa's economic growth, and state electricity company Eskom is to spend hundreds of billions of rands over the next five years on increasing this capacity.

At the same time, the government is placing increasing emphasis on reducing South Africa's dependence on fossil fuels. Speaking at a renewable energy conference in Pretoria on Thursday, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said the government wanted renewable energy to account for between 6% and 9% of electricity generated in the country by 2013, and between 9% and 15% by 2018.

Mainstream's O'Connor said that while there was currently less than 10 MW of wind energy in operation in South Africa, with the country's "excellent wind resource there's the potential for many thousands.

"We are confident that the South African government will shortly implement appropriate policies to kick-start and support the wind energy market," O'Connor added.

Genesis Eco-Energy's director of operations, Davin Chown said that Mainstream's investment was "a vote of confidence in both the Genesis team as well as the emerging renewable energy market in South Africa, which holds significant potential for an investment and development partnership such as ours."

Besides contributing to South Africa's climate change mitigation strategy, the new projects will give a major boost to local economic development, energy security and job creation.

Mainstream is also engaged in development projects in the US, UK, Canada, Chile and Germany. Earlier this month, the company signed a CAD$840-million deal to build wind farms in Canada, and in February it won the right to develop a £1.1-billion offshore wind farm off Scotland.

SA solar technology gets R540m boost

A groundbreaking South African development in solar technology has received the support of the European Investment Bank in the form of a €40 million (R543 million) loan for the construction of a production facility in Paarl, Western Cape.

SA Good News The high technology facility will be the home of Thin Film Solar Technology SA where new-generation photovoltaic (PV) modules for emission-free solar electricity will be produced.

The technology used to make the PV modules was developed by a research team from the University of Johannesburg. Unlike standard solar panels that contain a 350 micron thick silicon layer, the thin-film panels make use of copper, indium, gallium, sulphur and selenium (CIGSSe).

The result is a revolutionary thin panel, approximately five microns thick (a human hair is 20 microns thick), that can be sold at a dramatically lower cost.

The new plant will provide PV systems to schools and clinics in rural communities, where PV is already often more cost-effective than power grid development as well as micro-sized installations for individual homes, at competitive prices

When fully operational, the plant will have a peak capacity of 30 Megawatts per annum. Most of the end product will be exported.

In a statement released on Wednesday, EIB said that they expect the facility to have a positive impact on the South African economy. “[The facility] will establish the country as a reference point for this innovative and locally developed technology while contributing to the development of the national PV market.”

Commercialisation of the technology is to proceed by way of a public-private partnership between government agencies such as the Central Energy Fund and the National Empowerment Fund as well as private investors, namely Sasol and the University of Johannesburg.

The facility will employ up to 150 staff who will receive training and specialist skills development.

South African Airways dans une zone de turbulence

La compagnie aérienne sud-africaine traverse une zone de turbulence qui a obligé le gouvernement à injecter 1,8 milliards de rands pour la sauver de la faillite. Le Ministre des finances a justifié cet apport de la part du gouvernement pour sauver une entreprise qui peut devenir viable Selon le PDG de l’entreprise, SAA fait des profits sur toutes les lignes intérieures et l’Afrique reste un marché rentable. Mais les députés de l’opposition n’ont pas été convaincus et tous ont demandé au gouvernement de dépenser l’argent des contribuables avec plus d’efficacité. Le scandale du trafic de drogue par des membres d’équipage de la SAA intervient au plus mauvais moment et terni sérieusement l’image de la compagnie.

SA may be excluded from SADC EPA

Le Roux, Mathabo (Business Day, Johannesburg) 2009-03-17 

A meeting held in Swakopmund, Namibia last week between the European Commission (EC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) group failed to break an impasse over concerns raised by South Africa over the economic partnership agreement (EPA), despite significant further concessions by the European Union (EU) to sweeten the deal.

The EU is likely to sign an interim EPA with countries of SADC without South Africa.

According to a source close to the talks, it is likely the EU will ask to be given the go-ahead to prepare to sign the interim deal as all attempts to bring SA back into the talks have failed. This will see Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland signing the deal, leaving South Africa, the only other member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), out of the deal.

The EU agreed to favourable terms for protection of infant industries which could see the countries in the SADC configuration exclude sectors earmarked for development from liberalisation. The EU also allowed existing export taxes, used to encourage beneficiation, to continue, giving scope for new export taxes to be introduced as well.

Brussels has also modified its demand on the quantitative restrictions on exports in favour of the SADC group, and the parties agreed on the free circulation of goods to facilitate trade in the region.

Sources say that Namibia, which shared South Africa’s concerns, has been won over by the EU’s concessions, indicating that it would sign an interim deal which would clear the way for the Commission to propose a date for signature to legitimate trade relations between Europe and the region.

The EU has been extending preferences to the region unilaterally in breach of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules since the expiry of a waiver on the Cotonou Agreement in December 2008. Europe is anxious to bring its trade relations with SADC in line with trade rules in order to avoid a WTO challenge.

Jorge Peydro-Aznar, European Commission (EC) head of trade in Pretoria, was positive about the progress made at the meeting. “Good progress was made on most concerns. We remain hopeful of a deal, because we need to address the WTO compatibility issue as a matter of urgency”, he said.

South Africa’s chief trade negotiator Xavier Carim was also confident about the talks although indicated that no movement had been made on the most-favoured nation (MFN) demand and the legal status of the parties. The MFN clause states that concessions made to countries whose trade exceeds more than 1% of world trade, in future trade agreements, be automatically extended to the EU.

The other major issue that remained unresolved, of the eight discussed, was the fact that the SADC region is negotiating EPAs under four configurations, which SA argued would hamper plans for future regional integration.

“We did well on most issues. There is scope for further progress, but it is not clear if we will get another chance to talk”, Carim said.

The EC offered to raise the threshold of countries’ portions of world trade last week to 1.5%, and agreed to limit the MFN requirement exclusively to customs duties. South Africa said this was still not acceptable.

The EC was due to report back to member states on the status of the talks on Friday.