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  • NTCSA acknowledges ‘temporary bottleneck’ of R2bn in curtailment payments to IPPs
    The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has confirmed what it describes as a "temporary bottleneck" in curtailment payments to independent power producers (IPPs), with about R2-billion of such compensation claims currently undergoing "verification and settlement".
    This confirmation came only days after EE Business Intelligence MD and energy analyst Chris Yelland wrote that renewables IPPs had experienced a sharp increase in curtailment instructions from Eskom in 2026 and were growing increasingly concerned about a lack of transparency in the methodology being used, as well as delayed reimbursements.
    Curtailment is a normal part of managing an electricity system, occurring when the system operator instructs generators to temporarily reduce output to maintain the safe and reliable operation of the national grid.
    This is driven either by network constraints that limit power transmission, or during periods where total electricity supply exceeds demand.
    Where renewables capacity has been procured through a public procurement process and Eskom is the single buyer, the power purchase agreements (PPAs) stipulate that Eskom must reimburse IPPs for the revenue lost when their output is curtailed.
    The NTCSA currently administers PPAs covering 117 projects with a combined capacity of 10 083 MW, which currently translates to yearly payments of about R45-billion to IPPs.
    Eskom secures the revenue for these payments through its regulated tariff.
    Yelland wrote that the volume of energy curtailed in the first six months of the year was roughly an order of magnitude higher than in the whole of 2025, and that the financial consequences were becoming material.
    "Some IPPs report project revenues running about 9% below budget in 2026 – a shortfall they attribute both to the energy they were instructed not to generate and to the lengthening delays in being reimbursed by Eskom for it," he indicated.
    In its statement, the NTCSA said there had been a sharp rise in the volume and complexity of claims during April and May 2026, which had exceeded typical levels and created temporary bottlenecks.
    "In response, the NTCSA has deployed additional resources and is implementing process improvements to accelerate the verification and settlement of these claims, while maintaining the necessary governance, contractual, and financial controls."
    However, Yelland wrote that a central concern being raised by IPPs was the opacity of the curtailment process itself.
    "The methodology Eskom uses to set the merit order, level, frequency and targets for curtailment and reimbursements is, they say, far from transparent. IPPs cannot readily establish why particular projects are curtailed or face delayed reimbursements, in what sequence, or on what basis."
    In its statement, the NTCSA insisted it was managing evolving system dynamics in a way that ensured fair and equitable treatment of all market participants, while safeguarding security of supply and minimising costs to electricity consumers.
    NTCSA CEO Monde Bala said that the organisation would continue to strengthen its operational processes while supporting investments that enabled a reliable, affordable and increasingly renewable-powered electricity system beyond 2030.
    "As the System Operator, the NTCSA has a responsibility to balance affordability, security of supply and the fair treatment of all market participants, while maintaining the stability of the national grid," Bala added.
    4 min
  • ZET says ExxonMobil agreement further strengthens LNG terminal’s commercial foundation
    The Zululand Energy Terminal (ZET), which is aiming to build South Africa's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the Port of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, has signed heads of agreement with an ExxonMobil affiliate – a move that it says signals international market interest in supplying LNG to the country.
    It is the second heads of agreement signed by ZET this month, with the first signed on June 5 with Eskom.
    Through that initial agreement, the State-owned electricity producer outlined its intention to be a 'foundation customer' for the terminal, using the gas in a 3 000 MW gas-to-power (GtP) project it plans to build in Richards Bay in partnership with private investors and at a cost of up to R100-billion.
    Speaking at the most recent signing, ZET director Oliver Naidu said the agreement with ExxonMobil South Africa LNG would further strengthen the commercial foundations of the project, earmarked for Berth 207 in the port's South Dunes precinct and which could cost some R15-billion to build.
    ZET is a joint venture between Vopak Terminal Durban and Transnet Pipelines, and was selected in 2024 as the preferred bidder to develop, construct and operate a new LNG terminal at the deepwater port. Vopak Terminal Durban is owned by Royal Vopak, of the Netherlands and the Reatile Group.
    The terminal project is currently in the early front-end engineering design (FEED) stage and the next major steps include completing the FEED, securing environmental and regulatory approvals and concluding the commercial agreements needed for making a final investment decision in 2028.
    The development, Naidu said, would be phased, with Phase 1 expected to include a floating storage unit of at least 170 000 m3 and an onshore regasification system with indicative capacity of approximately 3-million tonnes per annum, or around 400-million standard cubic feet per day.
    "Phase 2 is expected to introduce an onshore LNG tank of approximately 220 000 cubic metres and additional regasification capacity, increasing total capacity to approximately 4.5-million tonnes per annum, or around 600-million standard cubic feet per day."
    ExxonMobil LNG Market Development Inc chairperson Andrew Barry said the agreement reflected the group's global LNG experience and its commitment to support South Africa's energy security with reliable supply.
    "With LNG markets continuing to expand globally, we see a strong opportunity to help meet growing demand for secure energy and look forward to working with ZET to progress this opportunity," Barry added.
    Naidu said the participation of ExxonMobil reinforced the strategic importance of Richards Bay as an entry point for LNG and was supportive of ZET's vision of developing the infrastructure needed to unlock a competitive and sustainable gas market.
    Besides Eskom's GtP project, which also still requires environmental authorisation as well as the selection of private partners, the terminal could also potentially play a role in helping to address the "gas cliff" faced by industrial companies later this decade once existing supply from Mozambique's Pande-Temane fields declines.
    "This will serve as a central offtake and distribution node, enabling gas to be supplied to multiple users in the region, including industrial customers and future GtP developments.
    "ZET will also connect into the Lilly Pipeline system through a new 24-inch connection, enabling gas imported through Richards Bay to reach broader industrial and energy demand centres," Naidu said.
    4 min
  • City of Joburg not sharing how it will deal with Eskom interruption threat - JCA
    This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.
    Civil society organisation the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) says the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has not provided information to residents and businesses about State-owned Eskom's threatened interruption of electricity supply to the city.
    The public still has not been told the full nature of the dispute, CoJ's obligations, the status of negotiations or what is being done to prevent a crisis.
    Residents, businesses, property owners, civic organisations, and investors are being asked to absorb the risk of a major electricity dispute without the facts they need to make decisions, it says.
    The uncertainty puts service continuity, business planning, investment confidence and household preparedness at risk.
    "Public statements by senior government and CoJ leaders had suggested the matter had been resolved.
    "The later confirmation that no agreement had been reached directly contradicted those assurances and deepened public uncertainty, damaged public trust and denied affected stakeholders a fair chance to prepare," the JCA says.
    The crisis is further compounded by the extremely limited time given to the public to respond to Eskom's Promotion of Administrative Justice Act notice.
    Civic organisations, businesses, ratepayers and residents cannot make informed submissions while critical information remains undisclosed. There can be no meaningful public participation without full disclosure and adequate time to consider the consequences, the JCA says.
    The JCA demands that CoJ and utility City Power disclose the facts behind the dispute, including the state of negotiations, the financial and operational issues involved, and the measures in place to protect residents and businesses.
    It also demands that Eskom extend the deadline for public representations and release the information stakeholders need to respond properly, and that national government and regulators must ensure this process is transparent, fair and accountable.
    "Johannesburg cannot be expected to face a threat of this scale through secrecy, mixed messages and last-minute processes. Millions of people depend on honest communication and decisive action.
    "The Alliance will continue to demand transparency, accountability and meaningful public participation until this matter is resolved in the open."
    3 min
  • Grid expansion, management critical as South Africa’s electricity sector decentralises
    Improved cost efficiencies, shifts in legislation and policy enablers towards an open market continue to support South Africa's investment in renewable-energy projects, Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking head of power and renewables Rentia van Tonder tells Engineering News.
    In an interview ahead of this year's Africa Energy Forum (AEF), to be held in Cape Town from June 16 to 19, she pointed out that, with open access, enabling policies and the emergence of alternative options around energy trading, corporate entities were increasingly shifting their focus to flexibility, cost efficiency and the sustainability of energy supply.
    Van Tonder said there had also been an uptake in private offtake projects, driven by sustainable security of supply with consideration of current grid capacity constraints and evolving market dynamics. The anticipated implementation of the South African Wholesale Energy Market, which was expected to be formally implemented towards the end of this year, was a key factor in driving these projects.
    She, therefore, expects the number of new private and utility-scale projects to continue growing.
    Van Tonder stated that energy traders played an important role in driving this shift, owing to their ability to link supply to demand, thereby enabling a diverse supply of energy generation projects.
    Traders can procure power from a variety of energy sources, including wind, solar, battery energy storage system and other technologies, while also being able to sell that power to multiple offtakers.
    "Different offtakers have different demands and traders can create a market or a solution for specific clients, and I think that's what we see. Flexibility is becoming more and more a theme for our offtakers and our clients."
    Additionally, she highlighted that there had been a significant uptake of renewable energy in the residential sector in recent years, with about 6 GW to 7 GW of rooftop solar having being installed. This had also played a key role in driving this shift and addressing energy shortages.
    Van Tonder noted, however, that there were some challenges hindering the successful rollout of renewable-energy projects in the country, such as the slow rollout of new transmission infrastructure, skills shortages amid local contractors, as well as delays in executing projects at pace owing to the volume of developments under way.
    Therefore, as South Africa looked to deliver on its goal of establishing 14 500 km of new powerlines as part of the Transmission Development Plan (TDP), Van Tonder stressed the need to fast-track the rollout of new transmission projects.
    She emphasised the need for stakeholders and policymakers to acknowledge the need to unlock bankability and enable faster implementation of transmission projects.
    She argued that the right structures and mechanisms needed to be put in place to fast-track the TDP goal, adding that this would not only support South Africa, but also enable better regional integration.
    She warned that driving a wholesale and traded market without having the relevant transmission infrastructure in place could lead to many lost opportunities.
    Van Tonder explained that many transmission projects had been stalled owing to issues such as a lack of clear confirmation about the timing of transmission expansion implementation.
    She added that, while Eskom had acknowledged the fast-tracking of grid infrastructure expansion as a key priority, delaying any immediate infrastructure development risked hindering economic growth.
    "The urgency is now. Modernised grid expansion is absolutely critical," she asserted, adding that there was a need for a holistic approach towards grid management, optimisation, stabilisation and efficiency improvements to limit losses and support overall demand-supply management, owing to the intermittency of renewables.
    Hence, she argued that modernised grid expansion was critical for effective demand-supply management, emphasising the need for investmen...
    7 min
  • DBSA eyes bigger energy sector role as Africa seeks bankable infrastructure projects
    State-owned development finance institution the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is positioning itself as a key enabler of South Africa's energy transition and infrastructure development objectives, and its executives highlight the need for more bankable projects, stronger transmission networks and blended finance solutions ahead of this year's African Energy Forum (AEF), set to take place in Cape Town from June 16 to 19.
    DBSA programmes group executive Dr Phindile Masangane and DBSA chief investment officer Greg Fyfe each highlight that the institution aims to use the forum to deepen engagement with policymakers, investors and project developers across Africa.
    Masangane adds that energy remains one of the DBSA's core focus areas along with transport and logistics, ICT and water infrastructure.
    "We have just come out of a difficult past of loadshedding. However, what we have now is electricity, which is sufficient for our own use, but we do not have enough power to increase economic growth.
    "Therefore, as the DBSA, we want to scale up our investment in energy so that there is enough to attract intensive energy users and ensure we have security of supply. We also want to share with forum delegates the approach that we are taking to scale up our energy infrastructure developments," Masangane highlights.
    Referring to South Africa's gas supply challenges, she warns that gas imported from Mozambique is expected to become constrained from about 2028, with interim measures potentially extending supply certainty until 2030.
    Meanwhile, the DBSA is increasingly focused on renewable-energy financing and transmission infrastructure expansion, particularly as grid limitations in the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape continue to constrain new renewable energy generation projects.
    Moreover, the DBSA is undertaking ongoing work on blended finance mechanisms, and a proposed Credit Guarantee Vehicle (CGV) is being developed alongside South Africa's National Treasury and multilateral development institution the World Bank Group to support infrastructure procurement programmes and unlock additional renewable-energy investments.
    Structured with an initial target capitalisation of about $500-million, the CGV will, once operational, provide credit guarantees to enhance the bankability of qualifying infrastructure projects.
    Fyfe highlights that the DBSA provides a full value chain offering for all infrastructure projects, including but not limited to energy projects. "We provide funding support from the early preparation phase right up to the financial close of projects. This value chain support is underpinned by a philosophy of sustainability – financial, socioeconomic and environmental," he says.
    Fyfe also stresses the importance of financial sustainability in ensuring that projects continue to deliver on socioeconomic and environmental protections.
    "South Africa has a deep and liquid financial market spanning bank and institutional sources of capital. To access this liquidity, developers require projects to be financially sustainable, underpinned by legislative, regulatory, legal and cash flow certainty.
    "The DBSA often provides the necessary 'bridge' to this capital through early-stage equity finance, higher risk 'gap' financing, support for black economic empowerment funding tranches and the provision of very long dated patient senior debt capital," Fyfe adds.
    He also points to the DBSA's involvement in helping to establish South Africa's Independent Power Producer Office, which has successfully awarded more than 15.5 GW of projects to preferred bidders and attracted a total investment of about R298-billion to date.
    One of the biggest obstacles to energy infrastructure developments across South Africa and the rest of the continent remains a lack of bankable projects. Many projects fail during the early-stage feasibility phase owing to limited technical capacity.
    The DBSA recently reviewed how it supports early-stage project develop...
    5 min
  • Ramokgopa to seek Cabinet approval soon to extend tariff discounts to more industries
    Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has indicated that he intends approaching Cabinet in the coming weeks to seek approval to extend concessional electricity tariffs similar to those that have already been approved for two ferrochrome producers to other electricity-intensive industries.
    In addition, he told delegates to a Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) conference on June 11 that lower tariffs could also be made available to less electricity-intensive sectors such as steel; a sector which he described as strategic and where electricity costs had been flagged as one of the reasons for recent production closures.
    Speaking against a backdrop of warnings that the metals and engineering sector was at a deindustrialisation inflection point, Ramokgopa indicated that Eskom's 62c/kWh tariff for Samancor Chrome and Glencore Merafe's smelters had been implemented in response to the threat of imminent retrenchments, as well as the potential loss of critical beneficiation capacity.
    However, he reported that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) was compiling a list of other industries that could become eligible for tariff discounts now that Eskom had some 5 000 MW of surplus capacity.
    "We are expanding this to the next set of players, because we don't want the message to come across that we are protecting the interests of Glencore and Samancor only – we are covering everyone," he said, indicating that he would take a proposal to Cabinet in the coming fortnight.
    On June 8, the dtic published a new Industrial Development Strategy (IDS), which also flagged the prospect of extending discounted electricity tariffs to other energy-intensive sectors.
    "Preferential electricity tariffs for the industrial sector (including mining, manufacturing, and energy-intensive industries like smelters) are critical for competitiveness, job creation, and industrial development," the IDS states, while including the implementation of concessional electricity tariffs for energy-intensive users and beneficiation in an annexure titled 'Implementation Plan for Immediate Priorities'.
    R2.2-TRILLION INDUSTRIALISATION OPPORTUNITY?
    Meanwhile, Ramokgopa also used the platform to insist that government was alive to the industrialisation opportunity presented by the investments arising from both the Integrated Resource Plan, which outlines the generation technologies that are expected to be introduced to 2049, as well as the Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to 2034.
    Together, the project pipeline associated with both plans had been quantified to involve collective grid and generation investments of R2.2-trillion.
    Seifsa president Mervyn Naidoo said that deliberate policy and procurement choices would be required if South Africa were to leverage these investments in a manner that stimulated industrialisation and job creation.
    He argued that it would require a shift in the public procurement model from the prevailing short-term transactional approach to one based on a "strategic" procurement framework, whereby longer-term contracts could be concluded on the back of the designation of selected inputs and components for local content.
    Without such a mindset, Naidoo said that South Africa risked repeating the mistakes of previous large-scale procurement projects, such as Transnet's procurement of 1 064 locomotives, where there had been only limited localisation and where Transnet had been left with hundreds of locomotives standing idle as a result.
    Ramokgopa acknowledged that local industry had been a casualty of past policy errors and said that there was scope in the new Public Procurement Act to designate products for local content and production.
    While stressing that not every component or product could or should be localised, he nevertheless said it was a priority for government to create the long-term certainty of demand needed by industry to invest and to use industrial and trade policy to...
    4 min
  • South African steel sector at deindustrialisation ‘inflection point’
    The South African steel industry – encompassing the full value chain, from upstream producers to downstream manufacturers and fabricators – has been described as being at a deindustrialisation 'inflection point'.
    The dire state of the sector, as well as the ineffectiveness of the prevailing interventions being pursued under the Steel Master Plan to arrest the sector's decline, came into sharp focus during a Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition meeting on Wednesday.
    The meeting was addressed by various industry participants, who generally agreed that the prevailing crisis was the result of insufficient domestic demand and was being amplified by the weak enforcement of trade and strategic procurement measures designed to shore up the local industry.
    There were, however, sharp disagreements over South Africa's scrap policy, especially the way in which the price preference system (PPS) was being used to reduce the price of ferrous scrap to domestic steelmakers using electric-arc furnaces, with negative consequences for recyclers and integrated mills.
    Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa CEO Tafadzwa Chibanguza argued that the perilous state of the industry was not a steel crisis alone, but an industrialisation crisis, arguing that the sector was at an inflection point.
    He said the question facing South Africa was whether it could reverse deindustrialisation before critical industrial capabilities were permanently lost.
    Chibanguza used four statistics to illustrate the unfolding "deindustrialisation story": a fall in steel consumption per person to 67 kg from a previous peak of 92 kg; the slump in employment in the sector to 375 000 from 575 000 in 2008; the rise in steel imports to a yearly level of 1.58-million tonnes from 822 000 t; and the slump in manufacturing's contribution to GDP to 12.8% from more than 16%.
    "The strategic choice is one between an industrial economy that makes and builds things and exports value-added products, and an extractive economy that exports ore and imports finished products," Chibanguza warned.
    Hendok MD Freddie de Kock offered a real-world case study of the predicament facing domestic manufacturers, with the wire producer warning that jobs and local production were at serious risk after South Africa recently became a net importer of wire products.
    "I recently evaluated what would happen if Hendok were to stop most of its local manufacturing and instead import certain key products. The result was clear: we could reduce our workforce by around 80%, from approximately 2 000 employees to 400 employees, and only continue manufacturing products that are either unique to us or where import logistics still create limitations. That is the reality facing South African manufacturers," De Kock warned.
    This import option was being made more attractive because of the ongoing circumvention of South Africa's import tariffs by "fraudulent importers", which were harming local industry and legitimate importers.
    "If South Africa cannot ensure that all import duties are properly paid, then we need to have an honest discussion about whether steel duties should exist at all. That may sound extreme, but the current situation is also extreme. The higher the duties are, the more legitimate companies are penalised when others are allowed to avoid them. In that environment, duties no longer protect local manufacturing; they actually punish the companies that follow the rules," De Kock argued.
    STRUCTURAL DECLINE
    South African Iron and Steel Institute secretary-general Charles Dednam provided an analysis showing that the steel industry was confronting a structural rather than a cyclical decline.
    Crude steel production, he said, had fallen by 33% since 2018, long-steel import penetration had increased to 27%, while finished steel exports had collapsed by 63%.
    "This is not a cyclical trough. Production is in secular decline, domestic finishing is being bypassed in favour of semi-finish...
    6 min
  • Eskom Green gears up to select private partners for initial 2 GW renewables pipeline
    Eskom Green, which has now been officially launched, reports that it intends implementing an initial 2 GW pipeline of advanced utility-scale renewables projects in partnership with private investors on land mostly adjacent to the State-owned utility's coal-fired power stations.
    However, it is also moving ahead with several smaller on-balance-sheet projects that have a combined capacity of 500 MW using capital set aside in the group's corporate plan.
    Eskom group executive for renewables Rivoningo Mnisi tells Engineering News that some R10-billion has been allocated to Eskom Green over the coming five years.
    Part of this amount will be used for the initial projects that do not include private partners, including the 75 MW solar PV project that recently entered into construction alongside the Lethabo power station, in the Free State.
    Eskom is funding the R1.2-billion project and has appointed the Letsatsi JV as the engineering procurement and construction partner.
    Mnisi describes the Lethabo PV project, together with ones earmarked for land adjacent to Eskom's Arnot, Duvha, Komati, Majuba, and Tutuka power stations, as well as at the Sere wind farm, as smaller "skills transfer and skills development" projects.
    The next project expected to enter the execution phase will be located at the decommissioned Komati site and could include battery storage.
    Since 2023, Eskom has been trading with the aid of taxpayer support extended by means of a R230-billion debt-relief package that has prevented it from investing in new generation projects.
    But Mnisi says Eskom has received all the necessary authorisations to proceed with the initial developments, including from the National Treasury.
    "Funding for the initial phases has been provisioned within Eskom's approved capital expenditure programme and is expected to be supported through on-balance-sheet funding, in compliance with National Treasury debt relief conditions and without reliance on additional project-finance borrowing."
    PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION?
    For the larger 2 GW pipeline, and further renewables and storage projects, including the 1.5 GW Tubatse pumped-storage project, a private sector participation model is envisaged.
    Eskom Green is aiming to build 5.6 GW of renewables by 2030 across 17 projects, has set an aspiration of 32 GW by 2040 and has indicated that battery energy storage systems could be integrated into several projects.
    Mnisi reports that private participation has been included as a condition for Eskom Green's establishment as a standalone subsidiary of Eskom Holdings under Section 51G of the Public Finance Management Act.
    The entity, which will have its own board, will pursue projects with private equity partners through special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, using project-finance principles and with limited recourse to Eskom's still-fragile balance sheet.
    Eskom Green is preparing to launch a request for qualifications process in the not-too-distant future to initiate the selection of private equity partners and has appointed PwC and the Development Bank of Southern Africa to advise it on the process.
    The SPVs would need to secure the offtakers, the grid access, and all the other regulatory and environmental approvals required to advance the projects to financial close, with Eskom Green injecting the land.
    SAME GRID-ACCESS RULES?
    He also insists that Eskom Green will be subjected to the same grid-access rules as independent power producers also vying for limited grid capacity.
    "We follow the same grid rules … I don't get to interact with the Grid Access Unit, and strict Chinese walls are in place.
    "For the projects that we are taking to market, the team has applied and followed the necessary due process."
    Mnisi says the entity will be flexible regarding the level of equity taken in projects and confirms that it will also be seeking to access concessionary funding available under the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
    Initially, the SPVs are likely to target bilater...
    4 min
  • Industrial strategy outlines ‘3Ds’ vision while fighting deindustrialisation rearguard action
    The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has released a new Industrial Development Strategy (IDS) "anchored" by the so-called '3Ds' of decarbonisation, diversification and digitalisation, but which also includes actions geared towards stemming the ongoing tide of deindustrialisation in traditional sectors.
    The 44-page strategy was published on the department's website on June 8, following its approval by Cabinet on June 3.
    The IDS is positioned as government's "strategic response" to a rapidly changing economic environment that includes rising geopolitical and trade tensions, a reconfiguration of supply chains and declining industrial capacity, backlogs in infrastructure, climate change, and a progressive digitalisation of the economy.
    The strategy has been structured primarily around what the dtic terms three mutually reinforcing strategic pathways, including a decarbonisation pathway that seeks to transition industrial production toward low-carbon technologies, cleaner energy systems, and climate-resilient processes.
    In so doing, the IDS aims to safeguard export competitiveness, reduce vulnerability to carbon border measures, and unlock new green industrial opportunities.
    The strategy places particular emphasis here on scaling-up renewable energy and transmission infrastructure, alongside the gas and nuclear investments it says are needed to secure energy supply, reduce production costs, and enable industrial expansion.
    In addition, the IDS aims to position South Africa within global value chains linked to critical minerals, batteries, green hydrogen, and clean technologies through beneficiation and exploration support, while reforming automotive incentives to support localisation and the transition to new-energy vehicles.
    The decarbonisation pathway has also been directly linked to stabilising and upgrading the steel and metals value chain through coordinated demand-side, trade, and technology interventions.
    The diversification pathway, meanwhile, seeks to expand the productive base beyond traditional resource-intensive activities by deepening value addition, fostering new industrial sectors, strengthening agro-processing, services, and regional value chains, and diversifying export destinations.
    The digitalisation pathway will be pursued, the documents states, so as to embed digital technologies across industries to raise productivity, enable innovation, improve scale and coordination, and position South Africa competitively in digital services and knowledge-intensive activities.
    In an annexure marked 'Implementation Plan for Immediate Priorities', the IDS identifies actions that can be regarded as supportive of the 3Ds.
    Other actions, however, bear all the hallmarks of a rearguard fight against ongoing deindustrialisation, including:
    a plan to finalise the takeover of ArcelorMittal South Africa, which is currently trading under a cautionary linked to talks with the Industrial Development Corporation, so as to "restructure and optimise" its performance; a move to designate steel as a strategic commodity to bolster local demand;a proposal to introduce of an export tax and quota in the chrome industry in addition to the introduction of concessional electricity tariffs to retain local ferrochrome production;an intention to extend discounted electricity tariffs to other energy intensive sectors;the extension of preferential allocations of mining rights and licences with local beneficiation conditionalities; anda policy proposal to review of the ad valorem tax for motor vehicles while increasing the number of vehicle manufacturers engaged in completely knocked down production.
    The implementation plan also includes various initiatives to stimulate green industrialisation through incentives, accelerate grid investment through private sector participation, and encourage both domestic software development and the implementation an electronic travel authorisation system to increase tourism.
    Also envisaged is the o...
    5 min

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