Taxis to have access to discounted tyres through Bridgestone, SA Taxi deal . Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone South Africa (SA) has entered into a strategic partnership with SA Taxi for the supply of a tyre specifically designed for the Toyota minibus taxi. The tyre will be locally produced, at the Bridgestone plant in the North West.

Eskom’s $4bn coal bill headache largely of its own making . South Africa wants coal producers to help debt-stricken state power utility Eskom Holdings tackle its skyrocketing costs of the fuel – a problem that’s largely of its own making. Eskom traditionally signed so-called “cost-plus” contracts for coal with mining companies that managed and operated shafts the utility helped finance. In 2015 then-CEO Brian Molefe criticised the model, saying the utility wanted to buy “the bread, not the entire bakery” and it increasingly began to enter into short-term supply agreements.

Mozambique says Exxon to approve giant LNG project . Mozambique’s government said Exxon Mobil Corporation will sign off on an initial investment decision for a liquefied natural gas project that could cost as much as $33-billion to build – the biggest ever in Africa. A ceremony marking the decision will take place October 8 in Maputo, the capital of the southeast African nation, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy said in a statement Saturday.

Aveng sells Grinaker LTA Mechanical and Electrical business for R72m . Global infrastructure and resources group Aveng will sell its Grinaker LTA Mechanical and Electrical subsidiary to the Laula consortium for R72-million.

This forms part of Aveng’s continued sale of noncore assets.

Ethiopian will weigh stake in South Africa’s debt-ridden SAA . Ethiopian Airlines Group would consider buying a stake in South African Airways (SAA) – should South Africa decide to sell equity in the struggling state carrier. SAA hasn’t made a profit since 2011 and last week delayed the release of annual earnings due to its precarious financial state. While the ruling African National Congress has frequently said that it would consider selling equity in the airline, there’s been no visible strategy for such a plan, said Tewolde Gebre Mariam, the CEO of Ethiopian, Africa’s biggest and only consistently profitable airline.

Budget realities pressure South Africa to stop policy dithering . South Africa’s government has spent months mostly talking about how to save the debt-stricken state power utility Eskom Holdings, spur economic growth and get its shaky finances back on track. Financial realities may force an end to the dithering. The government will have to make some decisions by October 30, when Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is due to deliver his mid-term budget policy statement and set out how massive bailouts for Eskom will be funded at a time when growth and tax revenue are falling short of target. That’s two days before Moody’s Investors Service is scheduled to make a call on the nation’s only remaining investment-grade credit rating.

Egypt urges international mediation over Nile river deadlock . Seven years of talks between Egypt and Ethiopia in Sudan over a massive dam construction on the Nile river have reached a deadlock with Cairo appealing to the international community to intervene. Ethiopia began constructing the Grand Renaissance dam on the Blue Nile in 2012 saying the construction was vital for providing electricity.

Land reform, climate change, cheap imports pose risks to agriculture in KZN – FNB . Agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal is growing at around 12 percent per annum, driven by diversification, but there are risks to the sector posed by land expropriation, climate change and cheaper imports, First National Bank said on Monday. KwaZulu-Natal is recovering from a severe drought with indicators pointing to a normal rainfall for South Africa's summer rainfall areas and boding well for production, said Dawie Maree, head of information and marketing at FNB Agriculture.

Timber construction industry body to close . The Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA) has announced that it will enter dormancy as of November 1. The ITC-SA was established more than 45 years ago to help formalise and advance the timber roof construction industry and protect consumers and is South Africa’s professional body for the engineered timber construction industry.

AgriSeta, Citrus Growers Association, RCL Foods partner on skills development . The Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority (AgriSeta) has partnered with the Citrus Growers Association and RCL Foods to collaborate in various matters including land reform, rural development and economic transformation in the agricultural economy through skills development.

“The signing of the agreement marks the beginning of meaningful partnerships in transforming the agricultural sector in developing high-level skills that offer great opportunities for our youth and the country as a whole,” says AgriSeta CEO Zenzele Myeza.