Inside SA’s renewable energy drive
Much has been made about green industry being a new vehicle for industrial development in South Africa. It is part of the industrial policy action plan. For now, the focus is mainly on increasing the local content of components, which fall under the renewable energy independent producers’ procurement programme
Break up Eskom, for all our sakes
Our economy and its industrial base is power intensive and South Africa has one of the highest power consumption-to-unit of gross domestic product ratios anywhere. Cheap and abundant energy has, for a long time, represented our comparative advantages and shaped our economy. It has allowed South Africa to avoid
South Africa’s Eskom problem
It’s been nearly two months since Eskom presented its proposed tariff increases to the public as part of its third multi-year price determination (MYPD3) for 2013/14 through to 2017/18. Although there have been some useful inputs from civil society, there has not been any real engagement from
Captured by the incumbents
The introduction by South African mobile operators of next-generation long-term evolution (LTE) networks does not amount to much. But we can’t ignore it because these networks are the first bit of evidence of a future of lost opportunities to deliver cheap, properly fast and ubiquitous broadband
Rethinking the local loop
US President Barack Obama’s former White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reported to have said, when confronted with the 2008 financial crisis: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you
SA’s renewables plan: too important to fail
Persistent delays in announcing the financial close of the first 28 large renewable energy power plants in SA is cause for grave concern. These projects had navigated the first window of the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Procurement Programme
A capitalist’s case for nationalising Telkom
The question of what SA should do about Telkom has occupied many minds, especially since its proposed deal with Korea’s KT Corp was blocked by cabinet. Telkom’s management team put on a brave face after the deal was scuppered, saying the KT deal would
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