Latest news with #R350
The Citizen
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Identifying the bugs in SA's long-promised infrastructure boom
Some, such as regulatory reform, are easily fixed. Now comes the hard part. SA's rail network needs about R300 billion invested in trains and track infrastructure to boost freight volumes from the current 160 million tons (Mt) to 250 Mt, according to James Holley, CEO of private rail operator Traxtion. The last time state logistics operator Transnet came close to this volume was in 2018, when it shipped 226 Mt. Eskom needs about R350 billion over 10 years to expand its transmission network and transformer capacity. On the logistics front, the good news is that the needed regulatory reform is well underway, with the separation of the rail infrastructure from Transnet itself being placed under an independent manager. This will allow private operators like Traxtion to compete for business on key corridors. Any discussion of reviving the SA economy must start with electricity and logistics – two chokepoints that have robbed SA of upwards of 10% in GDP. The recovery of even part of this will make a huge difference to job creation and business investment. Holley outlines some of the difficulties facing private entrants: a train set completing eight train trips in a month instead of six means a 33% jump in revenue. 'This cannot be achieved without high-quality track, signalling, and scheduling infrastructure. The national network is in poor condition, and with the fiscal constraints the country faces, the Private Sector Participation projects are our only route to efficiency,' he says. ALSO READ: How private sector can help with SA's infrastructure Private investors in rail infrastructure will want to earn a decent return from access fees charged to train operators. If volumes are low, access fees will have to increase and rail will become unaffordable. Government lacks the budget to fix either Eskom or Transnet, so private sector funding will be key. Anyone ploughing money into rail wants policy and regulatory certainty. If not, the cost of capital goes up, hence access agreements and concession terms must be designed to reduce risk for investors and lenders. There's progress too in reforming SA's electricity market, with Eskom being split into generation, transmission and distribution entities, while the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill is intended to establish a competitive energy market under the management of an independent system operator. The latest national budget allocated R1 trillion to infrastructure over the next three years, with more than a third of this going to transport, R132.5 billion to water and more than R50 billion each for human settlements and municipal upgrades. However, government has a storied history of promising big infrastructure spending and then failing to deliver. The National Development Plan in 2012 promised to plough 10% of GDP annually into infrastructure but actual spend was 3% to 4%. Under former President Jacob Zuma, we had the infamous delays and cost overruns at Medupi and Kusile power stations which contributed to load shedding, while enriching politically connected elites. ALSO READ: Three budgets later, infrastructure investment amount still the same New study highlights bottlenecks A new study from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) takes a broader look at how to accelerate infrastructure development in Africa and shows that SA is not alone in its disappointing performance. The complexity of negotiating projects across borders adds costs, delays and frustration to projects. A case in point is the Grand Inga Hydropower Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was intended to create the world's largest hydropower scheme, by phasing up to 40 000 megawatts to feed power to Africa and potentially Europe. There's no doubt about the project's technical feasibility, but what has strangled it is 'political instability, corruption, lack of credibility and an inability to secure the massive funding,' says the PIC. As a result, key funders have withdrawn from the project. Then there's the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, connecting five West African countries with a six-lane highway. The original start date of January 2024 was missed due to the complexity of coordinating five countries and securing the massive $15.6 billion funding required. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) is finally operating at 95% completion, after a decade of failed negotiations with Sudan and Egypt over water flow rights on the Nile. It has been generating power since February 2022, with cheap power being sold to bitcoin miners to generate extra revenue in off-peak times. The Lobito Atlantic Railway will connect mines in Zambia and DRC to the Angolan port of Lobito. It involves the rehabilitation and expansion of an existing corridor, with a new rail spur targeted for completion in 2026. Financing negotiations took more than two years, with the DRC section adding substantially to the overall cost. There are fears of funding cuts under the new administration of US President Donald Trump, adding more uncertainty to the project. ALSO READ: Treasury confirms R27bn World Bank loan to fix infrastructure Urgent African infrastructure 'Accelerating infrastructure development in Africa is not only necessary, it is urgent,' says the PIC. 'The continent's current economic trajectory, rapid population growth, and persistent gaps in access and service quality all point to the same conclusion: without a step change in the pace and scale of infrastructure delivery, Africa risks falling further behind in its pursuit of inclusive growth and structural transformation.' According to the African Development Bank, the continent requires investment of $130 billion to $170 billion a year to bridge this infrastructure gap. Energy systems remain underpowered, transport networks fragmented, water infrastructure insufficient, and digital connectivity far from universal. 'The persistence of corruption, poor inter-agency coordination, and a lack of project-ready pipelines continues to stall delivery,' adds the PIC. There's no shortage of excellent models to benchmark against, such as the Cities Development Initiative for Asia, which assists cities in preparing infrastructure projects by making sure they are bankable and ready to fire. ALSO READ: Public-private partnership: key to infrastructure transformation Rwanda created the Rwanda Development Board by merging multiple government agencies into a single point of contact for investors. South Africa formed the National Treasury Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Unit to provide guidance on standardising contracts, training for public officials, building expertise in financial structuring and risk allocation to ensure infrastructure projects are bankable and effectively managed. The PIC urges policymakers to streamline regulations to facilitate private investment, with clear rules for domestic institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies, a strong local currency bond market, and unambiguous legal frameworks for public-private partnerships and blended finance. Much of what it advocates is relatively inexpensive to fix. The risk of not addressing these bugs is more years of foiled infrastructure promises and continuing economic atrophy. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
The South African
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Miguel Inacio's staggering SALARY at Kaizer Chiefs revealed?
After a mixed start to his first season at Amakhosi, Kaizer Chiefs defender Miguel Inacio heads into the next campaign as the new club captain. The 29-year-old centre-back joined Chiefs from Petro de Luanda. In his debut season for the Glamour Boys, Miguel played 28 times and scored four goals across all competitions. His discipline has let him down at times forcing him to miss several games due to suspension. He received four yellow cards and a red card. According to reports, the Kaizer Chiefs captain earns roughly R350 000 per month, making him one of the highest-paid players in the PSL. 'PontoZero reports that Chiefs paid USD250 000 (approx. R4,4 million) for his transfer from Petro where his minutes were limited,' KickOff reported. 'It is claimed that Miguel's gross monthly earnings are at 20 million Angolan Kwanza (approx. R385 000). This puts his annual package at R4,6 million, putting him into the class of better-earning players at Chiefs,' the publication reported. Miguel has formed a solid partnership with Rushwin Dortley upon arrival however, the young Bafana Bafana defender was sidelined for the second half of the 2024/25 season with injury. The Angolan international has shown leadership qualities, especially in the Nedbank Cup, where he helped Kaizer Chiefs to their first cup win in a decade. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Daily Maverick
18-07-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
People of Pennington: Tidy Towns pulls South Coast town into competition finals
Residents of Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, are volunteering their time and money and working with the municipality to improve local services. Now, they're vying for Pennington to be crowned Town of the Year. Trimmed hedges, a walkable town, safety, cleanliness and a Blue Flag beach. It's these little things that improve the experience of a town, and despite challenges such as water outages and other service delivery issues, the residents of Pennington organise daily to help make the town pleasant and comfortable to live in. The chairperson of the Pennington non-profit organisation Tidy Towns, Viv Sandwith, says what they do is like putting lipstick on the town. Sandwith and her team at Tidy Towns played a big role in entering Pennington into a Town of the Year competition, which offers a R1-million prize. Sandwith and her team entered the town in the competition. They are all volunteers who do this work of organising the community over and above their day jobs or commitments. She said this was not possible without willing residents and daily community organising and building. She gave an example of a car park by the beach that Tidy Towns refurbished: 'You couldn't drive in this car park because of the potholes,' she said. 'So, we spent R350,000 repaving from scratch. We took out the tar and paved it. The bathrooms were unusable. They were so bad. And we got them renovated from head to toe. So, they're now like a five-star hotel inside. You can't go in because there's no water. So, basically, we put the lipstick on,' said Sandwith. Street groups 'Just to make our town look beautiful and feel clean. If the rubbish truck hasn't come because they're on strike, we organise rubbish collection. I've started a thing for street groups, so now every street in Pennington has a group and a leader. 'So, if I want to announce something, I put it on, and all the admins are in one group. I put it in one group and then they all spread it out. We can say, guys, rubbish trucks are not coming today, please keep your rubbish inside,' said Sandwith. Tidy Towns is a community-driven project. According to its web page, it is 'Supported by the joining hands of like-minded volunteers, private security companies, Umdoni Municipality, local Law Enforcement, the SAPS and the business sector. Participants are committed to restoring our public spaces to clean and safe environments, for the enjoyment of locals and visitors alike, whilst creating opportunities to improve the livelihoods of the committed cleaning teams created.' Sandwith said the street groups were also helpful because they helped foster safety, especially for the older people in the community. 'It's incredible, we're not living with potholes anymore. We're collecting money on our streets. We're fixing our potholes. Many of our streets are smooth sailing now because of the locals, so people are putting their own money in. But the important thing is that we never work outside of the municipality. I've got a very good relationship with them, with the beach manager. I had a meeting last week with the mayor, the municipal manager, and three of the GMs. We just sat and chatted,' said Sandwith. Despite continuous challenges with the Umdoni Municipality, the community pulls through to create a better community. A recent incident caused the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Umdoni Local Municipality to write to the Public Protector, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, as well as lay an official complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) 'over the Umdoni crisis that continues to cripple services'. This follows another staff strike that has paralysed operations amid calls for the mayor, Councillor Mbali Luthuli, and Acting Municipal Manager Nhlakanipho Khumalo, to go. The strike has entered its second week with no services being rendered. R1-million prize Pennington has got through the initial phases of kykNET's Dorp van die Jaar (Town of the Year) competition, beating competing towns in KwaZulu-Natal to become a finalist in the last round. Top towns from all participating regions in South Africa and Namibia are competing and the winner will win R1-million. Sandwith said they hoped to win so they could continue the work to upgrade and keep up the town. They hoped to buy a soccer kit for the local soccer team, install an outdoor gym, pay the guys who help clean up the town and other initiatives. 'We're going to refurbish the outside of the clinic and the library. Because this clinic serves a lot of Malangeni here,' Sandwith said. 'We want to add three bus stops. Oh, and we want to put in a fitness gym, [an] outdoor fit gym. So we want to put outdoor gym equipment for older people or kids. We want to help fix the roof of that hall because it needs work. We want to fix the showers up a bit here (at the beach),' said Sandwith. The town is small, and it is a retirement town, but it offers a variety of activities from golfing to beach activities and hiking. It also has special businesses such as the Basset Brewery, which has expanded to be a restaurant and nature sanctuary as it is built in what used to be a nursery. Andy Turner founded and runs the Doghouse Craft Café with his partner Natalie Danks. They offer tasting trays and advice on which meals to pair with the craft beer they offer. Turner said that the business originated when he was still making beer at home just for himself. Craft beers 'So I was brewing a little, 20 litres at a time, just trying to make the styles that I knew from Europe. 'And the first one I ever made that I was really proud of, which was good enough to show my friends, was an English bitter type of beer, so I called it Bassett Bitter.' Now they offer a variety of beers with certain crafts blended specifically for different seasons. Turner said the café and brewery had attracted beer enthusiasts from all over the world, along with their pies. He noted that a lot of people liked the beers that tasted most like commercial lagers, but others were more experimental and liked to be exposed to different beers. Danks moved to Pennington 17 years ago and says she loves the do-it-yourself spirit of Pennington residents — 'because either you are going to moan about the problem, or fix it'. DM
The South African
13-07-2025
- General
- The South African
The Daily Lotto results for Sunday, 13 July 2025
Get Ready for Today's Daily Lotto Draw! Could tonight be your lucky night? Good Luck! 🎉 Dreaming of a big win? The Daily Lotto jackpot is up for grabs, and it's estimated at a thrilling R350 000! The jackpot prize money is guaranteed to be given away even if no one matches all five numbers. All it takes is a ticket to turn your dreams into reality because as the saying goes, you've got to be in it to win it! 📢 Stay tuned! The winning numbers will be updated below as soon as they're drawn at or after 21:15. 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 Draw date: 13 July 2025 Did you miss a draw and wonder if you won? Click here to view past Daily Lotto results and payouts. The Daily Lotto draws occur every day of the week, Monday to Sunday, around 21:30 (SA time). Buy your tickets now at your nearest participating retailer, on our website by visiting national using your computer or mobile site, via the National Lottery Mobile App, or participating banks, namely FNB, ABSA, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Capitec, TymeBank and African Bank otherwise dial 120 7529# for USSD. Winners who win R50 000 and above receive free trauma counselling from professional psychologists and financial advice from accredited financial advisors absolutely free. At the same time, winnings are paid tax-free directly into the winner's accounts. If you are buying tickets from a lottery outlet, they close at 20:30 on the day of a draw. Players must be 18 years old. Monday: Daily Lotto Daily Lotto Tuesday: Daily Lotto + PowerBall and PowerBall Plus Daily Lotto + PowerBall and PowerBall Plus Wednesday: Daily Lotto + Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 Daily Lotto + Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 Thursday: Daily Lotto Daily Lotto Friday: Daily Lotto + PowerBall and PowerBall Plus Daily Lotto + PowerBall and PowerBall Plus Saturday: Daily Lotto + Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 Daily Lotto + Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 Sunday: Daily Lotto For more details and to verify the winning numbers, visit the National Lottery website. You must always confirm the official winning numbers on the National Lottery website. We do our best to post the results as accurately as possible, but the National Lottery is the only source you can use to 100% verify the results. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
13-07-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Daily Lotto results: Sunday, 13 July 2025
Tonight's jackpot is R350 000! Here are your winning Daily Lotto results for 13 July 2025. Lottery Balls with a clipping path so you can have them with what ever background you wish. Get the Daily Lotto results as soon as they are drawn on The Citizen. Daily Lotto results for 13 July 2025: The winning Daily Lotto numbers will appear below after the draw. Usually within 10 minutes of the draw. You might need to refresh the page to see the updated results. For more details and to verify the Daily Lotto results, visit the National Lottery website. How to play Daily Lotto in SA? If you are buying a ticket in-store: Pick up a betslip in any lottery store. Choose five numbers between 1 and 36 or ask for a Quick Pick. Entries cost R3 each. You can play a max of R150, but you are allowed to play multiple boards. Select how many consecutive draws you wish to enter, up to a maximum of 10. Leave blank for a single draw. Take your betslip to the teller to pay for your ticket. Write your details on the back of your ticket in case you need to claim a prize. If you do not sign your ticket and you lose it, anyone can use it to claim the prize. If you are playing online: Set up a lottery account here and make a deposit to pay for tickets. Choose five numbers from 1 to 36 or select 'Quick Pick' to generate a random set. Repeat this on as many boards as you want to play. Decide whether to enter a single draw or multiple draws. Confirm and pay for your entry. What time is the Daily Lotto draw? The Daily Lotto draws take place shortly after 9:30pm every evening, and tickets can be bought until 8:30pm. Is there a winner every day? Yes. The jackpot prize money is guaranteed to be given away even if no one matches all five numbers. When this happens, the jackpot is split between everyone who matches two or more numbers. Visit and go to the How to Play Daily Lotto section to learn more.
