Coal miner Keaton Energy produced breakthrough first half results this year – a 192% increase in HEPS, and a 70% increase in revenue to be precise, thanks to an increases in its production capacity. Keaton is a coal-focused group, and as CEO Mandi Glad explains in this interview, the company is betting that Eskom’s plans … Read more
One of Karoo hamlet Prince Albert’s finest, retired labour consultant Bokkie Botha, took a swing at me in the latest Financial Mail – criticising my column on SA’s labour crisis as  “peddling a facile view”. Perhaps he’s right. But living at the sharp edge of business for a couple decades exposes one to realities and unintended … Read more
Roger Jardine, who was a Director General in the public sector while in his 20s, left construction group Aveng in a hurry. In such a hurry that when some awful financial results were subsequently published, we were among those who wondered whether he had been pushed rather than jumped. There’s no more room for conjecture on … Read more
The great writer and philosopher Mark Twain suggested: “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” It’s advice rarely heeded by many in South Africa’s political leadership whose ignorance of running a complex modern economy are becoming increasingly obvious. … Read more
Small improvements in labour relations are feeding through into the FNB BER construction confidence index. That’s the message from one of South Africa’s top economists, Sizwe Nxedlana of FNB. In this interview with Alec Hogg and Gugulethu Mfuphi, on the CNBC Africa Power Lunch, Sizwe explains the six-point improvement in confidence in the third quarter. He’s … Read more
When a CEO leaves the building, their successor often uses the opportunity to clear out all of the cobwebs. There could be something of this in the numbers Aveng released today. But even a spring clean cannot fully account for a horrible reverse at the construction group during the second six months of its financial … Read more
Summary of SA President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Speech, delivered on Valentine’s Day 2013 (14 Feb). State of the Nation 2013: Strategy: • The Zuma Administration has embraced the National Planning Commission’s National Development Plan for South Africa. The ANC intends following this 20 year roadmap as its way to achieve required … Read more