BizBriefing: Prosus prospers, ANC angers unions, High Court slams gavel on dodgy oil sale
The high court in Cape Town has reversed the infamous sale of SA’s entire strategic fuel stock in 2015 and awarded compensation to the buyers.
The high court in Cape Town has reversed the infamous sale of SA’s entire strategic fuel stock in 2015 and awarded compensation to the buyers.
South Africa plans to engage with traders who acquired strategic oil reserves two years ago, even as it prepares legal action to try to cancel the deal.
In this superb summation of the facts, retired Supreme Court judge Rex van Schalkwyk explains why Zuma – and his crony capitalist cronies the Guptas – are able to ignore laws that apply to the rest of society.
Those who engineered the sale of SA’s Strategic Fuel Fund on the conditions reported, did it solely to enrich themselves. They stole at least R1.5bn, perhaps as much as R2.2bn, from South African taxpayers.
The heads of the Strategic Fuel Fund resigned on Friday, a day after the DoE said it will investigate its unauthorised bid to buy Chevron’s assets in the country.
The Strategic Fuel Fund has offered to buy Chevron’s majority stake in the country’s oil refinery in Cape Town and other downstream assets.
The cost to upgrade South Africa’s six crude refineries to produce lower-sulphur fuel will be about 40 billion rand ($2.7 billion) and this still may not be sufficient to supply the domestic market.
South Africa will increase gas imports to supply its under-fuelled power plants, which should help add 500-2,500 megawatts to the grid, the cabinet said. The gas is mostly expected to come from neighbouring Mozambique
South Africa’s government has established a “war room” technical team to implement a turnaround plan for state utility Eskom.