Andrew Stegmann
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US Firm Aims to Build a Nuclear Power Plant in South Africa

The future of South Africa’s energy supply could be shaped by a cash injection from the United States of America. The government, in their ongoing discussions with NEDLAC and foreign investors, has entertained the idea of letting an international development firm finance and build a new nuclear power plant in South Africa.

As Bloomberg has confirmed, The US International Development Finance Corp (DFC) has signed a letter of intent to support plans laid out by NuScale, an American technology group that are ready to kick on with this project.

Amongst the billions of dollars they’ve pledged to South Africa, a ‘secure, reliable energy supply through the construction of new nuclear plants’ is their major priority.

The DFC released a statement last week, confirming that they would be pioneering in their ambitious blueprint. Should a new nuclear plant get the green light, this would be the first IPP funded by the USA throughout the whole of Africa.

“If the United States International Development Finance Corp is successful, NuScale would be the first U.S. nuclear energy IPP on the continent and would help support energy resilience and security in one of Africa’s leading economies.”

– Statement from the DFC

It’s understood that the DFC would go further than just building a new nuclear power plant in South Africa. It’s reported that their investment would plough billions into private infrastructure and public transport ‘between now and 2022’:

  • The construction of a billion-rand plant tops their agenda, providing a further 2 500 megawatts of power in South Africa.
  • The DFC has signed a letter of intent to support NuScale’s bid for South Africa’s independent power producer program.
  • The draft envisages R23 billion ($1.4 billion) being allocated to galvanize private investment in infrastructure.
  • A further R4.5 billion would be spent on public transport development over the next 12 months.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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South African Pharmaceutical Company Aspen Agrees to Make Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine in South Africa, if it’s Approved

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. agreed to make the Covid-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Johnson & Johnson at a factory in South Africa, a move that could help with distribution on a continent with otherwise limited manufacturing capacity.

Africa’s biggest drug maker has the capacity to produce 300 million doses a year at the plant in Port Elizabeth if the shot is approved, the company said in a statement on Monday. J&J’s experimental inoculation against the virus that’s swept the world this year is still in clinical trials, after a brief pause last month after a patient became sick.

The race to develop and gain regulatory approval for a Covid-19 vaccine is seen as a critical step toward controlling the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.2 million people around the world and shows little sign of dissipating. Yet there’s concern poorer nations will be left without due to the huge demand from richer countries from the U.S. to China.

“Johnson & Johnson’s public commitment has been really strong in terms of assisting developing countries,” said Aspen Chief Executive Officer Stephen Saad, who is self-isolating at home after two family members tested positive for Covid-19. “It’s good to get that manufacturing in South Africa.”

Aspen shares jumped as much as 8.1%, the biggest intraday gain in almost two months, and traded 6.7% higher at 112.64 rand as of 11:42 a.m. in Johannesburg.

South Africa had been looking to sign a deal to help produce a vaccine earlier in the year, when The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a global organization funding vaccine development, said it was considering state-owned Biovac Institute as a fill-finish site. South Africa is also a host country for clinical trials of various vaccines.

“The fact that we are involved in all these trials is really positive about our ability to manage,” Saad said. “We’ve got good clinical expertise. I think a lot of it is built up around some of the communicable diseases we’ve had such as HIV/AIDS.”

J&J’s vaccine candidate would be made and packaged at a plant in which Aspen has invested about 3 billion rand ($184 million). The South African company relocated the production of drugs for late-stage cancer, Parkinson’s disease and some auto-immune illnesses to the southern coastal city of Port Elizabeth from Europe in 2018.

The deal remains subject to discussions around technology-transfer activities and commercial-manufacturing terms, Aspen said.

The move marks the second time the pharma group has found a way to generate business from the coronavirus. The company also makes the generic anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone, which was found to be an effective treatment for Covid-19 earlier in the year.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Western Cape Wants To Be the First Province to Ditch Load-shedding As It Moves Away From Eskom

As part of the Western Cape’s promise to eliminate load shedding, the provincial government says it has assisted 24 local municipalities and the City of Cape Town with their small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) projects.

This forms part of the province’s new Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) project which aims at upscaling and assisting Western Cape municipalities in procuring wholesale electricity from Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

“The procurement of energy can be a complex, challenging task, and municipalities do not always have the necessary policies, plans, resources, and procurement expertise to purchase their own electricity,” said Deidré Baartman, the DA’s Western Cape spokesperson for Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism. “However, the national gazetting of regulations to allow for municipalities to generate and procure their own electricity independently of Eskom is a move in the right direction toward the Western Cape being the first province to eliminate load shedding – a promise on which we will hold the premier to account in his Western Cape Recovery Plan tabled last week.”

Baartman said that the MER’s aim is to offer structured support to municipalities in navigating these complexities in order to realise new, more cost-effective energy and create economic opportunities for their communities.

The project is also aiming to improve municipalities’ revenues by balancing energy security with creating more secure, reliable and cost-effective future electricity price paths. “These 24 municipalities are poised to take advantage of the recent regulations that allow municipalities in good financial standing to procure their own energy. “In order to grow the economy, energy security is paramount and will lead to reduced business costs, build business confidence, and help to attract investment for the province.” Baartman said. She added that the DA  is committed to producing reliable, cost-effective energy and creating economic opportunity for residents of the Western Cape.

New directive 

On 16 October, Mineral Resources and Energy minister Gwede Mantashe gazetted a directive which provides a framework around electricity generation for the country’s municipalities. The minister said that will give effect to president Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment during the state of the nation address that government will enable municipalities in good financial standing to develop their own power generation projects, he said.

“The amendments to the regulations clarify the regime applicable to municipalities when requesting determinations under Section 34 of the Electricity Amendment Act,” he said. “This will ensure an orderly development that is in line with the applicable Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).” Mantashe said that the amendments will ensure that requests are from municipalities in good financial standing, with feasible project proposals. He said that his department has also put in place internal mechanisms to ensure that these requests are attended to in the shortest possible time.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Aquila Private Game Reserve Wins Prestigious Award

Aquila Private Game Reserve has received one of the most prestigious sustainable tourism awards in the world.

“We are proud to share the news with you that we have received the world’s most prestigious international sustainable tourism award: The 2020 Skål International Sustainable Tourism Award for a Major Tourist Attraction,” the reserve announced via its Facebook page.

The 2020 Skål International Sustainable Tourism Awards was presented at their annual general assembly on Saturday, October 17. This year’s world congress assembly was held virtually after the intended Croatian event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The virtual assembly, together with the presentation of its internationally acclaimed awards, gave a glimmer of hope while the tourism economy of the world is recovering from the COVID-19 lockdown, and some regions going back into strict regulations,” Aquila said in a statement.

“Having previously been awarded the most prestigious South African tourism awards: The 2014 National Lilizela Imvelo Award for best economic impact by a large tourism establishment in South Africa, and the 2015 National Lilizela Imvelo Award for sustainable development, Searl Derman, the owner of Aquila Private Game Reserve was proud to once again be honoured with the world’s most prestigious international sustainable tourism award.”

The Skål International Sustainable Tourism Awards were launched in 2002 to showcase global best practice.

“The awards are geared towards enhancing the visibility and grant recognition to entities within the Travel and Tourism Industry,” said Peter Morrison, World President of Skål International.

The awards are open annually to all public and private sector companies, educational institutions, NGOs, and government agencies. In its nineteenth edition of the awards ceremony, 44 entities from 23 countries competed in the nine available categories.

“We send our congratulations to the team at Aquila Game Reserve for this international award, which comes at a time when we are working hard to promote our tourism sector both locally and internationally. Tourism is a major job creator in our province and making this sector more sustainable will help to create and preserve jobs in the long term,” Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].