Janet Wilhelm
Electricity beyond the national grid (TIPS and GEC)
Development Dialogue: Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) and Green Economy Coalition (GEC)
Agenda
9:30 - 9:45: Opening and Welcome
9:45 - 12:00: Presentation and discussion of research findings
Regional integration in Southern Africa - A platform for electricity sustainability: Gaylor Montmasson-Clair and Bhavna Deonarain (TIPS)
South African municipalities and renewable energy - New roles and opportunities: Louise Scholtz (WWF-SA)
Tea
Energy empowerment - A community-based approach to the ownership and delivery of renewable energy: Tasneem Essop (representing EDI)
From user to prosumer - Energy interventions at the firm level: Julie Wells and Ndivhuho Raphulu (NCPC-SA)
12:00 - 13:00 Panel discussion with presenters, facilitated by Minnesh Bipath (SANEDI)
13:00: Lunch
Background
South Africa's electricity sector is in the midst of a multifaceted transformation. Renewable energy technologies are aggressively entering the market at both the utility- and small-scale levels. Private sector players and prosumers are equally reshuffling the cards of electricity generation. The national grid is oscillating between supply problems and overcapacity while South Africa's neighbours are targeting self-reliance. With the ongoing problems experienced by Eskom, the country's vertically-integrated national power utility, would the solutions to South Africa's electricity issues lie elsewhere? Would deeper regional integration represent a sustainable solution to South Africa's woes? Should municipalities rather play a larger role in South Africa's electricity sector? How should users, be it households and firms, position themselves? The Development Dialogue will share research undertaken on some of these issues and consider the linkages between these different levels of interventions as well as their impacts on the national electricity sector.
See Research
Regional integration in Southern Africa: A platform for electricity sustainability
New roles for South African municipalities in renewable energy - A review of business models
Plan for free education a step in right direction
Business Day - 25 January 2018 by Tamar Kahn.
Funding can be found to implement free-education plan
Business Day - 16 January 2018 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)
RESPONSE TO COLUMN
Letter in Business Day - 17 January2018: Reality before calamity
Case study on the forestry regional value chain in Southern Africa: South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania
This study provides an overview and analysis of the structure, key functions and characteristics of the forestry value chain operating in and among South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania in order to identify market opportunities and the interventions required to support the growth of the regional value chain. The research focuses on three value chains – forestry to timber; forestry to pulp and paper; and forestry to furniture.
It focuses on three countries – South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. The latter two were selected on the basis of their current level of forestry output, together with their contiguous location. An evidence-based approach has been adopted for this study, based on the compilation of industry data from existing and new sources. The value chain analysis is focused on answering the following questions: how is the value chain organised? How does it function? Who are the main actors? What are the key institutions and forms of coordination? How well is the chain performing in coordination, competitiveness and intra-regional trade? Where are the opportunities to (1) relocate parts of the chain among the countries, and (2) to enhance existing intra-regional activities?
Regional technical regulations and institutions: the role of standards institutions in unlocking value chains
Technical regulations refer to standards and compulsory specifications that apply to certain products and processes, and which can play an important role in regional trade. Firms that wish to trade in value chains need to be able to comply with the regulations set by lead firms and state regulators, or risk being excluded from those value chains, and replaced with compliant competitors. It is therefore essential that Southern Africa’s technical infrastructure aids firms in meeting technical regulations in order to develop working regional value chains. Failure to do so could see otherwise capable regional firms excluded from value chains and replaced with compliant firms from outside the region.
This report makes nine key recommendations, all of which aim to strengthen the capacity of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Technical Infrastructure to achieve its core mandates, while promoting regional value chain development.
Development Dialogue: Urbanisation and industrialisation
The first TIPS Development Dialogue seminar of the year on Urbanisation and Industrialisation was held on Thursday 18 January. For more information and copies of the presentations go to Development Dialogue. Presenters: Shirley Robinson and Roland Hunter (Cities Support Programme), Christopher Wood and Asanda Fotoyi (TIPS), Rob Davies (representing IFPRI) and Neva Makgetla and Mbongeni Ndlovu (TIPS).
Urbanisation and industrialisation
Agenda
9:30 - 9:45: Opening and Welcome
9:45 - 12:00: Presentation and discussion of research findings
Spatial industrial policy, SEZs and cities in SA: Shirley Robinson and Roland Hunter (Cities Support Programme)
Spatial Dimensions of SEZs and secondary cities: Christopher Wood and Asanda Fotoyi (TIPS)
Tea break
Urbanization, structural transformation and rural-urban linkages in South Africa: Rob Davies (representing IFPRI)
Industrial Development and spatial planning - lessons from eThekweni Municipality: Neva Makgetla and Mbongeni Ndlovu (TIPS)
12:00 - 13:00 Panel Discussion with presenters: Urbanisation and industrialisation
Lunch: 13:00
Background
South Africa's high rate of poverty and unemployment are significantly worse in the rural areas of the country, in particular the former homelands. There has as a result been an ongoing migration out of rural areas into cities and towns. What happens to people when they arrive in urban areas? Are there jobs and economic opportunities; or does the poverty persist but in a new setting? How are cities managing the influx of people and how does the changing urban / rural dynamic impact on structural transformation in the economy?
The Development Dialogue will share research undertaken on some of these issues and consider support programmes for spatial industrial development as well as the linkages between the spatial dimension and industrial development in urban areas.
The paper begins with a broad contextual overview of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC’s) transport and logistics performance in terms of the Logistics Performance Index and tracks the performance of individual member states in the decade from 2007. Two interesting findings emerge. First that the better performing SADC member states have been improving their logistics performance over time while the worst performing states have seen their performance decrease and deteriorate since 2007. The second interesting (and controversial) finding is that improved logistics service and operations is viewed as more important than additional investments in infrastructure in the region.
The paper then identifies the cross-cutting logistics issues collated from a literature review, a small sample of interviews with logistics firms operating in the region, completed value chain reports from the Regional Value Chain Project (see www.competition.org.za/regional-value-chains), SADC documentation, and finally the tradebarriers.org website, a Tripartite Community – comprising Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (ECA) and SADC and Member States – initiative to report, monitor and eliminate NTB complaints.
A key finding of the paper is that from an economic perspective it is the standing time of trucks stationary at border posts which is the most powerful explanatory variable of SADC’s high transport costs and low logistics competitiveness. The research suggests that standing time is largely due to border post management issues rather than the commonly assumes infrastructure constraints.
SA's Industrial, Economic Policy Under Spotlight
AllAfrica - 13 December 2017 by Malebo Ralehlaka
Read online at AllAfrica
Fighting corruption needs much more than new leaders
Business Day - 5 December 2017 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)
Read online at Business Day