Main Bulletin: The Real Economy Bulletin - Second Quarter 2022 In this edition GDP growth: The GDP shrank by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2022, mostly due to large-scale loadshedding, the floods in May in KwaZulu-Natal, and flat government spending. Value added fell in all of the real economy sectors, with agriculture the hardest hit. Manufacturing contracted by just under 6%. Construction remained depressed, apparently mostly due to stagnant investment by state-owned companies. Tourism continues to lag far behind pre-pandemic levels. Read More Employment: According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), in the second quarter of 2022 the formal sector still employed 600 000…

Petrol stations are an important part of South Africa’s fossil fuel-powered economy, providing liquid fuels for more than 12 million cars, delivering fuels to power heavy machinery for industrial and agricultural use, and employing more than 140 000 people across the country. This policy brief aims to understand petrol stations…

South Africa’s trade surplus declined for the third consecutive term to R61.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, representing the lowest trade surplus since mineral prices began to rise in 2020 largely as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Imports, which declined to their lowest level since the early…

Rapula Diale is a researcher at TIPS and has worked on several projects involving regional value chains, industrial park resilience, as well as localisation. Rapula holds a National Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the University of Johannesburg; and a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Economics Honours Degree with Distinction from Rhodes University. He is currently completing a Masters of Commerce Degree in Economics at the University of The Witwatersrand. His thesis, titled South African State Capacity In Industrial Policy, looks into the country’s capacity to do industrial policy. His other research interests are in competition, regulation, and impact analysis.

Business Day - 12 September 2022 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)

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Engineering News - 12 September 2022 by Marleny Arnoldi 

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Business Day - 3 September 2022 - Editorial

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Ywyg - 18 September 2022 by Jackie May

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The Import Localisation and Supply Chain Disruption study is a quarterly report that seeks to identify goods from the list of imports identified in the Import Tracker report that South Africa could possibly viably manufacture. Each quarter focuses on five manufactured items from the list of imports in the corresponding quarter's Import Tracker report. The five products in this report are:  Product 1: Ammonium sulphate Product 2: Sodium hydroxide "caustic soda" in aqueous solution "soda lye or liquid soda" Product 3: Parts of machinery for working mineral substances of heading 8474, n.e.s. Product 4: Articles of plastics and articles of…

Engineering News - 27 September 2022 by Darren Parker 

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Concerns have arisen around the impact on waste pickers of recently gazetted draft regulations to limit the theft of metal from infrastructure by improving oversight over scrap dealers. An initial phase would ban exports of scrap for six months, followed by the implementation of new regulations imposing stricter rules on…

The Presidential electricity plan announced in July 2022, which is set to relax regulations for private generators and double the size of Bid Window 6 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme, is intended to drive more renewable energy uptake. This should in turn lead to an increase…

The push for more electricity generation, particularly renewable energy generation, is likely to result in a significant increase in Solar PV projects across the country. This is turn will drive demand for the components and services. Given this context, and to add to the existing body of knowledge on the…

Overall the push for more electricity generation, particularly renewable energy generation, is likely to result in a significant increase in Wind Energy projects across the country. This is turn will drive demand for components and services needed for development and operations of wind plants. Given  this context, and to add…

This Research Report, along with the Policy Report, provides the ‘first draft’ of a proposed Water and Sanitation Industry Master Plan. It puts forward a vision and associated interventions, forming the foundation of a Water and Sanitation Industry Master Plan for South Africa. The reports complement the 2018 Department of…

The growth of South Africa’s merchandise exports moderated further in the first quarter of 2022, recording an increase of 6.2% year-on-year amounting to R456 billion, down from a 7.3% increase in Q4 2021. The slow growth was driven by poor quarterly performance, with exports declining by 3.7% from Q4 2021.…

Support to Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones for COVID pandemic prevention and response: Enhancing industrial resilience in South Africa. The research for this project comprised three outputs: Work Output 1: Responses of Industrial Parks to COVID-19 and future pandemicsWork Output 2: Technical support to Industrial Parks on COVID-19 economic…

Support to Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones for COVID pandemic prevention and response: Enhancing industrial resilience in South Africa. The research for this project comprised three outputs: Work Output 1: Responses of Industrial Parks to COVID-19 and future pandemicsWork Output 2: Technical support to Industrial Parks on COVID-19 economic…

Support to Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones for COVID pandemic prevention and response: Enhancing industrial resilience in South Africa. The research for this project comprised three outputs: Work Output 1: Responses of Industrial Parks to COVID-19 and future pandemicsWork Output 2: Technical support to Industrial Parks on COVID-19 economic…

This paper argues that South Africa needs to mainstream climate change into its National Development Plan (and Sustainable Development Goals), by advancing i) climate resilient development  through several pathways, including; ii) South Africa’s Nationally Determined Contribution commitment to a low-carbon economy; iii) renewable energy and transition to a low-carbon economy;…