According to data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group, the prices of some items have gone up slightly while others have eased.

The net result is that the average price of a food basket this year is R1 600.45, down slightly from R1 654.07 last year.

A 10kg bag of rice costs R171.08 compared with R167.54 in November last year, a 2% increase, while a 30kg bag of maize meal went up to R328.17 this year, from R300.09 last year. 

A 10kg portion of frozen chicken costs R403.00 this year, compared with R400.60 last November, showing a 1% increase. 

But the price of 2kg of beef has dipped to R179.65, from R181.64 last year, while 60 eggs now cost R166.69, a 13% drop from R191.83 last year, when prices were driven up by the Avian flu outbreak.

A true South African Christmas meal has the “seven colours” vegetables on the plate.

The food survey shows the cost of a 10kg bag of potatoes is R112.17, down from R130.02 last year, while a 10kg bag of butternut has dropped to R95.04 from R148.87 last year, a 36% decrease. 

The price of eight bunches of spinach has, however, increased to R104.19 this year from R96.28 last year, while two heads of cabbage would now cost R40.56, compared with R38.37.

All in all, the cost of the items in the seven-colour food basket is R351.96, whereas it would have set buyers back R413.83 last year. 

In putting together the food price data, the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group works with women living on low incomes in Johannesburg’s Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa and Hillbrow, the Cape Town areas of Gugulethu, Philippi, Khayelitsha, Langa, Delft and Dunoon, as well as KwaMashu, Umlazi, Isipingo, the Durban CBD, Hammarsdale, Pinetown, Pietermaritzburg and Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal and Springbok in the Northern Cape.

South African consumers have developed “food coping strategies” when it comes to buying food and other consumables for the festive period.

These often include buying from a more affordable retailer and more affordable food, said Hester Vermeulen, a consumer analyst at Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, a non-profit organisation which provides data and analysis on the agricultural industry.“Considering the significant income pressure that is being experienced by many South Africans, it is very possible that consumers will shop around for special price offerings — possibly resulting in less loyalty to a specific retailer — try less expensive brands and cut back on luxuries,” Vermeulen told the Mail & Guardian.

Zineb Sqalli, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, said this when she addressed a panel, titled Can Gender Bonds and Innovative Mobile Products Unlock a $2.5 Trillion Opportunity?, at the recent Africa Financial Summit, held in Casablanca, Morocco, on 9 and 10 December, 

Despite their potential, women-led businesses receive six times less funding than those led by men, limiting their ability to scale, create jobs, and drive GDP growth. 

This imbalance represents a missed economic opportunity worth an estimated $625 billion for the continent. Addressing it could unlock transformative progress. 

One potential solution lies in gender bonds — financial instruments that direct capital to projects and businesses that empower women.  

The Mail & Guardian spoke to Sqalli about the potential of these tools to reshape the financial landscape for women in Africa. 

How do gender bonds contribute to achieving gender equality in the African context?
Gender bonds are innovative financial instruments that mobilise capital specifically for projects empowering women. Africa has the highest share of women entrepreneurs in the world — 45% in sub-Saharan Africa, for example. And women-led businesses receive six times less funding than men. In this context, these bonds directly address systemic financial inequities. Gender bonds provide tailored financing for women-led initiatives, empowering them to scale businesses, create jobs, and reinvest in communities. This represents a massive opportunity for the continent, estimated at $625 billion GDP, if we are able to bridge the funding gap.

How are funds raised through gender bonds effectively reaching and benefiting women-led enterprises?

Funds from gender bonds are often directed towards projects that directly benefit women, such as affordable loans for women-led small and medium enterprises or initiatives such as social housing. For example:

• Banco Davivienda (Colombia): $100 million raised, disbursed as 12,000 loans to women-led businesses and 84,000 housing loans for low-income women.

• Asian Development Bank (Indonesia): $120 million gender bond targeting women-led farms and micro-enterprises, reaching 20,000 beneficiaries.

• African Development Bank (AfDB): Gender bond funds are integrated into AFAWA initiatives, supporting thousands of SMEs through guarantees and affordable loans.

These examples show that gender bonds ensure capital flows to impactful initiatives while promoting transparency in deployment.

Are there particular sectors where gender bonds have shown the most promise in empowering women economically?

Promising sectors include agriculture, where women constitute over half the workforce in many African countries and can benefit from productivity-boosting investments. Informal retail and renewable energy also show strong potential, as women dominate these spaces yet lack scalable financing. Tech and digital innovation are emerging areas of growth, with women leveraging mobile platforms and e-commerce for entrepreneurship, a trend accelerated by targeted financing.

What role does private sector investment play in the success of gender bonds in Africa?

The private sector is key to scaling gender bonds by issuing them and integrating gender-specific initiatives into broader corporate strategies. Private investors also bring innovation, credibility, and scalability to the market. Their participation enhances confidence for institutional and global ESG (environmental, social and governance) investors. For example, banks and corporates can use gender bonds to attract sustainable funding while designing accessible financial products for women entrepreneurs.

What makes the African market uniquely positioned for gender-focused financial instruments like these bonds?

Africa’s entrepreneurial dynamism, combined with its growing fintech and mobile money ecosystem, creates a unique environment for gender bonds. Fintech platforms facilitate data collection on women borrowers, demonstrating their reliability and creditworthiness. This data can be used to structure gender bonds that target underserved populations. For example, mobile money systems provide financial histories for women entrepreneurs, enabling them to access gender-bond-funded credit programmes.

Why are there only five gender bonds in Africa, and what are the hindrances to issuing more?

Limited issuance stems from several barriers. 

• Lack of data: Insufficient evidence of gender bond profitability discourages investment.

• Regulatory gaps: Many countries lack frameworks for structuring and regulating these instruments.

• Capacity constraints: Financial institutions often lack technical expertise to issue and manage gender bonds.

Addressing these barriers requires initiatives like AfDB’s AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) to de-risk bonds and global efforts to improve gender-focused data availability.

What are some solutions to improve data collection and build trust between lenders and female business owners?

Data initiatives: Programmes like CIDE by We-Fi collect gender-disaggregated data to showcase the effect of investments and build lender confidence.

Transparency mechanisms: Publishing data on repayment rates and outcomes helps lenders see women entrepreneurs as reliable borrowers.

Public-private partnerships: Collaborations can develop data-sharing platforms that aggregate financial and operational data.

Although digital platforms like mobile money systems create alternative credit profiles for women, these mechanisms are not directly linked to gender bonds but can complement them by identifying eligible women-led businesses for bond-supported initiatives.

The five biggest medical schemes — Discovery Health, Bonitas Medical Fund, Momentum, Medihelp and Bestmed — offer a range of hospital plans at varying prices for 2025, but financial advisers have warned that there are myriad pitfalls to watch out for when selecting an option.

These schemes have also implemented premium price hikes on plans ranging from 7.4% to 14.9% effective from 1 January.

Independent financial adviser Verona Pillay of ASI Financial Services highlighted trends such as a rising number of claims, increased medical costs and ageing memberships that have led to diminishing benefits. 

To manage costs, medical aid schemes have gradually hollowed out benefits. 

Pillay said five trends affecting members include:

• Higher co-payments: Many plans now require members to pay a portion of high-cost procedures, specialist consultations and diagnostic tests.

• Reduced day-to-day benefits: Out-of-hospital benefits such as GP visits and dental care have been cut in favour of hospital coverage.

• Network restrictions: Plans limit members to specific networks, reducing flexibility and increasing out-of-pocket expenses for out-of-network care.

• Benefit sub-limits: Hospital plan sub-limits for specific treatments, for example cancer care or prosthetics, are common.

• Higher premiums: Despite fewer benefits the premiums rise above inflation.

Pillay advised consumers to carefully consider their needs and the potential pitfalls of plans.

“Many plans have cut back out-of-hospital benefits such as GP visits, dental, optical and over-the-counter medication. The effect is that members are left paying for routine healthcare out of pocket, which reduces the perceived value of the plan,” she said.

The biggest pitfalls to watch out for when selecting a medical scheme are waiting periods, co-payments, benefit limits and exclusions and network restrictions.

“When deciding to pay a premium for a medical aid, consumers often overlook critical details that only become apparent when they face a health issue,” Pillay said.

Some schemes impose a general waiting period of three months when no claims are allowed except for prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs), while others may offer no cover for pre-existing conditions during the first year. 

Co-payments and benefit limits could also leave consumers exposed as schemes often cover only a portion of the cost for hospitalisation, specialist consultations or procedures.

“For hospital admissions co-payments may apply for certain procedures, for example scopes, MRIs and elective surgeries, while benefit sub-limits include restrictions on coverage for high-cost items like prosthetics, specialised surgery, or cancer treatment,” Pillay said. “The effect is that members face significant out-of-pocket expenses,” she said.

Consumers may also not be fully aware of plan-specific exclusions or network limitations for certain treatments and high-cost drugs.

“Plans often restrict members to specific hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies [network providers]. Using non-network providers results in reduced or no cover,” Pillay said.

“During emergencies or complex treatments, members may find their preferred or nearest providers are not covered, leading to delays, stress or unexpected costs.”

Before choosing, consumers should also review waiting periods and plan for alternative coverage during that time.

Another crucial aspect of medical aid cover consumers need to be aware of is the law regarding chronic conditions and prescribed minimum benefits, because schemes sometimes neglect their responsibilities to pay for these treatments and instead claim co-payments from members.

Under the Medical Schemes Act of 1998 all registered medical schemes must cover 271 medical conditions and 26 chronic conditions, known as the chronic disease list (CDL).

The list includes 26 common illnesses such as hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes (type one and two), asthma, epilepsy, hyperlipidaemia (high cholesterol), HIV/Aids and chronic renal failure.

“Whether you are on a hospital plan or a comprehensive plan, your scheme is legally required to cover the 26 CDL chronic conditions and the broader 271 PMBs,” Pillay said.

But if members choose a non-designated service provider they may face co-payments unless it’s an emergency.

“Treatment for chronic PMBs usually requires pre-authorisation and registration with the scheme’s chronic programme and members must adhere to the scheme’s protocols, such as using generic medications or following specific treatment plans,” Pillay said.

The Mail & Guardian explored the cheapest and most expensive hospital plans, as well as the cost of the top comprehensive cover, to find out where the pitfalls and value lie.

Here is a breakdown of what is offered by the country’s big five medical schemes.

Discovery Health

By far the country’s largest medical scheme with 2  788  242 members and beneficiaries, Discovery Health offers its cheapest hospital plan, Active Smart, at R1 350 a month for the principal member. This is one of the cheapest on the market, but there are red flags.

This plan, targeted at active young professionals (although anyone is free to join), provides access to a limited network of private hospitals and co-payments may apply for certain procedures.

There is an extensive list of exclusions. For example, it does not cover hospital admissions related to investigations, dentistry, benign skin growths and lesions, as well as back, neck, knee and shoulder surgery.

The scheme’s most expensive hospital plan, Classic Core, is R3 652 a month and offers greater freedom of choice and wider cover for surgeries without hospital network restrictions.

The oncology limit for Active Smart includes only prescribed minimum benefits, which means the latest advanced treatments may not be available. The limit for Classic Core is R250 000. If the treatment costs more, a co-payment of 20% kicks in.

Discovery Health’s top comprehensive plan costs R11  430 a month.

There are no overall annual limits.

Bonitas Medical Fund

The scheme’s cheapest hospital plan, BonEssential Select, costs R2 192 monthly. It provides access to private hospitals within a designated network and includes preventative care benefits such as flu vaccines and screenings. 

The Hospital Standard plan, at R3  252 a month, offers a more comprehensive hospital coverage without network restrictions.

On both plans oncology cover is unlimited for prescribed minimum benefits and there are co-payments of 20% to 30% for using a non-designated service provider.

On Hospital Standard there is an additional R168 100 per family for non-PMBs, with 20% co-payment once this has been reached.

BonComprehensive is the scheme’s top offering, priced at R11  321 a month.

There are no overall annual limits on any plans.

Momentum Medical Scheme

Momentum’s Ingwe plan, starting at just R589 a month for low-income earners, is the most affordable option among the top five schemes. But it is restricted to network providers and offers limited benefits.

The Evolve option is next-cheapest at R1  847 a month for the main member and offers some day-to-day benefits. There is no overall annual limit on these options.

Oncology is for PMBs only on the Ingwe plan while Evolve offers R200  000 per beneficiary a year at network oncologists, after which a 20% co-payment applies.

The scheme’s top plan is the Extender Option at R9  160 a month.

There is no overall annual hospital limit on any plans.

Medihelp Medical Scheme

Medihelp’s MedMove! — priced at R1 638 a month — is a basic hospital plan with no overall limits.

At the other end of the spectrum is MedVital, which costs R2  244 a month for the network option.

Oncology cover on Medmove! is unlimited but subject to treatment protocols, which means some treatment may be excluded and comes with a 25% co-payment for deviation from these and a 30% co-payment for using non-designated service providers. Cover for oncology is R250  000 per family on Medvital.

The scheme’s top plan is MedPlus at R14  184 a month.

There is no overall annual hospital limit.

Bestmed Medical Scheme

Bestmed’s Beat1 Network plan, at R2  111 a month, is a hospital-only plan with access to network providers. It includes maternity benefits and preventative care but imposes co-payments for out-of-network services.

The Beat4 plan, priced at R6  832 monthly, offers a combination of hospital and savings benefits with fewer restrictions.

Both plans pay 100% of the scheme tariff for oncology subject to treatment protocols at a designated service provider.

The scheme’s top comprehensive plan is Pace4, which costs R11  662.

There is no overall annual hospital limit on any plans.

According to the Council for Medical Schemes’s latest report for 2023 released in November, 71 medical schemes cover 14.7% of the country’s population, down from 16% in 2022.

The average age of the medical scheme population is 34 with almost 40% of beneficiaries living in Gauteng, underscoring the correlation between economic activity and medical scheme membership. Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal came in second and third, with 15% and 14%, respectively.

Total healthcare expenditure on benefits paid in 2023 increased to R239  billion, up 9.44% from 2022.

This comes after a tumultuous 2023-24 year marred by 329 days of load-shedding, municipal debt that ballooned to R74.4 billion and the posting of a R25.5 billion net loss, which was a just over R9 billion improvement from its R34.6 billion loss incurred in 2022-23.

These were some of the highlights of Eskom’s annual results announcement on Thursday for the financial year which runs from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

The announcement was delayed because of the power utility’s probe into the “bulk generation” of illegal prepaid electricity tokens on its online vending system for prepaid meters, challenges regarding the establishment of the National Transmission Company of South Africa and the time it had taken to respond to reportable irregularities raised by external auditors, Eskom board chairperson Mteto Nyati said.

“Collusion is suspected between Eskom staff and illicit operators who breached controls within the prepaid ecosystem to facilitate the creation and sale of fraudulent prepaid electricity tokens,” Nyati said.

He said a forensic investigation is underway to determine the root causes that led to some 1.7 to 2 million customers not paying for electricity and that the team would make recommendations to deal with the problem.

Nyati said the power utility continues to face “systemic issues” affecting its financial, operational and sustainability performance.

These include an unreliable generation plant resulting in poor performance, its dysfunctional organisation culture, a weak balance sheet due to a high debt burden and tariffs that are not reflective of costs, as well as an outdated business model, prevalent crime, fraud and corruption and a lack of adherence to internal controls.  

He said the power utility had implemented interventions to remedy these challenges including the execution of its generation recovery plan, the appointment of strong leaders at all levels, improving revenue collection and driving cost-efficiency and enhanced governance and controls to eradicate crime, fraud and corruption.

Eskom chief executive Dan Marokane said 2023-24 was a year “characterised by intense and frequent load-shedding” with planned energy availability at its lowest, hovering around 55%.  

“We were not anywhere close to our aspirations in terms of emissions performance, safety performance, and not anywhere close to what we desire to do as a business. The increase in energy losses translates to losses associated with illegal connections and electricity through tokens. The net result of that, despite the 18.5% increase in tariffs for that year, is that we suffered a net loss before tax of R25.5 billion,” he said.  

Marokane said Eskom had received a qualified audit report stemming from the past two to three audits, which was “unacceptable”.

“It cannot be that we continue to have a repeat of this. And the board has asked us as management to turn the corner in as far as this aspect is concerned. As much as we have now stamped out load-shedding, we are going to turn the business upside down in terms of ensuring that we adhere to the controls that we have,” he said.

Marokane said the executive leadership had come up with an intervention plan to respond to the irregularities raised by auditors.

“This year was a painful year, but it was also a building year in terms of our path towards recovery. This is a year when the generation recovery plan was instituted. A lot of effort went into investing both in maintenance expenditure and in human resources — this was critically required to enable execution,” he said.

“It’s also here where we started seeing the government debt relay programme kicking into action. The certainty that arises from that gave us the ability to plan better and to do the deep maintenance that was required in the financial year.”

Eskom group chief financial officer Calib Cassim said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 26% to R43.4 billion.

He said as the company executed significantly increased planned maintenance to operationalise the generation recovery plan, load-shedding increased to 329 days from 280 days in the previous year, while diesel usage for open-cycle gas turbines to keep the lights on rose to R33.9 billion, and sales volumes declined 3% year-on-year. High levels of electricity theft led to an estimated R23 billion revenue loss. 

A loss after tax of R55 billion occurred mainly due to the derecognition of a deferred tax asset of R36.6 billion. This was triggered by the separation of the National Transmission Company South Africa on 31 March and it being deemed unlikely that the remaining business would generate sufficient taxable income within the next five years to fully use Eskom’s unused assessed tax losses.

He said Eskom still expects to return to profitability within the period of its current corporate plan ending March 2029.

“It is encouraging that we recorded a lower loss before tax, despite the momentous operational challenges we faced. I believe that we have reached a turning point and that the 2024 financial year will be remembered as the year in which we laid the foundation for future success,” Cassim said.

He said Eskom’s current debt securities and borrowings were R397 billion as at 31 October.

“We must reach a position where we can service our debt obligations without further government support, however, the national treasury has acknowledged that its debt relief and Eskom’s efficiency efforts alone are not enough to enable Eskom’s long-term financial sustainability — it must be supported by appropriate tariff increases, with measures to address affordability for vulnerable sectors, and a sustainable solution to the municipal arrear debt challenge, with the arrear debt owed to Eskom expected to reach R110 billion by March 2025,” Cassim said.

Marokane highlighted Eskom’s performance over the past eight months and the utility’s performance forecast for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, saying it could post a profit of more than R10 billion for the financial year. This is based on the current 12.7% tariff hike that was implemented earlier this year.

He said it was “a crucial step” that consumers migrate to paying “cost-reflective tariffs” to ensure Eskom’s financial sustainability and to foster a competitive future electricity supply industry that attracts investment and enables market players to operate and maintain their assets in a reliable state”.

“An inadequate tariff path will continue to constrain Eskom’s financial position, leading to insufficient investment to sustain and expand our infrastructure, thereby perpetuating past operational challenges. It may also necessitate further reliance on government support beyond March 2026,” he said.

He said Eskom’s focus remains on further reducing unplanned unavailability, to reach an energy availability factor level of 70% during March 2025 and an average energy availability factor of around 62% for the year, by implementing its generation recovery plan, which includes extensive planned maintenance.

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said it was “worrying” that the release of the audited financial statements had been delayed as this undermined the social contract of transparency with the public.

He lamented the fact that Eskom had uncovered more than 1 million pre-paid customers who have not been paying for electricity.

“I guess that is a moving target. It’s just an illustration, perhaps, of the failures of controls. I think it’s important that Eskom must invest a lot of energy in addressing issues of cybersecurity, the undermining of the guardrails that protects Eskom, from those who want to attack it,” he said.

Ramokgopa congratulated Eskom’s leadership for reducing load-shedding and for achieving a more positive outlook for 2024-25 saying this illustrates “that indeed we’ve got the capacity and capability in the country to address what essentially is a challenge of existential proportions”.

“This work of Eskom contributes in large part to the realisation of the Energy Action Plan, which is a comprehensive articulation by the government on how we’re going to resolve and attend to the challenges presented by load-shedding,” Ramokgopa said.

He said the load-shedding experienced during the 2023-24 financial year had had a devastating impact on the economy and the financial performance of the power utility.

The government has more work to do to ensure that the sector is properly regulated and adheres to health regulations, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosi Hlabisa told a media briefing on Wednesday.

“The government understands the concerns raised by some stakeholders regarding the registration deadline for spaza shops but the initial deadline was set to address the urgent need to ensure compliance with health and safety standards following the tragic incidents of food-borne illnesses,” he said.

Registration would ensure that all spaza shops met the minimum standards, regardless of their past operations, Hlabisa said, adding that any businesses that did not comply with the health regulations, or were run by foreigners who were in the country illegally, would be closed down, even if they were registered. 

Hlabisa said there were two distinct processes during registration, the first being business compliance and the second compliance with health regulations.

“This process does not depend on whether you are registered or not. If you don’t comply with the health regulations, the business is closed down immediately,” he warned.

Since 15 November, 42 915 applications have been filed to operate spaza shops and food handling outlets. Of these, 19 386 were approved while 1 041 businesses were forced to close.

Deputy national commissioner responsible for policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, said 41 deaths from food-borne illnesses had been reported this year, 38 of them children. Thirty-two cases had been opened to investigate food-borne illnesses, she added.

Mosikili said three people had been arrested and prosecuted for poisoning-related matters prior to the September to November period, and these cases were still under investigation. 

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told journalists that the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development was also investigating the origins of the organophosphate Terbufos — the pesticide identified as the cause of the deaths of six children in Naledi, Soweto. 

“Out of the five manufacturers of this organophosphate called Terbufos, which they have inspected and tested … there is the conclusion that it must be coming from outside the country, because it was not similar to the one that is manufactured by the five companies,” Motsoaledi said.

Multidisciplinary enforcement teams were conducting door-to-door compliance checks; intelligence-led operations on warehouses and supermarkets and other food handlers; closures of non-compliant premises and confiscations of non-compliant or illegal goods, Hlabisa said. Inspections of imported food items, medicines and pesticides had been intensified at ports of entry. 

Law enforcement would target tuck shops and spaza shops around schools in January, before schools are reopened, to ensure they have gone through the application process and are compliant with health regulations. 

“The rising number of deaths — especially that was concerning us most for our children — has really come down and that is what makes us pleased about the intervention and that is what is going to make us ensure that we do not go back to where we were,” Hlabisa said.

Hajira Khalid, founder of Mac Plastics, a recycling company in Isithebe in the northern part of the province, has endured more than the triple beating of the Covid-19 pandemic, the July 2021 riots and the April 2022 floods.

Similarly Elaine Muthusamy, the founder of SA Metering Solutions, who was diagnosed with lupus and given six months to live, has defeated death and the trio of disasters that struck the province.

Khalid also endured the hijacking and shooting of her husband and her factory being burnt to the ground three times, in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Yet she has rebuilt the business, which is to relaunch with a state-of-the-art recycling plant, at new premises in March 2025.

Khalid’s story started in the Eastern Cape, where she and her husband ran seven general stores before he was hijacked and shot in 2001, leading to the couple moving to the UK. They returned to South Africa in 2006 and explored new business opportunities.

A friend of Khalid’s husband invited him to visit his injection-moulding company in Namibia, which was struggling to source recycled plastic for its production line to make chairs, basins and buckets.

“My husband asked me to research different plastics to see if we could supply Fatima Plastics, but in South Africa in 2006, plastic recycling hadn’t really taken off. It was on a very small scale,” Khalid said.

“There weren’t many people that could supply what we needed — about 34 tonnes a week, sometimes 68 tonnes, to send to Namibia.”

Khalid set up the business with 50 staff in rented premises in Isithebe and imported machinery from China. The enterprise started getting orders to supply recycled plastic to local companies.

“The next year, we purchased more machinery. And because we were expanding, the property we were on was too small. We approached [financial services provider] Ithala and took the premises from them. And then eventually, over the years, we built ourselves up and we had 200 staff,” she said.

“We were exporting and supplying locally and we were importing because the demand was so high. We ended up opening a plant in Saudi Arabia that is still going.

“While there, we picked up on a new technology — recycling reject diaper offcuts from the production line. We then put it through a separation system and each product is then recycled into different streams.”

The company later introduced the same line to South Africa.

“In 2016, we had the first unrest. They had an issue with the mayor; they wanted the mayor removed. We managed to put out the fire from the outside, although they had petrol-bombed us. It took us about two days … but we managed to save the warehouse and the production plant,” Khalid said.

In 2018, her business was again a victim of civil unrest and fire.

“We lost that whole premises, with all the stock and machinery. I had to let about 80 of my 120 staff go. And then when quite a lot of businesses got torched in 2019, that’s when we lost everything,” Khalid said.

With support from Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal, Khalid approached Ithala for financial assistance. The company, however, offered her a loan, which she declined because she would not be able to start repaying it until production was running.

“So, we started with having just our contracts in place for waste collection and we then found little recycling companies that were closing after Covid-19. We gave our work to them to service on their manufacturing lines and carried on supplying our customers. And from there is how we built up our business,” she said.

“We are currently exporting to Mozambique, Swaziland and India.”

Khalid recently acquired a R20 million state-of-the-art energy and water efficient recycling plant to produce hygiene and food-grade products that will be launched in March. She plans to open the new facility in a secure business park such as the Dube Trade Port

or Whetstone Business Park.

Muthusamy was diagnosed with lupus, an immune system disease, in 2007 but, despite a long battle with the severe illness — which she eventually overcame — she continued working.

She had moved to Cape Town in 2001, where she worked in administration for a plumbing company, and later co-owned a plumbing shop with her husband, launching her career in water-related businesses.

She joined water metering company Huile Africa in 2016 where she dealt with suppliers in China and handled invoicing and deliveries. But she lost her job when the business closed two years later.

In March 2019, she registered the Amanzimtoti-based SA Metering Solutions, leveraging her knowledge in the industry and relationships with the Chinese suppliers. She started the business at her desk in her lounge at home.

“I used that year to set up the company, because water meters must be certified by the NRCS [National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications] before you can sell. I received my first shipment from China in February 2020,” she said.

But then Covid-19 hit and business slowed.

“The entire world was in lockdown but I had faith that something was going to happen. And because it is water meters, business was continuing — the business did not come to a standstill. But it was slow,” she said.

Her husband quit his job in August 2020 and joined her to handle sales and marketing.

“In 2021, the week before the looting, we received a 40-foot container with stock, and I had it in temporary premises,” she said.

As the looters rampaged in July 2021, Muthusamy was “sitting at home and thinking, ‘My God, the walls were closing down on me again for the second time.”

The looters had initially stormed the premises and stolen some stock on the morning of 21 July but most of it was too heavy to move. But they came back at night and torched the premises.

“I was thinking about 2008, when my life took a turn for the worse and was thinking, ‘Not again!’ Everything was burnt to the ground that night, on 21 July at 11pm,” she said.

She visited the premises later that week.

“I looked at everything … all of my hard work, my sacrifices, had burned to the ground, and three days later, we had to still be careful walking, because underneath there was still fire. 

“I looked at it and I cried, because I know what it feels like to lose everything, and I was just building up my life,” she said.

“Someone who has defeated death has a different kind of inner power. Nothing is bigger than that. You can overcome anything else. 

“I prayed, and I said, ‘You know what? I don’t know what the reason is for this to happen but I know that there is a reason and there’s a bigger purpose,’” she recalled.

Muthusamy, who lost R3.5 million worth of stock in the arson attack, was selected on an East Coast Radio show for a R20 000 award to help her build up her business.

She contacted a handful of her customers who agreed to hold onto their orders until she could get new stock from her suppliers who undertook to send meters on three months’ credit.

“That was enough for me to trade out of my situation,” Muthusamy said.

She contacted the Small Enterprise Development Agency and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, which gave her a loan and a grant.

She managed to get her business operational and started supplying distributors with bulk commercial and domestic meters in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape Gauteng and the Free State.

But sourcing domestic meters and the white boxes that house them from local manufactures soon became difficult due to rising prices.

“I made a decision to go into manufacturing. We invested in moulds. It was cheaper for me to make my moulds in China, ship the completed product and assemble it here in our warehouse,” Muthusamy said.

She said an SA National Accreditation System (Sanas) approved laboratory has been testing her meters but this has driven up costs. Muthusamy recently decided to establish an inhouse Sanas-approved laboratory, which she is in the process of finalising, to take her business to the next stage.

“Once you have a Sanas-accredited laboratory, you are considered one of the big boys,” she said.

“SA Metering Solutions is only five years old … and currently I am at that stage where I am taking the final step to be on a level playing field with companies that have been in this industry for 40 to 50 years.”

But there are some global headwinds, not least the United States’ re-election of Donald Trump and his threats of import tariff hikes, the continued slow-down of China’s economy and the climate crisis.

So said Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim, who presented the bank’s forecast for the economy and Sub-Saharan Africa for 2025 at a media event in Johannesburg.

Ballim said the bank anticipated 2025 would be “ more promising than the stabilisation period of 2024”, during which there had been a “striking improvement” in the political climate since the 29 May elections which saw the formation of the government of national unity. State-owned enterprises had also improved.

“Over the past 10 years or so, there has been an overarching sense of decay regarding sentiment associated with South Africa’s political climate. The [political] rule may be considered ‘the everything’, an all-encompassing economic growth tonic, which reveals its credentials when the guardrails of society are collapsing,” he said.

Ballim said the path of the country’s GDP tends to follow a trajectory mirroring the political climate.

It was encouraging that there had been a surge in optimism after the establishment of the 10-party coalition government. President Cyril Ramaphosa and Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen had signalled an “almost unbridled will” to consolidate the GNU, Ballim added.

“It is natural there is going to be ideological conflict among the various parties, but we are in a far more evolved era than four years ago. Both in terms of key personnel and in execution machinery,” he said.  

He said the South African Communist Party and labour federation Cosatu had been unable to retard the president’s reform commitment.  

Ballim contrasted the current period with the “Ramaphoria” of 2018, when bond yields improved before relapsing to previous under-performance levels.

“This time it is different. Yields have improved and are holding steady,” he said.

Ballim added that the JSE had also re-rated in recent months, leading to elevated stock prices because of positive sentiment — although there has not been a measurable improvement in corporate earnings nor any discernible improvement in efficiency in the country.

Positive prospects for the country are being underpinned by the durability of the coalition government and its strong foundational principles that have so far managed friction, as well as its constructive cabinet and ministerial actions, he added.

Macro-economic tailwinds have included the stabilisation of energy supply and the early reform taking place at Transnet. They have also included fiscal stabilisation, inflation easing below the South African Reserve Bank’s 3% to 6% target range, interest rate cuts, accelerated real wage growth and the embrace of the private sector.

Ballim said the country could be on a journey to 3.5% growth if it continues on the current trajectory over the next five years.

“We believe the repair of the electricity infrastructure is the most significant stand-alone tonic that could buttress economic growth. Improved logistics over the next two years will be another leap [as well as several] other economic reforms, and if we are able to deal with crime, the 3.5% trend growth over a five year horizon becomes probable,” he said.

He said for every 1% increase in GDP, employment rises by nearly 0.7%, which is more than double the global average.

“At a steady state of 3% GDP growth, SA could generate approximately 350 000 formal sector jobs per annum. These 350 000 jobs would buoy the welfare of about 1.2 million near-dependents,” Ballim said.

“Over a five-year envelope sustained 3% GDP growth would lift the welfare of almost eight million South Africans primarily through the labour market. This excludes the additional welfare advances through fiscal expenditure, for example on municipal services, social spending, education and health.”

He added that the sub-Saraharan Africa region should muster real weighted GDP growth of about 4.5%, although bigger economies would underperform, while small and medium sized economies would primarily drive the expansion.

South Africa could achieve a maximum of 2% GDP growth , while Angola and Nigeria would straddle 3.5% to 4% growth.

Ballim said smaller economies would achieve astonishing levels of outperformance in regions, particularly in East Africa where countries were achieving growth of 4% to 6.99%.

But, he added, the climate crisis posed a major risk factor for the region, as well as global fragmentation and politics, supply chain issues and the slow-down in China’s economy.

KPMG South Africa has forecast economic growth of 1.5% for South Africa in 2025 and 1.8% in 2026 in its latest economic update report.

“The inflation rate is expected to end 2024 well below target and remain there through 2025. Consequently, interest rates are set to continue to decline, which will subsequently provide breathing room for consumers and businesses alike,” the audit firm said.

“The unemployment rate is still a concern and is expected to decrease slightly from the current 33% over the same period.”

The positive sentiment after the general elections, the improved performance of electricity supply and a slowdown in inflation “underpinned the more optimistic view of the economy over the forecast period”, KPMG lead economist Frank Blackmore said.

In the first half of 2024, the economy grew by an average 0.2%, limited by elevated inflation and interest rates, which suppressed private consumption and business expenditure, augmented by ongoing interruptions in power supply in the first quarter of the year. 

GDP contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter on the back of a large contraction in agricultural production, while many other sectors grew only marginally as a result of logistics bottlenecks and weak demand abroad, reducing the growth forecast.

“The expectation, however, is for stronger economic growth over the final quarter of the year on the back of the improved macroeconomic environment,” Blackmore said.

KPMG expects this positive momentum to continue into 2025 and 2026 with GDP growth forecast to improve to an average of 1.7%  as experienced over the 10 years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, this is still below what is required to make a meaningful impact on economic inclusion to absorb a significant proportion of the unemployed into the labour market,” Blackmore said.

“Consequently, unemployment is expected to still be elevated with only slight improvements over the forecast period due to the upwardly adjusted economic growth expectation.”

Inflation slowed to 2.8% in October 2024 from 5.3% at the start of the year, reaching its lowest level since February 2021. It ticked up only slightly to 2.9% in November.

“This reduction in the rate of inflation is the primary reason behind the central bank commencing its interest rate reduction cycle. The positive effect of a reduction in interest rates of households and businesses should lead to an increase in both consumption and investment spending,” Blackmore said.

“The largest contributors to the inflation rate remain housing and utilities (electricity and water) followed by certain food and non-alcoholic beverages and financial and insurance services. The monetary policy is expected to loosen further in 2025 as inflation remains below the target rate.”

According to recent data from the National Automobile Association of South Africa (Naamsa), year-to-date production has plunged by 18.8% compared with the same period last year, a striking testament to the growing strain on the sector.

Chinese vehicle brands, in contrast, have seen remarkable growth in South Africa’s light vehicle market over the past five years. Data from industry information provider Lightstone, released in August, shows that their market share rose from just 2% in 2019 to 9% in 2024.

GWM, which owns popular car brand Haval, supplied 96% of those sales in 2019 and in 2024 was joined by Chery. Together they have sold 88% of Chinese-branded vehicles locally this year.

A notable shift in consumer buying patterns is affecting the market, with many South

Africans opting for more affordable vehicles, leading to a rise in the popularity of

Chinese brands, said Kriben Reddy, the chief executive of digital solutions platform

Kredo Mobility.

“These brands offer a compelling value proposition, combining affordability with quality, and are meeting consumer needs more effectively than some traditional players,” Reddy said. 

The aggressive pricing and marketing strategies employed by Chinese brands have created significant competition for local manufacturers, he added, hurting their ability to compete effectively, particularly in the lower and mid-range segments of the market.

“These dynamics highlight the challenges local manufacturers face in adapting to a rapidly

evolving and increasingly competitive market landscape,” Reddy said. 

Sales data from Standard Bank released in September shows that the number of Chinese cars purchased via its vehicle finance unit has consistently increased year-on-year from just over 6% in 2022 to 7.4% in the first half of 2024. 

GWM’s Haval is the most popular Chinese brand financed by Standard Bank since 2022, followed by Chery and BAIC.

The bank noted that these Chinese cars found particular favour in Gauteng, where Standard Bank concluded 54% of the deals. KwaZulu Natal (18%) and Western Cape (10%) also contributed to their growing presence.

Vehicle buyers in South Africa are making similar purchasing decisions to their counterparts worldwide, with a strong focus on connectivity, in-car experience and technology, according to Ghitesh Deva, a partner at Forvis Mazars.

“Chinese brands have successfully positioned their offerings to cater to these priorities at price points that traditional European, Japanese and American OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] have struggled to match. 

“Consequently, Chinese brands are rapidly gaining market share, supported by their commitment to quality, as evidenced by product warranties that are hard for consumers to overlook,” Deva said. 

Chery, Jetour and Omoda have offered 10-year or 1 million kilometre engine warranties. In South Africa, a typical engine warranty for new vehicles usually ranges from 3 to 5 years or 60 000 to 150 000km, depending on the manufacturer and model.

While the demand for vehicles in the country can influence how many are produced locally, this effect is often limited, Deva said. This is because local production is more closely aligned with the global logistics and strategies of the original equipment manufacturers. For example, a local factory might primarily produce vehicles for export, as part of a global supply chain, rather than strictly meeting domestic demand.

Deva said Chinese manufacturers’ ability to produce vehicles at highly competitive prices had disrupted markets globally. 

“For example, one of Germany’s largest OEMs recently announced the need for drastic cost reductions to remain competitive. This includes closing factories and making significant workforce reductions, particularly in Germany, as a response to the increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers,” he said. 

Vehicle export sales have dropped significantly this year, down by 23.9% in the 11 months to November, compared with the same period last year. Exports for November saw a sharp decline of 28.6% versus the same month last year, according to Naamsa.

The association said the slide reflects a challenging macroeconomic context and a weaker rand. 

“The US dollar has appreciated against most currencies, including the rand. Monetary policy in major economies will remain restrictive, with new inflation pressures and heightened uncertainty over the past two months suggesting diminished policy space. 

“Domestic vehicle exports will remain a function of the direction and the economic performance of global markets in the new year,” it said.

Reddy said the reduction in exports to the EU presents a significant challenge to the sustainability and competitiveness of South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing sector.

The automotive industry remains a vital contributor to the economy, accounting for around

5.3% of GDP. A drop in export volumes directly affects the industry’s ability to maintain its role as an economic driver.

The fallout from this is underutilised manufacturing capacity, with factories optimised for export markets operating below capacity, job losses, not only in manufacturing but also in the broader automotive value chain, including suppliers and logistics and reputational impact, Reddy said.

“Sustained declines in exports may erode South Africa’s standing as a reliable and competitive hub for vehicle production, potentially deterring future investments,” he said.

Deva said depressed exports might also be because of South Africa’s offering to the global market.

“The European region has set a firm deadline for the sale of zero-emission vehicles. Since a significant proportion of South Africa’s vehicle exports go to this region, the sustainability and competitiveness of the local manufacturing industry are directly tied to its ability to transition to producing zero-emission vehicles,” he said.

“The industry’s future depends on the swift action of relevant stakeholders, as the window of opportunity is closing rapidly.”

While there are initiatives to promote electric vehicle (EV) production in the country, they remain limited, Reddy noted.

South Africa would probably start producing its first electric vehicles in 2026, the department of trade, industry and competition said last year, as former minister Ebrahim Patel outlined plans for the country’s green transport transition.

“Expanding these efforts will be essential for South Africa to compete in the growing global EV market,” Reddy said.

Zane Dangor, director general of the department of international relations and cooperation and South Africa’s sherpa, told a media briefing late on Tuesday that it was necessary to assess the purpose of the G20, its mandate and what agreements had been made on various tracks over its history.

“We need to look at what has been achieved and what enabled that achievement. We must also look at what was not achieved and what were the disabling factors,” he said.

The G20 presidency rotates annually among the member countries and will go to the US next year.

Dangor said a methodology would be developed for the G20 review so that the right questions were asked to yield the right answers for a proper analysis of the grouping. 

“By the time we get to the end of our presidency in November, we can give them clear recommendations on how to improve the G20,” he said. 

The G20 was established in 1999 as an informal forum for finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s most industrialised and developing economies to address international economic and financial stability.

While its early discussions primarily centered on broad macroeconomic issues, the forum has since broadened its scope to include topics such as trade, climate change and sustainable development.

“This review does not formalise the G20; the members seek to remain informal so that levels of flexibility are maintained but also so that it does not seek to compete with formal multi-lateral institutions like the UN, AU, which have secretariats,” Dangor said. 

A policy brief by Bertelsmann Stiftung, a research firm based in Germany, showed that the citizens of Argentina, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States have complained about the lack of transparency of the G20 summits. 

“Often the process of the summit meetings has been criticised. In many cases, it has been described as non-transparent, ineffective and too expensive as well as lacking sufficient democratic legitimacy,” the paper said.

Dangor said strengthening disaster resilience and response would be a key topic for the G20 during South Africa’s presidency “based on the fact that climate change is with us and that the damage arising from climate change needs a specific response”.

“We are going to amplify the voices of the Global South. We have 15 working groups in the sherpa track that will essentially drive this agenda,” he said.

On Wednesday and Thursday the finance track will meet to discuss issues pertaining to global growth, climate finance and enhancing debt sustainability.

The latest inflation rate is still below the lower point of the South African Reserve Bank’s target range of 3% to 6%.

According to data released by Statistics South Africa on Wednesday, the November print is the first uptick in year-on-year inflation in nine months.

Annual inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages retreated sharply to 2.3% in November from 3.6% the previous month, the lowest rate for the category since December 2010, when it stood at 1.6%.

Eight of the 11 food groups registered lower rates, including vegetables; milk, eggs and cheese; hot beverages; bread and cereals; cold beverages; meat; sugar, sweets and desserts; and “other” foods. Fish inflation was flat, while oils and fats as well as fruit recorded steeper price increases.

The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) had predicted an acceleration to 3.2% for November while Nedbank economists forecast 3.1%. 

Reacting to the data, Standard Bank group head of South Africa macroeconomic research Elna Moolman said the downside surprise was largely a result of lower food inflation than expected. 

“This implies that there is significant relief for consumers with inflation quite low and lower than most consumer’s income growth. This underscores our expectation that there will be an ongoing recovery in consumer spending in the coming months,” she said.

“It also clearly vindicates the [Reserve Bank’s] decision to start cutting interest rates and signals that there is scope to continue cutting interest rates in 2025.”

The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 7.75% last month, following a similar reduction in September, which was the first decrease in four years.

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 30 January 2025.

On Wednesday, Stats SA also calculated inflation rates for 10 expenditure categories, providing insight into the effect of inflation on various socio-economic groups. 

The agency found that the poorest households have shouldered the highest inflation rate since January 2022, peaking at 11.3% in April 2023. This declined to 3.8% in November 2024 but remains the highest across all expenditure categories. By contrast, the wealthiest households registered an annual increase of 3% in November, slightly above the headline rate.

In November the provinces with the highest inflation rates were Western Cape (3.4%), Free State (3.2%) and KwaZulu-Natal (3.1%). Inflation in Western Cape remained above the headline rate for the period January to November 2024.

Limpopo (2.4%) and Mpumalanga (2.5%) recorded the lowest rates.

This story has been corrected to reflect that food inflation, not food prices, slowed to a 14-year low.