BLSA
Bulletin
I have noted several times how the GNU is proving positive for business sentiment, as reforms ranging from visas to transport show notable progress.
We kicked off the year on a high note. South Africa has stepped into a pivotal leadership role, assuming the Presidency of both the G20 and the B20, a historic first for the African continent. Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), in collaboration with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), is honoured to co-chair the B20 South Africa 2025.
Domestically, we are focused on driving structural reforms to bolster our economy, as outlined in this bulletin. Phase 2 of Operation Vulindlela (OV), which includes crucial local government reforms, provides opportunities for cooperation between business and government that I hope we can make substantial progress on this year.
While engaging with Transnet to improve operational efficiency, BLSA is also actively supporting the Freight Logistics Roadmap through OV, aiming to increase private sector participation in our rail and logistics sectors.
BLSA continues to advocate for transparency and accountability, notably through our support of the Whistleblower House. We are also closely monitoring key policy movements, including the National State Enterprises Bill and the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act.
In the energy sector, we are engaging extensively on the Draft Integrated Resource Plan 2024, emphasising the need for a balanced and sustainable energy mix. We are also actively monitoring the impending gas supply challenges and ensuring that the Gas Amendment Bill and Master Plan align with industry needs.
We welcome Nersa’s decision to approve lower tariff increases, while recognising the continued financial strain on businesses. We are also participating in the NEDLAC Energy Security Working Group and the BUSA Climate Change Working Group to shape critical reforms and policies.
On the economic front, we are actively involved in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) negotiations Regarding the proposed Transformation Fund, while we support the goal of inclusive economic growth, we have raised significant concerns about its structure and implementation, and we are working to ensure a collaborative approach that benefits all stakeholders.
Finally, in social policy, we are addressing the implications of the amended Employment Equity Act and the newly enacted Expropriation Act, ensuring that these laws are implemented fairly and effectively.
I am enormously proud of the contribution made by BLSA and our members as we work collaboratively with government and stakeholders to drive sustainable economic growth and create a conducive environment for business in South Africa. I look forward to working with all of you to make it a year that marks a new phase in South Africa’s recovery.
On 1 December 2024, South Africa made history by assuming the Presidency of both the Global 20 (G20) and the Business 20 (B20), the business initiative that connects with the G20. This is a first for the African continent. Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) are co-chairing B20 South Africa 2025, with BLSA chairman Nonkululeko Nyembezi and BUSA president Mxolisi Mgojo serving as B20 co-chairs.
During the last week of February, the B20 hosted a successful launch in Cape Town, attracting business leaders from around the world with an action-oriented mindset. The B20 has established eight task forces, covering areas such as trade and investment, sustainable food systems, and digital transformation, among others. Throughout the year, these task forces will work on position papers that will contribute to the G20 process later this year. BLSA has circulated an invitation to all members to join relevant task forces.
BLSA anticipates phase 2 of Operation Vulindlela (OV), an initiative designed to accelerate the implementation of structural economic reforms essential for economic recovery and growth, within the next two months. Phase 2 will also focus on local government reforms to address inefficiency, corruption, and poor service delivery. The government is planning to conduct extensive consultations to develop an updated white paper outlining a modern fit-for-purpose local government system. Business looks forward to the first OV progress report under the GNU.
Through OV, BLSA is actively supporting various workstreams to implement the Freight Logistics Roadmap, with the goal of increasing private sector involvement in rail and logistics. Specifically, BLSA’s support is currently capacitating work on:
The Department of Home Affairs has achieved a remarkable turnaround in eradicating the visa backlog, thanks to a series of swift and effective interventions. BLSA has been a key player in this success from the outset, collaborating losely with the Operation Vulindlela (OV) team to support the regulatory and legislative amendments required to address South Africa’s skills deficit through the streamlining of critical skills visas, and the introduction of the Trusted Employer Scheme. Last year, the new Visa Regulations were gazetted, marking a significant milestone in achieving BLSA’s objectives through its unwavering support of OV’s efforts.
BLSA’s current focus is on eradicating the visa backlog. The visa eradication project was initially spearheaded by FirstRand and Deloitte, with Old Mutual joining the partnership this year through BLSA. This collaborative effort has been pivotal in addressing the decade-old visa backlog and ensuring that processes remain efficient and frictionless.
On 3 February, the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Leon Schreiber, hosted a celebration to honour the dedication and tireless work of the Backlog Bomb Squad members. Their efforts have been crucial in clearing the longstanding visa backlog.
For the past few years, BLSA has been financially supporting the Whistleblower House. BLSA promotes whistleblowing to combat corruption in both the public and private sectors, thereby upholding law and order. Thanks to BLSA’s contributions to date, 211 whistleblowers have received assistance with counselling, security, and financial and legal support.
Over the past three months, several bills have been signed into law, while others are still being reviewed by the National Assembly.
Key policy movements
The Integrated Resource Plan 2024 (IRP) is a crucial blueprint for South Africa’s energy mix and sector investment. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has now released the remodelled IRP has now been released by the DMRE, incorporating significant revisions to the 2023 version, which had elicited comprehensive feedback from BLSA members, among others . aligning the business perspective on the IRP with sector-wide priorities. The remodelled IRP will determine the energy generation mix – balancing coal, renewables, gas, and nuclear – over the next decade.
Key Highlights
However, stakeholders have complained that the consultation process was rushed. The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) confirmed that IRP2024, incorporating stakeholder feedback, will be released for public review before submission to the Cabinet for approval by March 2025.
BLSA is partnering with the Energy Council in driving awareness of the Energise Mzansi campaign. This initiative aims to unpack the complexities that are prevalent across the energy landscape, explore and embrace possibilities as well as collaborate to address the challenges that hinder a more sustainable energy future.
South Africa is facing an impending gas supply cliff, with its largest gas supplier planning to reduce supply by 2028. As gas is a transitional energy source, monitoring this issue and related regulations is critical to South Africa’s energy diversification strategy and efforts to reduce coal reliance. This issue impacts both industry and the broader economy. Ensuring the Gas Amendment Bill and Gas Master Plan align with industry needs, are free from regulatory duplication, and support infrastructure investments, is key to a successful energy transition. At this year’s first BUSA Energy Subcommittee meeting, which BLSA actively participates in, it was reported that the Gas Working Group had been actively engaged in discussions regarding the development and implementation of the Gas Master Plan. The Minister has acknowledged that the current plan is inadequate, and government is looking to revise it. A key proposal under consideration is the establishment of an advisory committee to provide guidance on this process, which we will particate in through BUSA.
The Gas Amendment Bill is currently undergoing the NEDLAC process, where the working group is providing valuable input in bi-weekly meetings. Progress is being made, with active participation from stakeholders. Monitoring these developments is essential to ensure the smooth transition to a more diversified energy mix, protecting business interests and fostering a conducive regulatory environment for investment.
Towards the end of 2024, Eskom submitted its revenue application for the 2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28 financial years, projecting to generate R445 billion, R495 billion, and R536 billion respectively, with planned tariff increases of 36.15%, 11.81%, and 9.10% over the three years.
After a thorough regulatory process that included public hearings and over 1,200 written submissions (including from business), Nersa approved lower increases. The final decision saw tariffs rise by 12.74% in 2025, with smaller hikes of 5.36% in 2026 and 6.19% in 2027.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) welcomes Nersa’s decision, recognising the need to balance Eskom’s financial sustainability with affordability. While these lower increases aim to mitigate the economic strain, the approved tariffs still represent a significant cost increase for businesses, especially energy-intensive sectors.
BLSA attended the Electricity Distribution Industry (EDI) reform meeting, where challenges in energy distribution, including the complexities of municipal debt owed to Eskom, were discussed. NECOM emphasised the importance of involving social partners, such as BLSA, from the outset to ensure our insights and proposed solutions influence the EDI reform. The meeting marked the beginning of the EDI reform roadmap, with two other points of engagement through NEDLAC in the pipeline:
These stages offer opportunities for BLSA to engage and shape the reform. The session also highlighted the ongoing municipal debt crisis, now at R95 billion, and Eskom’s financial instability, exacerbated by poor billing and illegal connections. These issues pose significant economic risks to both municipal sustainability and the energy sector. Determining a BLSA position on the EDI reform is essential to enhance the effectiveness of our advocacy role.
On 24 January, the BUSA Climate Change Working Group, which BLSA participates in, met with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) for an update on the progress of their 2024 priorities. The DFFE indicated that the carbon budgets and associated guidelines have been finalised, while the Sectoral Emission Targets (SETs) report is being refined based on stakeholder feedback, with additional scenarios incorporated. Once finalised, the Minister will engage with counterparts before resubmitting the report to Cabinet, with publication for public comment expected by April.
DFFE is also developing a new Grid Emissions Factor reporting system, which will align with existing regulations, though no pilot is planned yet. Moreover, a task force, including business representatives, will be established to provide the necessary technical input. Additionally, the Climate Change Act’s implementation plan is complete, with the Minister set to submit it to the President following the State Law Advisor review. The Presidential Climate Commission’s regulations are also expected to be published soon.The BLSA position is not varied from fellow stakeholders and what the DFFE publishes, but we will continue to monitor developments.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) has written to BLSA regarding the establishment of South Africa’s African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) National Implementation Committee (NIC). The NIC aims to bring together relevant stakeholders to support the effective implementation of South Africa’s commitments under the AfCFTA Agreement.
The AfCFTA has since announced the formation of the Private Sector Platform which aims to be the primary interface for private sector engagement. The objective is fostering dialogue, facilitating knowledge exchange as well as driving a coordinated action in support of the AfCTFA implementation efforts.
The Transnet Operational Update Monthly meetings provide critical updates on various operational topics. These include:
Transnet’s recovery plan for the Cape Town Terminal
The role of Operations Excellence Centres (OECs) in driving recovery
This platform allows BLSA to monitor developments and engage Transnet’s executive and senior officials on behalf of its members, ensuring their interests in operational efficiency and infrastructure progress are well represented.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) has proposed establishing a R100 billion Transformation Fund aimed at supporting black-owned businesses and SMMEs. This initiative seeks to promote inclusive economic growth by leveraging private sector contributions in line with Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) regulations and public interest requirements under the Competition Act. Given the potential implications for businesses, we sought preliminary inputs from our members on the proposal. Key areas of concern included:
The overwhelming majority of members strongly oppose the proposed R100 billion Transformation Fund in its current form. Key concerns include the financial burden, governance risks, duplication of efforts, and the impracticality of centralising funds that are already being deployed effectively in sector-specific ways. Businesses prefer sector-driven approaches that are aligned with their existing commitments, transformation strategies, and procurement needs, rather than a broad, government-managed scheme that risks inefficiencies, misalignment, mismanagement of funds and unintended consequences.
On 27 February, we invited Minister Parks Tau to provide members with the relevant premise and details that initiated the formation of the Transformation Fund. The Minister assured members that the Fund was still in its research and formation stage and that it was just one instrument to address economic transformation gaps. He emphasised the importance of collaboration to address areas of concern and highlighted that previous initiatives have not succeeded and that there was still a need for joint intervention by the government and business to secure an economically transformed environment.
The amended Employment Equity Act (EEA) took effect on 1 January 2025, with the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) beginning sector-specific consultations in February 2025 before publishing the draft notice for public comment.
At a January preparatory session, members raised concerns about limited consultation time, potential litigation risks, the need to integrate skills development with employment equity initiatives and the challenges regarding the lack of communication and lack of guiding documentation being shared with stakeholders ahead of consultations. BUSA wrote to the DEL, highlighting these concerns and emphasising the need for the consultation process to align with the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and for sectoral numerical targets (SNTs) to be integrated into human resource planning, development, and deployment in a strategic, achievable, and justifiable manner. Employers expect the DEL to introduce appropriate sub-sectors, adjust the E-filing format, address previous concerns in forthcoming regulations, and provide clarity on transitional matters, including the alignment of employment equity plans with SNTs for the 2027 reporting cycle and the basis for the next round of EEA2 reports for the 2024/25 reporting period.
Business will continue engaging with DEL to ensure that member concerns are meaningfully addressed before regulations are finalised.
As part of “land reform”, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in January 2025, signed the Expropriation Bill into law. The act repeals the outdated and pre-democratic Expropriation Act (1975) and aligns the process of expropriation with the principles outlined in Section 25 of the Constitution, which recognises the state’s (organs of state) right to expropriate property/land for public purposes or in the public interest. The old law was inconsistent with modern constitutional principles, allowing for the expropriation of land, including tribal lands and marginalised communities.
A key provision in section 2 of the new act emphasises that “expropriation may not be exercised unless the expropriating authority has, without success, attempted to reach an agreement with the owner or holder of a right in property for the acquisition thereof on reasonable terms”. Accordingly, the deprivation of property is not arbitrary, and property owners are afforded an opportunity to reach a mutually acceptable agreement before such measures are taken. This fosters transparency and fairness in the process.
This law underwent extensive public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny for years before its enactment, emphasising its commitment to inclusivity and equitable access to resources. Prior to this, other draft law versions, which failed to progress through parliament, were introduced in 2008 and 2015. This act is the successor of the failed prior attempts to amend Section 25 of the Constitution.
Every country possesses, through legislation, the sovereign right to expropriate property for public purposes and in SA’s case, this is needed for transmission investment and other public investment purposes in the context of current reforms. This law builds upon recent legislation establishing a new land court and a land court of appeal to manage expropriation disputes. It permits “nil compensation” or expropriation without compensation (EWC), but only through a formal court process that includes appeals and adheres to the rule of law. According to clause 12 of the act, nil compensation will be granted only in exceptional circumstances and following a comprehensive court procedure.
BLSA’s media and social media performance experienced a notable decline primarily due to reduced activity levels over the festive season. However, from 10 January, when BLSA resumed content production, there was a noticeable spike in readership and impressions. This indicates that media houses and our followers across various platforms find significant value in the content we produce.
BLSA media coverage had a potential reach of 249 million readers, viewers, and listeners, marking a 78% decrease compared to the previous period.
BLSA’s performance from November 2024 to February 2025 was slightly lower than the same period in the previous year. During the previous reporting period (26 June to 4 November 2024), BLSA performed well due to commentary on the outcomes of national elections, the Government of National Unity, and the business-government partnership. Despite the quiet period over the festive season, BLSA managed to secure over a third of the media mentions it received in the previous period, confirming our recognition as the prominent “voice of business”.
BLSA continues to lead its peer group in global media reach, holding a 40% share of voice (an 8% decrease from the previous period) and a 37% share of voice in terms of global media volumes (a 6% increase ).
BLSA’s net tonality improved by 24 points, with BLSA content reflecting a neutral stance overall. This reflects the ongoing positive tone of BLSA’s editorial content throughout the period.
BLSA’s social media performance saw a significant decline during the period, mainly due to reduced activity levels over the festive season. Social exposure dropped by 72%.
This dip in performance is expected during the festive season. The decrease in impressions for Facebook and X can also be attributed to the lack of promoted content during this period. Twitter accounted for 69% of social volume, followed by Facebook with a 15% share.
The CEO’s Weekly Newsletter is disseminated via Mailchimp to the public and media. During the period of review, the newsletter had a 27% average open rate, compared to a 10.5% open rate across all industries was 10.5%. The subscriber base remained stable during the period, with the number of CEO Newsletter recipients increasing to 1,932, reflecting a net gain of five recipients.
The newsletter titled “Ministers and Business Leaders Deliver a Positive Message at Davos” (27 January 2025) was the top performer, achieving 610 opens and 82 clicks.
As we reflect on the start of 2025, it’s clear that we kicked off the year on a high note. The positive sentiment at the World Economic Forum regarding Team South Africa have set a promising tone for the months ahead. The successful launch of the B20 has further solidified our position on the global stage, showcasing our commitment to economic growth and collaboration. President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address was well-received, highlighting key achievements and setting a clear vision for the future.
While the cancellation of the budget speech was disappointing, it also spoke volumes about the critical voices and views of the GNU parties. The parliamentary processes are becoming more and more transparent because of the coalition government. We eagerly await the outcome of the approved Budget 2.0 and the extent to which these will enable economic growth and the creation of jobs. Here’s to a year of continued success and unity!
