The improvement in the performance of State-owned Eskom’s ability to supply electricity and the uptick in Transnet’s operational performance bode well for mining, but the sector faces the threat of high electricity tariffs and slow reforms on the rail side, industry organisation Minerals Council South Africa acting chief economist Bongani Motsa commented in response to the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement delivered in Parliament on November 12. Gross value added by the mining sector contracted by 3% in the first half of the year relative to 2024, Transnet failed to achieve 60% of its targets set to improve operational performance for this financial year and electricity tariffs had increased on average more than 900% since 2008, Motsa pointed out.
