TIPS on behalf of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition invites interested service providers to submit proposals to conduct research on the feasibility of the promotion of the use of timber in construction. feasibility study will inform the development of a strategy that enhance the use of timber in house and building constructions. The project will be carried out over 18 months. Closing date for proposal: 10 October 2022 at 16h00. Proposals should be sent to TIPS for the attention of Daphney Mabuza daphney@tips.org.za. Click for more information. Download ToR here.

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;…

The purpose of this paper is to consider how the multiple projects, programmes, measures, initiatives and investments that have been proposed to support a just transition for affected workers and communities in South Africa can be used to inform i) thinking about appropriate context specific codification and tagging; and ii)…

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: Self-propelled mechanical shovels, excavators and shovel loaders, with a 360° revolving superstructure Product 2: Storage units for automatic data-processing machine Product 3: Brakes and servo-brakes and their parts, n.e.s.: Other Product 4: Apple juice, unfermented Product 5: Acrylic polymers, in…

Monitoring identified 23 projects in the fourth quarter of 2021, These recorded a total pledged investment value of R128.2 billion. The Tracker further recorded 263 employment opportunities from one project, comprising 59 permanent jobs and 204 temporary employment opportunities. The majority of projects captured this quarter were announced as preferred…

A green economy includes the principles of sustainability, inclusivity, equity, efficiency and low-carbon development. References to South Africa’s commitment to and pursuit of a green economy can be found in many national policies, plans and strategies, as documented by the Green Economy Coalition’s Green Economy Tracker. To date, however. there have been few efforts to measure progress in the transition towards an inclusive green economy. This is changing with the launch of this new publication, the Green Economy Bulletin (GEB), which tracks the progress in South Africa against a selected set of economic, social and environmental indicators. Fourteen metrics have…

Following three consecutive quarters of decline, South Africa’s trade surplus increased from R61.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022 to R71.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022. Still, this surplus is about 56% lower the peak of R160.1 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Exports declined by about 0.2%…

Business Day - 26 September 2022 by Neva Makgetla (TIPS Senior Economist)

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The just transition agenda aims at ensuring that vulnerable stakeholders are not negatively impacted by the transition, but are better off through it. Three key principles underpin the just transition agenda in South Africa. Distributive justice aims to address the direct impacts of the transition, such as the loss of employment and livelihood. Restorative…