Natasha Odendaal

Natasha Odendaal is Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.
Treasury defends electricity war room, says progress being made
3rd June 2015 Following calls by civil society organisations, this week, to scrap the electricity war room, National Treasury deputy director-general Malcolm... →
Privatising Eskom not the solution to S Africa’s power woes
3rd June 2015 Echoing the sentiments of South Africa’s civil society and trade unions, global research and advocacy institute Transnational Institute and... →
Load-shedding a reality until 2023, says former Eskom adviser
2nd June 2015 South Africa’s rotational load-shedding would likely extend until 2023 as strained State-owned Eskom battled several challenges that could... →
Civil society calls for the scrapping of exclusive Eskom ‘war room’
2nd June 2015 The resolution of one of South Africa’s most pressing crises – the electricity challenge – should be taken out of the hands of those who caused it... →
Trade unions, civil society to take a stand against Eskom, govt over electricity crisis
2nd June 2015 As South Africa continues to battle a far-reaching – and worsening – electricity crisis, civil society and trade unions have teamed up to organise... →
Proposed new construction payment regulations to ease long payment disputes
1st June 2015 The Department of Public Works’ new proposed regulations under the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Act 2000 could pave the way for a... →
ICT made massive strides in 15 years, but developing countries need more traction
29th May 2015 Fifteen years after the United Nations agreed on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), much progress had been made in the development of... →
Government outlines plans for forging new generation of ‘active’ black industrialists
29th May 2015 There are growing indications that the South Africa government is seeking to change gears in the area of black economic empowerment (BEE), with the... →
Industrial Internet revolution will impact 70% of world’s GDP
26th May 2015 Around 70% of the world’s current gross domestic product (GDP) – valued at $32.3-trillion – will steadily be impacted by the industrial Internet... →
TKAG wants Karoo exploration delayed until conclusion of enviro assessment
22nd May 2015 The Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) on Friday called on government to delay publishing final regulations and issuing rights for shale gas... →
Digital migration to start in Q2
20th May 2015 South Africa’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration was expected to start in the second quarter of this year, Communications Minister... →
Muthambi not worried about e.tv legal challenge
20th May 2015 Communications Minister Faith Muthambi was not concerned that free-to-air broadcaster e.tv’s impending legal challenge, over the provisions for a... →
E-tolls cut by half as Sanral mitigates civil disobedience
20th May 2015 A new “fair, affordable and sustainable” fee structure has been tabled for users of the South African National Road Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s)... →
Cwele launches collaborative ICT forum
15th May 2015 The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) on Friday launched a four-chamber national information and communications... →
Eskom starts fresh round of load-shedding
11th May 2015 South Africa’s embattled power utility Eskom kicked off the latest round of stage 1 load-shedding on Monday. The rotational cuts started at 16:00... →
Eskom to implement stage 1 load-shedding
6th May 2015 An unexpected loss of additional generation capacity has led power utility Eskom to kick off stage 1 load-shedding earlier than planned on... →
Eskom starts stage 1 load-shedding
5th May 2015 South Africa’s embattled power utility Eskom is set to initiate stage 1 load-shedding from 17:00 on Tuesday as several offline units shaved 1 000... →
Business confidence headed for dismal year – Sacci
5th May 2015 Despite a slight month-on-month recovery, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) believes that the performance of the Business... →
Electricity demand to again outstrip supply this week
5th May 2015 State-owned power utility Eskom expected electricity demand to surpass supply until Friday, when peak demand was expected to start easing. In its... →
PICC to push major dam building, expansion projects
30th April 2015 The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC) aims to pursue a major dam-building programme to increase access to water and ensure... →
Zuma bids farewell to outgoing NPC members
30th April 2015 As the members of the first National Planning Commission (NPC) hand over their final “close-out report” on Thursday, a call is being made for the... →
Eskom reaches payment agreement with ten nonpaying municipalities
30th April 2015 While State-owned power utility Eskom has reached payment agreements with ten of the top 20 defaulting municipalities, the balance would face... →
Sub-Saharan Africa growth faces headwinds – IMF
28th April 2015 While sub-Saharan Africa is, overall, poised for a year of solid economic growth, policymakers need to be cognisant of risks that could still cloud... →
Eskom says weekend maintenance ‘festival’ a success
28th April 2015 The first part of power utility Eskom’s maintenance drive has been completed without the parastatal having to implement load-shedding over the... →
AfDB to elect new president in May
22nd April 2015 A successor to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) outgoing president Dr Donald Kaberuka would be elected in May, Finance Minister Nhlanhla... →
Global energy sector faces transformation, challenges
22nd April 2015 Globally, the power industry is facing a perfect storm of unprecedented challenges and companies failing to stay ahead of the curve face an... →
S Africa’s digital migration policy causes uncertainty – SACF
21st April 2015 South Africa’s delay in migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting has cost the country the first-mover advantage of establishing an... →
Solidarity calls for independent probe on xenophobia
20th April 2015 As South Africa is gripped by a wave of violent xenophobic attacks, trade union Solidarity called on government to appoint a multidisciplinary... →
S Africa’s analogue switch-off years away
15th April 2015 South Africa will need to wait a few more years before the much-coveted analogue broadcasting spectrum is released, as the country grapples to... →
Most S African households still lack access to Internet
14th April 2015 Despite improving levels of access to the Internet, the majority of South African households remained unconnected altogether, a new survey... →
Eskom continues Stage 2 load-shedding
14th April 2015 State-owned power utility Eskom on Tuesday announced that it has implemented Stage 2 load-shedding to ease the strain on the national electricity... →
Deeper fiscal integration key to Eurozone bounce back
10th April 2015 Deeper integration in the areas of public finances, the banking system and capital markets within the volatile Eurozone could go a long way in... →
Exxaro unveils R250m water treatment plant at Matla coal mine
9th April 2015 Diversified miner Exxaro on Thursday unveiled the first of three water treatment plants designed to mitigate underground water storage constraints,... →
Ghana secures $198m IMF boost
7th April 2015 Ghana has secured around $918-million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support an economic bounce-back after a growth slowdown in... →
Gold mining companies make strides in housing employees
26th March 2015 South Africa’s major gold producers on Thursday said significant strides had been made to house their respective employees. Since the... →
DTI will finalise black industrialists policy within a month
25th March 2015 The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) plans for the development of black industrialists are gaining traction, with the intention to launch... →
Black industrialists to get financial boost through DFI credit, DTI grants
25th March 2015 Access to finance for South Africa’s black industrialists could become easier as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announces several... →
Black industrialists programme to plug BEE gap
25th March 2015 The Department of Trade and Industry-led Black Industrialists Development Programme would catapult black-owned businesses into the mainstream... →
Black industrialists to drive S Africa’s industrialisation – Zuma
25th March 2015 The developing Black Industrialists Policy Framework is the “right policy” to transform South Africa’s industrial landscape and get the nation’s... →
Cogta issues tender request for ICT information
23rd March 2015 As part of its “back to basics” agenda, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) hopes to “empower citizens” and... →
SA eyes becoming net exporter of ICT services, products through SMMEs
23rd March 2015 The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) aims to leverage small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), cooperatives and... →