Hits&Misses

Jobs dry up in the Cape but hopes rise on rainmaker Ramaphosa

CYRIL Ramaphosa’s winning the ANC presidency helped boost business confidence to its highest level in two years, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported. Its business confidence index rose by 3.3 index points in January to 99.7 following the improved business mood in December.

FISHING company Oceana will invest R20million in a desalination plant at its West Coast factory as businesses look to save water amid a major drought in the Western Cape, officials said. The investment means the factory will not draw water from the municipal supply and will also not close down, saving around 2 000 jobs.

Aclass-action suit brought against gold producers in South Africa is likely to be settled “within months”, with R9-billion going to miners suffering from fatal lung disease, Graham Briggs, chairman of the Working Group on Occupational Lung Disease, said. WESTERN Cape farmers have recorded R14-billion in losses so far as a result of the crippling drought in the province, according to Agri Western Cape CEO Carl Opperman. Farmers have warned that the agricultural sector faces a jobs bloodbath, saying an estimated 50 000 people could be out of work soon.

PAPER and pulp group Sappi kicked off its new financial year in relatively low gear, with several factors weighing on its earnings for the December quarter. It said its net profit declined to $63-million (R759million) from $90-million a year before due to an additional accounting week last year.

THE Standard Bank purchasing managers index remained in contractionary territory, below 50, for a sixth consecutive month in January, edging up to 49 points from 48.4 in December. The survey gives an early indication of operating conditions in South Africa.