Illovo unit posts production record

ZAMBIA Sugar had posted record production of 424 024 tons during the milling season that ended in December, the unit of South Africa’s Illovo Sugar, said yesterday. “This is the highest-ever tonnage produced by a single sugar factory on the African continent in any given season,” the company said. It said this topped its previous production record from three years ago of 404 000 tons. The Zambian unit accounted for 31 percent of Illovo’s operating profit in the six months to the end of September. – Reuters “Given the highest level of 122.1 for the BCI in December 2006, the present level remains a matter of grave concern,” Sacci said in a statement.

Sacci, which represents big and small businesses across the country, said power disruptions would keep a lid on growth, more so in view of what it called “an apathetic approach to economic challenges” facing the country.

“Sacci is concerned that the electricity shortages will cause the economy to stagnate at low levels of activity.

“Energy supply in South Africa has become a major drawback to economic performance. This mismatch between supply and demand and reserve requirement is causing load shedding. This causes substantial damage to business,” Sacci added.

Iraj Abedian, an economist

The release of the Sacci report coincided with renewed concerns about the ability of Eskom to provide an adequate and uninterrupted power supply as the embattled power utility struggled with a funding crunch, ageing infrastructure and rising demand.

Eskom was, at the moment, the single most effective way of undermining South Africa’s reputation from a business and investor point of view, Abedian said. “Not only has Eskom lost its ability, but it has also lost its credibility, in producing a reliable supply of energy to the