Irma Venter
Irma Venter is a Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.
Covid-19 impact will be “massive”, says S&P Global Ratings
25th March 2020 It has become clear that the hit to global economic activity from the measures to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic will be massive, says... →
Constitutional amendment only unlikely to deliver success, warns land panel
20th February 2020 South Africa had to put in place a 50- to 100-year food security plan, and then walk backwards to see what it can do to make that happen, says... →
Gautrain tenders for acquisition, refurbishment of pre-owned trains open
30th January 2020 Gautrain concessionaire Bombela has issued two tenders related to the procurement of between five and seven pre-owned trains from the UK, for use... →
New Gautrain boss to plan for capacity increase, end of concession
30th January 2020 Newly appointed Gautrain Management Agency CEO William Dachs’s first goal is ensure the Gautrain rail system remains an “excellent, safe and... →
Dachs takes over as Gautrain boss as Van der Merwe retires
29th January 2020 Jack van der Merwe, who led the planning and rollout of the Gautrain rapid rail project for two decades, will retire as Gautrain Management Agency... →
R3.5bn Tshwane SEZ to support proposed doubling of production at Ford plant
5th November 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially kickstarted construction of the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The R3.5-billion... →
Public transport subsidy policy to go to Cabinet at end of 2020
5th August 2019 Future of Transport (FOT) Consulting expects the new policy on South Africa’s public transport subsidy regime to be finalised and presented to... →
Fixing Eskom will result in higher taxes, electricity prices – economist
17th July 2019 There is little doubt that the taxpayer will be left footing the bill for the problems experienced at power supplier Eskom, and probably so through... →
Gautrain adds R6.4bn to the Gauteng economy a year, says new study
15th July 2019 A new study on the socio-economic impact of the Gautrain indicates that the rapid-rail system adds R6.64-billion to Gauteng economy’s gross... →
Busmark, HySA and partners to roll out first homegrown hydrogen fuel cell bus
11th July 2019 The first South African developed hydrogen fuel cell bus is set to find a home with a local bus fleet, as soon as trial testing has been completed.... →
Task team to look at future of e-tolling, completion date set for August
8th July 2019 A governmental task team will produce a report on the future of electronic tolling in Gauteng by August. Speaking at a media conference at the... →
Govt to spend R38bn on Metrorail, Mbalula to seek 'proper policing' on trains
19th June 2019 The South African government will spend about R38-billion over the next three years on the procurement of new trains for the Metrorail service, as... →
Electric cargo bike pilot study to kick off in Sharpeville in November
26th October 2018 Two electric cargo bikes (e-bikes) will start operations, in Sharpeville, Gauteng, at the end of November. The pilot project, a partnership between... →
Sanral’s strategy, transformation policy ready for Cabinet approval
22nd October 2018 The South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s) Horizon 2030 strategy is “ready to go to Cabinet”, in a process that will be managed... →
Public not properly consulted on e-tolls, says toll collection firm
10th July 2018 The public was not properly consulted in the process to implement e-tolling in Gauteng, says Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) CEO Coenie Vermaak.... →
You can’t have your cake and eat it, Sanral’s Macozoma warns govt, South Africans
9th July 2018 South Africa is in critical need of a funding model for its road infrastructure. “The situation with toll in this country now is that, number one,... →
Gauteng aims for integrated public transport ticketing in 2020
20th June 2018 Gauteng commuters should, in 2020, be able to use one card/ticket for all their public transport journeys, across all modes, such as rail and bus.... →
Gauteng Transport Authority Bill approved by Cabinet, Gautrain 2 ‘held back’ by Treasury
19th June 2018 The bill to establish a Gauteng Transport Authority (GTA) has been approved by Cabinet. Speaking at the i-Transport and UATP Go Green, Go Smart... →
Economic impact of ANC race to be felt only in 2019, says Schussler
5th October 2017 Economist Mike Schussler says South Africa’s economic growth rate will not see a “major improvement beyond 2%, 2.5% for the foreseeable future”. “I... →
Gauteng freeway toll network nearly at capacity, says Sanral
20th September 2017 The busiest section of the Gauteng open-road tolling (GORT) system is between the Buccleuch and Allandale interchanges, in Midrand. The traffic... →
Next year should see the end of e-tolling, believes Outa
13th July 2017 Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) COO Ben Theron says electronic tolling (e-tolling) on Gauteng’s freeways should be a “thing of the past” by... →
General Motors pulls out of SA, GMSA to become Isuzu Motors SA
18th May 2017 US vehicle manufacturer General Motors (GM) on Thursday announced that it would disinvest from South Africa as part of a global restructuring... →
Is there a link between lack of engineers, ANC poll losses, asks SAICE
11th August 2016 The ANC’s attitude towards engineers – who enable proper service delivery – probably contributed to the party’s decline at the polls in the 2016... →
Next phase of auto policy to focus on black companies – Zuma
24th May 2016 The next phase of automotive policy development would have a strong focus on creating black-owned suppliers in the automotive value chain, said... →
Toyota SA opens R6.1bn Fortuner, Hilux assembly lines
24th May 2016 President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday officially opened Toyota South Africa Motors’ (TSAM’s) new Fortuner and Hilux production lines. The Japanese... →
New year brings four challenges for R51bn PRASA project
9th February 2016 Gibela CEO Marc Granger is positive the R51-billion deal that will see the Alstom-led consortium supply 600 new trains, up to 2027, to the... →
Gautrain starts process to acquire 12 new trains
8th January 2016 Gautrain has started the process of acquiring 12 new trains of four cars each. Bombela Concession Company, the operator of the Gautrain system, has... →
All VWs sold in SA comply with local emissions standards – VWSA
5th October 2015 All Volkswagen models affected by the emissions scandal in the US complied with South African emissions standards, said Volkswagen Group South... →
EFF seeks 60% State ownership of mines, govt as custodian of farmland
29th September 2015 When the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) spoke of nationalising South Africa’s mines, it meant that the State would own 60% of the operation, said... →
Regulator to probe VWs sold in SA following emissions scandal
28th September 2015 The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) announced last week that it would launch an investigation to determine whether emission... →
SA task team seeks benefits from Africa’s burgeoning auto ambitions
25th September 2015 The low oil price has hit Nigeria where it hurts – in the wallet – highlighting the need for Africa’s biggest economy to diversify its income... →
Elections to cause economic policy stagnation, says analyst
2nd September 2015 Next year’s local government elections will be the most important ever held in South Africa’s recent democratic history, believes political analyst... →
Carbon tax set for mid-2016 introduction, says National Treasury
7th August 2015 The implementation of carbon tax in South Africa was set for the middle of next year, said National Treasury chief director of economic tax... →
Funding additional to fuel levy required, says transport economist
7th July 2015 The South African government in 2012 collected R40.4-billion from the national fuel levy, said Stellenbosch University transport economics lecturer... →
Legislation on new Border Agency to reach Parliament in Sept
6th July 2015 Cabinet in June approved the establishment of a Border Management Agency, to be tasked with integrating the functions of all government departments... →
Gautrain to buy more rolling stock, reconsiders funding model
6th July 2015 The Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) and the Gauteng provincial government “were close to announcing” a R3-billion investment, funded by the... →
APDP review made public when ‘complex negotiations’ completed – DTI
9th June 2015 The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was consulting vehicle manufacturers “in a final round of discussion” in its review of the Automotive... →
Current toll narrative ignores a number of inconvenient truths, says Alli
26th May 2015 There were a number of “inconvenient truths” often ignored in the debate around tolling the 201 km of Gauteng highways upgraded during the Gauteng... →
Local government collaboration must be enforced, says KPMG’s Skosana
26th May 2015 The mandate of local government has expanded greatly over the last ten years, and now includes more comprehensive operational responsibilities, as... →
Gautrain expansion feasibility study expected in Jan 2016
16th February 2015 The feasibility study on the possible expansion of the 80 km Gautrain system should be completed by January next year, says Gautrain Management... →
Fuel price bonanza not all it seems, warns economist
3rd February 2015 Oil prices could bounce back to $65, $70 a barrel, with the price already strengthening in February to above $50 a barrel, said Econometrix... →
