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IOL News
30-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Cry the Beer-loved country
Delegates take part in a homebrewing workshop at Makers Landing Image: Supplied What if I told you that humans began brewing beer way before they could even bake bread? Approximately 13 000 years ago. People were fermenting wheat and barley in Israel's Raqefet Cave's. That's according to UK beer journalist and the author of The Meaning of Beer, Jonny Garret, who was one of the keynote speakers at last weekend's BeerEx Africa conference held at the V&A Waterfront's Makers Landing. The opening panel discussion focused on the state of the beer industry in South Africa, followed by a session on brewing lager with dry yeast, sensory training, tips on hops' best-practices and the potential of sorghum in brewing. Some of the conversations centred around how South Africa, a country with a rich history of female brewing, finds itself 90 percent male-led in the beer industry? Why Africa is yet to develop a commercially viable yeast strain for beer production? "The South African beer industry contributes R98 billion to the country's GDP and R74 billion in tax revenue. This industry employs thousands of people, it creates livelihoods and yet it is penalised with sin taxes. These are some of the things we are fighting - the removal of sin taxes - to ensure that this industry can grow," said Beer Association of South Africa (Basa) CEO, Charlene Louw. BeerEx Africa viewing brewing equipment as well as sampling a few beers at Makers Landing. Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ "We represent quite a number of brewers and if you look at the stats South Africans are actually responsible. Of those who drink it is only 10 percent that tend to give beer a bad name. Beer has low levels of alcohol and as an association we encourage responsible drinking. We produce some of the best beers in the world and we are not doing enough to promote this. There are quite a number of economic opportunities that still need to be realised in this industry." What set this conference apart from the rest was the fact that one could literally sit back with a bottle of beer in hand during proceedings as well as sample some of the best beers from around the world. Everyone pulled out their tasting glasses when it was time to sample Pliny the Elder, a double Indian Pale Ale (IPA) brewed by the Russian River Brewing Company in California. It is currently considered the best craft beer in the world and it necessitated that I suspend my self-imposed teetotalism to taste it. Russian River Brewing Company founders Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo gave an afternoon talk to a room full of brewers, beer lovers and beverage industry experts. It was more a motivational talk on how Vinnie started brewing from as early as 1994, their struggles as a couple in the beer industry and how their popularity suddenly surged in 2010 when they were rated highly on and Beer does not taste great in general. It's bitter and is more of an acquired taste. Much like wine. So, I really did not know what to look out for when tasting Pliny the Elder but what did stand out is that it tasted far lighter than its claimed 8 percent alcohol volume. Upon first kiss it was gentle and gave off citrus and grapefruit notes. Crisp even and lacked that heavy-meal-like rounded taste I've come to associate with craft beers. And this got me thinking about South African beer drinkers and why craft beers aren't as popular in this country. Beyond us being brand-loyalists one tends to find that craft beers can be relatively pricey, aren't readily available in all outlets, vary significantly in terms of taste and many of them aren't associated with easy-drinking. I still find it hard to believe that anyone drinks beer for taste. It's more for effect. Be that as it may, there is potential for growth and space for many more brewers in this country. Romina Delicio, one of the partners of BeerEx Africa, told me that many more beer promotional efforts are underway and there's even a dedicated South African beer route online. Soul Barrel founder and brewer, Nick Smith, with the coveted Best Beer in Africa Award. Image: Supplied Co-Founder of Cactus Crafts, Willie Hamman, added that producing more flavoured beers can significantly increase as well as change the beer drinker profile in this country. "Craft beer is associated with older pale males in this country. How do we change that? We could start by working on more flavoured beers that can appeal to women and younger people," said Hamman during one of the many expo talks on the ground floor where beverage industry suppliers also did interactive demos, homebrewing workshops, social media competitions, packaging and pouring demos. One of the joys of attending BeerEx Africa is interacting with beer judges and brewers from around the world. There are even brewers, like Harper Brewing Co and the Candy Cane Project, that brew for charity not profit. There was a lot of learning on my part this year.
eNCA
17-05-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Tshwane Mayor talks challenges and growth plans for the metro
JOHANNESBURG - The City of Tshwane is facing an jobs crisis. It has a staggering 37,8% unemployment rate, mainly affecting young people. Now the metro plans to use R98 million of its budget to formalise 502 informal settlements, and allocate an additional R400 million to provide them with water and electricity. Despite the seemingly daunting challenge, Mayor Nasiphi Moya, is confident the city's Economic Revitalisation Strategy will help make a dent in unemployment. She hopes to grow the local economy to 3,9% by 2029.
The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Matjhabeng municipality's appeal rejected amid financial challenges, service delivery collapse
The municipality's appeal application has no reasonable prospect of success, according to Judge Van Rhyn. Free State's Matjhabeng Local Municipality in the Free State has suffered a legal setback after its appeal was dismissed. The appeal stemmed from a case filed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) against the municipality, which was brought before the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein. The DA argued that Matjhabeng was in a financial crisis and persistently failing to meet its obligations to provide basic municipal services and fulfil its financial commitments. In November 2023, the party requested the intervention of the Free State government and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta). The Matjhabeng Local Municipality consists of the towns of Welkom, Virginia, Odendaalsrus, Hennenman, Ventersburg, and Allanridge. Matjhabeng municipality audit findings The case was largely informed by the Auditor-General's findings, which highlighted a range of serious issues within the municipality. The audit revealed that Matjhabeng lacked proper systems to accurately bill residents for water and electricity usage. It also showed that the municipality's water infrastructure was severely deteriorated, resulting in a loss of 56% of the water it procures due to infrastructure failure. These losses—exceeding R239 million—were a result of metering inefficiencies, ageing pipelines, burst pipes, leakages, and unmetered connections. The municipality was also found to owe Eskom R6.8 billion. ALSO READ: Eskom to disconnect 15 Free State towns over billions worth of debt Material electricity losses totalling more than R98 million were attributed to the condition of the electricity network, adverse weather, load pressures, and non-technical losses such as theft and vandalism. Moreover, the audit disclosed that more than R339 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure had been incurred, primarily from interest and penalties on overdue supplier payments. The municipality was also found to have failed to meet the 30-day payment requirement stipulated by the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). In October 2024, the Free State High Court ruled in favour of the DA and issued a declaratory order. The respondents in the case included the municipality itself, the President, the Cogta Minister, the National Treasury, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), and the Free State Premier. Leave to appeal application In its appeal, heard in March 2025, the Matjhabeng Local Municipality argued that the court erred in finding it had violated the constitution by failing to provide essential services. The municipality claimed that the current administration, which took office in November 2021, had inherited long-standing challenges. These included decaying infrastructure, poor service delivery, limited funding, and significant debts to service providers. According to the municipality, these problems had developed over time and were now the responsibility of the new leadership to resolve. READ MORE: Water wasted in Free State totals R3.7 billion in last seven years However, in her ruling, Judge Ilse van Rhyn pointed out that the municipality had not challenged any of the substantive facts or legal grounds presented by the DA in its original application. 'The Matjhabeng Municipality did not dispute the DA's case that there has been a breakdown in law and order, including rampant infrastructure theft, vandalism and illegal mining activities within the area of the Matjhabeng Municipality. 'The Matjhabeng Municipality has incurred staggering amounts of wasted and irregular expenses, including the outsourcing of its project management unit and furthermore paying for duplicated services and inflated invoices,' the judgment reads. Court dismisses Matjhabeng Municipality's appeal Van Rhyn emphasised that the facts presented by the DA about Matjhabeng Local Municipality's failure to meet constitutional obligations were not in dispute. 'While the DA contended that the only solution was to grant the substantive relief sought, by granting of a structural interdict and the imposition of intervention measures to the effect that the provincial spheres of government will intervene and impose a recovery plan, the opposing respondents, including the Matjhabeng [Local] Municipality argued that within a short period of time, much progress has indeed been made and that a further 12 months will afford them time to see the recovery steps to fruition.' She concluded the municipality's appeal application had no reasonable prospects of success and should be dismissed. The Matjhabeng Local Municipality was placed under administration by the Free State government in February. NOW READ: Free State government's buildings left in the dark due to their electricity debt
