Africa briefs

South Africa's Land Bank says expropriation could trigger defaultSouth Africa’s state-owned Land Bank said on Monday a plan to allow the state to seize land without compensation could trigger defaults that could cost the government 41 billion rand (US$2.8 billion) if the bank’s rights as a creditor are not protected.Land Bank is a specialist bank providing financial services to the commercial farming sector and other agricultural businesses.President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on August 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is forging ahead with plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation, as whites still own most of South Africa’s land more than two decades after the end of apartheid.-Nampa/ReutersChina sells diesel to South Africa State-run oil company Sinopec is selling diesel as far afield as South Africa as China’s refiners seek homes for their surplus fuel in the latest sign of troubles in the domestic refining business.Sinopec said on Monday it shipped its first 30 000 tonnes of diesel from its Shanghai refinery heading for South Africa.This cargo and another September shipment marked the first batch to South Africa in two years, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon shipping data. Such shipments have also been extremely rare in the past five years, according to the data.“China’s four oil majors are facing a glut overhang in domestic market and the companies are fully aware of the headwinds ahead,” a product trader from a state-owned oil company said.-Nampa/ReutersSA gold sector wage negotiations deadlockSouth Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Tuesday that wage negotiations in the gold sector were at a deadlock and the union had declared a dispute, a move that is one step short of a strike.However, the Minerals Council, formerly known as the Chamber of Mines, which is representing gold producers in the wage talks, said the talks were still ongoing.Gold producers have argued that above-inflation wage hikes have been adding to the cost burden in the bullion industry, which has been hit by depressed prices and labour unrest.The dispute meant that if conciliation talks between the parties mediated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration failed to break the impasse, a protected strike could potentially go ahead.-Nampa/ReutersSouth African seeks to suspend US poultry import quotaThe South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has filed a legal action to force the government to suspend a quota that excluded imports of US poultry from South Africa’s anti-dumping tariff, a senior official with the association said on Tuesday.The decision by SAPA was a response to the Trump administration’s decision to include South Africa among countries subject to US tariffs on their aluminium and steel exports.“We’ve pulled the trigger,” Marthinus Stander, chairman of SAPA’s broiler organisation, told Reuters, referring to the legal action the association had threatened for more than a month.-Nampa/Reuters

Africa briefs

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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Africa briefs

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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