Ramaphosa pledges green growth, energy reform

South Africa’s biggest economic opportunity lay in green growth and the government pivoting its economy to be a leading supplier of the products the world would rely on in decades to come. The government was expanding support for the manufacturing of green products for global markets, from fertiliser to jet fuel and from chemicals to steel, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in hisState of the Nationaddress on Thursday. From March, businesses investing in new energy vehicles would be eligible for a 150% tax deduction, while local battery production would be supported.

Ramaphosa said the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan has attracted about R250 billion in international pledges for large-scale manufacturing, infrastructure and skills development. He also highlighted South Africa’s mineral wealth, valued at more than R40 trillion, as a cornerstone of agrowing mining industry. Recent investments include more than R300 million by the Industrial Development Corporation in the Frontier Rare Earths Project in the Northern Cape, which could become one of the world’s largest low-cost producers ofminerals critical to smartphones, lithium batteries and other technologies.

The president noted that investor confidence was visible at the annual Mining Indaba this week, with new gold, copper, rare earth, platinum and coal mines opening and the G20 backing local beneficiation of critical minerals. South Africa had raised R1.5 trillion in investment commitments to date and aimed to secure R2 trillion over the next five years. On energy, Ramaphosa said the country must transform its system to ensure long-term security.

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He highlighted regulatory changes and the country’s abundant solar and wind resources, aiming for more than 40% of energy from cheap, clean and renewable sources by 2030. Eskom was being restructured, with a new independent transmission entity to operate the electricity market and a dedicated task team under the national energy crisis committee to oversee clear timeframes for implementation. Independent transmission projects and local infrastructure improvements would address transformer overloading, illegal connections and equipment failure, with the goal of eliminating load reduction by next year.

“Having put load-shedding behind us, we must now transform our energy system to ensure long-term energy security,” Ramaphosa said. “We are committed to the path that we have embarked on to modernise our energy system.”

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