Competing subsidies fail to ignite solar geysers
July 30, 2010 Edition 1
Coming in the next five years to a roof near you: one of a million solar water heaters. That is the government's plan but there is no clarity on how the target is going to be met, as the industry is governed by an incomplete regulatory system and important policy decisions have yet to be taken.
Currently two programmes run side by side. The more publicised is the Eskom rebate for upper-income households that can afford to pay several thousand rand towards the capital cost of solar geysers. There has been a surge in interest off a low base since the rebate doubled in January.
The second is a new scheme enabled by the standard offer policy approved by Energy Minister Dipuo Peters in May, which provides financial incentives for energy savings, regardless of technology. Her department yesterday repeated plans to offer the first 200 000 subsidies following an exercise to gauge industry appetite and capacity. Subsidies, paid to developers for each system installed, are geared towards low-cost solar water heaters in low- and middle-income households.
The energy regulator is considering a set of rules for energy efficiency, including Peters' standard offer policy. Its decision, expected in September, will determine the size of the newest subsidies for solar water heaters, to be paid from Eskom's electricity tariff.
The industry has thus far complained that the standard offer policy does not link the rebate of the solar water heater to its performance - an unfavourable outcome for the effectiveness of the programme as developers would prefer to collect rebates on cheaper systems.
There is also the matter of Eskom's future role in managing demand side management. There appears to be a preference for depositing funds for the solar water heater programme with another entity, although there is concern about messing with an Eskom programme that is only just starting to work. The downside of the two systems is that installers will pass on the extra costs of accrediting for a new subsidy system to consumers.
British Airways
The average travel budget for executives worldwide shrank by 17 percent in the past year as companies cut their costs in the recession, according to a report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. But 79 percent of executives taking part in the survey said travel to meet face to face with key customers was essential for selling new business, as well as building long-term relationships.
On the basis of this British Airways (BA) made use of seats that would otherwise have been left empty in the downturn to build new relationships and help potential new clients by organising a competition to help 50 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) each in South Africa, India, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to fly their executives overseas.
The airline offered 10 business class seats to any of its 150 destinations worldwide to the companies putting forward the best reasons for their executives to travel. Sue Botes, BA's commercial manager in South Africa, said a total of 1 041 applications for the grants were received locally compared with 614 in India, ' in Hong Kong and 270 in the UAE.
It was difficult to choose the 50 local winners because of the variety of their businesses and the compelling cases many put forward.
They ranged from a winery to the production of trackable food vouchers showing what had been bought, an art consulting company promoting emerging artists in the international market and a landscaping company that has opened a subsidiary offering alternative employment to its staff between contracts by making attractive, good quality garden equipment for feeding wild birds. The subsidiary has become profitable in this country and now aims at entering the UK market.
Communications
Two weeks ago Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda dubbed a report that he was suspending his director-general, Mamodupi Mohlala, as "false, spurious and malicious". Now she has gone to court because she believes he does not have the power to fire her, which he did last week. Perhaps he meant to say two weeks ago that he wasn't suspending her, but firing her.
As the government forges ahead with plans to give ministers immense powers to make all sorts of government activities "classified" through its secrecy legislation currently before Parliament, it is discovered that Nyanda not only fails to interact with the media but holds a similar disdain for communicating with his own staff.
Yesterday DA MP Lindiwe Mazibuko said it seemed that the campaign of misinformation that the public had been subjected to regarding Mohlala's dismissal was actually just an extension of "good practice" communications with the department itself. She noted that in Mohlala's submissions to the labour court Nyanda stated that he wished to "re-determine" her contract. Mohlala was given two days after July 20 to make representations before re-determination. Mazibuko noted that it must have been a matter of "great surprise" when she learnt she had been dismissed last Friday.
Although the minister said he had no authority over tenders, it emerges in the court documents that the minister had put all tenders not awarded by him on hold. Mohlala revealed that she was sent an SMS by the minister's chief of staff just after midnight on July 10 suspending all tenders not approved by Nyanda.
Presumably it will be information of this kind that ministers will be able to determine as classified, but unfortunately for Nyanda this legislation has not yet been passed into law.
Edited by Peter DeIonno. With contributions from Ingi Salgado, Audrey D'Angelo and Donwald Pressly.
