Jeremy’s weekly wrap: Pressure mounts on SA’s credibility

South Africans ended the week with the same hard equation: rising input costs, fragile service delivery and a scramble for credibility ahead of November’s G20.

On Moneyweb@Midday the red thread was jobs and accountability, from power-price pain in heavy industry to the human cost of policy gaps in Johannesburg , while Mandates & Megaphones pushed the G20 to move from rhetoric to rules on AI, inequality and tax justice.

In mining and metals, the warning lights flashed bright. Energy-intensive producers say another round of electricity hikes could force mass retrenchments and plant closures. As Fanele Mondi of the Energy Intensive Users Group told me : “Already ten smelters have disappeared in the past ten year and there’s no guarantee the four remaining will continue.”

The implication was stark. When smelters go cold, supply chains and export earnings diminish with them.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

In Johannesburg, the livelihoods of thousands of informal reclaimers are at risk as landfill sites shut without robust transition plans. Luyanda Hlatshwayo of the African Reclaimers Organisation was blunt: “The closure means there are no more jobs for us,” arguing the city and Pikitup have failed to prepare properly.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Labour’s message on Eskom was equally direct. Saftu’s Zwelinzima Vavi said households and firms should not bankroll the legacy of graft via ever-higher tariffs: “You can’t continue to ask people to pay these extraordinary amounts of money to fund corruption.”

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

With the G20 summit approaching, Joburg’s newly branded “bomb squad” promised to prioritise outcomes over optics. “Citizens want to see change and we intervene physically,” said team head Dr Snuki Zikalala. “We don’t just send emails, we make sure things are resolved instantaneously.”

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

And On Mandates & Megaphones, two labour leaders pushed a global agenda. Cosatu’s Tanya van Meelis and Fedusa’s Riefdah Ajam argued that G20 decisions must hard-wire social justice into tech adoption and fiscal rules. The episode’s thesis was crisp: The future of work isn’t only about adapting to technology, it’s about ensuring dignity, fairness, and inclusion.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Taken together, the week mapped a straight line from kilowatt-hours to kitchen tables. Electricity hikes threatening industrial jobs; landfill policies endangering precarious incomes; a union demand that corruption costs don’t fall on the public; a city promising rapid fixes ahead of the world’s gaze; and labour voices urging the G20 to match innovation with inclusion. The constant was execution — whether in factory halls, council depots or summit rooms, South Africa’s credibility now rests on turning plans into outcomes.

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