scholarly journals Energy security and liquid fuels in South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jabavu Clifford Nkomo

South Africa relies heavily on imported crude oil. Domestic sources and available substitutes alone cannot satisfy the country’s current demand, resulting in imported crude oil accounting for over 90% of South Africa’s requirements. This high level of dependence on imported crude oil exposes the economy to potential events that either interrupts supplies or leads to higher oil prices thereby undermining economic growth and development. Widening diversity of supply, demand-side measures and maintaining strategic inventories will strengthen energy security.

Author(s):  
Daniel F. Meyer

South Africa is facing three main developmental problems, including high levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The tourism sector allows for a relatively easy entry into the local market for small businesses and entrepreneurs and has the potential to create jobs and subsequently, income. Tourism development could be utilised as a driver for economic growth and development. The main objective of this research was to assess the impact of the tourism sector on economic growth and development in South Africa, focusing on the Gauteng Province which, is the economic hub of the country and even Africa. The methodology utilised was based on a quantitative design, using secondary time series pooled panel data approach including, all the municipal entities in the region. Annual data from 2000 to 2019 were used to analyse the impact of tourism on economic growth and development. Tourism variables include measurements such as tourism spending and international tourism trips. Results confirm the tourism-growth nexus and the sector allows ease of market entry for small businesses, resulting in employment creation and income for the poor in developing regions if promoted via effective policy implementation, even in regions where tourism is not the leading sector.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zinzi Nxopo ◽  
Chux Gervase Iwu

The intention of this article is to identify the obstacles unique to female entrepreneurs in the tourism industry in Western Cape, South Africa. This is against the backdrop that in order to accelerate economic growth and development in South Africa, female entrepreneurs should also be considered as important vehicles that can bring about the necessary economic growth and development. Unfortunately, this growth has been stifled due to the high failure rate in the SMME sector; specifically among women. This article used the qualitative deductive approach, utilising in-depth semi-structured interviews, which enabled the participants to disclose important information relating to the study. The data were analysed qualitatively using themes. For effect, this article also made use of content analysis because of its significance in qualitative studies.Three themes emerged from content analysis. These include demographic factors; socio-economic factors and culture. The findings have shown primarily that the factors that impede female entrepreneurs differ from sector to sector. Within the Western Cape Tourism industry, specifically the accommodation sector, unique obstacles abound. While the authors acknowledge that the obstacles faced by female entrepreneurs are unique to this sector, they are equally mindful of therepercussions of a generalisation of the findings. To this end, we suggest that a broader study be conducted to compare factors that impede entrepreneurship in other provinces in South Africa and/or draw a comparison between males and females. This article undoubtedly has value not simply because it is gender biased, but also because by highlighting the unique challenges and barriers faced by female entrepreneurs, there could be better government support for female entrepreneurs in general and especially those in the accommodation sector in the Western Cape.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 608-616
Author(s):  
Michael C. Cant ◽  
Safura Mohamed Kallier ◽  
Johannes A. Wiid

Research over the years has shown that in order for any business to survive, the correct product mix must be offered to the market. If the product does not satisfy the needs of the market, its reason for existence can be questioned. This principle applies to all businesses – big or small. The question arises if SMEs adhere to this fact and, if so, how they go about doing this. SMEs over the world make huge contributions to economic growth and job creation and are seen to be a driving force for economic growth and development in any economy. In the highly competitive environment that SMEs operate in, selecting the right merchandise for the right customer is important and, in most instances, its ability to survive or perish. This study aimed to determine if SMEs in South Africa make decisions regarding the product mix and, if so, if they conform to different profiles regarding the decisions that they make. A questionnaire was used to collect the data and was sent to SMEs around South Africa operating in different industries. The results indicated that SMEs in South Africa consider product characteristics, consumer behavior and strategic aspects when making product mix decisions. Keywords: merchandising, product, SMEs, product mix, business, South Africa. JEL Classification: M00, M300, M310


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106
Author(s):  
David, Oladipo Olalekan ◽  
Noah, Oluwashina Afees ◽  
Agbalajobi, Sunday Ayodele

Nigeria is richly endowed with vast but largely untapped natural resources including solid minerals and arable land. Mining industries have been viewed as key drivers of economic growth and development process, as lead sectors that drive economic expansion which can lead to higher levels of social and economic well being. Contributions from mining as a percentage of GDP in rich countries are usually between 2-8 percent. In Nigeria, the contribution is still low at 0.15 percent, one of the major factors responsible for this is as a result of over dependence of the Nigerian economy on the proceeds from the sale of crude oil for over four decades which is at the expense of other sectors such as mining and agriculture that contributed significantly to the Nigerian economy before the emergence of crude oil. In the light of this, the study presents an empirical analysis of the contribution of mining sector to the economic development in Nigeria from 1960 to 2012. The study employed Error Correction Model (ECM) to examine the short run and long run effect of mining sector‟s contribution to Nigeria economic development. The study harnessed time series data to evaluate the impact of the specified key sectors; crude petroleum and gas, solid mineral, manufacturing and agriculture on the economic development proxied by per capita income. Equally highlighted are the problems militating against the mining sector in Nigeria and the strategies for its transformation of the economy. The finding revealed that the value of solid mineral have strong impact on economic development in Nigeria. Thus, Nigeria needs to urgently develop her monumental mining potentials in order to diversify her economy and to achieve rapid economic growth and development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Maimuna Yakubu ◽  
Gylych Jelilov

<p>There is no uncertainty that Energy plays a very important part in economic growth and development of any country and increasing access to modernized systems of energy is vital to unlocking rapid economic and social development in sub Saharan Africa. Therefore, this paper has empirically examined the causality between energy and economic growth using a consistent data set and methodology for 10 sub-Saharan Africa countries for the period 1990-2012. By applying Augmented Dickey Fuller, co-integration and causality tests the study finds causality running from GDP to energy consumption in Nigeria, in Ghana causality runs from energy consumption to GDP, for Namibia causality runs from GDP to energy consumption but not vice versa and for Cote d’ivore causality runs from gross capital formation to GDP. And no evidence of causality found in Togo, Cameroon, Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa and Benin.</p>


2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Katrakilidis ◽  
Persefoni Tsaliki ◽  
Theodosios Tsiakis

This paper empirically explores the validity of the Kaldorian insights into economic growth and development. In doing so, we examine the three laws outlined in Kaldor’s analysis and test their relevance to the Greek economy for the period 1970–2006. We employ the ARDL method to analyse the long-run and short-run relationships among the variables. The empirical results confirm Kaldor’s proposition about the importance of the demand side of the economy and thus provide the necessary theoretical and empirical ground for innovative economic policies in these difficult times for Greece.


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