U.S. transnational corporate investment in strategic sectors of the South African military-industrial complex

Transnational firms from all the core capitalist countries after World War II played a crucial role in transforming South Africa's mineral-based economy into a modern, industrial, increasingly militarized state

A reactive approach to technological changes : Solidarity’s responses at the ArcelorMittal Vanderbijlpark Plant, 1989 to 2012

Academic debates about Solidarity’s ‘reinvention’ in a post-apartheid South Africa do not include a discussion on the trade union’s responses to technological changes and production. As a contribution to debates on the role of Solidarity in the postapartheid South Africa, my research was conducted on how Solidarity and its processors at the Vanderbijlpark steel plant responded to technological changes. Indepth interviews, factory visits, and archival sources were the main data sources for the article. The main finding of the article is that Solidarity was unable to respond proactively to technological changes at the plant. In other words, Solidarity’s ‘reinvention’ has not expressed itself in the sphere of production processes and technological changes in the plant. The union left the terrain of production to management, and reacted to the effects of technological changes such as retrenchment long after management had implemented changes in production technologies. The strategy of the union was asymmetrical in the sense that it only focused on wage struggles, and ignored technological changes at the plant

Work reorganisation and technological change: limits of trade union strategy and action at ArcelorMittal, Vanderbijlpark

The black South African trade unions were known globally for challenging apartheid in the workplace and low wages. In fact, they played a significant role in the broad liberation movement which ushered in democracy in 1994. However, little is known about the unions’ ability to respond to production issues such as technological changes at the ‘point of production’. Using a case study of the Vanderbijlpark Plant currently owned by the global steel corporation ArcelorMittal International, this article shows that the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) - the biggest trade union in South Africa - adopted a bargaining strategy which consistently ignored production issues at the plant while focusing on wages and working conditions. This article suggests that this unidimensional strategy meant that building the union’s capacity was neglected, reducing its ability to respond proactively to technological innovation and work reorganisation. While it does not present union capacity as a panacea, the article presents international examples that indicate that unions with more developed research and education capabilities were able to save some jobs by engaging union members and proposing alternatives.Keywords: education, research, technology, union capacity, union strateg

Metals, Machinery, and Mining Equipment Industries in South Africa: The Relationship between Power, Governance, and Technological Capabilities

The metals, machinery, and mining equipment industries have been at the heart of South Africa’s industrial ecosystem. Their central position is associated with the long-term importance of mining, with which there are extensive demand- and supply-side linkages. This chapter reviews key turning points in the development and restructuring of these value chains in post-apartheid South Africa, from 1994 to 2019. The overall record is of a basic steel industry that performed better in terms of value added relative to the more diversified downstream industries, despite government industrial policy targeting more labour-intensive downstream industries. The downstream machinery and equipment industry struggled to compete with imports in the 2000s and 2010s and only partially engaged with digitalization. In explaining these developments the grand bargains struck by the state with the main company producing basic steel and the use of procurement as a demand-side industrial policy are critically examined. The chapter also provides micro-level evidence of the evolving relationships between mining houses; engineering, procurement, and construction management services companies; and input suppliers along the value chain. Overall, it is argued that the relatively poor performance of this industry grouping in South Africa has been due to power asymmetries along the value chains, upstream concentration, high levels of fragmentation in the domestic ecosystem, the lack of key institutional ingredients, and poor policy design. Lessons for resource-endowed middle-income countries are discussed, and policy challenges for upgrading and diversification are presented

The Sishen-Saldanha railway project in South Africa: Arguments for and against construction, 1970-1976

The Sishen-Saldanha railway project was an undertaking of gigantic proportions in South Africa’s history, which currently serves as the longest freight train trajectory for iron ore in the world. It became imperative to provide reliable and efficient access to the coast for export purposes in a country with vast mineral resources. After the discovery of iron ore deposits at Sishen in the north-western Cape Province, South Africa’s largest mining corporation, the South African Iron and Steel Corporation (ISCOR), took the leading initiative for the proposed planning of a railway line connecting Sishen to Saldanha Bay on the West Coast. As a result of pressing international sanctions, the apartheid government sought to forge ahead with infrastructural developments in order to stabilise economic growth. With the dwindling market exports becoming an ever-serious concern, ISCOR’s project was to be a bulwark for ensuring optimum exports and economic development. In political circles, an intense parliamentary debate ensued in 1973 revolving around the acceptance and promulgation of the Sishen-Saldanha Railway Construction Bill. It reflected the controversial discussions between the ruling National Party and the United Party as liberal opposition party on pivotal issues concerning the construction of the railway line. Simultaneously, an underlying contention existed as to the choice of location of an appropriate export port at Saldanha or St. Croix. The author seeks to assess the primary sources pertaining to the proposed Sishen-Saldanha railway during its formative years from 1970 to 1976

Trade and the environment : a case study of the South African iron and steel industry

Bibliography: leaves 91-95.The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the trade and sustainable linkages in industry, using the South African iron and steel industry as a case study. That particular sector has been chosen because of its importance to the South African economy, and its vulnerability to trade measures. The case study outlines the economic profile of the industry, trade profiles and the structure of trade policies within the sector. International trade agreements affecting the iron and steel industry, and their structures in terms of creating incentives or disincentives for exports or imports, are discussed. An overview is presented of the environmental profile within which the sector is currently operating. The study gives consideration to environmental impacts generated within this sector as a result of its production activities, and outlines abatement measures for individual companies, as well as for government. Different public and private abatement instruments are described, and the level of South African environmental standards is compared with international standards. Scenarios are explored to assess the potential implications of 'green' trade barriers and harmonisation of environmental standards for the iron and steel industry. The last section of the document addresses the possible impacts of international trade and environmental agreements on sectoral behaviour. The impacts of regulation on the competitive advantage of the sector, employment and choice of geographical location are presented. Further, some of the main driving forces of environmental reform are explored, and the extent to which trade and sustainability issues have been addressed in terms of policy and regulations is discussed

Energy efficiency in the iron and steel industry : cases of Zimbabwe and South Africa

Includes bibliographical references.This study looks at possible improvements of energy efficiency in the iron and steel industry in Zimbabwe and the case of South Africa is studied also for comparison. Data required was obtained through field visits and international databases. The fieldwork findings, analysis and published literature contributed to the conclusions and recommendations. There is a relationship between technology advancement, energy efficiency and energy intensity. The more modern technology a country's steel industry adopts the more energy efficient it becomes and so lowers its energy intensity. Countries such as South Korea, Japan and Germany have adopted modern technologies and they are among the most efficient steel producers and have the lowest energy intensities while India and China have low levels of modern technologies, low efficiencies and high intensities. ZISCO, the iron and steel industry of Zimbabwe has a relatively high energy intensity (closer to China and India) compared to South Africa and other developing country producers. ZISCO has both new and old technology while industry in South Africa, which has retired most old technology and closed all its less efficient plants, is largely using new and even state of the art technology in some of its plants. In Zimbabwe the national economic and industrial policies have had negative impacts on the growth and development of its iron and steel industry. ZISCO needs policies that support the adoption of energy efficient technology, create a level playing field for downstream steel industries since ZISCO has the potential to influence growth of this sector and the sector has prospects for significant foreign currency earnings. The study recommends a restructuring of ZISCO to improve productivity, and energy efficiency through replacement of old technologies in the medium to long term and implementation of some identified less capital-intensive options that are typical in an integrated steel mill

Uneven spaces: core and periphery in the Gauteng City-Region

Peripheral areas of the Gauteng City-Region – like small towns on the edge, large peri-urban and commercial farming areas, sprawling dormitory townships, huge swathes of displaced urbanisation in ex-Bantustans, and remote industrial and mining areas – are all poorly understood. Yet there is evidence that many of these areas are undergoing rapid change, with profound implications for many current policy debates including what to do about inequitable economic growth patterns, how to manage ongoing population movements in the post-apartheid period, where best to locate large public housing schemes, and so on. Uneven spaces: Core and periphery in the Gauteng City-Region, GCRO’s sixth research report, comes from a clear recognition that despite the comparative wealth of Gauteng and its role in driving the national economy there are places of relative ‘peripherality’ in the GCR that require attention. The report is also a response to a strong focus in the existing literature on the physical and economic core of the province, the City of Johannesburg in particular. By contrast there is a relative paucity of analysis on less central parts of the city-region. The work is the result of a research partnership between the GCRO and the South African Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning (SA&CP), in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University. GCRO’s Dr Sally Peberdy wrote the first part of the report entitled ‘Uneven development – core and periphery in Gauteng’. Prof Philip Harrison and Yasmeen Dinath from SA&CP compiled the second part, ‘Gauteng – on the edge’. Both parts, albeit through different modes, consider transitions in the social- and space-economies of outlying places. The first part investigates the dynamics of peripheral areas in Gauteng through the lens of theories of uneven development. Showcasing a wealth of data and maps generated from the Census and GCRO’s own Quality of Life surveys, it analyses the multiple ways that spaces may be peripheral. These include unequal access to housing and services; the spread of income, household assets and employment opportunities; variations in perceived quality of life; and so on. The analysis builds from an initial binary delineation of parts of Gauteng as either ‘core’ or ‘periphery. It then progressively nuances our understanding by showing that notions of core and periphery are relational, that processes of change across what may be counted as core or periphery are often indeterminate and contradictory, and that there are often ‘peripheral’ areas in the heart of the GCR, and ‘core’ features in areas conventionally regarded as on the margin. This section concludes with thoughts on the role of government in creating, sustaining and ameliorating multiple forms of peripherality, The second part of the report asks the question ‘what is happening along the geographic edge of the GCR?’, and seeks to answer this both through the lens of scholarship on edge cities, peri-metropolitan areas, and agglomeration, as well as through a number of in-depth case studies in six types of peripheral areas: 1. Areas with extractive economies (Carletonville); 2. Industrialising ex-mining areas (Nigel-Heidelberg); 3. Areas with state-implanted industry (The Vaal, including Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg); 4. Decentralised growth points (Babelegi); 5. Agricultural service centres (Bronkhorstspruit); and 6, Recreational hubs (Hartbeespoort). Through its exhaustive narrative accounts of the development of specific places on the edge of the GCR, this section of the report compellingly highlights the importance of history and timing, and asks us to consider how urban development drives economic development and vice versa. Although ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ are artificial constructs, these terms gesture at very real spaces of uneven growth and development. The two parts of this report, different but complementary, considerably deepen our understanding of what is going on in parts of the city-region that are less well researched, and help focus the attention of policy-makers concerned with the causes and effects of – as well as possible solutions to – spatially uneven development outcomes.AP201

The evolution of large technical systems in the Waterberg coalfield of South Africa: from apartheid to democracy

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, March 2017.This thesis follows the development of a particular set of large technical systems in South Africa from the late apartheid era into the age of democracy. During apartheid technological prowess, upheld by the network of state corporations or parastatals, bolstered the authoritarian rule of the white minority government in South Africa. The economic and political liberalisation of the late 1980s challenged the power of the parastatals and altered the underlying rationale of infrastructure development. In particular I describe the transformation of Iscor and Eskom, two of the country’s major parastatals, and their activities in the Waterberg coalfields, an isolated region on the country’s north-western border. While Eskom’s activities in the region began in the 1980s they gained public notoriety with the construction of the Medupi power station two decades later. The obstacles that Eskom faced at Medupi represent the main challenge of developing large technological infrastructures in the democratic, post-colonial order, where the fruits of infrastructure development demand to be spread beyond the bounds of an elite minority. But the eventual completion of some power generating units in 2015 at Medupi demonstrates that failure is not inevitable. I argue that this success is due to the fact that the autonomous parastatal network negotiated the political and economic liberalisation of the early 1990 by incorporating the changing socio-political conditions into its operations. The parastatal network retained a momentum, in the sense first described by the historian of technology Thomas Hughes, which was also a product of the “locked-in” nature of investment in the infrastructure project. Because of the large capital investment required for the infrastructure development, proceeding tenaciously against the odds to see the project to completion was cheaper than retreat for those involved.MT201