Company news in brief

Eskom allowed to bypass pollution controlsSouth Africa’s forestry, fisheries and environment minister Barbara Creecy has upheld a previous decision allowing Eskom to run three units at Kusile without pollution controls.The four applicants – which include civil society groups groundWork and Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights – had appealed the minister's decision that temporarily allows Eskom to run Units 1-3 at Kusile without Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) to limit load shedding.The FGD is required to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions.Eskom had applied to be exempt from using the FGD temporarily following the collapse of a flue gas duct at Kusile's Unit 1 last year. This was due to ash buildup inside the pipe, and affected the operations of Units 2 and 3. Eskom essentially lost about 2 100 MW of generation capacity – equivalent to two stages of load shedding.The exemption, which applies until 31 March 2025, allows Eskom to return the units into operation using temporary stacks – without FGD – while repairing the permanent stacks.Eskom has maintained that the return of the Kusile units would reduce load shedding stages. – Fin24PwC vows shakeup after tax leak scandalConsulting group PwC Australia has admitted to "repeated failures of leadership" and promised further changes following a tax leak scandal that battered its global reputation.The firm has been mired in controversy since January, when news emerged that staff had shared information from a confidential government tax briefing to drum up new business.PwC Australia set out a string of reforms as it released an independent review on Wednesday that highlighted shortcomings including a "whatever it takes" focus that may have led to "integrity failures"."Some partners did the wrong thing, while others failed to do the right thing by overlooking or minimising the significance of questionable behaviours," said the third-party review.Partners who brought in a lot of money - so-called rainmakers - were described as "'untouchables' or individuals to whom the 'rules don't always apply'", it found.The report criticised the excessive power conferred on the chief executive and cited a perception of "cronyism" in the choice of the top job and other key roles. – Fin24/AFPQantas chair refuses to resignQantas chair Richard Goyder on Wednesday rejected calls for his resignation over a string of scandals that have buffeted the Australian airline's reputation.Pilots and a shareholder group have called for his head because of high ticket prices, illegal ground staff layoffs and allegations it sold thousands of tickets for already-cancelled flights.The turbulence led former chief executive Alan Joyce to take early retirement on 5 September.Goyder said he had met major shareholders two weeks ago, following Joyce's departure and after the launch of legal action over Qantas' allegedly "false, misleading or deceptive" ticket sales.Shareholders wanted the "continuity" of his leadership as chair, he told a Senate committee in Canberra, especially with a new chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, who took over from Joyce."While retaining the confidence of our shareholders and the board, I will continue to serve because I think we have got some very significant challenges ahead of us and issues to deal with," Goyder said. "If that confidence is not maintained, then clearly I will review that decision." – Fin24/AFPMedical schemes announce hefty fee hikesMajor South African medical schemes Discovery, Momentum and Bonitas all announced sizeable increases in their membership fees for 2024.The weighted increase across the Discovery Health Medical Scheme plans will be 7.5% - with some 27% of its members seeing an increase of more than 10%. Its Executive ( 12.9%) and Coastal Core ( 12.9%) plans will see the biggest hikes, while its Classic Saver plan will be increased by only 3%.Momentum Medical Scheme's weighted average increase for 2024 will be 9.6%, while Bonitas Medical Fund plans to implement a weighted increase of 6.9% across its nine plans.The membership fees will be take effect at the start of January 2024. "As the administrator of medical schemes with almost three million members, we have seen claims costs increasing to higher than pre-Covid-19 levels. At the same time, inflation means that the average cost per claim has also increased notably," Damian McHugh, chief marketing officer for Momentum Health Solutions, said. Dr Ryan Noach, CEO of Discovery Health, said its medical scheme continues to incur Covid-19 costs, which ran to R700 million last year. So far this year, some 3 500 Discovery members have been admitted to hospital with Covid.Meanwhile, Bonitas saw a 25% increase in the number of mental health hospital admissions, and said that mental health problems - particularly in the 18 to 44 age group - is at an all-time high. – Fin24

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