R27.8 million for pothole machines that haven’t been used, and good news for everyone with a driver’s licence card

Blue Mountain Racing, a group working to bring Formula 1 to Cape Town, is pressing ahead with plans to build a new circuit near the city.

This comes after Rwanda secured a pact to host a Grand Prix; however, the group said it is sticking to its target of hosting an F1 event in South Africa by 2031.

Blue Mountain intends to build a R6.7 billion motorsport complex in the Swartland region north of Cape Town.

In other news, oil prices are still trading at around $105 per barrel due to uncertainty about a recovery in energy flows from the Persian Gulf.

International Energy Agency member nations pledged to complete the release of the remaining 100 million barrels from an intervention in March after lobbying from US officials, reported Bloomberg.

Attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz are keeping Brent Crude prices above $100 per barrel, marking an increase of roughly 70% from before the war began.

5 important things

Good news for everyone with a driver’s licence: The effective annual cost to renew a driver’s licence is likely to decrease once South Africa’s new 10-year cards come into effect. According to Department of Transport Director John Motsatsing, the price of renewals will likely be increased to account for the longer validity period, but motorists will ultimately pay less in the long run. [TopAuto].

R27.8 million for pothole repair machines that haven’t been used: Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, revealed that her department acquired 90 pothole repair machines that haven’t been used in five years. She said that after the department purchased the machines, there was no training or implementation plan in place [Newsday].

End of an era for the Gautrain: The Gauteng Provincial Government has formally appointed Sihamba Sonke Mobility as the new Gautrain concessionaire. The contractor will operate, upgrade, and maintain the Gautrain for 15 years until 2041 [MyBroadband].

Here is the expected petrol price for November: Mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund shows that petrol and diesel are set to increase in November. The latest report shows an under-recovery of R2.28 per litre for petrol and R1.46 per litre for diesel [BusinessTech].

South Africa to restrict assembly of imported car kits: South Africa is tightening its vehicle manufacturing rules to phase out semi-knock-down operations, which create fewer jobs than full manufacturing. This affects companies like Mahindra, which produces bakkies from SKD kits in Durban [Bloomberg].