Johannesburg, 12 December 2025 – A look back over 2025 reveals another busy year and not just for the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA), but for South Africa and the world too.
Our local economy eked out four consecutive quarters of growth, with just 0.5% expansion measured in the third quarter. Unemployment remains sky high, recorded at 31.9% in the third quarter, the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2024 and a small decline from 33.2% in quarter two. The improvement is welcome, but there are still not enough jobs, too few companies to create jobs, and too little investment because of the limited prospects of a return on that investment.
Inflation, at 3.6% in October, remains within the Reserve Bank’s new target of 3%, with a one percentage point tolerance band. The contained inflation allowed the Bank to cut rates four times in 2025 by a total of 100 basis points; the most recent cut being the 25-basis point cut to 6.75% on November 20.
Despite inevitable tensions, especially around the national budget early in the year, the Government of National Unity (GNU) remains in place, providing much-needed stability. The political landscape will face some upheaval when parties compete for South Africans’ votes in the 2026 local government elections.
The world’s eyes were trained on Johannesburg in November when South Africa hosted the G20 Summit, which was hailed as a success and showcased President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ability to handle complicated political and diplomatic situations after the US chose to boycott the summit.
The State of the Metals and Engineering Sector Report, released in February, set a sombre tone, revealing a bleak picture of minimal improvement described as ‘marginal to negligible. The sector is buckling under a combination of policy uncertainty, unreliable logistics and deteriorating municipal service delivery. Considerable gains have been made on the acute electricity interruptions, but energy sovereignty remains the next challenge.
During the course of the year the signs of the collapse of the Steel Master Plan (SMP) became impossible to ignore: steel production remains 18% below its peak in 2007/08 and capacity utilisation across sub-sectors languishes below the 85% benchmark for efficiency. If government is determined to salvage the SMP, it must be returned to its original intention: galvanising industry and government behind a shared vision.
But there are bright spots too, for example, the succession changes SEIFSA announced this year. In July Tafadzwa (Taffie) Chibanguza was appointed CEO-designate, he will take over as CEO in January 2026 and I will continue to provide strategic support to the CEO and contribute to the organization work until my retirement in 2027.
With industry wage negotiations earmarked for 2027 and talks about talks set to start next year, SEIFSA will be looking to leverage my knowledge and experience in the collective bargaining space as we look to repeat the success of the 2024 main agreement wage negotiations with a quick and strike free settlement.
Mervyn Naidoo, Group CEO at Actom, was elected SEIFSA President at the AGM in October. He takes over from Elias Monage, who has completed two terms and became SEIFSA’s automatic third vice-president.
The relaunch of the SEIFSA Training Centre (STC) in October was an opportunity to show case the wide-ranging improvements to the Centre and celebrate young apprentices and learners who in time will be the backbone of the industry. Our Annual Golf Day and Awards for Excellence were again a huge success and allowed members to spend time networking and celebrating their hard work.
As we prepare for 2026, we look back on a year that has seen exceptional global and domestic uncertainty. Uncertainty lies at the core of this year’s disappointing economic story. What optimism there was a year ago about economic growth has evaporated. Encouragingly, though, green shoots are beginning to emerge. Sentiment has been boosted by visible progress in tackling the electricity shortfall and unperforming logistics infrastructure, as well as the increasing focus on improving water and municipal infrastructure. Confidence should also be gained from the relatively quick delisting from the Financial Action Task Force’s greylist, which demonstrates the ability of the public and private sectors to co-operate.
Our challenges as a country are well known, yet amid the anxiety there are reasons to think optimistically about the future if we are willing to look beyond the headlines and embrace new ways of thinking. If we broaden our perspective and act with intent, we have a real chance to move beyond uncertainty and survival towards a future defined by a shared prosperity.
We wish all our partners, stakeholders and affiliated member companies a happy, healthy and safe festive season and the very best for a productive 2026.
Lucio Trentini
Chief Executive Officer
