The ANC is not deciding whether to implement nationalisation, but rather how to do so, Cosatu has told business leaders at a debate on the topic.

President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address lacked "recognition" of the unemployment crisis, Cosatu said on Thursday.

Political parties and union leaders were outraged on Wednesday over Eskom's proposed tariff hike of 53% and the devastating effect it would have on the country. The Congress of South African Trade Unions said it was absolutely horrified at the proposal and demanded an extended consultation process on Eskom's latest plans.

Trade conditions appear to be out of negative territory after the Trade Activity Index (TAI) increased for the third month in a row, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Thursday. The TAI, which measures the view of business on current trade activity, increased from 44 in December last year to 48 in January and 50 in February

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel's national budget charts a pragmatic course that offers hope for better times ahead, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday. The budget has a definite business-friendly undertone, Citadel chief investment officer Jan van Niekerk said.

There is a "very real" risk that South Africa could face an economic recession as a result of the current electricity crisis, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said on Wednesday. "We have already been going through an economic slowdown; this [the electricity crisis] could push us into a recession," Sacci economist Richard Downing said.