Author: Agency
Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to address extreme wind disruption to operate in the Port of Cape Town (PoCT). The TNPA and the CSIR-hosted programme, the Alliance for Collaboration on Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS), and the other institutions intend to establish a series of research projects aimed at understanding the impact of extreme wind disruption on operations for the integrated maritime transport logistics chain at the PoCT. In the past few years, according to the joint statement, the PoCT lost an average…
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says at least half of the actions set out in the Energy Action Plan (EAP) are either completed or on track. He was briefing the media on the progress made on the one year implementation of the Energy Action Plan on Sunday. The EAP was introduced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July last year and thrashes out work that must be done by both Eskom and government to ensure that load shedding is reduced and eventually eradicated and to ensure energy security for the country in the future. “About 56%…
President Cyril Ramaphosa says although load shedding will not be resolved overnight, Eskom and government is making “significant progress” in areas aimed at reducing and eventually removing it altogether. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter on Monday. “Today, we are releasing a detailed report outlining the work done to improve the performance of Eskom’s power stations, accelerate the building of new generation capacity and drive regulatory reforms to transform the electricity sector. “The winter months will soon be coming to an end. Although load shedding has continued, as was anticipated, we have managed to avert a worst…
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel today launched the Energy One Stop Shop and Energy Resilience Fund. This is part of the Energy Mitigation Strategy through the National Energy Crisis Committee. President Cyril Ramaphosa had tasked Invest South Africa to establish an Energy One Stop Shop to deal with and fast track applications from energy developers. The Energy One Stop Shop is expected to input to the streamlining of regulatory processes required for private investment in electricity generation, facilitate pre-investment screening for all energy projects and thereby fast-track the approval of energy applications. This is to be achieved through…
St. Petersburg, Russia – President Cyril Ramaphosa has boldly declared Africa’s intention to prioritise the export of valuable finished products instead of raw materials from the continent’s minerals. President Ramaphosa told his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, that Africa wants to export finished products, which will set Africa on a path to unlock unparalleled opportunities for the continent’s economies. The President was speaking during a plenary session at the second Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in the Russian Federation. The two-day summit kicked off on 27 July. “We no longer want to export ore, soil, dusts and rocks from the…
Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee to Nominate a Person for Appointment as Public Protector has shortlisted eight candidates for the position with interviews expected to be held in August. The term of current incumbent, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, ends in October. She is currently suspended. The eight candidates vying for the position are: Current acting Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka Advocate Oliver Josie Johannah Ledwaba Muvhango Lukhaimane Advocate Lynn Marais Professor Boitumelo Mmusinyane Advocate Kwena Tommy Ntsewa Advocate Tseliso Thipanyane “Committee Chairperson Cyril Xaba said the candidates will be interviewed over two days, 23 and 24 August 2023. He said the committee…
President Cyril Ramaphosa says although South Africa continues to rank in the top five African countries with the best infrastructure, more can be done to improve its development. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter on Monday. He highlighted that good infrastructure can be the foundation of greater and faster economic growth and addressing poverty. “However for this world class infrastructure to continue to support our developmental goals, it has to be properly, effectively and efficiently maintained. And decisions on infrastructure investment have to respond to the growing need and upgraded appropriately. “We have good quality infrastructure,…
Government has noted Fitch’s decision to affirm South Africa’s long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘BB-’ and maintain a stable outlook. According to Fitch, South Africa’s credit rating is constrained by low real gross domestic product (GDP) growth hampered by power shortages, high level of inequality, a high government debt-to-GDP ratio, and a modest path of fiscal consolidation. National Treasury said the ratings are supported by a favourable debt structure with long maturities and denominated mostly in local currency as well as a credible monetary policy framework. “Government is implementing urgent measures to reduce load-shedding in the short…
More than 2 000 cases and arrests have been made in cases linked to criminality at Eskom. This was announced by Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, during a media briefing on Monday. “Over the period from April 2022 to date, there are 2 147 Eskom cases that have been reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and about 1 586 of these are under investigation. Since that period…126 arrests have been made. “In addition to the technical solutions that we are seeking to resolve the issues at Eskom, we are also focused on addressing some…
Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has apologised to the nation for Stage 6 load shedding that was implemented on Thursday. The Minister was speaking during a media briefing on Monday. Eskom implemented Stage 6 load shedding last week following breakdowns and delays in returning to service of generating units. “I want to express our sincere and profuse apology for having taken you through a very difficult stage of intensive load shedding. “Firstly, load shedding is unacceptable. The second part is that going to higher stages of load shedding, especially Stage 6, should not become the norm.…