Author: Agency

Eskom has signed leasing contracts with four renewable energy companies to build new renewable energy facilities on land owned by the power utility. The four companies – HDF Energy SA, Red Rocket SA, Sola Group and Mainstream Renewable Power Developments SA – are expected to be connected to the national grid within 24 to 36 months and contribute some 2000MW to the grid. The final capacity that these projects will contribute will be determined following comprehensive feasibility studies by the companies. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said the land is near the Majuba and Tutuka Power Stations in Mpumalanga, allowing…

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has encouraged applicants of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 grant not to change their bank details frequently because every new account must be verified. “Once your bank details are loaded or updated, please wait for a response from your bank before changing your details. “With regards to payments, we are still having challenges with beneficiaries who upload incorrect bank details. We also urge all approved applicants who are not yet paid to check the status of bank verification, and if needs be, correct their banking details,” the Minister said. Minister Zulu was…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres play a critical role in laying solid foundations for South Africa’s future leaders. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter just days after opening the Little Flower ECD centre in Bizana, in the Eastern Cape. The President emphasised that children in these centres must be nurtured. “The young children in these centres are the next generation of South Africans who must be able to live up to their full potential as responsible, capable and outstanding citizens. “They must be able to pursue their dreams so that we all may…

Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has announced new fee amendments for South African passports and travel documents in terms of section 4(1)(e) of the South African Passports and Travel Documents Act, 1994 (Act No. 4 of 1994), and in consultation with the Minister of Finance. The amended fees, which were published in the Government Gazette No. 47256 (attached) on 06 October 2022, come into operation on 1 November 2022. Section 4(1)(e) of the South African Passports and Travel Documents Act, 1994, enables the Minister of Home Affairs to make regulations regarding the fees payable for the issuance of a…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government will continue to build on the success of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) and expand its reach, as it pursues economic growth to deliver decent and sustainable employment at a much larger scale. In his weekly newsletter to the nation, the President said that the PES is still very much needed to complement recovery efforts in the job market. The PES was launched less than two years ago to create jobs and support livelihoods, as part of supporting economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The PES has just reached a milestone of one million participants reached…

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) welcomes the Special Tribunal order for the Systems Applications Products (SAP) to payback the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) more than R81 million. In March 2022, the Special Tribunal ordered SAP to repay DWS R413 million, which is the total amount paid by DWS to SAP between 2015 and 2016 for software licence and support contracts. The contracts value was over R1 billion. However, SAP disputed an amount of R83 million for third party costs it incurred. In a new order, dated 29 September 2022, the Special Tribunal ruled that SAP pays DWS the…

Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head, Advocate Andy Mothibi, says the unit has gathered enough evidence for civil, prosecutorial and disciplinary action to be taken against those who allegedly “siphoned” some R279 million from the coffers of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). Mothibi was briefing the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on Tuesday. The corruption-fighting unit recently concluded the first phase of an investigation into allegations of maladministration, fraud and corruption at the NLC, which revealed how some NLC officials and board members allegedly illegally benefitted from funding grants meant for public benefit through non-profit organisations (NPOs). “This…

Applications for Phase IV of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) in the Basic Education sector have opened today and will close on 16 October 2022. In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Basic Education announced that Phase IV will offer job opportunities to 255 100 youth across the nine provinces in around 20 000 public ordinary schools and schools for learners with special education needs (LSEN). “Phase IV comes as the country‘s youth have reaped the benefits of more than 850 000 job opportunities coupled with training that was offered throughout this initiative. The applications will officially open…

Eskom will continue to implement load shedding this week due to constraints from its diesel suppliers that is affecting the availability of bulk diesel to the Ankerlig and Gourikwa Open Cycle Gas Turbines, which have a combined capacity of 2 000MW. In a statement on Sunday, Eskom said Stage 3 load shedding would continue to be implemented between 00:00 and 16:00 until Thursday, while Stage 4 load shedding will be implemented daily during the evening peaks from 16:00 until 00:00. “While we expect diesel deliveries from Tuesday onwards, should this uncertainty of supply persist, higher stages of load shedding may…

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has launched a seminal discussion paper on Unclaimed Assets that have accumulated to almost R90 billion across the financial sector. The authority this week said the majority of these assets are in retirement funds. In a statement, the FSCA said the discussion paper builds on work done it had done with the National Treasury to find a solution that will lead to increased disbursements of unclaimed assets to beneficial owners. FSCA Commissioner, Unathi Kamlana, said work is continuing to establish the “true value of unclaimed assets in the sector, given that these assets are…

The South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has hiked the repurchase rate (repo rate) by 75 basis points. The increase means that the repo rate will now be 6.25% per year from 23 September 2022, with prime now at 9.75%. The MPC made the decision during its meeting on Wednesday. This was the fifth consecutive increment following a two 25 basis points hike in November and in January. The repo rate was hiked by 50 basis points at the May meeting. The MPC upped the ante, with a 75 basis point rise at its July meeting. Addressing media…

Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, says the power utility is working hard to bring back failing generation units and restore stability to the grid. This after multiple trips, breakdowns and delays in return to service at generation units caused the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding over the weekend. De Ruyter said teams at coal fired power stations are “working flat out” to bring back generation units as quickly as they can. He warned, however, that not all units will be immediately available to feed the grid. “We are planning to bring back 1 590 MW by (Sunday) peak and…

Deputy President David Mabuza has acknowledged that illegal mining is a major challenge in South Africa. “It has grown to the point where it is a major source of concern not only for the government, but also for the mining industry and the communities that are located close to illegal mining operations,” he told Parliamentarians on Thursday. He was responding to questions for oral reply in the National Assembly. He told Members of Parliament that the police and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy will appoint specialised teams in each province to fight illegal mining. “We agreed that illegal…

Deputy President David Mabuza has assured Parliamentarians that there are no plans to privatise the national power utility, Eskom. “Government’s policy options and positions have not reached the point where privatisation is seen as an answer to providing better solutions to the current problems that are facing Eskom,” he said. The Deputy President was responding to questions for oral reply in the National Assembly on Thursday. Questions posed to the Deputy President by members of political parties represented in Parliament covered issues on Eskom, measures underway to curb illegal mining activities and the outcomes of the recent Communal Land Summit.…

A further three suspects have been arrested in relation to a R60 million fraudulent traffic licensing swindle at the Mbombela and White River Traffic Departments. The arrests were confirmed by the Hawks on Wednesday. Hawks spokesperson, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, said the trio, aged between 36 and 42, are from the Mbombela Municipality and the two traffic departments. They are expected to appear before the Nelspruit Magistrate Court today. They were arrest during a joint operation by the Hawks Nelspruit-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) in Mbombela and White River for fraud, theft and money…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the opening of the R7.7 billion Sappi Saiccor Mill upgrade and expansion project in Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal. The Sappi Saiccor upgrade and expansion project is aimed at increasing the capacity and global competitiveness of Sappi Saiccor Mill, while also creating employment opportunities in the short- and lon- term. The project marks the fulfilment of a commitment the company made at the first South Africa Investment Conference in 2018, when President Ramaphosa called for investments into the South African economy. The first Investment Conference was convened with the aim of raising R1.2 trillion in new investments over…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the investment commitment by both Ford and Metair Investments reflects long-term confidence in South Africa as a key link in the global automotive value chain. On Tuesday, President Ramaphosa officiated the launch of the Metair Investments subsidiary Hesto Harnesses, where a new 35 000 square-metre state-of-the-art manufacturing plant was unveiled in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal. In partnership with Yazaki Corporation, Hesto Harnesses manufactures wiring harnesses and instrument clusters for supply to South African-based automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) Toyota, Isuzu, Nissan and Ford. The President was very impressed at the grand opening of Metair’s R500 million manufacturing facility for…

The government has announced that it has increased the wind energy allocation for Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) bid window six to 3 200MW due to the urgent need for increased capacity in the electricity system. The procurement allocations now stand at 3 200MW for wind energy and 1 000MW sought from solar energy suppliers. The REIPPPP is aimed at urgently addressing the country’s energy needs and deficit by adding more megawatts to the grid through procuring and adding onto the grid renewable energy sources. According to a government statement, the increase is in response to the…

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be travelling to Washington this week following an invitation by United States President Joe Biden. President Ramaphosa accepted the invitation delivered by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, during his recent visit to South Africa. President Ramaphosa will hold talks at the White House with President Biden on 16 September 2022. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Minister Naledi Pandor, said the President’s visit to the US provides government an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations through engagement and deepen multilateralism through the United Nations (UN), a primary vehicle through which the international community must…

Eskom says it has returned at least 37 generation units to service following what Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jan Oberholzer, called a “disastrous week” for the power utility. Last week, Eskom announced that Stage 2 load shedding would be implemented throughout the week. However, the breakdown of some 42 generation units quickly escalated load shedding to Stage 4 by Saturday. Oberholzer, together with Eskom management, briefed media on Monday morning on the state of the power system and the challenges it faces. Describing a week in which Eskom suffered generation unit breakdowns and slow returns to service, Oberholzer acknowledged that the…

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has warned that if not abated, illegal mining “will reach crisis proportions” and poses a “threat to national security, government authority and socio-economic development” in the country. Mantashe made these remarks during a National Plenary discussion on illegal mining in Parliament on Thursday afternoon. “This criminal activity is in contravention of our laws and forms part of many other economic related crimes that are afflicting our society. Illegal mining is associated with very serious crimes such as illicit financial flows and high levels of violence, including gender-based violence and femicide. Furthermore, we have…

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has received over 85 000 applications and will soon interview candidates for its project to digitise civil documents. The DHA working with the Department of Employment and Labour advertised job opportunities to recruit 10 000 unemployed young graduates to make digital copies of paper records. According to the department, of the 85 820 applications received, 23 374 have qualified to be assessed and interviewed. The new digitisation programme was first announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February 2022, which forms part of his Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES).…

Plans to expand the KwaZulu-Natal ports – which are expected to position KZN ports at the international forefront – have been approved by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) board. According Transnet, the expansion will see some R100 billion spent on the Durban and Richards Bay ports. “The expansion plans…seek to position the Durban Port as an international container hub that will boast an increased container capacity of 11.4 million TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent units] and automative capacity exceeding 900 000 units. “The Richards Bay Port is being positioned as a dry bulk port and the plans are also aligned to the…

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has called on interested parties to submit their comments on the proposed Licensing Exemption and Regulation notice published by Minister Gwede Mantashe. According to the department, the notice seeks to operationalise the “various measures to address South Africa’s electricity challenges”, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the height of the electricity crisis in July. “It outlines a set of electricity generation activities that are exempt from licensing and those that in addition to being exempt from licensing must also comply with the Code (distribution code, transmission code, or any code approved by the…

The Central Energy Fund has announced decreases across the board on the prices of fuel, gas and paraffin from Wednesday, paving the way for some relief for consumers. This marks the second consecutive month of decreases following increases experienced this year. The price adjustments per litre are as follows: A R2.04 decrease in both grades of petrol. Diesel 0.05% Sulphur will cost 56c less, while the price of diesel 0.005% Sulphur will decrease by 46c. Wholesale illuminating paraffin has decreased by 82c, while the retail price will cost R1.09 less. The maximum retail price of LP Gas will go down…