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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…

Four of South Africa’s State Owned Companies (SOCs) – Transnet, Telkom, Eskom and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), together with the South African Police Service, have announced an integrated approach towards combatting the scourge of cable theft, battery theft and infrastructure damage. This was announced at an SOC Industry Roundtable on economic sabotage of critical infrastructure. The roundtable was led by chief executives and acting chief executives of the four SOCs, Eskom’s Andre de Ruyter, Transnet’s Portia Derby, Telkom’s Serame Taukobong and Prasa’s Hishaam Emeran. The CEOs and entities agreed on, amongst others, further integrating their security…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the latest employment figures – which show a decline in the unemployment rate for the second quarter of 2021 – are cause for cautious optimism in the recovery of the economy. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter on Monday morning. The statistics show a decline in unemployment from 34.5% in the first quarter of 2022 to 33.9%. “Over the last few years, South Africans have had to contend with slow growth and rising unemployment. This has been worsened by a devastating pandemic, an attempted insurrection unrest in July last year, and, earlier…

The Information Regulator has established online portals for public and private bodies to use to submit their Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) section 32 reports and to register their Information Officers (IO’s). In a statement released on Friday, the regulator said the online portals intend to improve efficiency, as they will be user-friendly and afford quick turnaround time for submission of section 32 reports and registration of Information Officers. “Manual applications will continue to be administered to accommodate special circumstances. However, we strongly encourage all public and private bodies to use the portals because it…

South Africa intends to enhance the teaching of robotics and coding in public schools through the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute. Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the AI Institute is being established in partnership with institutions of higher learning, in particular the Johannesburg Business School of the University of Johannesburg and the Tshwane University of Technology, which are co-founder institutions together with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. “It is essential that we invest significantly to provide our youth with access to modern training, skill sets and formal education. To achieve this, our…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a nine-member National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC), which will advise the President on effectively implementing the anti-corruption strategy in all spheres of society, and provide advocacy and action in the fight against fraud and corruption. The council is also expected to give input on government’s response to the recommendations in the State Capture report, which President Ramaphosa is expected to present to Parliament by 22 October. “The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council is the embodiment of our united resolve as a nation to rid all components of our society of all forms of crime and corruption…

The Department of Home Affairs has dismissed a senior official found guilty on counts relating to gross negligence and gross dereliction of duty. The official, Simphiwe Hlophe, Chief Director: Infrastructure Management for Information Systems (IS) was responsible for Information Technology (IT), aspects that involve network outages (offline), system downtime and IT capability which affect the Department’s commitment to service delivery and clean governance. Hlophe was charged with: Gross negligence or dereliction of duties in that he certified an invoice of  the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) that included services not rendered Contravention of National Treasury Regulation 8.2.1, gross negligence (alternative…

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) is currently probing at least 22 477 cases with a combined monetary value of about R1.5 trillion. The sordid details were on Tuesday revealed by National Hawks Head, Lt Gen Godfrey Lebeya, during a media briefing in Pretoria. Lebeya, who took stock of milestones achieved since his appointment in 2018, highlighted National Priority Offences. The cases include cash-in-transit robberies; theft of fuel from Transnet pipelines; drug and human trafficking, and corruption. They also include commercial crime, organised crime, cybercrime and money laundering, inchoate offences such as conspiracy to commit crime and incitement to…

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is expected to strengthen the corruption-busting unit’s hand in fighting maladministration, corruption and fraud. This as these crimes become more technologically sophisticated. According to a joint statement, the MOU paves the way for the CSIR to share expertise and skills to “drive research, development and innovation” in the fight against cybercrimes, data science and information. “The signing of the MoU between the two government entities signals a coordinated effort to enhance the use of technology to fight the scourge…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the new Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Bill that he has signed into law, will strengthen capacity and improve ethical standards in local municipalities. The new law aims to improve the lives of South Africans at the local level by, amongst others, ensuring accountability and barring senior officials in local government from holding political office. “The amendments passed by Parliament show that the concerns of communities have been heard and been acted upon. “A capable, ethical state requires a strong foundation at local level, and the new law will go a long way to building communities’…

Deputy President David Mabuza says government is taking every step to make sure that Eskom is supported in its bid to stabilise the national grid and ensure energy security. The Deputy President was answering questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday afternoon. The Deputy President is the Chairperson of the Political Task Team on Eskom which was established to bring government’s key players together in order to provide political leadership in the resolution of the problems besetting the power producer. The Deputy President said the task team has achieved several milestones since it was established including: Enabling…

Plans are afoot to build two new universities, says Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande. This follows Cabinet’s approval for the establishment of the new University of Science and Innovation in Ekurhuleni and a new Crime Detection University in Hammanskraal in Gauteng. Nzimande said the process of developing new universities is preceded by a feasibility study to ascertain the demand for new institutions in identified areas or areas of interest. “A feasibility study, funded through the Infrastructure and Efficiency Grant (IEG) to the value of R6 million, is underway to advice on the size and shape of…

South Africa could avoid possible greylisting if it implemented recommendations in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mutual evaluation report. The FATF commenced its assessment in 2019 and published its final report on 7 October last year. The mutual evaluation report had an adverse rating under technical compliance and effectiveness. It made several recommendations. Addressing Parliament’s Standing Parliament on Finance, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said the report recommends that all regulatory authorities should subject beneficial owners to fit and proper assessments. Beyond this, all regulatory authorities should verify that directors, senior management and beneficial owners or…

State power utility Eskom says despite suspending load shedding, the power generation system remains vulnerable to breaking down. The electricity supplier said it suspended load shedding as a result of increased generation capacity, lower demand and the recovery of emergency generation reserves. “While we are able to suspend load shedding at this point, it is important to note that the generation system is still vulnerable to breakdowns and load shedding may be required. We therefore urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly, especially during these uncertain times on the power system. “Eskom will promptly communicate should a need…

The National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (NPA AFU) has been granted and served an order to restrain at least R13 million on former South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence Head, Richard Mdluli, Head of Supply Chain Management, Heine Barnard, former SAPS Crime Intelligence CFO, Solomon Lazarus, and others. The other accused are Mdluli’s former wife, Theresa Lyons, and his current wife, Vusiwane Mdluli, John and Heena Appalsami of Daez Trading CC, Barnard’s wife Juanita Barnard and Lazarus’s wife, Sandra Lazarus. According to the NPA, the restraint is linked to the fraud, theft and corruption case the accused are…

Eskom has announced that it will implement load shedding from this afternoon after the power utility faced some challenges at several power stations. “Due to a shortage of generation capacity, stage two load shedding will be implemented during the evening peak period of 4pm to midnight this afternoon and at the same time tomorrow. Eskom will promptly communicate any further significant changes. “The delay in returning a generation unit to service each at Arnot, Koeberg and Kusile power stations, as well as the unplanned outage of a generation unit each at Camden, Medupi and two units each at Grootvlei, Hendrina…

Eskom has warned that it may implement Stage 2 load shedding over the next three days from 4pm to midnight. The power utility explained that several power stations are battling challenges which may prompt the implementation of load shedding. “The delay in returning a generation unit to service each at Arnot, Kusile and Koeberg power stations as well as the failure of a generation unit each at Medupi, Hendrina, Camden and two units at Majuba power stations have exacerbated the capacity constraints. “Should there be any further loss of generation capacity over the next three days, or should some units…