Author: Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the African Union to be made a permanent member of the G20. The G20 is a group of 20 countries with leading economies which come together to discuss policy on health, trade and other issues. The President was speaking during the Working Session on Food and Energy Security at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, held in Bali, Indonesia. President Ramaphosa said the addition of the African Union will give a more unified approach to solving challenges currently plaguing the world. “We call for continued G20 support for the African Renewable Energy Initiative as a means…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government remains committed to transformation of the economy and empowerment. He was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter. The President’s assertion follows a week where the National Treasury published a new set of Preferential Procurement Regulations. “The new regulations are not ‘a victory for sound business practices’ as one interest group has claimed. What is unsound, unsustainable and, above all, immoral, is an economy that benefits the few at the expense of the many. “Put plainly, we remain as committed as ever to broad-based black economic empowerment, meeting our localisation objectives and transforming an economy…

Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm and Tuesday evening until 5am, Eskom said on Monday. Stage two load shedding will then kick off between 5am and 4pm on Tuesday. “The higher stage of load shedding is mainly due to high levels of breakdowns as well as the depleted emergency generation reserves. “Load shedding is implemented only as a last resort in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to attend to breakdowns,” an Eskom statement read. The power utility currently has 16 992MW of capacity unavailable due to breakdowns with a further 4177MW off due…

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has called for a sense of urgency in the execution of the National Implementation Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector. Cabinet recently approved the Framework, which provides five pillars on interventions in professionalising the public service. The pillars include pre-entry recruitment and selection within the public service; induction and onboarding; planning and performance management; continuous learning and professional development; and career progression and incidents. “The focus should now be on implementation. While some aspects of the framework will need legislative amendments, ministerial directives and regulations, others can be implemented immediately,” the NPC said…

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the time has come for the African continent to integrate and work more closely together. The President was speaking at the Kenya-South Africa Business Forum held on Wednesday evening in the East African country where he is on an official state visit. “For us to surge forward, to address the issue of integration, it is about time that indeed Africa is more integrated. When we look at other continents, especially Europe, their inter trade is up to 70% and ours is a paltry less than 20%. “When you go into the markets that we have…I often…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that Kenyans will now be able to enter South Africa visa free for a period of 90 days. The President made the announcement during an Official State Visit to the country on Wednesday. During the visit several Memoranda of Understanding and agreements were signed between the two countries. The President said an agreement was reached on the “thorny issue” during talks. “We agreed that indeed Kenyans should be able to visit South Africa without requiring them to have visas… this dispensation will commence on the 1st of January 2023 and that our officials will speed…

Eskom has announced an online platform in response to what it calls an “overwhelming response” to its call for skilled and experienced persons to support the power utility’s turnaround strategy. The platform enables prospective workers to submit their details directly to Eskom at https://www.eskom.co.za/crowdsource/. “A digital platform and governance mechanism have been designed and implemented to reap the full benefits of the diversity of skills across the country through the crowdsourcing of these skills into the business. “Crowdsourcing differs from recruitment, in that it is triggered by specific technical challenges, is not linked to a permanent position, and it targets a…

Eskom says addressing its debt challenges is key to its turnaround strategy. This after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that government will be taking over a portion of the power utility’s R400 billion debt. “Addressing Eskom’s debt levels is a key component to the turnaround plan envisaged under the Department of Public Enterprises’ ‘Roadmap for Eskom in a Reformed Electricity Supply Industry’ and as noted in the MTBPS, a debt takeover by government (together with other reforms at Eskom and in the South African electricity sector) will ensure the long term financial sustainability…

Eskom has announced that Stage 1 and 2 load shedding will be implemented for the rest of this week. Stage 1 load shedding will be implemented every day from 5am until 4pm with Stage 2 then taking effect from 4pm until 5am. “The increase in load shedding is mainly due to the need to preserve emergency generation reserves, the delay in returning four generating units to service while many running units are operating at reduced capacity due to technical faults. “Eskom will publish a further update as soon as there are any significant changes. Load shedding is implemented only as…

The last generating unit of Eskom’s coal-fired Komati Power Station has officially been taken off the grid and the power station has been completely decommissioned after supplying electricity to South Africans since 1961. According to Eskom, the move is in line with legislative requirements. “Unit 9 was commissioned in March 1966, the last of the nine units that were built. Other units were shut down over the years as they reached the end of their operating life. “Eskom has transferred the majority of Komati employees from the power station to support and augment the skills in other power stations and…