Author: Agency
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…