News24Wire

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News24Wire

News24’s breaking news wire service brings you the latest South African, African and international news reports and press updates from newsrooms across the country. Powered by the country’s leading journalists, and headed by the News24 editorial team.

R400m Kusile corruption: Lotus sports car, Mpumalanga lodge hooked in court order

20th February 2023 The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted a preservation order freezing a slew of properties and vehicles allegedly bought from the proceeds of a corrupt tender at Eskom's problematic Kusile power station. Thursday's order allows the Special Investigation Unit, and the National... →

Ramaphosa, Mantashe to oppose legal challenge over energy planning

20th February 2023 President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe intend opposing a legal challenge against them over energy planning. In January, two civil society organisations – Green Connection and the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute – filed an... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Continuous Stage 6 implemented, risk of higher stages as eight units break down

20th February 2023 Eskom has implemented continuous Stage 6 until further notice after eight generating units broke down on Sunday. "Given the high number of breakdowns, there is a possibility of further changes on the stages of load shedding at short notice," the power utility said. →

Public sector unions renew strike threat over 'pathetic' wage increase

17th February 2023 Nine public sector trade unions said on Thursday they will embark on an "indefinite strike" to force the government to raise last year's wage increase. The unions also said they would not attend the start of this year's wage talks, which the government had hoped would kick off on Friday at a... →

Woman arrested for allegedly colluding with Eskom workers to steal nearly R1m from power station

17th February 2023 A Mpumalanga woman has appeared in the Standerton Magistrate's Court in connection with a theft and money laundering case relating to the Tutuka Power Station. Annemarie Stander, 55, was released on R5 000 bail on Wednesday after she was arrested by the Hawks. →

Cape Town set to ease power cuts further as city gears up to issue first tender

16th February 2023 As loadshedding becomes the norm, the City of Cape Town is preparing to launch a 500MW tender for dispatchable power in the coming weeks, and it's looking into shorter contracts with producers. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced the upcoming tender at the city's first council meeting a few weeks... →

City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis

Big petrol price hike expected in March

16th February 2023 February may bring a large hike in the petrol price, the latest information from the Central Energy Fund shows. With two weeks to go before the prices are fixed, the fund's data shows that 95 unleaded petrol could be increased by more than R1.20 a litre in February, while diesel may be hiked by... →

MPs to Transnet: Fix this mess you are creating for the ANC government

16th February 2023 African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MPs tore into Transnet Group CEO Portia Derby on Wednesday, accusing her of "doing nothing" to arrest the company's slide into dysfunction and reprimanding her for privatising parts of its operations, which they said was not... →

Ratings agencies warn SA ahead of budget about loadshedding risks

15th February 2023 With a week to go before Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables his budget in Parliament, two global credit ratings agencies have warned of SA's deteriorating risk profile due to the impact of prolonged electricity cuts on the economy. On Wednesday, Fitch ratings said that while it had... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

UJ launches two electric buses to cut its emissions

15th February 2023 The University of Johannesburg (UJ) this week rolled out two electric buses, which have already started transporting students across its campuses. The buses are part of the university's plans to reduce its carbon emissions. The project started more than 18 months ago, explained Special Projects... →

Inflation cools, but red-hot food prices hit new high

15th February 2023 Annual consumer inflation cooled to 6.9% in January, from 7.2% in December. This is the third consecutive month of a decline. But food inflation hit the highest rate since 2009. The consumer price index declined by 0.1% between December and January, Statistics SA reported. Cheaper fuel helped to... →

Stage 2 and 3 loadshedding over the weekend

10th February 2023 Stage 4 loadshedding will continue from 16:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday morning. It will be downgraded to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Saturday until 05:00 on Sunday, after which it will again be reduced to Stage 2 until 16:00 on Sunday. Stage 3 will be implemented from 16:00 on Sunday until... →

ConCourt shoots down govt appeal over BEE in Covid-19 tourism funds case

8th February 2023 SA's highest court has declined to hear an application for leave to appeal a lower court's ruling that found the state was wrong to include Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) as a criterion to access Covid-19 relief grants in the tourism sector. In April 2020, as the Covid-19... →

Shoprite, Coca-Cola, Burger King and others urge Ramaphosa to halt fuel taxes

8th February 2023 The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) on Tuesday urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to scrap the sugar tax, as well as suspend the fuel duty and road accident fund levies for the industry amid record levels of load shedding. In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa - sent on... →

South Africa nears an ignoble record: 100 days of blackouts

6th February 2023 South Africa is nearing 100 consecutive days of rolling blackouts, the longest stretch yet, with more to come as its electricity crisis deepens. Eskom , the state-owned company that produces almost all the electricity in Africa’s most industrialised economy, has imposed blackouts daily since... →

Johannesburg residents in for 3 more days of pain before water issues ease

31st January 2023 Johannesburg Water says it will take more than 72 hours for the water infrastructure attached to the Eikenhof system to recover after the power failure on Sunday. Bulk water supplier Rand Water has been affected by loadshedding and increased demand after the heat wave these last two weeks.... →

Petrol and diesel prices to be hiked this week

31st January 2023 Petrol and diesel prices will be hiked on Wednesday, with oil having become more expensive due to stronger Chinese demand. Unleaded petrol (both 93 and 95) will increase by 28c a litre, while diesel will be hiked by between less than a cent and around 9c a litre. Paraffin will increase by 58c a... →

Tshwane water crisis: Mayor and Rand Water CEO meet to discuss 'supply challenges'

31st January 2023 City of Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams said he had "constructive engagements" with Rand Water on Monday night amid the ongoing water crisis in the metro. The Tshwane metro has suffered water cuts for at least a week as water reserves at Rand Water remain low because of power outages and increased... →

Stage 6 loadshedding returns on Tuesday night after more breakdowns

31st January 2023 Eskom has announced that loadshedding will escalate to Stage 6 on Tuesday night, after six generating units suffered breakdowns over the past 24 hours. Loadshedding will initially jump to Stage 5 from noon on Tuesday, until 21:00. From there Stage 6 will run until 05:00 on Wednesday. From there,... →

Cape Town residents urged to reduce water consumption as loadshedding bites

31st January 2023 The City of Cape Town is urging residents to use less water as high stages of load shedding are having an impact on water supply operations. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is urging residents and businesses to collectively use less than 850-million litres of water daily. →

Breather from Stage 4 loadshedding from Saturday

27th January 2023 Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Saturday morning, after which it will be reduced to Stage 3, Eskom said on Friday. Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented nightly from 16:00 - 05:00 on Saturday and Sunday, while Stage 2 loadshedding will kick in from 05:00 – 16:00 on... →

Eskom to borrow R4bn for diesel as Treasury dishes out tough love

27th January 2023 The stand-off between Eskom and the National Treasury over funding for diesel has ended with an agreement that government will support Eskom borrowing from commercial banks, should it be unable to reprioritise its own resources. In December, Eskom declared that it had run out of money to buy... →

Generators, incentives and tenders: Cape Town forges ahead with loadshedding protection plans

26th January 2023 The City of Cape Town has allocated more money for generators and diesel as the country faces the worst of its energy crisis. The generators will mainly be used at sewage pump stations to prevent sewage overflows at beaches. This emerged when the City tabled its annual adjustment budget at its... →

City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis

Interest rates hiked by 25 basis points

26th January 2023 Interest rates were hiked by 25 basis points on Thursday, as the Reserve Bank slashed its expectations for growth this year. Three members of the monetary policy committee voted in favour of the 25 basis point hike, while two wanted a 50 basis point increase. →

Photo by Bloomberg
SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago

Bad news: Petrol, diesel prices set to increase soon

26th January 2023 Petrol and diesel prices look set to be hiked in the first week of February. The latest data from the Central Energy Fund shows an expected increase of around 52 cents a litre for 95 unleaded petrol and 57c/l for 93 petrol. The diesel price could climb by between 22c/l and 33c/l, while the price... →

Shorter contracts should get Karpowerships past the finish line – Mantashe

26th January 2023 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says cutting the proposed contract periods with Karpowership from 20 years to 10 years could help government realise its ambitions to procure energy urgently from the floating power stations. Mantashe was speaking at an ANC Energy Dialogue held... →

SANDF deployment to Eskom power stations stretches until March at a cost of more than R200m

25th January 2023 Deploying the troops to Eskom power stations and elsewhere in the country for just three months is costing taxpayers just over R200-million. President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the deployment of 2 700 SA National Defence Force soldiers in December due to vandalism and theft at several power... →

Majuba Power Station

City Power spends up to R100m a year on substation security

24th January 2023 City Power in Johannesburg spends roughly R100-million a year to secure its substations and mini substations from vandalism and theft, according to the spokesperson, Keneilwe Sebola. And the amount could triple if the security issues persist. In fact, the city could spend as much as R1-million a... →

Eskom hits back at Ramaphosa on tariffs: Costs don't just disappear

24th January 2023 Those "aggrieved" by the upcoming 18.65% electricity tariff hike will have to lodge a court application to challenge the energy regulator's decision, power utility Eskom has said. This comes days after President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates at the African National Congress Free State provincial... →

City Power spends up to R100m a year on substation security to combat theft, vandalism

24th January 2023 City Power in Johannesburg spends roughly R100-million a year to secure its substations and mini substations from vandalism and theft, according to spokesperson Keneilwe Sebola. And the amount could triple if the security issues persist. In fact, the City could spend as much as R1-million a day... →

Loadshedding: Groups approach court to get govt to account for energy crisis

24th January 2023 Several political parties, unions, community-based organisations and individuals have approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to seek an urgent hearing on relief measures amid continued load shedding. The group, which includes Build One South Africa, the United Democratic Movement and the... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane

Close the taps in Tshwane or 'water supply system could collapse'

24th January 2023 Rand Water's overall reservoir storage capacity has dropped from 60% to 30% and the supply system could collapse if the water levels do not recover. This is according to the Tshwane MMC for Utility Services Daryl Johnston, who described the situation as "very serious and, in fact, critical". →

Stage 4 evening loadshedding until further notice

23rd January 2023 Loadshedding will remain at Stage 4 from 16:00 to 05:00 every day, with Stage 3 implemented from 05:00 to 16:00 during the day until further notice, Eskom announced on Monday. Over the past 24 hours, two generating units at Tutuka Power Station were taken offline for repairs while two units at... →

Stage 4 loadshedding planned for the weekday evenings

23rd January 2023 Loadshedding will remain at Stage 4 from 16:00 to 05:00 every day, with Stage 3 implemented from 05:00 to 16:00 during the day until further notice, Eskom announced on Monday. Over the past 24 hours, two generating units at Tutuka Power Station were taken offline for repairs while two units at... →

Another weekend of loadshedding – but Stage 2 expected on Sunday

20th January 2023 Loadshedding will be maintained at Stage 4 for Friday and Saturday evenings from 16:00 - 05:00. It will be lowered to Stage 3 from 05:00 - 16:00 on Saturday and further reduced to Stage 2 on Sunday morning. →

'I don't build power stations': Mantashe doubles down on claim he's not to blame for loadshedding

19th January 2023 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is adamant that he is not to blame for continued loadshedding – even though his department oversees the procurement of generation capacity and not a single megawatt has been connected to the grid during his tenure. In a wide-ranging interview... →

Photo by Donna Slater
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Inflation cools slightly to 7.2%, but food prices remain red hot

18th January 2023 Annual consumer price inflation cooled to 7.2% in December, down from 7.4% in November and 7.6% in October, Statistics SA reported on Wednesday. The consumer price index increased by 0.4% in December from the previous month. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rocketed by 12.4%... →

Petrol, diesel prices may be on track for more cuts

18th January 2023 After a steep fall in January, petrol and diesel prices are currently on track for more cuts in February, the latest information from the Central Energy Fund shows. However, recent strong gains in the oil price and a weaker rand may put price cuts at risk. →

City Power to cut off defaulters in Alexandra in bid to recover R363m

17th January 2023 City Power in Johannesburg will embark on a three-day revenue collection effort from Tuesday to recover R363-million. The electricity supplier plans to cut off defaulting business accounts in Region E, Alexandra. →

Eskom, Treasury at odds over diesel funds as loadshedding crisis deepens

17th January 2023 As chronic loadshedding continues indefinitely, a behind-the-scenes dispute has broken out between National Treasury and Eskom over where the money should come from to buy more diesel. The only immediate way to reduce loadshedding is for Eskom to burn diesel to power its open-cycle gas turbines.... →

Lawyers issue letter of demand to Eskom, Gordhan over loadshedding

17th January 2023 Several high-profile lawyers, leaders, and NPOs have threatened Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan with legal action following their failure to provide a stable power supply to the country. The letter issued to De Ruyter and Gordhan on Monday, was addressed... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

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