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.

New R1.2bn solar project will shield Cape Town from one stage of loadshedding

17th April 2023 The City of Cape Town has decided to pursue an R1.2-billion solar PV and battery storage project, which should shield it from one full stage of loadshedding. The Paardevlei Ground-mounted Solar Photovoltaic and Battery Energy Storage System Project is a 60MW renewable energy project that will be... →

Several days until taps run dry in parts of Pretoria after vandalism at pump station

17th April 2023 Taps could run dry in suburbs in the Ekurhuleni and Tshwane metros after a power outage, believed to have been caused by vandalism, at a Rand Water booster station on Friday. Although power was restored to the Mapleton booster station in the early hours of Sunday morning, the system could take up... →

Eskom union wants performance bonuses, electricity allowance, danger pay - and 15% pay hike

14th April 2023 Wage negotiations are set to start at embattled power utility Eskom next week, its biggest union the National Union of Metalworkers confirmed on Friday. Talks are set to for the 19, 20 and 21 April at Cedarwoods in Sandton, Johannesburg. NUM – which this year wants a 15% salary increase across... →

Small reprieve as Stage 5 and 4 loadshedding planned over weekend

14th April 2023 Loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 5 on Saturday and Stage 4 on Sunday, Eskom said on Friday. Eskom said due to lower weekend demand, loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 5 from 05:00 until 16:00 on Saturday. Thereafter, Stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00 on... →

Stage 6 loadshedding to continue indefinitely as more units break down

13th April 2023 Stage 6 loadshedding will remain in force until further notice, Eskom said late on Thursday. "The extension of loadshedding is caused by further breakdowns of generation units and continued shortage of generation capacity due to delays in returning to service some generation units," the power... →

Pretoria power crisis: Eskom replaces collapsed pylons with massive monopoles

12th April 2023 Eskom has started work to restore power and repair damage after seven pylons collapsed in the City of Tshwane on Sunday night. Vandalism has been linked to at least three of the seven damaged pylons, which collapsed along the N4 freeway. It led to a massive power outage, with over 40 suburbs... →

Loadshedding bumped to Stage 6

12th April 2023 Stage 6 loadshedding will be rolled out from 16:00, Eskom said on Wednesday afternoon. It will continue until 05:00 on Thursday, when Stage 5 will kick in until 16:00 on Thursday. The pattern will be repeated daily until further notice. This follows after an update in the morning which stated... →

Loadshedding bumped to Stage 6 until further notice

12th April 2023 Stage 6 loadshedding will be rolled out from 16:00, Eskom said on Wednesday afternoon. This follows after an update in the morning which stated that loadshedding would be escalated to Stage 5 due to higher than anticipated demand. →

Loadshedding has led to job shedding for township businesses, report finds

11th April 2023 Almost two-thirds of township businesses have been forced to shed jobs because of loadshedding, according to a new report. But business owners say the situation is even direr – they face closing if the power outages continue. According to the Nedbank Insights Report, conducted in partnership with... →

Ramaphosa proposes committee for logistics crisis of 'catastrophic proportions'

6th April 2023 During a meeting with key exporters on Wednesday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa proposed the establishment of a national logistics crisis committee to urgently address the ailing performance of South Africa's ports and rail. Ramaphosa hosted the virtual meeting with executives from key... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Controversial Eskom exemption withdrawn 'for now'

5th April 2023 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told MPs on Wednesday that he has decided to withdraw the exemption of Eskom from the Public Finance Management Act "for now" to have further consultation with the auditor-general and Eskom's auditors. A special government gazette issued by Godongwana on Friday... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Only 6 000 new personal income taxpayers contributed tax last year

3rd April 2023 The South African Revenue Service collected 8.3% more personal income tax than in the past tax year, boosted by the 7.5% growth in employment numbers and the 5.3% increase in the country's wage bill. Personal income tax still makes up the biggest portion of all the tax revenues Sars collects at... →

Sars collects more than R2-trillion, but VAT refunds surge by almost 22%

3rd April 2023 The South African Revenue Service collected just over R2-trillion in gross tax revenues over the past year, a 9.7% increase from the 2021/22 tax year. The gross revenues were R123-billion, above what the finance minister estimated in the 2022 Budget speech. This was the first time that Sars... →

Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter

Eskom exempted from declaring irregular and fruitless spending in its accounts

3rd April 2023 Eskom has been exempted from disclosing irregular and fruitless expenditure in its annual financial statements in a special government gazette issued by Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana on Friday. The gazette, which was published on the last day of the financial year, provides Eskom with an... →

Diesel set for solid cut on Wednesday, petrol steady

31st March 2023 The diesel price may be cut by 78c a litre next week, while the petrol price should remain largely unchanged. Based on the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, the Automobile Association estimates that 95 unleaded petrol could fall by 1.5c a litre, while 93 will decrease by 4c. Illuminating... →

Delays as several South African airports see air traffic navigation procedures suspended over noncompliance

30th March 2023 The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has suspended certain air traffic navigation procedures at more than ten airports due to noncompliance. An affected procedure, for example, could be that the instrument landing system (ILS) - usually used when visibility is poor - is suspended.... →

Reserve Bank hikes interest rates by 50 basis points

30th March 2023 The South African Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee hiked interest rates by 50 basis points to 7.75%. Economists were expecting an increase of 25 basis points. Three members of the monetary policy committee voted in favour of the 50 basis point hike, while two wanted a 25 basis point... →

Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago

City of Joburg vows to raid all scrapyards trading its stolen infrastructure

30th March 2023 The City of Johannesburg and its entity, City Power, have threatened to raid all scrapyards dealing with their stolen copper cables and infrastructure. Member of Mayoral Committee for Environment and Infrastructure Jack Sekwaila vowed they would recover their stolen property but didn't reveal... →

City of Cape Town to raise feed-in tariff for selling power back to the grid

29th March 2023 The City of Cape Town will raise the feed-in tariff for households and businesses selling power back to its grid by 10.15%, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has said. The mayor on Wednesday delivered Cape Town's budget speech before the council. The R69.9-billion budget targets spending in specific areas... →

City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis

Stage 4 loadshedding returns on Thursday

29th March 2023 For the first time in more than two weeks, South Africa will be hit by Stage 4 loadshedding, which is currently planned for Thursday evening. Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Thursday. Then, Stage 3 will follow until 16:00, which will then be escalated to Stage 4 until... →

Loadshedding won't be ended 'through an act of God', says electricity minister

27th March 2023 Newly appointed Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa visited the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State last week. He said Lethabo had been the first power station he visited last week that was performing well. During his visit, Ramokgopa said he was optimistic that loadshedding would end,... →

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

Corruption not at the heart of Eskom's operational troubles, says new electricity minister

23rd March 2023 Engagements with management at five of Eskom's coal-fired power plants so far suggest it is technical and investment issues, and not corruption, adversely affecting the performance of the utility's fleet, the newly appointed minister of electricity has said. Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is... →

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

Telkom appoints former IDC CEO Geoffrey Qhena as its new chair

22nd March 2023 Telkom, South Africa's third-largest mobile operator, has appointed former Industrial Development Corporation CEO Mvuleni Geoffrey Qhena as its new board chair with effect from 1 April. Telkom had announced in November that current board chair Sello Moloko would step down by no later than the end... →

Inflation rises for first time in months as food price hikes hit 13.6%

22nd March 2023 Big hikes in food prices contributed to a 7% increase in annual consumer inflation in February from 6.9% in January – the first increase in four months. The consumer price index rose by 0.7% between January and February, the biggest monthly increase since July 2022, Statistics SA reported on... →

These parts of Tshwane could be without water due to upgrades

20th March 2023 Residents in parts of Pretoria could be left without water while Rand Water carries out upgrades to bulk water meters that supply water to three reservoirs on Thursday and next week. On Thursday, Rand Water is planning a 12-hour water shutdown from 08:00 to 20:00 to enable it to replace and... →

EFF shutdown: 87 arrested in 12 hours for public violence, 24 300 tyres confiscated

20th March 2023 In a 12-hour period that stretched over Sunday night and Monday morning, police arrested at least 87 people for public violence in connection with the EFF's planned shutdown in various part of South Africa. According to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, 41 of those were... →

'We learnt our lesson in 2021' unrest: Natjoints says it's ready for EFF shutdown

20th March 2023 The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) said police have learnt from the unrest in July 2021 and was ready to respond to any incidents of lawlessness that may occur during the EFF's mass protests on Monday. The EFF, led by Julius Malema, is planning a "national... →

De Ruyter goes to ground as Eskom asks for more time to respond to ANC demands

14th March 2023 Eskom must launch an investigation into allegations the African National Congress is involved in corruption at the power utility before it can respond to a demand for an apology and retraction of comments by former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter. In a bombshell interview with e.tv's Annika Larsen, De... →

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter

Loadshedding downgraded from Wednesday

14th March 2023 Due to some recovery in generation capacity over the past 48 hours, loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Wednesday until 16:00. Thereafter, Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Thursday. This pattern will continue, until further notice. Over the past 48 hours,... →

City Power gets R9m security boost to help fight cable theft in Joburg

14th March 2023 After receiving a R9-million boost to tackle cable theft, City Power will embark on a project that's aimed at replacing underground cables with overhead lines. City of Johannesburg mayoral committee member for environment and infrastructure services, Jack Sekwaila, who secured the funding, said... →

UCT appoints Daya Reddy as interim vice-chancellor for six months

13th March 2023 The University of Cape Town has announced the appointment of Emeritus Professor Daya Reddy as its interim vice-chancellor. The decision was made at a special council meeting last week following consultation with the senate and after seeking the advice of the Institutional Forum. UCT council... →

Ammonia leak contained at Sasolburg

10th March 2023 An ammonia leak at Sasol's operations in the early hours of Friday morning has been contained, the synthetic fuel and chemicals giant has said. According to a Sasol spokesperson, a "strong ammonia smell" was detected at Sasol’s Bunsen Site in Sasolburg at approximately 02:45 on Friday morning. →

Parliament guns for Mosebenzi Zwane over his corrupt Gupta dealings after five-year probe

10th March 2023 Six years ago, former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane was a high-flyer in erstwhile president Jacob Zuma's inner circle and a chief lieutenant of the infamous Gupta family. These days, Zwane finds himself out in the cold and in the political wilderness, with Parliament breathing down... →

Electricity minister says it's 'highly irresponsible' to predict when loadshedding will end

10th March 2023 Newly appointed Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa believes government will be ambitious in its plans to stop loadshedding, but he is not yet ready to say when that is expected to happen. "Loadshedding, and I want to emphasise [this] on national TV we are going to resolve it… [but] it is... →

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

PRASA to investigate chair after he moved into agency's luxury home

9th March 2023 The board of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA has instituted an internal inquiry into its chair Leonard Ramatlakane following a report that he moved his family into a luxury house belonging to the State-owned company. The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Ramatlakane moved into the house... →

S&P downgrades SA's outlook

9th March 2023 S&P Global unexpectedly downgraded South Africa's credit rating outlook to stable from positive on Wednesday evening. In an unscheduled announcement, the US credit rating agency cautioned that South Africa's economic growth is facing increasing pressure from severe electricity shortages. "Reforms... →

Stage 5 loadshedding suspended, Stage 4 to continue

8th March 2023 Eskom has announced that there will not be any Stage 5 loadshedding for the week, as previously communicated; however, Stage 4 will continue until further notice. This is due to the return of generating units at Kriel, Majuba and Matimba power stations. →

Loadshedding ramped up to Stage 5 after multiple breakdowns

6th March 2023 Following the failure of five generating units on Monday, Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00 on Tuesday, Eskom said. Stage 4 loadshedding will resume from Tuesday morning. →

Stage 4 and 5 loadshedding to continue until Friday, Stage 3 on Saturday

2nd March 2023 Eskom has announced that Stage 4 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until 16:00 on Thursday. Thereafter, Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 on Thursday until 05:00 on Saturday. Stage 4 loadsshedding will then be implemented from 05:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday,... →

Alexkor audit delayed as high staff turnover leaves finance dept unstable, AG tells Parliament

1st March 2023 High staff turnover at state-owned mining company Alexkor – notably in the finance division – has created instability in key operations, including financial reporting, the Auditor-General of SA (AGSA) told Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday. Alexkor's core... →

Why Western Cape municipalities' Eskom debt is likely to increase

1st March 2023 The Western Cape's treasury department warned that municipalities, which have outstanding Eskom debt, could see it balloon in the new financial year. The department briefed the standing committee on local government on Tuesday about late payments to Eskom. →

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