News24Wire

https://staging1.creamermedia.com/

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.

Night loadshedding escalates to Stage 3

29th January 2024 Loadshedding will jump to Stage 3 at 16:00 Monday after a delay in the return to service of two generating units. "Over the past 24 hours, five generation units were taken offline for repairs. Additionally, the return to service of two generating units that were on planned maintenance was delayed... →

Government's new plan to shift cargo from roads back to rail

26th January 2024 Government is seeking to finalise a plan aimed at improving its rail network and move cargo away from its overburdened roads. While the economy loses a billion rand per day to its logistics crises, government has said an urgent turnaround is needed to improve its 31 000km locomotive network as... →

City of Tshwane approves report to lease two power stations to independent producers

26th January 2024 The City of Tshwane could be closer to an "energy-secure" metro, having approved a second report allowing it to proceed with the 40-year lease of its Rooiwal and Pretoria West power stations to independent power producers. The mayor, Cilliers Brink, said the approval of the report followed... →

Interest rates on hold as Reserve Bank waits for inflation to cool further

25th January 2024 South Africa’s Monetary Policy Committee kept interest rates on hold at 8.25% in its first meeting of the year, having left the benchmark rate unchanged at a 14-year high for the past nine months. This was in line with economists' expectations. The decision was unanimous, with the MPC currently... →

Photo by Bloomberg
SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago

National Treasury confirms 21 February as budget day

24th January 2024 South Africa’s national budget day has been confirmed for 21 February at 14:00, according a statement by the National Treasury on Wednesday. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will "announce government’s spending, tax and borrowing plans for the next three years" in Parliament, it said. This... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Inflation hits lowest level in months, averages 6% for 2023

24th January 2024 Annual consumer price inflation eased for a second consecutive month, to 5.1% in December from 5.5% in November. December's inflation rate was the lowest since August last year. The median expectation of a Bloomberg survey of economists was 5.2%. The average consumer inflation last year is now... →

Ramaphosa fires Thabi Leoka from his economic council

23rd January 2024 President Cyril Ramaphosa has axed disgraced economist Thabi Leoka from his Presidential Economic Advisory Council. "On Monday, 22 January 2024, the Presidency communicated to Ms Leoka the immediate termination of her membership in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council," said Ramaphosa's... →

Thabi Leoka

National Treasury pencils in 21 February as budget day

22nd January 2024 South Africa’s national budget day is currently scheduled for 21 February, according to National Treasury, which added that the date still needed final confirmations. This year’s event will be closely watched, with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana having said during the medium-term budget... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Koeberg manager suspended by De Ruyter is back and is 'crucially needed', says Eskom

22nd January 2024 Velaphi Ntuli has returned as the general manager of Koeberg nuclear power station after he was suspended in June 2021 over performance issues - allegations of which he has since been cleared. At the time of his suspension, Koeberg's Unit 1 had not returned to service in May 2021 as scheduled.... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Koeberg nuclear power station

Revived gas bill has scant chance of making it through Parliament

22nd January 2024 Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe re-published the Gas Amendment Bill on Friday for public comment despite the scant hope that it will be processed before Parliament dissolves at the end of March. The bill, which will regulate the gas industry's development and make... →

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe

Govt probe finds fake diesel at 70 garages - even after Mantashe's warning

22nd January 2024 An investigation by the Department of Mineral Resource and Energy has uncovered that 70 petrol stations across the country are selling dodgy diesel to customers, a clear sign profiteers are cutting corners as petroleum prices continue to skyrocket. The watered-down diesel is allegedly... →

Mineral Resource and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Treasury snafu complicates fines process for dodgy auditors

16th January 2024 The Finance Ministry has been forced to re-gazette the maximum fines that can be imposed on auditors and auditing firms for misconduct after the words "per charge" were omitted for two of the sanctions that were promulgated in June 2023. That seemingly minor oversight has complicated future... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Full weekend of power cuts as generation units fail

12th January 2024 Eskom has warned South Africans to prepare for a full weekend of power cuts. The utility said stage 3 load shedding would be implemented at 16:00 on Friday after six generation units went offline. →

'Back to the drawing board' for govt as Karpowership SA, others lose grid access - Ramokgopa

9th January 2024 Government has to "go back to the drawing board" now that Karpowership SA and two other emergency power projects lost their grid access, says Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The minister was speaking on Tuesday at a briefing on the progress of government's Energy Action Plan. →

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

RCL Foods withdraws application to interdict one of Tongaat Hulett's rescue plans

7th January 2024 RCL Foods, the owner of Selati Sugar, says it will withdraw its application for an urgent interdict against one of the business rescue plans of Tongaat Hulett after engaging with that company's business rescue practitioners. RCL Foods had filed an application on Friday against the plan of the... →

South Africa's new energy plan is 'shoddy' and will probably fail – analysts

6th January 2024 South Africa's new energy generation plan lacks detail and leaves many unanswered questions, according to some energy analysts. The long-awaited draft of the Integrated Energy Plan (IRP) of 2023 was gazetted for public comment this week. →

Lights should stay on over festive season, says electricity minister

21st December 2023 "We will have a festive season with the lights on," Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Thursday. The country has about 27 700 megawatts available and demand is averaging just more than 24 000 megawatts, Ramokgopa said during a briefing. That’s why we’re not seeing load shedding... →

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

All 2 200 Bafokeng mineworkers back safely to the surface, says Implats

20th December 2023 Impala Platinum said on Wednesday that as of 17:05 afternoon, all 2 205 mineworkers at its Bafokeng Rasimone mine had returned to the surface. The protest action began on Monday morning without the sanction of the representative union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The company said on... →

Gordhan withholds key documents on SAA sale from Parliament

13th December 2023 Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has refused to provide two crucial documents on the sale of SAA to Parliament, with the matter now referred to the Speaker to decide further action. Gordhan, who handled the sale of 51% of SAA to the Takatso Consortium singlehandedly, without... →

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

Six trucks set alight on N11 amid KZN protests, traffic affected by 'spillages'

11th December 2023 Trucks have been set alight by protesters along the N11, near Amajuba Pass in KwaZulu-Natal. Six trucks were set alight when protests erupted along the N11 near Amajuba Pass in Charlestown, KwaZulu-Natal, on Monday. →

Eskom's new CEO confirmed

8th December 2023 Daniel Leseja Marokane has been appointed as chief executive officer of Eskom. On Friday afternoon, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan said Marokane would join Eskom no later than 31 March 2024. →

Photo by Creamer Media
Dan Marokane

Brace for a weekend of loadshedding

8th December 2023 Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 16:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday, Eskom said on Friday afternoon. Thereafter, loadshedding stages will vary over the weekend, the utility said. →

Gordhan: Law enforcement is not acting against corruption

8th December 2023 Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has blasted law enforcement agencies, saying that they must come to the fore to address state capture and corruption at State-owned entities. Addressing Parliament's Select Committee for Public Enterprises and Communication on Thursday, Gordhan said... →

Photo by Reuters
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

Joint operation leads to more than 100 arrests of suspected illegal miners in Ekurhuleni

3rd December 2023 A joint operation between the SA Police Service, SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Department of Home Affairs led to the arrest of more than 100 suspected illegal miners (colloquially known as zama-zamas) in Primrose, Ekurhuleni, on Friday. Gauteng police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel... →

SA makes some progress on exiting greylist

30th November 2023 South Africa has addressed most of the technical compliance deficiencies that led to it being greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February 2023, though much work still needs to be done to boost the effectiveness of legislation aimed at curbing money laundering and terror... →

Night loadshedding drops to Stage 5

30th November 2023 Eskom announced a marginal drop in loadshedding on Thursday due to improved generation recovery and emergency reserves. Stage 3 loadshedding kicked in at 10:00, and will continue until 16:00, when Stage 4 will resume. However, Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 20:00 until 05:00 on... →

'Absolutely no excuse': AG blasts major SOEs as just one gets clean audit

30th November 2023 Only one of South Africa's 19 major State-owned enterprises received a clean audit in the past year, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has said. Maluleke on Wednesday tabled the audit outcomes for national and provincial government for the year to end March 2023. →

Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke

100 000 containers now stuck outside three SA ports - as new penalties and price hikes loom

29th November 2023 In recent weeks, container ships have been bypassing the congested and delay-ridden Cape Town harbour to berth at the Port of Port Elizabeth in Gqeberha and the Ngqura (Coega) port, reports the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF). But the influx of vessels has created massive... →

Stage 4 loadshedding all week, says Eskom

27th November 2023 Due to the increasing demand combined with insufficient generating capacity and the need to manage the emergency reserves, Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 14:00 today until 05:00 on Saturday, Eskom said on Monday. Eskom will closely monitor the power system and communicate any... →

Reserve Bank slightly more positive about inflation, but Transnet crisis now serious threat

24th November 2023 Even after annual consumer inflation shocked the market on the upside on Wednesday, rising to 5.9% in October – higher than any economist surveyed had forecast – the Monetary Policy Committee kept the country's repurchase rate on hold for the third consecutive meeting at 8.25% on Thursday. This... →

Ramaphosa talks tough over Transnet incompetence as ports nightmare rages on

24th November 2023 President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed that Transnet would shed itself of incompetence and address the major backlogs at the country's ports. If not, it could see the economy continue to bleed. On Thursday, the president visited the port of Richards Bay after Transnet said it was considering blocking... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

New challenge to delay Karpowership's Richards Bay plant

23rd November 2023 Karpowership has been hit with a new challenge, as civil society groups have appealed the environmental approval it received for its proposed Richards Bay plant. The groups groundWork and the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), who are represented by the Centre for... →

SAB has completed promised R5.8bn plant upgrades

23rd November 2023 South African Breweries (SAB) has confirmed that its R5.8 billion investment commitment has been utilised to increase capacity at two of its plants, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) said on Thursday. The company says that the investment was for civil works and new... →

Reserve Bank's MPC keeps rates on hold

23rd November 2023 For its final decision of the year, the Monetary Policy Committee left South Africa’s key interest rate unchanged at 8.25% for a third consecutive meeting, in line with economists’ expectations. This comes after annual consumer price inflation leaped to 5.9% in October from 5.4% in September,... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago

Shock inflation increase makes for a tough interest rate decision this week

22nd November 2023 Annual consumer price inflation climbed to 5.9% in October from 5.4% in September, edging closer to the outside of the SA Reserve Bank’s targeted band of 3% to 6%, marking a third consecutive increase. The figure was higher than economists expected. "South African headline inflation jolts the... →

Koko's Kusile case: State's corruption buster vows to keep punching despite court blow

22nd November 2023 The National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate has suffered a blow in its fight against state capture, but it has vowed to keep punching. On Tuesday, the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court struck from the court roll a crucial corruption case involving a lucrative... →

Eskom's former CEO Matshela Koko

Hurdles cleared for sale of SAA - now for Takatso to show the money

22nd November 2023 The last hurdles are being cleared for the sale of 51% of South African Airways to Takatso - if it can come up with the money. A major blockage to the sale, brokered way back in June 2021, that the government covers all historic liabilities has been overcome, SAA interim chair Derek Hanekom told... →

Court strikes Koko Eskom graft case off the roll, finds there were unreasonable delays

21st November 2023 The Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday struck the case against former Eskom boss Matshela Koko and others from the roll. The court found that there had been unreasonable delays in the R2.2-billion corruption case against Koko and his co-accused. This, however, is not a... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Former Eskom boss Matshela Koko

Economic pain at its harshest with more of the same likely for 3 to 6 months

15th November 2023 South Africans have been spending and transacting less and less as high interest rates, food inflation, load shedding and elevated fuel prices eat away at their income, according to the latest BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index. While this index isn’t a broadly used indicator, it shows... →

Petrol, diesel prices on track for cuts in December

15th November 2023 Based on the current oil, international fuel and rand prices, the latest data from the Central Energy Fund shows that petrol prices could be cut by around R1.07 a litre in December, while diesel prices could be lowered by around R2.10 a litre. However, there is still more than two weeks to go... →

SA sees job growth, but it's cold comfort for millions of unemployed youth left behind

15th November 2023 Young people aged 15 to 34 years had an unemployment rate of 43.4% in the third quarter, compared with 45.3% in the second, according to Statistics SA. The decline mimicked the drop in the country's overall unemployment rate, but the figures still show that close to half of the young people who... →

About

Engineering News is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa
Polity

Newsletters

Sign up for our FREE daily email newsletter

Receive daily sector news alerts

More

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Engineering News is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Subscribe