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More German experts coming to help reactivate South African industry

By: Rebecca Campbell Updated 3 hours ago The German embassy in South Africa expects further technical experts from that country to arrive in South Africa, subject to the approval of the South African government. The first contingent of these experts, sent to help reactivate and upgrade German-owned factories and service companies in... →

Eskom to resume rolling power cuts due to generation unit breakdowns

By: African News Agency 13th August 2020 South Africa's electricity utility Eskom said on Thursday it would implement rotational powercuts from 8am to 10pm due to an increase in breakdowns of its generation units, warning that the blackouts could continue into the weekend. "The delay of the return to service of two units at Duvha and... →

Despite Covid-induced demand slump, load-shedding surpasses 2019 levels and risk of more cuts rises

By: Terence Creamer 12th August 2020 The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) reported on Wednesday that load-shedding during 2020 had already surpassed that of 2019, which had hitherto been the country’s worst-ever year for load-shedding. In addition, it again warned that, absent urgent action, the risk of... →

SAA business rescue process has four elements, reports Public Enterprises

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th August 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on Wednesday assured that it was “working around the clock” to implement the business rescue process for the State-owned national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA). The implementation conditions for the airline’s business rescue plan were met... →

Transnet CEO expects subdued commodity prices to weigh on recovery from Covid

By: Terence Creamer 12th August 2020 Transnet CEO Portia Derby warned on Wednesday that the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and the rest of Africa was likely to be negatively affected by still-subdued commodity prices and the serious deterioration in public finances across the continent, which had resulted in... →

Transnet CEO Portia Derby

Deputy President Mabuza blames struggling municipalities for Eskom woes

By: News24Wire 7th August 2020 Deputy President David Mabuza has blamed the failure of municipalities to pay their debt to Eskom for ongoing service delivery issues. In replies to written questions from the National Council of Provinces submitted on 5 August, Mabuza said municipalities experiencing severe electricity... →

Deputy President David Mabuza

Eskom, Sasol gear up for energy storage and renewables roll-outs

6th August 2020 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Editor Terence Creamer about Eskom's battery energy storage plans and Sasol's renewables roll-out. →

Eskom, Sasol gear up for energy storage and renewables roll-outs

SACP calls for arrests and recovery of Eskom funds

By: Sane Dhlamini 4th August 2020 The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Tuesday said while it welcomed the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU’s) move to recover funds from former Eskom executives, former board members, members of the Gupta family and their associates, it called for the arrests of all those implicated in... →

DPE welcomes Eskom’s move to recoup lost funds

By: Simone Liedtke 4th August 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has welcomed State-owned power utility Eskom’s steps to recoup funds lost to State capture corruption. Eskom and the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) announced on August 3 that a set of summonses have been issued in the North Gauteng High Court to... →

Eskom initiates procurement process for first large-scale battery energy storage system

By: Terence Creamer 4th August 2020 Electricity utility Eskom has called for bids for the design and construction of a battery energy storage system (BESS) to be installed at the Skaapvlei substation at Vredendal, in the Western Cape, where the group’s 100 MW Sere wind farm is located. The system should have a minimum power... →

The substation at the Sere wind farm in Vredendal

Sithole to assume PIC office on August 1

By: Simone Liedtke 31st July 2020 Newly-appointed Public Investment Corporation (PIC) CEO Abel Sithole will assume his duties from August 1. Sithole’s appointment was announced on May 27, following Cabinet approval. →

Eskom to cancel R14bn contract after probe findings

By: Bloomberg 31st July 2020 Eskom Holdings plans to cancel a contract to buy as much as R14-billion of fuel oil from Econ Oil & Energy, after a probe it commissioned found Econ’s fees had been inflated, a person familiar with the situation said. Nothemba Mlonzi, a director at Econ Oil, declined to comment because she said... →

Eskom targets Gauteng, KZN for illegal connections and load reduction drive

By: African News Agency 29th July 2020 Power utility Eskom said on Wednesday that it would be embarking on a roadshow to educate the public on issues impacting on the national power grid, such as illegal connections, infrastructure theft, meter tampering and illegal vending. Education on load reduction would also form part of the... →

SAA rescue plan ready bar the funding, say administrators

By: Reuters 28th July 2020 A rescue plan for South African Airways (SAA) is ready and can be implemented once funding for the restructuring is found, the state-owned airline's administrators said on Tuesday. The administrators took over SAA in December after almost a decade of financial losses and published their... →

Power tariff set to rise to 128c/kWh in 2021 after Eskom wins Nersa battle over R69bn equity injection

By: Terence Creamer 28th July 2020 In a scathing judgment made on July 28, the court has declared as illegal the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) decision to deduct a R69-billion equity injection into Eskom from its allowable revenue for the period 2019/20 to 2021/22, but has also instructed that the full... →

SA Express employees still pleading for govt help with airline in provisional liquidation

By: News24Wire 28th July 2020 A group of employees at state-owned regional airline SA Express are still desperately hoping that government will be able to assist them in getting their unpaid salaries - last paid in February - as well as retrenchment packages. Unlike South African Airways, which is still in business rescue, SA... →

SAA administrators seek creditor fund accord

By: Bloomberg 27th July 2020 The administrators of South African Airways, the state-owned airline that’s in bankruptcy protection, want the government to ring-fence R16.4-billion that it has guaranteed can be used to pay creditors if the airline fails, a person familiar with the situation said. The administrators want an... →

SAA business rescue plan amended at urgent meeting

By: Rebecca Campbell 24th July 2020 In a statement released on Friday, the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for South African Airways (SAA) announced that 95% of the airline’s creditors with a voting interest, and 95% of its independent creditors (defined by the Companies Act) with a voting interest, had voted to accept... →

Eskom’s gross debt level increases to R480bn

By: Bloomberg 24th July 2020 Eskom Holdings' gross debt surged to R480-billion, after the struggling State-owned power utility borrowed from its lines of credit, documents seen by Bloomberg show. The increase, from a previously disclosed level of R454-billion, comes as the company struggles to meet running costs, including a... →

Concern raised over R1.5bn cut to electrification budget

By: Terence Creamer 23rd July 2020 Concern continues to be raised over the fact that the biggest cut made to the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy’s 2020/21 budget is for the electrification of poor households, especially in those province with the largest connection backlogs. The cuts, which were signalled in early... →

Eskom suspends operations in other parts of Cape Town following attacks

By: News24Wire 23rd July 2020 Eskom announced it has now suspended operations in other parts of Cape Town following continued attacks on its employees. Affected areas, where the utility has pulled out of operations, include Bloekombos, Wallacedene, Kraaifontein CBD and Wesbank in Delft, it said in a statement on Wednesday. →

Mboweni says he has no plan to use emergency powers to fund SAA

By: African News Agency 21st July 2020 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has said in court papers that he has taken no decision to use emergency powers to avail money from the National Reserves Fund to South African Airways to bankroll its business rescue plan. Mboweni, in an affidavit submitted in response to an urgent court application... →

DBSA confirms financing of $120m for giant Mozambique LNG project

By: Terence Creamer 21st July 2020 South Africa’s State-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has confirmed financing of $120-million for the $20-billion-plus liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being developed by a Total-led consortium in northern Mozambique. On July 17, Total announced the signing of a $14.9-billion... →

Denel Group CEO suddenly resigns

By: Rebecca Campbell 20th July 2020 State-owned defence industrial group Denel announced on Monday that its Group CEO, Danie du Toit, had resigned. Although the group is the country’s largest defence company, it is severe financial difficulties. Denel stated that Du Toit would leave the organisation on August 15. It gave no reason... →

Mboweni wants DA to provide 'evidence' for SAA bailout allegations

By: News24Wire 20th July 2020 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has hit back at claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that National Treasury plans to extend a bailout to help fund the business rescue process of flag carrier South African Airways (SAA). This after the main opposition party announced on Friday that it had filed an... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

DA files urgent court application to interdict govt bailout for SAA

By: News24Wire 17th July 2020 The Democratic Alliance said on Friday it had filed an urgent interdict application at the Pretoria division of the high court to stop the bailout of South African Airways. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan have committed the government to making... →

Move Eskom debt to State balance sheet, says ex-Goldman head

By: Bloomberg 16th July 2020 South Africa can fix the balance sheet of its loss-making power utility by transferring its guaranteed debt to the government’s balance sheet, according to the former chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in sub-Saharan Africa. Seen as the biggest risk to the nation’s economy, Eskom... →

Load-shedding returns

16th July 2020 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Editor Terence Creamer about the return of load-shedding, what Eskom is doing to address the situation and how South Africa can move beyond the cycle of power disruptions. →

Load-shedding returns

Gordhan, Mboweni commit in letter to obtain funding for SAA

By: News24Wire 16th July 2020 In a letter sent to the business rescue practitioners of South African Airways (SAA) late on Wednesday evening, Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni have committed to obtain funding for the State-owned airline's short, medium and long-term requirements.... →

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

Technical experts from Germany flown in to assist Eskom, help German businesses in SA

By: News24Wire 16th July 2020 A team of German technical experts is expected to touch down in South Africa on Thursday to provide essential services to local German businesses and local entities, such as embattled Eskom. This agreement is the result of close cooperation between International Relations and Cooperation... →

Unions divided on approval of SAA business rescue plan

By: Rebecca Campbell 15th July 2020 There has been mixed reaction from unions representing employees of South African Airways to the approval of the business rescue plan for the financially-embattled State-owned national flag carrier. The plan was approved by 86% of the airline’s creditors in a vote on Tuesday. The approval of the... →

Public Enterprises welcomes yes vote for SAA rescue plan, announces interim CEO

By: Rebecca Campbell 14th July 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) welcomed the outcome of the creditors’ vote on the proposed business rescue plan for State-owned South African Airways (SAA). The financially beleaguered national flag carrier is under business rescue. In the vote on Tuesday, 86% of the creditors voted... →

New Transnet Port Terminals chief on his ‘baptism of fire’

By: Terence Creamer 14th July 2020 Newly appointed Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) CEO Velile Dube, who officially assumed the role on July 1, acknowledges that his first few weeks were nothing short of a “baptism of fire”. The experience proved challenging not because Dube was new to TPT, or the broader Transnet group for that... →

Transnet Port Terminals CEO Velile Dube

Pilots trying to squeeze SAA dry, says government ahead of crucial creditors vote

By: News24Wire 14th July 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has accused the South African Airways Pilots Association (SAAPA) of trying "to squeeze the last resources out" of South African Airways ahead of a crucial vote by creditors of the airline on a proposed business rescue plan, scheduled for Tuesday. A vote... →

Public Enterprises urges yes vote for SAA business rescue plan

By: Rebecca Campbell 13th July 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises has called on the stakeholders in financially-embattled State-owned airline South African Airways to vote in favour of the proposed business rescue plan for the carrier. The main stakeholders are the creditors of, and the unions representing workers at, SAA.... →

Ian McRae, who oversaw Eskom’s ‘electricity for all’ policy, dies

12th July 2020 The much respected former CEO of Eskom, Ian McRae, died in the early hours of Sunday morning July 12, 2020. He was 90 years old. Born in Germiston on September 24, 1929, Ian Campbell McRae started his career as an apprentice fitter and turner at Eskom. After qualifying he went on to obtain a... →

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter pays tribute to Dr Ian McRae, who died on July 12.

Public Enterprises warns SAA pilots that their business rescue proposals are unaffordable

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th July 2020 The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has expressed its appreciation for the cooperation and commitment of the pilots of South African Airways (SAA), expressed through the SAA Pilot’s Association (SAAPA), during the business rescue process for the beleaguered State-owned national flag... →

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