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Department, NAC to undertake investigation into PESP mismanagement

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 29th March 2021 The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, working with the National Arts Council (NAC), is undertaking a forensic investigation to discern where additional funds can be sourced to cover the shortfall created by the mismanagement of funds of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP)... →

To keep Koeberg going, Eskom must convince regulators it has enough money

By: News24Wire 26th March 2021 If it wants the legal right to keep the Koeberg nuclear power station running, Eskom will have to convince nuclear regulators – and, perhaps, the courts – that it has the money to do so. Under rules published by minerals and energy minister Gwede Mantashe Friday, anyone who wants to keep an old... →

SAA business rescue practitioners confirm incident involving SAA aircraft on Brussels flight

By: Rebecca Campbell 25th March 2021 The business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for South African Airways (SAA) have issued a statement confirming that there had been an ‘Alpha Floor’ incident involving one of the airline’s aircraft on February 24. The aircraft, unidentified in the statement but reported to be an Airbus A340, was... →

Agriculture seen as key just transition enabler in Mpumalanga, but arable land needs urgent safeguarding

By: Terence Creamer 25th March 2021 Transitioning Mpumalanga’s coal-heavy economy to higher levels of agricultural output could help create new businesses and jobs and improve the long-term economic resilience of the province as mines close and Eskom begins decommissioning power stations in line with the Integrated Resource Plan of... →

Mind the gap: Where the 'extra' R3.5bn for SAA's rescue will come from and how it will be spent

By: News24Wire 24th March 2021 In February, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said South African Airways's business rescue practitioners had asked government for an additional R3.5-billion, which caused a bit of a stir. SAA's rescue practitioners, on the other hand, maintained that the money had already been allocated as part of... →

Denel appoints Thandeka Sabela as acting CFO

By: Reuters 24th March 2021 South African state-owned defence company Denel has appointed Thandeka Sabela as acting CFO, the firm said on Tuesday. The firm's former CFO, Carmen le Grange, resigned earlier in March, extending a series of exits including the board chair and chief executive, deepening a crisis at the... →

South Africa seeks lesser of two evils with Eskom debt options

By: Bloomberg 24th March 2021 South Africa’s National Treasury is considering whether it would be better to move a chunk of Eskom Holdings' R464-billion of debt into a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) or have the State take over responsibility for it directly, people familiar with the situation said. While banks have led... →

SAA Technical management hoping to pay 50% of March salaries, leaked letter shows

By: News24Wire 19th March 2021 Management at SAA Technical is continuing with efforts to try to pay employees at least 50% of their salaries due for March, but at this stage, is still waiting for details of "anticipated funding" from its shareholder, the Department of Public Enterprises. This is according to a letter to SAAT... →

Eskom: Load shedding halted from noon on Friday

19th March 2021 Load shedding will be cancelled, for now, from noon on Friday as generation units return to service, Eskom has said in a statement. Earlier in the week, generation capacity had been lost at Medupi, Arnot, Duvha and Kendal power stations. The shortfall was partly attributed to boiler tube leaks,... →

SAA rescue practitioners keen to exit the process at the end of March, creditors told

By: News24Wire 19th March 2021 The business rescue practitioners of South African Airways plan to exit the process at the end of March. SAA has been in business rescue since 5 December 2019. The primary achievement of the business rescue process, according to the practitioners, was to transition SAA from being an insolvent... →

DPE concerned about delays in revival of SAA, says deputy minister

By: News24Wire 18th March 2021 The Department of Public Enterprises is concerned about the delays in the "revival" of South African Airways, as the airline has been under business rescue for over a year with no resolution, Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Phumulo Masualle told the National Council of Provinces. He... →

We will get State-owned entities back into shape eventually, insists DPE

By: News24Wire 17th March 2021 Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Phumulo Masualle told Parliament on Tuesday afternoon that despite ongoing troubles at state-owned entities (SOEs) and delays in already announced plans to get them back in shape, the department still had a plan to improve the fortunes of beleaguered... →

Load shedding to continue until Saturday - Eskom

By: News24Wire 17th March 2021 Load shedding will be reduced to stage 1 early on Wednesday morning; however, it will continue until Saturday morning as the power system is still "severely constrained", Eskom said in a statement on Tuesday. The drop to stage 1 will occur at 05:00 on Wednesday. "Since Monday, Eskom teams... →

SAA, rescue practitioners blasted by parliamentary accounts committee

By: News24Wire 16th March 2021 The management of South African Airways (SAA) and the State-owned airline's business rescue practitioners were blasted by some members of Parliament for not being ready to report to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday about progress made to date. In a letter dated 15... →

Eskom mulls alternatives to R300bn emissions-compliance spend

By: Terence Creamer 16th March 2021 Coal-heavy electricity utility Eskom has reiterated its commitment to complying with South Africa’s tightening minimum emission standards, but CEO Andre de Ruyter has also indicated that it is considering capital-light alternatives, as well as noncoal repowering solutions to meet its obligations,... →

The road to compliance for the Kendal power station, pictured, has included a criminal prosecution

Watch Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter explaining the possible alternative solutions for meeting South Africa's minimum emission standards. Camera Work: Kutlwano Matala Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Maintenance progress alone insufficient to eliminate load-shedding risk amid 4 GW deficit

By: Terence Creamer 15th March 2021 Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter insisted on Monday that, despite a recent return to load-shedding, progress was being made on the utility’s so-called reliability maintenance programme to improve the performance of the coal fleet to the point where the risk of rotational power cuts would be materially... →

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter on the 4GW supply gap and what solutions could be used to help close it. Camera Work: Kutlwano Matala Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Mbalula joins PRASA launch of People’s Responsibility to Protect initiative

By: Yvonne Silaule 15th March 2021 Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on March 15 joined Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane in Pretoria for the launch of the People’s Responsibility to Protect project. The project is aimed at creating partnerships between PRASA and local communities living near... →

Opinion: Addressing the misconceptions around Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff changes

12th March 2021 In this opinion piece, South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) COO Niveshen Govender points out that proposed changes to the electricity tariffs charged by Eskom shows that the utility is moving to a more proactive position that responds to the needs of consumers but also... →

New report highlights decade of falling electricity production in South Africa

By: Terence Creamer 11th March 2021 A new Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) report offers a sobering picture of declining electricity system production and demand between 2010 and 2020 – a trend that was amplified further during Covid-hit 2020, when demand slumped by a sharp 5.1%, or 11.8 TWh, to a decade low... →

Luxury train makes Covid-19 testing mandatory, free for travelers

By: Simone Liedtke 11th March 2021 Rapid antigen testing for Covid-19 has been made mandatory and free for all guests and crew, prior to travelling on the luxury Blue Train, which is operated by State-owned Transnet. The rapid test complements a comprehensive set of precautionary measures administered for the safety and peace of... →

PetroSA opaque on job cuts, union says

By: Bloomberg 11th March 2021 A South African labour union asked mediators to force the State oil company PetroSA to provide more information on proposals that may result in 40% of its employees losing their jobs. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) made submissions to the Commission for Conciliation,... →

Denel braces for more losses, denies 'trading recklessly'

By: Reuters 10th March 2021 South Africa's State weapons manufacturer Denel expects to make further losses in its current financial year, it said in a presentation on Wednesday as its acting chair denied the company was trading "recklessly" at a hearing by lawmakers. Denel makes military equipment for South Africa's armed... →

Eskom to implement Stage 2 load-shedding until Friday night

By: Creamer Media Reporter 10th March 2021 Power utility Eskom says it will implement Stage 2 load-shedding from 17:00 on Wednesday until 23:00 on Friday as the generation capacity is severely constrained. "There is a probability that load-shedding may be implemented at short notice should any further breakdowns occur before then," it... →

S&P sees Eskom debt solution as key to unlocking restructuring

By: Terence Creamer 9th March 2021 Ratings agency S&P Global Ratings sees finding a solution to Eskom’s unsustainable debt position as potentially key to meeting the timelines proposed for the broader restructuring of the State-owned utility into three units of generation, transmission and distribution – an unbundling that is also... →

Denel allowed another extension to try and comply with Court order

By: Rebecca Campbell 9th March 2021 Financially-beleaguered State-owned defence industrial group Denel has been granted yet another time extension to try and achieve compliance with the Labour Court order of August 4 last year, the Uasa trade union has reported. The Labour Court had then ruled, in a case brought by the union, that... →

Transnet approaching the courts over controversial contracts to procure 1064 locomotives

By: News24Wire 9th March 2021 Transnet officials have worked until midnight to finalise a review application on the controversial contracts related to the procurement of 1064 locomotives, members of Parliament heard. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday was briefed by Transnet officials, including... →

Brian Molefe: I have no regrets that I knew the Guptas

By: News24Wire 9th March 2021 Former Transnet chief executive Brian Molefe insisted before the commission of inquiry into state capture on Monday that he was not betrayed by the Guptas, and challenged those who felt that his relationship with the controversial family was wrong to present evidence of wrongdoing. Molefe was on... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Former Transnet CEO Brian Molefe

Eskom board to initiate probe into racism allegations against De Ruyter

By: Creamer Media Reporter 9th March 2021 The Eskom board has resolved to initiate an investigation into an allegation of racism made against CEO André de Ruyter, indicating in a statement that an independent senior counsel would be appointed to conduct the probe. The counsel, the board said, would be empowered to interview any person... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter

Saldanha Terminal invests R1.2m in additional dust suppressing canons

By: Simone Liedtke 8th March 2021 The Saldanha Bulk Terminal, in South Africa, has invested R1.2-million in two additional dust-suppressing cannons that will be used on ship loaders as cargo flows from the chutes to the vessel hatch. The investment is said to be a continued commitment to ensuring a clean operation on the West... →

Dust Suppresor 1

NSFAS still faces funding shortfall, cannot yet accommodate first-time university students

By: Simone Liedtke 8th March 2021 The National Student Financial Aid Scheme is facing a shortfall on its funding for this year and it has, therefore, been unable to confirm funding eligibility for first-time university students. This does not apply to returning NSFAS beneficiary students who meet the academic and other relevant... →

De Ruyter: Suspension of procurement chief will not hobble department

By: News24Wire 5th March 2021 Eskom CEO André de Ruyter told Parliament on Friday morning that the suspension of the power utility's chief procurement officer, Solly Tshitangano, will not compromise Eskom's ability to stay on top of its procurement deviations and expansions. Tshitangano was suspended for poor performance. On... →

Photo by Donna Slater
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter

Labour Court dismisses SAA pilots' application for leave to appeal lockout

By: News24Wire 4th March 2021 The Labour Court has on Thursday dismissed an application by the SAA Pilots Association for leave to appeal a prior judgment in December 2020 which held that the lock-out of the pilots was lawful and protected in terms of the Labour Relations Act. SAAPA members have been locked out since 18... →

'Unwarranted attacks' against Eskom could distract management from getting it back on track

By: News24Wire 4th March 2021 The Eskom board has claimed that a number of allegations made in the public and media, including against its CEO Andre de Ruyter, are aiming to influence internal operations and good governance processes at the state power utility. These allegations and what the board regards as accompanying... →

Suspended Eskom procurement chief raises allegations against De Ruyter in letter to MPs

By: News24Wire 3rd March 2021 The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has received a letter from Eskom's suspended chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano which levels allegations against CEO André de Ruyter. As a result the committee decided not to proceed with a scheduled meeting on Wednesday, in which it was to be... →

Photo by Donna Slater
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter

Denel board exits linked to lack of budget funds, official says

By: Reuters 3rd March 2021 A series of recent resignations from the board of directors of South Africa's state-owned defence company Denel is linked to funding not being made available in the government's 2021 budget, a senior official told Reuters on Wednesday. "There were expectations from the board that there will be... →

Mantashe sees new industries emerging from South Africa’s renewables-led drive to boost electricity supply

By: Terence Creamer 3rd March 2021 South Africa’s move to increase electricity generation capacity provided a “unique opportunity” for the development of new industries, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said this week. Addressing delegates virtually during Canada’s annual Prospectors and Developers Association... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Glencore 'used relationship' with Ramaphosa to 'extort' Eskom, former CEO Brian Molefe claims

By: News24Wire 2nd March 2021 Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has told the State Capture Inquiry that Glencore used its relationship with President Cyril Ramaphosa, who used to be the chairperson of its Optimum coal mine, to try to extort money from the power utility as it renegotiated the terms of its contract. Optimum, which... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe

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