Business

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Luke Fraser

 ·28 Jun 2023

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:

• Change for Eskom’s grid: Eskom is changing its grid access rules for independent power producers (IPPs). Allocations are currently made on a first-come, first-served basis, but Eskom now wants IPPs to prove that they can begin construction quickly and add generation capacity before being given grid allocations. Eskom’s general manager for operations enablement, Velaphi Ntuli, said that the change in the system comes amid some IPPs applying for grid capacity and then effectively holding the space indefinitely. [News24]

• Expensive military uniforms: The South African National Defence Force’s Major-General Sean Stratford says a project to get new uniforms for soldiers in South Africa will cost R3.5 billion. With over 55,00 soldiers in the SANDF, each uniform will cost close to R55,000. The DA spokesperson on defence, Kobus Marais, said that the price tag is extremely high, with the SANDF saying it will look at the pricing. For context, the US military spends roughly between R30,000 and R45,000 per uniform for its soldiers. [Daily Maverick]

• Rail boost: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says he is pleased with the transport department’s commitment to devolve the passenger rail service. The department’s Advocate, James Mlawua, said the devolution strategy will form a key part of the national land transport strategic framework, which should be gazetted later this year. However, Hill-Lewis said that he still has reservations about the proposal as the city was kept in the dark following the initial discussions with the department. [EWN]

• Durban tornado: A tornado has damaged infrastructure and properties in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal. Although widespread damage to roofs and power cables has been reported, the scale of the damage remains unclear. Emergency services treated two people for injuries related to the tornado, with another person dying due to flooding in the area. [EWN, eNCA]

• Markets: The South African rand strengthened on Tuesday as analysts speculated what the weekend’s aborted mutiny in Russia might mean for President Vladimir Putin planned attendance to the BRICS summit later this year. On Wednesday (28 June), the rand was trading at R18.56/$, R20.34/€, and R23.63/£. Brent crude is trading at $72.70 a barrel. [Nasdaq]