Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·19 Sep 2022

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

• Load Shedding: South Africa could face unprecedented load-shedding this week as Stage 6 is put in place and rolling blackouts return. In a media briefing on Sunday (18 September), Eskom’s CEO Andre de Ruyter said that the situation might worsen after generation units tripped at Kusile and Kriel power stations. The return of severe load shedding has cut president Cyril Ramaphosa’s overseas trips short – the president has been abroad to the US to have talks with Joe Biden and the UK to commemorate the queen. [News24]

• Eskom in a flurry: In a scramble to mitigate severe load shedding, the national power utility, Eskom, plans to buy 1,000MW of power from private companies this week. This power would be available immediately to add to the country’s grid, said Eskom’s CEO. The amount of megawatts is equivalent to two stages of load-shedding. [Business Day]

• Pay back the money: A resident at Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate in Centurion allegedly owes the City of Tshwane in excess of R550,000 in outstanding rates and taxes, electricity, and water. The total includes numerous penalties. The City of Tshwane said it has “ringfenced” some 7,335 residential estates in the city for revenue loss detection. [Moneyweb]

• ANC shutdown: Staff members of the ruling party say that they will ensure a total shutdown of the party’s offices across the country on Monday. Members said that their employer, the ANC, has failed to fulfil its promise to pay their salaries. Some workers have not been paid for the past three months, they claim. [EWN]

• Markets: The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is set to hike interest rates hike on Thursday (22 September) in an attempt to manage inflation and support the rand. Economists expect another hike of either 50 or 75 basis points to promote price stability. On Monday, the rand was trading at R17.68/$, R17.64/€ and R20.16/£. Brent crude is trading at $91.59 a barrel.