Government

5 important things happening in South Africa today

Staff Writer

 ·27 Sep 2022

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

• Eskom skills crisis: While South Africa suffers through the worst load shedding on record and Eskom continues to face a deep electricity crisis, none of the board members at the power utility has any electrical engineering background. Some of the directors have operational electricity experience, but experts say that it is necessary for some kind of engineering experience to be present to make a difference. [Daily Maverick]

• Load shedding killer: The South African Medical Association says that constant load shedding puts hospitals under pressure and patients’ lives at risk. The association noted that intensive care units and babies in incubators are most at risk. Health minister Joe Phaahla announced on Monday that he was in discussions with other departments and Eskom to possible exempt hospitals and select health services from load shedding. [ENCA]

• Cadre deployment: State-owned companies that were victims of state capture and cadre deployment are currently sitting with a large number of vacancies on their boards – some of which have not been filled for years. The Eskom board, for example, should have 15 board members but has been only eight since 2018. There have been calls from several sectors for the Eskom board to be completely replaced due to their failure to deal with load shedding. [News24]

• Zuma politics: Former president Jacob Zuma has his eyes on re-entering mainstream politics, availing himself to be ANC chairperson. He has also backed his ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to be the next president of the party. In a statement put out on Monday night, the former president said he has been approached by several people in the party to stand for the position and to help guide the party. [TimesLive]

• Markets: The rand blew past R18 on Monday along with all other major currencies weakening against the dollar. The British Pound has been especially punished for not following the 0.75% rate hike trend and is even worse off than the local currency, hitting a record low against the dollar. On Tuesday, the rand was trading at R17.98/$, R17.35/€ and R19.44/£. Brent crude is trading at $85 a barrel. [Daily Investor]