Day: August 2, 2021

The last of Eskom’s six-generation units of the Medupi Power Station project have attained commercial operation status and have been handed over to the generation division.
In a statement on Monday, the power utility said the milestone marks the completion of all building activities on the 4 764 MW project, which commenced in May 2007.
The unit attained commercial operation status and was handed over to the generation division on Saturday.
Eskom said the commercial operation status means technical compliance to statutory, safety, and legal requirements have all been met.
The utility has since applauded all the teams involved and its execution partners for working tirelessly to ensure the unit is handed over for commercial operation as planned by the end of July.
“Unit 1 commercial operation is a historic milestone as it signifies the completion of construction for Medupi power station. This is an investment that will serve generations of the people of South Africa and power the economy for at least the next half-century.” Eskom’s Group Capital Division, Bheki Nxumalo, said.
The unit was officially declared commercial after the completion of the unit optimisation, control demonstration, as well as the 72-hour and 30-day reliability run, which have put all performance guarantees into effect.
“Unit 1 was first synchronised to the national grid on 27 August 2019 and reached the full load of 794 MW on 5 December 2019. During this testing and optimisation phase, unit 1 contributed intermittent power to the country’s electricity supply.”
The entity said the first unit, unit 6, attained commercial operation status on 23 August 2015.
“Over the following six years four other units were built and brought to commercial status, providing electricity to the national grid.”
Medupi uses direct dry-cooling systems due to the water scarcity in the Lephalale area and is the fourth-largest coal-fired plant and the largest dry-cooled power station in the world.
The power plant incorporates “supercritical” technology, which can operate at higher temperatures than Eskom’s earlier generation of boilers and turbines.
“Importantly, the technology enables the power plant to operate with greater efficiency, resulting in better use of natural resources such as water and coal, and will have improved environmental performance.”
At its peak during construction, the Medupi project directly employed more than 18 000 people on building activities while another 2 000 supporting employees were hired on site.
The capital cost of the project is R122 billion so far, and Eskom expects to spend in total under R135 billion on completion of the balance of the plant.
Working with communities
Since the construction of the project, Eskom has been working with the nearby communities in the Limpopo province.
These include more than 4 600 artisans, technicians, engineers, and managers who were formally trained by Eskom’s contractors, exceeding the entity’s local skills development target of 3 071.
“More significantly, over 60% of the beneficiaries were residents and from Limpopo province.”
In addition, Eskom invested more than R2.9 billion on socio-economic development initiatives to address some of the immediate social needs of local communities.
Since its inception, over R145 million was spent on corporate social investment benefitting over 80 000 people with a special focus on rural development, education, and health infrastructure.
“What remains for the Medupi project is the last part of implementing the agreed technical solutions related to the boiler design defects on the balance of plant. Once these repairs are completed during the next 24 months, Medupi will reliably deliver power to the national grid at full capacity, helping increase energy security for the country,” said Nxumalo.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Barbara Creecy, has paid tribute to field rangers for the incredible work they do daily to keep National Parks and the country’s iconic species safe.
“In the battle to conserve our wildlife and halt poaching, it is our rangers who remain at the forefront, putting their lives on the line daily to conserve our environment and vulnerable species, despite the additional risk of contracting COVID-19,” Creecy said.
In commemoration of World Ranger Day on Saturday, Creecy also paid tribute to 11 staff members at South African National Parks (SANParks), who lost their lives to COVID-19 over the past year.
“We find ourselves in a position where the efforts being made to combat wildlife crime, such as rhino poaching, are influenced to some extent by the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the battle to beat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We also want to remember Field Ranger Checkers Mashego, whose lifeless body was discovered at the Kruger Park late last year. May the souls of all our SANParks staff and field rangers rest in peace after serving our nation with diligence and passion,” Creecy said.
She noted that while the national lockdowns that curbed the movement of people to halt the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 contributed to a decrease in rhino poaching, the lifting of the stringent lockdown regulations appears to have seen an increase in rhino poaching in the first six months of 2021.
Over 200 rhino poached
“From January to the end of June 2021, a total of 249 rhino have been poached for their horns in South Africa. While this is higher than the number of rhino killed for their horns in the same period last year at 166, it is less than the 318 rhino that were poached in the first six months of 2019.
“During the six months, January to June 2021, the Kruger National Park experienced 715 poacher activities, an increase of 3.77% in comparison to the number in 2020, which was 689 for the same period. From January to end of June 2021, a total of 132 rhino were poached for their horns in the Kruger National Park. One elephant was poached for its ivory in the Kruger National Park during this period,” Creecy said.
A number of successful arrests and prosecutions has also been recorded in the past six months, underscoring the success of the collaborative work being done by law enforcement agencies.
These include the police, the Hawks, South African National Parks (SANParks), the Environmental Management Inspectorate (Green Scorpions), customs officials, South African National Defence Force (SANDF), provincial park authorities, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Over 100 arrested for rhino poaching, rhino horn trafficking
From January to June 2021, the Minister said 40 alleged poachers were arrested within the Kruger National Park, with a total of 125 people having been arrested for rhino poaching and rhino horn trafficking across the country in the same period.
Creecy said numerous confiscations of rhino horn have also taken place since January, both within the country as well as at OR Tambo International Airport.
“The cohesive partnership with the South East Asian countries is also showing concrete results, with the recent collaboration between South African and Vietnamese authorities resulting in one of the largest seizures of rhino horns and other wildlife products, thereby disrupting syndicate activities. A total of 14 cases have been finalised since the start of the year with a verdict, representing a 93% conviction rate.
“The total of 14 convictions represented 20 convicted accused. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the finalisation rate in courts has slowed down as witnesses, accused and court staff in many instances are required to isolate or quarantine, and even court buildings in some instances need to be decontaminated. This has had an effect on the finalisation of cases.
“It is clear that the multi-disciplinary, integrated approach to investigating illegal wildlife trade is bearing fruit and that effective collaboration with critical role players remains key to our success. I congratulate the teams on a job well done,” Creecy said.
Creecy said the department, working with a number of communities, NGOs and donors, continues with various community developmental programmes, in collaboration with its partners, SANParks, provinces and neighbouring countries.
“Noticeable increased poacher pressure has been experienced in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Free State provinces. The department is also monitoring the increased pressure seen on private rhino reserves and is collaborating closely with the private sector, which continues to play a significant role in rhino protection.”
Members of the public can report any suspicious activities around wildlife to the environmental crime hotline 0800 205 005, or the SAPS number 10111.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, says government’s foremost priority of creating opportunities for young people and supporting them to access work opportunities has been demonstrated through the recruitment of the 1 068 new correctional officials.
Addressing the welcoming ceremony for the new recruits who were part of the 2019/20 learnership programme at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), the Minister said government remains committed to investing and empowering young people economically.
The 1 068 new recruits will commence their duties on Monday and they are a second group of learners to be absorbed following the absorption of the first group of 923 learners in June this year.
Since the inception of the Correctional Services Learnership Programme in 2010, a total of just over 10 000 young people comprising of 4 542 females and 5 488 males were trained.
“A total of 10 015 of these learners were permanently appointed into security positions, only 15 learners were not appointed due to criminal records and natural attrition. We have set ourselves an annual target of 20% for youth employment, we will ensure that the department achieves this target. We will spare no effort to tackle inequalities and systemic barriers which are still prevalent in the country,” Lamola said.
The Minister said government has committed itself to effective and humane incarceration where inmates are rehabilitated so that they can return to make a full contribution in their communities.
“This is a complicated mandate as we all know that reforming the character of a person is extraordinary difficult. This says that your job will very difficult, but it must still be done, day in and day out, in a humane and respectful way.
“It demands compassion and skill in discerning the character of others, and firmness – in short, it requires men and women willing to combine public service with the highest standards of care for those in custody,” Lamola said.
He said only a correctional system with humanity and respect at its core will deliver rehabilitation.
“Being a correctional official is a tough job. It requires dedication, professionalism, resilience, courage and a belief that people can change. However, this work plays a vital role in protecting the public and protecting victims from prolonged harm.
“What is expected of you is adherence to the highest standard of professionalism in your line of duty and ensuring that sentences determined by our courts are served by inmates,” the Minister said.
With challenges of smuggling of contrabands and gangsterism at correctional facilities, the Minister warned the new recruits against committing corruption.
“I need you to understand that there are no short-cuts in life. You will not get rich through corruption. When you serve in your new roles, you will certainly face your fair share of challenges. You will not build your community through corruption. You will not inspire future generations. On the contrary, you will be amongst those in orange overalls in our facilities,” the Minister said.

Source: South African Government News Agency