Day: November 14, 2022

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Deputy David President Mabuza engages with KwaZulu-Natal Military Veterans associations, 15 Nov

Deputy President David Mabuza, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Presidential Task Team on Military Veterans, will on Tuesday, 15 November 2022, visit Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal Province to engage with Military Veterans associations.

The Task Team chaired by the Deputy President was established by the President to provide political and structural support in addressing the concerns raised by Military Veterans.

The engagement is aimed at providing updates to Military Veterans on progress made in articulating its mandate through its seven work streams, which focus on these key areas:
• Review of specific provisions in the current Military Veterans Act 18 of 2011,
• Organisational re-design,
• Verification, Database Cleansing and Enhancement,
• Socio-Economic Support,
• Pensions and Benefits,
• Heritage, Memorialisation and the Burial for fallen Military Veterans, and
• Communications workstream, tasked to ensure that there is effective, timely and coordinated communication between Government and Military Veterans.
In this regard, the Task Team has already visited seven provinces, namely; Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Free State, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape.

Through these engagements, the Task Team has made significant progress in ensuring that ensuring that Military Veterans and their families are provided with the care, support and opportunities necessary to lead their lives with dignity.

Deputy President Mabuza will be joined by the Minister of Defence and Military veterans, Ms. Thandi Modise, the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Mr. Thabang Makwetla, and senior government officials.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Stage 3 load shedding from 4pm

Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm and Tuesday evening until 5am, Eskom said on Monday.
Stage two load shedding will then kick off between 5am and 4pm on Tuesday.
“The higher stage of load shedding is mainly due to high levels of breakdowns as well as the depleted emergency generation reserves.
“Load shedding is implemented only as a last resort in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to attend to breakdowns,” an Eskom statement read.
The power utility currently has 16 992MW of capacity unavailable due to breakdowns with a further 4177MW off due to maintenance.
“Since Sunday morning, a generating unit each at Duvha, Kriel and Tutuka power stations were taken offline for repairs while the delay in returning to service a unit each at Duvha and Majuba power stations have contributed to the delays.
“A generating unit each at Grootvlei, Hendrina, Majuba, Matla and Medupi power stations were returned to service.”
The power utility said it will give a “further outlook” at a media briefing tomorrow.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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2022 confirmed as most intensive load shedding year to date – CSIR

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) announced on Monday that September 2022 recorded more load shedding than the whole of 2020.
“September 2022 was an exceptionally high month in terms of load shedding. The year 2022 is the first year that the majority of load shedding has not been Stage 2, it was overtaken by Stage 4.”
In addition, the CSIR’s annual statistics on power generation in South Africa for the first half of 2022, showed that the Eskom fleet energy availability factor (EAF) continued to decrease in 2022, with an average EAF of 59.4%, compared to the EAF of 61.7% for 2021 and 65% for 2020.
“This is largely due to the increase of unplanned outages detailed by the unplanned capacity loss factor experienced by Eskom. This year overtook 2021 as the most load shedding-intensive year yet, concentrated in July and September.”
This means that in three months between July and September 2022, South Africa experienced more load shedding compared to the previous years.
“September 2022, the highest load shedding month ever, on its own, had more load shedding than the entire of 2020. This year’s Stage 6 load shedding has far surpassed 2019’s, the only other year that had Stage 6.”
Eskom announced it was moving from Stage 4 to Stage 6 load shedding in June this year, which had only been implemented once before in December 2019, when 6 000MW was shed from the national grid on a rotational basis.
The report, which zoomed into power cuts between 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022, also looked into load shedding and energy availability factor (EAF) data up until 30 September 2022.
“In the first half of 2022, the total system demand was similar to the year before, but still 3.0 TWh (2.5%) below the pre-lockdown levels of 2019,” the data shows.
Meanwhile, coal, according to CSIR, still dominates the South African energy mix, providing more than 80% of the total system load.
The statistics include all utility-scale generation technologies in the analysis. Technologies include coal, nuclear, hydro, solar photovoltaics (PV), onshore wind, concentrated solar power (CSP), pumped storage and diesel-fuelled open-cycle gas turbines.
“The contribution of renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar PV and CSP increased in 2022 to a total of 6.2 GW installed capacity and provided 6.5% of the total energy mix.”

Source: South African Government News Agency

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President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives in Bali for G20 Leaders’ Summit

President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Bali in the Republic of Indonesia for the annual G20 Leaders’ Summit.
The President will participate in deliberations among world leaders whose economies account for 85% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 80% of world trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.
The Summit takes place on 15 and 16 November 2022 under the G20 Presidency of Indonesia, themed “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.
The G20 was formed in 1999 as a result of the Asian financial crises of the late 1990s, initially as a gathering of finance ministers and subsequently as a platform for Heads of State and Government in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
The group consists of leading developed and developing economies aiming at a collective response to global economic and financial challenges rooted in the interconnected economic and financial architecture.
The G20 also seeks to increase multilateral cooperation for the recovery of the global economy, to bring stability to the global financial system, to promote long-term sustainable growth and to strengthen global economic governance.
President Ramaphosa will be accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor and Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana.
Ahead of the start of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the President will chair an engagement of the African Union and NEPAD on Africa’s value proposition and priorities.
Issues under discussion in this forum will include the continent’s aspirations to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the realisation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 goals, and securing permanent membership of the G20 for the African Union.
G20 Leaders will seek consensus on Global Health Architecture, Sustainable Energy Transition, and Digital Transformation.
The discussions of the G20 often reflect the foremost global political and economic challenges at any given time and therefore as a collective body tends to carry a significant profile and influence.
It is also an effective instrument for advancing much-needed global governance reforms and orienting the international development agenda.
The G20 agenda has expanded beyond economic and financial issues and now encompasses issues of peace and security, global governance, international terrorism, the environment, refugees and other geo-political and foreign policy-related matters.
President Ramaphosa will also have bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government to strengthen South Africa’s diplomatic, economic and cultural ties.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Premier Kaobitsa Bushy Maape launches Traditional Council Elections in Mahikeng, 15 Nov

North West Premier, Kaobitsa Bushy Maape, joined by the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Lenah Miga and the Chairperson of the North West House of the Traditional Khoi-San and Leaders, Kgosi Thari Maotwe will on tomorrow Tuesday, officially launch the 2022/2023 Traditional Council Elections in Mahikeng.
The elections in the fifty-six (56) traditional councils in the province are to be conducted in fulfilment of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act (TKLA) No. 3 of 2019, Section 16(1) which provides that once the Premier has recognised a traditional community and its traditional leader, a Traditional Council must be established within a period of two years of such recognition.
The launch will be attended, amongst others by Mayors, representatives from religious, civic and business organisations.

Source: Government of South Africa

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YOFC participates in the World Optical Fibre & Cable Conference 2022

Leverage “BRIGHTS” to Capture New Growth Opportunities of Digital Economy

WUHAN, China, Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC), a world-leading optical communications company as a partner and major sponsor for the World Optical fibre & Cable Conference for many years, participated in the 2022 edition of the global event held in Milan on 7-9 November 2022. At the invitation of the organizer, YOFC executive director and president Zhuang Dan attended the roundtable forum held during the event on November 8, at which he discussed the current status of the fibre and cable industry with other executives from several cabling giants, including Europe’s Prysmian Group and US-based Corning Incorporated. Additionally, YOFC senior vice president Jan Bongaerts gave a keynote speech entitled ‘Leverage “BRIGHTS” to Capture New Growth Opportunities of Digital Economy’.

Given the digital transformation taking place across all sectors everywhere, and further accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the digital economy is becoming part of what makes the world run much faster than anticipated. Remote working, online teaching and medical diagonosis are becoming the new norm. As a result, high-speed, reliable broadband access has become one of the necessities of everyday life. Moving from people being connected to things being connected, from massive data to artificial intelligence, and from consumption to intelligent manufacturing, digitalization is emerging as a core driving force of economic development and social transformation in major countries worldwide, prompting governments to enhance capabilities in digital growth by continuously strengthening the information infrastructure.

China has witnessed the increased adoption of gigabit broadband, accelerated penetration of 5G, and launched the Eastern Data and Western Computing project that aims to boost data centers in the country’s economically poorer but energy-rich western regions this year. At the same time, many countries have also sped up the construction of 5G and FTTx infrastructure with significantly increased investments, resulting in increasing demand for optical fibres and cables. According to CRU, a British leading provider of analysis and consulting in the commodity markets, global demand for optical fibres and cables is expected to maintain an upward trend from 2022 to 2027. Mr. Zhuang also pointed out that China, which now accounts for over 50% of that global demand, is anticipated to see steady growth in the segment over the next few years.

Driven by global digital transformation, the optical fibre and cable sector is entering a new stage of growth. With huge potential, YOFC’s G.654.E fibre, the preferred choice for ultra-high-speed transmission technology, has been successfully applied in several trunk cable lines of China’s three major carriers and in State Grid Corporation of China’s ultra-high voltage transmission project, with the total core length deployed exceeding 1 million fkm. China’s aggregate demand for next-generation G.654.E fibre is expected to reach 10 million fkm(core length) by 2025. Large-scale global applications are foreseen as some carriers worldwide have started to consider deploying the fibre in trunk lines.

To leverage the unprecedented opportunities brought about by digital transformation across the whole sector, YOFC launched the all-optical “BRIGHTS” series of high-performance optical fibre and cable products and solutions featuring big bandwidth, reliability, intelligence, green, high quality, time saving and security.

Big Bandwidth

In light of the growing complexity of the network, the massive surge in the amount of data that needs to get transmitted, and increased pressure on bandwidth as we transition further into the digital economy, YOFC has rolled out a number of cutting-edge optical fibres, including the new-generation trunk line optical fibre G.654.E, a high bandwidth multi-mode fibre, as well as multi-core and hollow-core fibres, strengthening the backbone of the optical network.

Reliability

With a complete optical fibre and cable portfolio that can be used in access and backbone networks and meets the optical transmission needs of various application scenarios from land to ocean, YOFC has addressed the growing market segments while ensuring the stable operation of all-optical networks.

Intelligent

YOFC has also developed a number of intelligent solutions that can enhance the overall quality of all-optical connections by enabling quick fault detection and location, real-time monitoring of optical path performance, and quality prediction. The solutions include automated optical cable monitoring system, distributed  temperature sensing system, etc.

Green

YOFC’s G.654.E fibre can reduce energy consumption by 20% at optical relay stations and 50% at electrical relay stations in long-haul trunk transmission. By integrating ultra-high density optical distribution frames, pre-terminated optical cables and optical modules, the Company’s data center solution improves the density of cabling space and reduces obstruction to hot and cold channels while enabling scalable bandwidth, helping reduce energy consumption.

High Quality

Based on its philosophy of seeking perfection, YOFC has been committed to developing various time-tested optical fibre and cable products by using premium raw materials and optimizing the manufacturing process. With customers from over 90 countries and regions worldwide, the Company has been widely recognized in the industry for its high quality solutions.

Time Saving

To enhance performance when deploying all-optical networks, YOFC, based on the application and laying environments, has designed and developed several new optical fibre and cable solutions that flexibly and efficiently meet the needs of all-optical networks in various scenarios, including all-dry, micro-cluster, air-blown and ultra-high-fibre-count (UHFC) cables.

Security

In an environment characterized by high-speed data transmissions and open sharing of resources, YOFC has continued exploring the potential of optical communication technologies while providing multi-level security for the seamless operation of large facilities, including power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and electrical equipment through optical fibre sensing products with wide coverage, high sensitivity and high accuracy.

At the conference, Mr. Zhuang also joined executives from Prysmian Group and Corning in an in-depth discussion on the current status and trends, as well as opportunities and challenges of the global optical fibre and cable sector. Mr. Zhuang said that despite the sector’s positive fundamentals, there are still uncertainties and challenges, including political tensions in some regions, restricted supply of raw materials, insufficient transport capacity and high freight costs. As a result, industry players need to strengthen cooperation to ensure the sustainable development of the industry.

YOFC has been committed to extending optical fibre connectivity to every corner of the world and building a solid foundation for the development of the digital economy. With this mission in mind, the Company, based on independent innovation, plans to continue iterating and developing new products and solutions that drive the growth of the sector, while further improving its international marketing network as it works with its partners to jointly leverage the opportunities presented by the ever evolving digital world.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1945818/2.jpg