Day: July 8, 2024

Even though South Africa recently reached the longest period without load shedding since 2020, there is no reason to relax, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.

‘Our electricity system remains vulnerable and we cannot yet rule out a possibility of further load shedding.

‘Rather, this milestone provides encouragement for us to do more and to work faster to ensure a secure supply of electricity now and into the future,’ President Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter on Monday.

On Friday last week, South Africa marked 100 days since the country experienced load shedding.

This, according to the nation’s First Citizen, was a sign that the Energy Action Plan (EAP), which was launched in July 2022, was bringing some of the outcomes of collaboration between government, business, and other social partners.

He welcomed Eskom’s Generation Operational Recovery Plan, which stepped up the maintenance schedule, with a marked improvement in the performance of the power stations that produce the bulk of South Africa’s elec
tricity.

The President also commended the State-owned power utility for successfully commissioning Unit 5 at the Kusile Power Station, adding 800MW to the grid last week.

This means Eskom has returned three units at Kusile to service ahead of schedule.

‘The improvement in the reliability of power supply has been a relief for households, who have been able to go about their daily lives without the inconvenience of load shedding. It has also been a great relief for businesses.’

The President cited the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) index which found that consumer confidence rose in the second quarter of this year because of the suspension of load shedding.

This improvement is also a boost to the national economy, which is reliant on the availability and reliability of electricity supply for growth.

‘There is cause for optimism that business and investor confidence will improve. Earlier this month, steelmaker ArcelorMittal announced that it would not go ahead with plans to close its operations in Newca
stle and Vereeniging, citing improvements in the country’s electricity and logistics situations as among the factors behind its decision.’

The South African Reserve Bank stated in its April Monetary Policy Review that ‘as electricity supply gradually improves, underpinned by the ongoing private investment in renewable energy generation and increased maintenance by Eskom,’ South Africa’s near and medium-term growth outlook is set to improve.

‘We are committed to continue and complete the far-reaching structural reforms we started during the sixth administration to resolve the immediate electricity supply challenges and lay the groundwork for energy security into the future.’

These reforms, he wrote, include the removal of the licensing threshold for new power generation projects, tax incentives for rooftop solar, opening more bid windows for renewable energy projects, and improving Eskom’s operational viability.

He mentioned that the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTSA), which will own and ope
rate the nation’s national electricity transmission system, started trading last week, marking the latest milestone in the structural reform process.

‘This forms part of the reforms we have been driving to establish an electricity market that will enable competition, secure supply and revolutionise the energy sector.’

As the Government of National Unity (GNU) begins its work, he vowed that leaders will sustain this momentum.

‘For us to continue to implement the EAP and support the hard-working management and staff of Eskom, who are day by day helping to bring us out of this crisis, we must all pull in the same direction.’

In addition, by focusing on the broader picture and scaling up what has already been achieved, he is of the view that the country was in a far better position to achieve the task they have set themselves to end load shedding and achieve an energy-secure future.

‘We have reached 100 days without load shedding by working together. This should encourage us to redouble our efforts and to st
rengthen the collaboration between all stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.’

Source: South African Government News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa received a call on Sunday evening from his Egypt counterpart, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who expressed his sincere congratulations on his new term of office.

Last month, President Ramaphosa was re-elected to serve for a second term at the first sitting of the National Assembly after the highly contested elections in May where he won 283 votes, against Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema who received 44.

‘President El-Sisi shared with President Ramaphosa his expectation that South Africa and Egypt will continue to cooperate on issues of common interest,’ a statement from the Presidency said.

According to the President’s Office, the country’s First Citizen expressed his appreciation for President El-Sisi’s good wishes and agreed on the importance of continued partnership between the two countries on matters of bilateral, continental and multilateral interest.

‘Of particular significance to the two leaders is the need to work together on the Palestinian issue and the crisis in
the Gaza strip.

‘The Presidents committed themselves to deepening the fraternal ties between Egypt and South Africa as part of advancing continental solidarity,’ the statement read.

President Ramaphosa and President El-Sisi also agreed on the expansion of trade, mutual investment and other areas of economic cooperation between the two states, according to the Presidency.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says an efficient and functioning transport sector is key to a successful economy.

‘Our roads and rail network are the arteries of our nation, [they] should move people and goods safely, speedily and affordably across the length and breadth of South Africa and facilitate our connectivity with the African continent and the wider world,’ Creecy said on Monday.

The condition of roads, logistical and capacity issues affecting the freight network and road safety are just a few of the problems that have plagued the sector in recent times, she said at the opening of the South African Transport Conference currently underway in Pretoria.

‘When our transport systems suffer, our economy faces depressed economic growth, declining investment and working people cannot get to their jobs affordably or on time and we see a rise in unemployment in a country that desperately needs more jobs,’ the Minister explained.

She added that the 7th Administration is aware of the challenges and aims t
o address them comprehensively throughout the next five-year term.

‘Areas of focus include key logistics corridors handling commodities that are essential to the export market and economic growth (such as coal and iron ore), addressing backlogs and congestion at strategic border crossings such as Komatipoort and Beitbridge, combatting congestion in key national highway corridors such as the N1 and N3, as well as interventions to combat cable theft and maintenance backlogs at Transnet.

‘The National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) is a young structure, and it is also being employed as a means to encourage more private sector collaboration and participation with Government as we address the many challenges South Africa is facing in the area of logistics,’ the Minister said.

Established last year, the Crisis Committee is chaired by President Ramaphosa and brings together all of the relevant government departments to drive a coordinated response to the logistics challenges.

‘The workstreams of the Logistics
Crisis Committee have been set up with personnel from key ministries, including from the Department of Transport and our Entities. The committee is working to ensure stability across the various supply chain and logistics sectors,’ said the Minister.

Creecy thanked her predecessor, Sindisiwe Chikunga, for her instrumental role in the establishment of the NLCC and in encouraging further engagement between the private and public sector in tackling the problems the country is faced with.

The Minister said anchoring times for ships waiting to berth at the port of Durban have been reduced, and a terminal operator has been appointed to enter into a joint partnership with Transnet to develop and upgrade the port.

‘PRASA [Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa] is continuing to reopen passenger rail lines severely affected by infrastructure damage and cable theft, with 28 of 40 priority lines being fully operational,’ Creecy said.

According to Creecy, as of March this year, 256 stations are fully functional in cit
ies across the country.

‘I can report today that continuous work is being done to rehabilitate and open up more strategic commuter corridors. This will ensure that the public can rely on safe, secure, punctual, and affordable public rail services that will not hinder their participation in the economy,’ the Minister said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says while it is commendable that the 100 day milestone of no load shedding has been achieved in the country; it is also a chance to reflect on the hard work that has gone into addressing the problem.

The Minister was speaking during a media briefing in Tshwane on Monday.

Government has, through the Energy Action Plan announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2022, together with Eskom, honed in on the issue of load shedding since it reached crisis levels that same year.

‘We were able to register that milestone…of 100 consecutive days without load shedding. It’s not a moment of celebration. But it’s [a moment] for us to take stock of where we came from and the fact that interventions are working and they are beginning to illustrate that indeed it can be done.

‘It’s done…principally by Eskom engineers with little assistance from outside. Yes, there’s that framework from NECOM [National Energy Crisis Committee] getting assistance from outside
but fundamentally, it’s driven by Eskom employees,’ he said.

Ramokgopa explained that Eskom has managed to reduce unplanned outages at power stations’ generating units significantly as compared to the same period last year – helping to keep the lights on.

‘If you look at June last year, we were sitting at 17 000MW of the megawatts that we had lost as a result of the unreliability of these units. Today… that unplanned capacity loss factor is sitting at 12 000MW. So we were able to recoup 5000MW.

‘That doesn’t tell the complete story because if you look at the comparative period…you’ll find that our planned capacity loss factor, the number of units that we have taken out to fix them, is still about 1000MW greater than what was the case before. So if you factor that in that number, we have recouped about 6000MW,’ he said.

He once again batted away suggestions that the performance of Eskom is boosted by the burning of diesel at the Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs).

According to the Minister, as compared to th
e same period last year, Eskom has considerably reduced its use of the diesel guzzling turbines.

‘We are not burning diesel to levels that are unacceptable for us to be able to maintain this kind of performance. If you were to look at the amount of diesel that we spent [during] the same period last year compared to now, we have saved R6.2 billion.

‘From the 1st of April 2024 to the 30th of June 2024, compared the 1st of April 2023 to the 30th of June 2023, the difference is that this year, we have burnt R6 billion less of diesel. There’s nothing about diesel that is anchoring the kind of performance we are seeing now.

‘It all has to do with the performance of these coal fired power stations and the work that the team has done to ensure that we are able to address this situation,’ he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The new Cabinet and establishment of the Government of National Unity (GNU) is an important milestone in the existence of the 7th Administration, and public servants and other organs of the state must support the transition and ensure continuity of quality service delivery.

This is according to Public Service Commission (PSC) Commissioner Anele Gxoyiya who briefed the media in Pretoria on Monday.

He said public servants are expected to serve and support the newly elected leadership and government of the day in a dedicated, competent and professional manner in executing priority policies.

‘The PSC was established to oversee the public service, amongst others, for an efficient and effective performance of public administration,’ Gxoyiya said, adding that the GNU marks a significant moment in the nation’s journey towards an accountable and transparent governance.

‘A more serious warning should go to the entire public service to rethink how it engages with the citizens, but most importantly to ensure that it
is guided by the values and principles governing public administration,’ he said.

Gxoyiya said such a public service will reinforce citizen’s trust in the constitutional democracy.

‘It is further a call to citizens to be vigilant and hold government accountable for service delivery,’ he said.

Gxoyiya said as part of fulfilling its oversight mandate in this period of transition, the commission has released the Guide on Governance Practice for Executive Authorities and Heads of Department (2024) and a Circular to advise Executive Authorities, Heads of Department and employees regarding the prevention and management of unlawful instructions.

‘The Guide on Governance Practice for Executive Authorities and Heads of Department provides a simplified reference source for Executive Authorities and Heads of Department on processes and procedures that are essential to promote good governance and performance in the public service.

‘It covers work emanating from the PSC’s mandate and provides reference to other criti
cal sources of information from other departments.

‘This PSC Guide is intended to supplement Guides and Manuals issued by The Presidency, the Department of Public Service and Administration, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and the National Treasury as part of readiness,’ he said.

Gxoyiya said the commission encouraged Executive Authorities and Heads of Department to familiarise themselves with the contents of the guide.

The Guide is accessible at www.psc.gov.za under Documents, Reports, 2024.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The R78 billion debt owed to Eskom by municipalities must be urgently addressed to protect the ability of the power utility to fulfil its mandate.

This is according to Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgop,a who addressed the media on Monday.

‘Collectively, municipalities are owing Eskom R78 billion and…a lot of this is irrecoverable. There’s no possibility under the sun that we are going to collect that R78 billion. It’s important that we resolve this picture.

‘This picture presents problems for Eskom. Eskom needs this money for it to be able to reinvest back into its own infrastructure. Municipalities have to pay that money…but on an objective ground, they simply don’t have the means to be able to pay,’ he said at the briefing held in Pretoria.

Ramokgopa said the current trajectory of the debt owed to Eskom poses a threat to the existence of the power utility in the future.

‘To give you the magnitude of the problem, if we don’t resolve this problem, our projection is that at the c
urrent rate, by 2050, Eskom will be owed R3.1 trillion. Eskom will collapse. Generation capacity is going to be compromised. So, it’s important that we resolve this question.

‘This is the most urgent task that is confronting us. It is municipality related but we can’t fold our arms, we need to help them from a technical point of view.’

He emphasised that continued non-payment is affecting Eskom’s ability to address distribution infrastructure needs – leading to the implementation of load reduction.

Load reduction is implemented in areas when the demand is higher than the infrastructure is able to handle.

‘In the solution, we must protect the interests of Eskom as a going concern, ensure that municipalities are able to collect [revenue] but also protect the interests of the user. Because when that distribution infrastructure fails that is providing electricity to 50 houses, there’ll be 10 to 20 houses that have been paying diligently but they are collateral damage.

‘The biggest victims of all of that is t
he end consumer and, by definition, is the South African economy,’ he said.

The Minister said the department, together with municipal leaders will address the challenge of electricity affordability and access to allow municipalities to be able to collect revenue.

‘It is important that we must review electricity tariff models to enhance affordability and expand access. Everyone must have access to electricity and once they have access…make sure that they can afford it. That’s something that is going to receive our attention.

‘Distribution is our albatross…it’s on a mode of self-destruction and the casualties are the poor. They are the ones that are subjected to conditions of load reduction in the main and even those who are diligent payers are subjected to load reduction.

‘This can’t continue any further. It’s important that we arrest it so that we are able to ensure that the country is able to achieve its developmental objectives,’ he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency