News in South Africa 16th March: 1. Eskom owed R35.2bil by government: Eskom said municipalities owed it R35.2 billion and it wanted its money. The power utility presented the state of its systems at Megawatt Park on Monday. CEO Andre de Ruyter said illegal connections also threaten to cause explosions and fires due to overloading. “As […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 15th March 2021:
News in South Africa 15th March: 1. Students threaten total shutdown: SA’s 26 universities are on a knife-edge following a call by the powerful South African Students Congress (Sasco) for a total shutdown tomorrow. The planned shutdown will also be the focus of a meeting today of the central working committee of the EFF’s national […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 12th March 2021:
News in South Africa 12th March: 1. Eskom will not be privatised: Government has no intention to privatise power utility Eskom, said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. The minister was addressing a debate on the privatisation of Eskom during a mini-plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday. “There is much work to be done […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 11th March 2021:
News in South Africa 11th March: 1. Third wave a certainty: As health officials warn that South Africa is likely to miss its vaccination targets, it is almost a certainty that the country is going to face a third wave of Covid-19. Medical experts have warned that the slow rollout of Covid vaccines in the […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 10th March 2021:
News in South Africa 10th March: 1. Ratings agencies doubtful of budget targets: Ratings agencies doubt that finance minister Tito Mboweni will meet his 2021 budget targets, highlighting the various challenges faced by South Africa in trying to stabilise its debt. Mboweni said that South Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio will peak at 88.9% in 2023, down […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 8th March 2021:
News in South Africa 8th March: 1. ETC corruption allegations: Police reports and documents provided to the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) have brought grave allegations against Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) and its parent company, Kapsch TrafficCom. Among the allegations are that ETC, with full knowledge of Kapsch, made payments totalling R10 million over three years […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 5th March 2021:
News in South Africa 5th March: 1. One year of Covid-19 in South Africa: Today marks one year since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in South Africa, with health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize saying that despite difficulties, the country has remained resilient during the pandemic. However, he warned that the pandemic wasn’t something […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 4th March 2021:
News in South Africa 4th March: 1. Fake Covid-19 vaccines seized: South African authorities have seized hundreds of fake Covid-19 vaccines following a global alert issued by Interpol, the international criminal police organisation. Some 400 vials – equivalent to around 2,400 doses – containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston, Gauteng, […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 3rd March 2021:
News in South Africa 3rd March: 1. JHB road plant down for over 5 months: The Johannesburg Roads Agency’s R50m asphalt plant ‘has been down for over five months’. The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), an entity within the City of Joburg, is currently unable to produce asphalt at a R50 million plant it acquired in […]
Five Newsworthy Things in SA 2nd March 2021:
News in South Africa 2nd March: 1. Unions aim high with wage demands: Union insiders stated that the decision by public-sector unions to publicly share details of this year’s wage demands was a desperate move to appear active to disgruntled members who were resigning in droves. In a pre-emptive unprecedented move, unions on Monday revealed they […]
