News in South Africa 19th April: 1. Zero economic growth for SA: Many experts project close to zero economic growth for 2023 as severe load-shedding has hobbled the country’s growth prospects. In 2022, the economy grew by 2.5% – above the 1.9% proposed by the minister of finance in the medium-term expenditure framework. Economic growth […]
News in South Africa 18th April: 1. Load shedding vs blackout hours: It’s only halfway through April 2023, and South Africa has already experienced as much load shedding (hours) as almost the entirety of 2022 – and the number of hours of blackouts you experience is worse than ever before. These are some of the […]
News in South Africa 17th April: 1. Stage 8 not imminent but possible: Despite the tripping of Koeberg Unit 2 over the weekend prompting fears that stage 8 load shedding could be looming, stage 8 load shedding is only likely if there is a ‘perfect storm’, which would include a cold front lasting for several […]
News in South Africa 12th April: 1. Home Affairs in termination of ZEP system: One of the most important human rights cases of recent decades got underway in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, with no fewer than four separate cases challenging Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) […]
News in South Africa 11th April: 1. Eskom debt relief extends to municipalities: National Treasury is rolling out an ambitious plan to rid struggling municipalities of their ever-growing debt to Eskom, but only if they adhere to strict conditions to permanently change problematic behaviour at council and consumer level. If successful, the plan – set […]
News in South Africa 5th April: 1. Eskom testing new plan to cut power demand: Embattled power utility Eskom says it is piloting a national demand response programme in the small commercial and residential sectors in response to the electricity crisis facing South Africa. The programme is an expansion of the successful industrial Demand Response Programme, which […]
News in South Africa 4th April: 1. Why Eskom is exempted: National Treasury claims pressure would be placed on the fiscus and the borrowing powers of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) if the exemption granted to Eskom from disclosing irregular and fruitless expenditure in its annual financial statements was not considered. Reacting to widespread criticism of the […]
News in South Africa 29th March: 1. Investigation on essential food prices: South Africa’s Competition Commission said it’s investigating the price of a range of essential-food products, after consumers were subjected to “unjustified increases” over the past two years. A probe is being conducted into the cost of goods, including bread, cooking oils, corn meal, […]
News in South Africa 28th March: 1. Civil servants may accept pay hike: South African public servants are likely to accept the government’s latest wage offer, according an initial estimate of a ballot of labour-union members. Employee groups representing about 1.3 million government workers are currently seeking a mandate from their members to accept a […]
News in South Africa 23rd March: 1. Extreme concern among consumers: South African consumers are highly stressed and hold no high hopes for an easier time in 2023, the latest FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) shows – but wealthier consumers, with the greatest spending power, are the most down in the dumps. After showing some […]
