Banyana Banyana focuses priority on matches against top opponents in preparation for next year’s World Cup FIFA next year is even more useful after they received a very difficult draw for the performance Next year . Desiree Ellis’ troops will face Group G in the […]
SportsPresident Cyril Ramaphosa’s high-speed rail dream in South Africa is about to come true as the Department of Transport pushes for a ‘railway renaissance’ in this country. Speaking at a virtual Transportation Standing Committee on Wednesday, October 19, the Department informed Congress of the draft […]
TravelPresident Cyril Ramaphosa’s high-speed rail dream in South Africa is about to come true as the Department of Transport pushes for a ‘railway renaissance’ in this country.
Speaking at a virtual Transportation Standing Committee on Wednesday, October 19, the Department informed Congress of the draft National Rail Policy White Paper outlining plans to overhaul the industry. Railway involves both rail passenger and freight transport.
The ministry said the planned policy would follow the National Railways Act and aim to make rail a more affordable, competitive and efficient mode of transport that forms the backbone of logistics the country’s cargo and passenger movement by 2050.
An important part of the draft document is a push to develop high-speed public transport.
In 2019, during his State of the Nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he dreams of a South Africa, where cities are filled with skyscrapers connected by bullet trains.
“We should imagine a country where high-speed trains pass through Johannesburg on the way from here to Musina, and stop at Buffalo City on the way from Ethekwini.”
“Isn’t it time to build a new smart city based on the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution? I want to invite South Africans to start imagining that scenario,” Ramaphosa said at the time.
Under the new policy, the ministry wants to accelerate investment in the railway sector to start a “railway renaissance” in the country by developing high-speed and heavy-duty public transport.
The new policy will also allow passenger/commuting routes to operate where the current South African Passenger Railway Authority (Prasa) cannot meet demand.
Speaking on High Speed Rail (HSR), the ministry said it plans to lay the groundwork for prioritizing high-speed corridors in South Africa.
As part of the new HSR framework, the Ministry of Transport said it will identify strategic objectives for consideration, namely:
• The twinning of certain towns and the effects this may have;
• Population size in some cities and existing transport systems;
• Distance, connectivity and possible congestion;
• Forecast of passenger volume and financial feasibility.
In some areas, rapid transit is also on the cards, with provincial governments now able to develop business cases to further develop existing urban transport, the Ministry of Transport download said.
South Africa’s development of high-speed or long-distance rail is promoted, by ministry, into:
• Maximize the economically viable inland rail passenger catchment area by 2050;
• Maximize connectivity between urban, regional and high-speed systems and airports;
• Reduce the number of motor vehicles in urban areas.
To finance these plans, the respective government agencies can set aside funds for investments in railways to the extent possible, he said.
“In addition, as in many countries, the responsible authority may engage other interested organizations to co-finance passenger services and/or engage the private sector, thereby making use of their capabilities.”
Currently, only 1.1% of the working population relies on Prasa to get to work every day. The chart below shows the most common ways South Africans get to the office, according to Statistics South Africa:
South African economy likely to experience technical recession as power cuts increase and uncertainty increases due to recession. Russia’s war with Ukraine is raging through global financial markets. Gina Schoeman, economist at Citibank South Africa, said the economy is likely to contract for a second […]
Business NewsSouth African economy likely to experience technical recession as power cuts increase and uncertainty increases due to recession. Russia’s war with Ukraine is raging through global financial markets. Gina Schoeman, economist at Citibank South Africa, said the economy is likely to contract for a second straight quarter in the three months ending in September, said Wednesday at the Bloomberg Capital Markets Forum in Johannesburg.
“We hit a very high fundamental in the first quarter. In the third quarter, the outages, which we call offloading, were enough to bring that back in,” Schoeman said.
“With that, inflation spikes – the combination of that means Q3 growth is now negative, which means we are very likely to fall into a technical recession now due to factors our own local.
South Africa’s gross domestic product fell 0.7 percent in the second quarter from a downward-revised 1.7 percent growth in the previous three months, Statistics South Africa said in September.
The size of the continent’s most industrialized economy has become smaller than it was before the coronavirus pandemic following its worst flooding in nearly three decades and severe power outages.
“We actually ended the year with only 2% growth,” Schoeman said. “If we look at our average history, outside of the Covid years, things don’t go so bad.”
Commodity Boom
While South Africa’s medium-term budget, which Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will present on October 26, could show that the country’s finances have benefited from the boom commodity explosion, export capacity problems have limited growth, according to Schoeman.
“Next week you will get another budget from South Africa that will be better than they thought just because of the commodity prices,” she said.
“There was nothing we could do to really increase our export volume, it was all the price impact, so we missed another commodity price cycle, which led to many problems. large in our locality.”
The country’s largest exporters have had to adjust their shipments due to reduced capacity of Transnet terminals. The public freight rail operator has been hit by logistical disruptions exacerbated by flooding, aging infrastructure and safety issues.
benefits Civil society organizations are calling for the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief Fund (SRD) to be financed by a higher tax rate applied to with ‘top 1% earners in South-America’. Aid funding has become an issue in the country, with the National Treasury reporting it […]
benefits Civil society organizations are calling for the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief Fund (SRD) to be financed by a higher tax rate applied to with ‘top 1% earners in South-America’.
Aid funding has become an issue in the country, with the National Treasury reporting it will cost at least Rs 50 billion per year to do so. continues the temporary R350 monthly allowance originally introduced in 2020 to protect those vulnerable to the pandemic. .
Speaking to ENCA, Amandla.mobi civic organization spokesman Tlou Seopa says the South African Revenue Service (SARS) should tax employees who receive more than one million dong a year for grants
She added that the poor in South Africa continue to get poorer while the rich continue to prosper
Inequality and the gap between different income brackets continue to worsen, says Seopa, adding that this is a problem. formed by corruption and a lack of government will, but a selective tax should still be imposed.
A recent Global Inequality Report found that the poorest 50% of working South Africans earn around Rs 12,300 a year, while the top 10 earn more than 60 times that amount, or 7,780. 300 Rupees.
Among the workers in this country, the poorest are 50 million R1,030 per month. Against the backdrop of South Africa’s staggering 33.9% unemployment rate, this paints a bleak picture.
The spokesperson added that the current income subsidy of R350 should also be increased above the food poverty line to R1355 to empower people and enable them to participate in the economy.
The Department of Social Development recently increased the income threshold for the vehicle test for the allowance from R350 to R624 per month, in line with South Africa’s food poverty line.
Prior to this change, any South African earning more than R350 per month was excluded from the SRD benefit – the barrier has now been adjusted, allowing more people to qualify.
In August this year, the South African Social Security Administration (Sassa) registered less than Rs 12 million SRD applicants. Due to the dramatic increase in the number of people eligible for benefits, the government has done more checks and balances.
Social Development Department director Brenton van Vrede said a new condition requires South Africans not to be ‘unreasonably refused’ to accept employment or educational opportunities if they are offered.
Wealth Tax
Calls for taxing to the top tier as a ‘property tax’ have been on the cards for years, with the ruling ANC raising it at this year’s national policy conference.
Mmamoloko Kubayi, chair of the ANC’s economic transformation subcommittee, said there should be a tax that targets high-net-worth individuals of 5% and large estates.
“Much of the wealth of this country is in the hands of 5% of the population. It’s not fair. We will have to ask SARS to reconsider (a property tax),” she said.
However, the national treasury and large enterprises objected to the appeal. The Treasury Department called the subsidy unsustainable and unsustainable, while business leaders said it would exacerbate capital flight problems.
The Treasury notes that wealth tax has been imposed indirectly through inheritance tax, gift tax and other taxes in South Africa.
While a new wealth tax could help reduce inequality, in practice such measures generate limited revenue, are expensive and difficult to manage, and often lead to capital flight and discourages saving and investment, the Finance Ministry said.
Research firm Intellidex echoed Treasury’s assertion that capital would leave the country. In July, the group found that targeting an already small and heavily taxed tax base was likely to lead to migration. “Some taxpayers may choose to opt out of the tax system entirely by moving to jurisdictions with lower tax rates and/or where they believe they can get a better return from the tax system. taxes they pay,” Intellidex said. “Migration is a potentially serious threat to the medium- and long-term stability of the tax system.”
The Party said the process needs to be accelerated further to avoid more backlogs and the risk of drivers not being able to renew their cards and getting fined. This week, the Eastern Cape’s acting director of transportation management, Xolisa Jakula, told MyBroadBand that the […]
NewsThe Party said the process needs to be accelerated further to avoid more backlogs and the risk of drivers not being able to renew their cards and getting fined.
This week, the Eastern Cape’s acting director of transportation management, Xolisa Jakula, told MyBroadBand that the machine had been idle for more than two weeks.
Jakula added that there is an indication that processes are underway to ensure it will be back up and running by the end of this week.
DA said that when the machine was decommissioned in November 2021, it took two months to get ready, generating more than 380,000 unissued licenses.
“As it stands, the national license card machine is obsolete and appears to be the only one left of its kind.”
Earlier this year, Mbalula said he would introduce a new type of slot machine comparable to the rest of the developed world and a new driver’s license card in October 2023.
In September The Cabinet has approved the replacement of the current driver’s license card with another card that has safer design features and meets international standards.
DA believes that in order to reduce the risk of having to depend on a single apparatus and personnel to serve the whole country, provinces should manage and manage applications and issue new cards.
The eNatis system will coordinate information at the national level on a central database system, but nomination, application and release should be decentralized, the party said.
Speaking about the new card design, Mbalula said that the current driver’s license card was introduced in 1998 and production equipment was purchased in the same year. Technology has become obsolete,” he said.
Mbalula said his department will publish the changes to the driver’s license card in an official journal. He added that a new procurement process for updated manufacturing infrastructure will begin in November.
Extension
Civil society groups such as the Automobile Association (AA) and Undo Abuse Tax Office (Outa) has called for renewal of driver’s license cards to be renewed every 10 years, not every five years.
Earlier this year, Mbalula said the Road Traffic Management Corporation would prepare a report on the proposal.
The Report appears to be complete, and the minister is ready to approach parliament with proposals to amend the provisions; however, no further details were provided.
“I’ve got the report now, and I’m ready to go to cabinet with new proposals to probably re-look at the five years in terms of the driver’s licence,” the minister said in August.
Proposals made by civil society groups include:
• That an extension for driver’s license renewal be applied from 5 to 10 years;
• The extension from 5 to 10 years applies between the ages of 18 to 65 years;
• That more efficient online application processes for DL renewals precede the actual renewal to allow for more effective service delivery and flow between appointment, eye test and licence delivery;
• Multiple methods for DL renewal are made available through test centres and reputable service providers, i.e. stronger collaboration with neutral, third-party organizations such as the AA;
• That current restrictions applicable to Professional Driver’s Permits either remain the same, or are possibly extended as well, but that this decision be based on more extensive research and the inclusion of input from bussing and tourism role players.
________________________________________
DoT response:
An update on the status of the machine was provided on Thursday (20 October), pointing to load shedding and routine maintenance as the cause for its shutdown.
In a statement, transport minister Fikile Mbalula said that the machine is operating at full steam and that the backlog has been cleared.
Mbalula noted, however, that as the machine continues operations, “glitches might be experienced at some point.”
More than 30 civil society organizations have written to Parliament calling for an immediate review of the Electoral Amendment Bill being introduced in Parliament on Thursday (October 20). Groups including Undo Tax Abuse (Outa), Build One South Africa and Solidarity said the bill was based […]
PoliticsMore than 30 civil society organizations have written to Parliament calling for an immediate review of the Electoral Amendment Bill being introduced in Parliament on Thursday (October 20).
Groups including Undo Tax Abuse (Outa), Build One South Africa and Solidarity said the bill was based solely on minority opinions expressed by Home Secretary Aaron Motsoaledi, and if passed, will disqualify you from voting. significantly.
“The foundation of our electoral system rests on a long tradition of liberation struggles that call for ‘one man, one vote equal’.
The group said the changes Changes to the electoral system stem from the decision of the most influential court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, in which the New Movement NPC and Other v President of the Republic of South Africa in 2020 gave Parliament 24 months to amend the electoral law to allow independent candidates to stand in national and provincial elections – this deadline has expired
Parliament has been instructed to reform the law to allow individual candidates running for ical political offices without affiliation with a particular political party. The “possible solution” currently being worked out by parliament is under pressure.
The case gave rise to two opposing opinions, majority and minority, the latter of which was the basis of the new amendments.
Majority View
“Majority view holds that South Africa adopts a mixed electoral system, with 200 seats in the National Assembly being voted directly from single-member constituencies and 200 remaining seats. is again determined from the list of proportional representation, as it involves local government with a 50/50 allocation of seats.
This view that it would provide fairness to individual candidates and satisfy the constitutional requirement for an electoral system that would lead to overall proportionality of the results, the group said.
Minority View
This view, later invoked, adopts a “minimalist approach” to include such candidates.
It identifies entire provinces as constituencies and forces independent candidates to compete against political parties – not individuals representing a party – because it is the “It’s a system that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world and is clearly ill-suited to allowing independent candidates to stand fairly in elections.”
Tough Task
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr legal experts say Congress has a fragile task ahead, noting the following example:
“If the general election comes, there will be 20 million registered voters; and that a well-known individual running for office has the mandate of two million voters, it is impossible that even with 10% of the registered voters, that individual will receive only one seat in the legislative body. which he introduced himself. Such an outcome would be extremely unfair and disenfranchised.
Parliament has chosen to settle the issue of independent representation solely on the principle of proportional representation; however, a mixed approach that incorporates both single-member districts and proportional representation would be more suitable for groups opposed to the system.
Independent candidates, under the measure, are required to have a signature percentage from their constituency to indicate their level of support. However, political parties are not required to do so.
Under the currently proposed amendment, if a seat is worth 44,000 votes, then 20% of the 44,000 voters will be required to sign, or 8,800 signatures. Political parties only need a constitution and 1,000 registered voters for Congress.
membership level.
CMS regulates 75 registered medical plans in 2021, up from 76 in 2020. The group noted that South Africa has seen steady consolidation of the medical aid market over the past 20 years, driven by a consolidation of voluntary schemes. South Africa has seen a […]
Life Style MotivationsCMS regulates 75 registered medical plans in 2021, up from 76 in 2020.
The group noted that South Africa has seen steady consolidation of the medical aid market over the past 20 years, driven by a consolidation of voluntary schemes.
South Africa has seen a decline in regimes from 144 regimes in 2000 to 75 regimes reported to be active in 2021, with the largest decline occurring between 2007 and 2010. 75 modes reported in 2021, 18 open and 57 restricted.
Although the number reported for the year was 75 plans, the board noted that Hosmed Medical Scheme has merged with Sizwe Medical Fund, and Quantum Medical Aid Society has merged with Discovery Health Medical Scheme, bringing the total number of programs. active program to 73 in December 2021
The council said the industry as a whole has seen a drop in the number of health plans, but breaking down health plans by plan size also shows a significant shift.
Small plans exceeded medium and large plans from 2002 to 2013. While the number of medium plans increased slightly in recent years, the number of large plans decreased.
The number of beneficiaries covered by health plans has remained stagnant over the past decade, not exceeding the nine million mark. Health plans serve 8.94 million beneficiaries in 2021, up slightly from 8.9 million in 2020, but down from a peak of 8.99 million in 2019.
The only significant environmental increase came after the introduction of GEMS in 2006. By 2021, GEMS has crossed the 700,000 mark, with 773,512 core members and its beneficiaries now exceeding 2 million. people, or 2,036,102.
The proportion of beneficiaries covered by health plans, expressed as a percentage of the country’s population, decreased during the period under review, from 16% in 2000 to 14.86% in in 2021.
Open plans represent more than half of health plan costs. population (54.03%), while restrictive diets account for the remainder (45.97%) in 2021. 0.55% respectively – compared to last year.
Open plans have 2,351,958 members and 4,835,649 beneficiaries, the balance is registered for limited plans.
Discovery continues to lead the health plan industry in South Africa, with over 1.3 million members and 2.7 million beneficiaries. Notably, amid the overall decline in beneficiaries in open programs in South Africa, Discovery’s numbers remained stable, losing just 106 beneficiaries.
The second largest open plan in the country, Bonitas Medical Fund, saw a slight decrease of 0.3% in the number of beneficiaries to just under 715,000, however, the number of members increased by 1.4%.
The Public Employee Health Program remains the largest limited program with 1.92 million beneficiaries, also the second largest in the nation.
The table below shows the 20 largest health plans in the country, ranked by number of beneficiaries.
Scheme | Type | Members | Beneficiaries |
Discovery Health | Open | 1 333 237 | 2 764 994 |
Government Employees Medical Scheme | Restricted | 737 796 | 1 924 569 |
Bonitas Medical Fund | Open | 335 425 | 714 989 |
South African Police Service Medical Scheme (POLMED) | Restricted | 175 728 | 504 758 |
Momentum Medical Scheme | Open | 153 064 | 293 884 |
Bankmed | Restricted | 107 563 | 219 807 |
LA-Health Medical Scheme | Restricted | 88 145 | 219 725 |
Bestmed Medical Scheme | Open | 96 489 | 202 386 |
Medihelp | Open | 90 442 | 197 621 |
Medshield Medical Scheme | Open | 77 146 | 154 459 |
Fedhealth Medical Scheme | Open | 76 215 | 148 189 |
Sizwe Hosmed Medical Fund | Open | 47 575 | 112 802 |
Platinum Health | Restricted | 51 672 | 90 532 |
Sasolmed | Restricted | 29 229 | 77 655 |
Umvuzo Health Medical Scheme | Restricted | 38 915 | 75 724 |
SAMWUMed | Restricted | 34 520 | 75 547 |
Profmed | Restricted | 35 667 | 74 630 |
Keyhealth | Open | 32 747 | 67 709 |
Hosmed Medical Aid Scheme | Open | 21 125 | 54 253 |
Nedgroup Medical Aid Scheme | Restricted | 27 083 | 48 641 |
One of the proposals on the State Expropriation Report by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was to make failure to prevent bribery a new offense for enterprise. According to law firm Bowmans, this recommendation from Zondo would require an amendment to the Prevention and Anti-Corruption Act […]
One of the proposals on the State Expropriation Report by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was to make failure to prevent bribery a new offense for enterprise.
According to law firm Bowmans, this recommendation from Zondo would require an amendment to the Prevention and Anti-Corruption Act 12 of 2004 (PRECCA).
The proposal after the Supreme Court of Pretoria granted leave on October 4, 2022 to allow Zondo to correct the final volume of the report, was submitted to the President in June 2022.
While Article 34 of PRECCA imposes obligations on companies that include cases of corruption in their reports, it does not impose criminal sanctions in the absence of systems to prevent corruption. that corruption. The criminal department is only charged if the company fails to issue the requested statements.
However, this is not satisfactory for Zondo. It suggests amendments to the PRECCA that would require companies to prevent corruption from happening in the first place and hold companies criminally responsible if they fail to do so, Bowmans said.
. This raises the question of what “adequate procedures” in PRECCA mean.
According to Bowmans, there is no definition or guidance in Zondo’s proposed recommendation, but the meaning of “full procedure” may not be as ambiguous as it appears.
The law firm cited the UK Bribery Act 2010 which contains a section that covers corporate liability if corruption is not prevented. In addition, a business will be entitled to protection under the UK Bribery Act if it can demonstrate that, despite a particular bribery case, it had the proper procedures in place. to prevent those involved in doing so.
Given the similarities between the UK Bribery Act and the amendments proposed by Chief Justice Zondo, Bowmans outlined six principles that guide the determination of what constitutes proper procedure under the Bribery Act. UK highway.
These principles can be used as a reference point to guide definitions of what constitutes “appropriate procedure” for Zondo’s proposed new offense.
Here are six principles outlined by Bowmans:
• Principle 1:
Proportionate Procedure – A company’s procedures to prevent bribery by those involved should be commensurate with the risk. the bribery risk it faces and is commensurate with the nature and complexity of the company’s activities. Activities.
• Principle 2:
Commitment at the top – The company’s top management must be committed to preventing corruption.
• Principle 3:
Risk assessment – The company should assess the nature and extent of internal and external corruption risks.
• Principle 4:
Obligation of care – The company must apply appropriate due diligence procedures for those providing or will provide services on behalf of the company.
• Principle 5:
Communication – The company must ensure that its anti-corruption procedures are understood company-wide, including having a training program on various policies.
• Principle 6:
Monitoring and Review – The company should monitor and review procedures designed to prevent bribery of those involved in order to improve those procedures.
These Principles can provide guidance to companies seeking to develop and implement appropriate procedures – at least until the legislator publishes its own guidance on the new proposed section. from PRECCA.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and MEC Financial and Economic Opportunities Manager Mireille Wenger welcome the partnership announced Wednesday 19 October between Sasol and ArcelorMittal SA for fuel and chemical production sustainability, as well as green steel development, by supporting the establishment of a hydrogen […]
BusinessWestern Cape Premier Alan Winde and MEC Financial and Economic Opportunities Manager Mireille Wenger welcome the partnership announced Wednesday 19 October between Sasol and ArcelorMittal SA for fuel and chemical production sustainability, as well as green steel development, by supporting the establishment of a hydrogen system. (GH2) in Saldanha Bay.
“The Western Cape Government (WCG) welcomes the partnership between these two industry giants and further welcomes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Sasol and SBIDZ that will bring energy capacity and opportunity interesting business for the province,” said the local official. said the government.
“This will go a long way in promoting the financial independence of the entity while further leveraging the significant infrastructure developments that have taken place in Freeport to date,” said Cayla Murray, MPP – Western Cape DA Spokesperson for Finance, Economic said Opportunity and Tourism.
Earlier this week, Sasol and ArcelorMittal launched a carbon capture scheme, “green steel”. During the launch, an additional memorandum of understanding was signed between Freeport Saldanha and Sasol to collaborate on the creation of a green hydrogen hub.
It is further revealed that the entity is conducting a feasibility study to place the project on its land, Murray said. “Sasol and ArcelorMittal South Africa will explore more about using and offsetting each other’s emissions, with the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Two industrialists are studying how to use about 1.5 million tons of CO2 generated each year from work at Vanderbijlpark. This CO2 will then be transported to Sasolburg and Ekandustria to replace the use of natural gas, Murray said.
“The green economy is an exciting field with huge potential. It is important that we not only realize its potential but continue to utilize the resources we have while positioning our province as Africa’s green technology hub.
The instability of South Africa’s energy supply and the doubtful sustainability of an ageing fleet of power stations has created a perfect storm necessitating the move away from Eskom and coal-reliant power to securing alternative energy options, said Brent Townes, commercial property chief operating officer for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in Cape Town.
He said organisations like Freeport Saldanha are paving the way to support investors to set up manufacturing facilities in energy transition technologies and further attract energy investments to the Western Cape region.
“It’s become imperative that consumers have alternative options which, albeit at a higher cost initially, assures them not only of a reliable energy supply but also a much-reduced carbon footprint.
“And, with building owners facing an Eskom application at NERSA for a 32% price escalation for 2022/23, alternative energy sources are likely become cost-efficient sooner rather than later – especially as the increase in the cost per kilowatt during the winter months will result in a double whammy as municipalities pass their inefficiencies on as well.”
He said that landlords can mitigate this risk by installing separate meters or even installing solar systems, but ultimately that in itself won’t halt the rapidly increasing cost spiral in the overall business environment
“At the end of the day, the government’s change of heart from their deep reluctance to move away from coal-fired power has almost come too late as the transition is a lengthy process.
“The planning cycle of any such project takes up to 24 months in consultation with all role players before the tender process can begin and then follows the design process, the construction phase, the commissioning phase and so on.”
He cited “the disastrous Medupi project” which was commissioned in 2007 and initially expected to take six years to complete, but Unit 1’s completion was then extended to 2017 and, to date, it’s already R11 billion over budget and far from finished and Kusile has a similar timeline.
“In addition to the fact that these plants will be fueled by coal from surrounding mines and thus deepen their carbon footprint, both still need to substantially correct the estimated design flaws. about 28 billion Rupiah.”
Margeaux Dawe, commerical property practitioner for the group said:
“What’s become patently clear is that, with bureaucracy further hampering efforts on government’s part to introduce new energy sources and technologies, assistance from outside sources is essential to getting alternative and cleaner energy up and running.
“And it’s been heartening to see that this has been forthcoming from a number of countries, including Germany, Japan, China and the US, all of whom are keen not only to invest, but also to share their knowledge and experience.”
Dawe noted that the timeline for these investors to secure land, erect solar and wind power generation systems and then commission them would be considerably shorter than if initiated by the local government.
“Their only potential hurdle would be establishing and securing connections to private consumers and the City of Cape Town – although they are far more proactive than Eskom.”
Freeport Saldanha is the first South African Freeport which is a special economic zone and customs-controlled area within a port dedicated to the Energy and Maritime sector, said Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty.
And, via the creation of the IDZ, Freeport Saldanha has been positioned as an energy hub through which to enable the energy transition as well as initiate the unlocking of the ocean economy.
Situated just 170km from Cape Town and 137km from Koeberg, Freeport Saldanha is a deep-water port with shipping lane capacity and a well-laid-out bonded development node with good road infrastructure, the realty group said.
“With the IDZ perfectly positioned to be leveraged for supply, they are now actively looking for alternative energy suppliers and for their supply chain in and around IDZ,” said Townes.
“Their incentive-backed, turnkey approach hopes to attract domestic and international investment and expertise in the field and we are delighted to be working with them to bring this project to life.” this importance come true.”
Dawe said the group has 356ha of open space for energy transition supply chains such as cleaner fuels, gas, green hydrogen and renewable energy and marine repair, manufacturing, logistics and services. related service.
Warehouse construction has been completed with a number of smaller units underway and many vacant lots are available for tenants who want to build specifically.
“The European Union is introducing a very important carbon border tax for South Africa to join, fully committed to transformation and ready to thrive if we hope to be competitive in the sector,” said Dawe. this area.
The number of hospitals exempted from load reduction across the country has increased from 37 to 72 since the last public announcement by Health Minister Dr. Joe Phaahla in September. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said it is making more efforts to urgently implement exemptions […]
NewsThe number of hospitals exempted from load reduction across the country has increased from 37 to 72 since the last public announcement by Health Minister Dr. Joe Phaahla in September.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said it is making more efforts to urgently implement exemptions for medical facilities in the North Cape and the Northwest, in line with its commitment to ensure that no province is left behind. behind.
According to the ministry’s updated list on Thursday, 17 hospitals are located in Gauteng, 15 hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, 14 hospitals in the Free State, 10 hospitals in Limpopo, seven hospitals in the Eastern Cape and four hospitals. institutes in Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.
Meanwhile, only one hospital is exempt in the North Cape, while no hospital in the North West is excluded from the offload.
However, the ministry said the research team led by the Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Dr Sandile Buthelezi and the Director of Distribution of the Eskom Group, Monde Bala, is currently working closely with the authorities of the two provinces to come up with a proposal. an alternative in the short and medium term. .
The plan, according to the ministry, would see public health facilities such as New Bophelong Psychiatric Hospital, Bophelong Hospital, Taung Hospital, Ganyesa Hospital, Moses Kotane Hospital and Tshwaragano hospital, without power cuts.
“This is despite the technical challenges faced, including the current electrical configuration of the network in most areas where some hospitals are deeply embedded in the network, making it difficult to isolate them right away. instantly.”
However, the team is working on the possibility of offloading large hospitals, as well as other alternatives.
According to the ministry, the exercise is part of the government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the power outage on the delivery of essential health services across the country.
The department said it provided the public institution with 212 priority hospitals across the country to be considered for possible exclusion from the phased approach, of which 67% were provided directly by the cities, while Eskom provided the remaining 33%. .
“Preliminary network analysis shows that 28 hospitals in different provinces can be eliminated from overcrowding by building new infrastructure at an estimated cost of Rs 100 million.”
Load Shedding Update: Phase 3 will continue until further notice, again Staff WriterO October 20, 2022 Eskom Power Company says their previously announced schedule must be reduced again to make room for phase 3 offload all day until further notice. Previously, the team announced that […]
NewsLoad Shedding Update:
Phase 3 will continue until further notice, again Staff WriterO October 20, 2022
Eskom Power Company says their previously announced schedule must be reduced again to make room for phase 3 offload all day until further notice.
Previously, the team announced that Phase 3 will be paused at 05:00 Friday, October 21. However, Level 3 offloading will continue to be implemented until further notice. .
Based on the previous announcement, the load reduction will continue until the end of the week. The stages in which this will happen are currently unknown.
“Delays in bringing one generating set back into service at Duvha, Grootvlei, Kendal and two at the Tutuka power plants, as well as the loss of power to each unit at the Kusile power plants. and Komati lead to this increase in offload,” it said.
Currently, there are no operating units at Kusile Power Plant due to three units having problems, while one unit is idle due to planned maintenance.
Eskom will release a new update as soon as there are significant changes.
He noted that he currently has 5,146 MW under scheduled maintenance, while 17,408 MW of additional capacity is unavailable due to power outages.
Schedule
For residents of major cities, offload schedules are available here
To access other offloading programs, Eskom has made them available at loadhedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the EskomSePush app to receive push notifications when offloading is performed, as well as when the region you are in will be off