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With another motion of no confidence in Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse looming, the turmoil in the governing coalition continues, with ActionSA blaming the Democratic Alliance's (DA's) federal executive committee (fedex) for scuppering a deal with the Patriotic Alliance (PA), and the DA accusing ActionSA of acting in bad faith.

This bickering between the two biggest partners in the coalition comes against the backdrop of the third attempt to remove Phalatse after the African Transformation Movement, Al Jamah-ah and the African Independent Congress (AIC) brought motions last week, which will be heard on Thursday.

It set in motion negotiations between the parties to restore most of the original coalition, which would mean that the Patriotic Alliance (PA) would have to be brought back into the fold.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said in a statement on Wednesday morning that the PA accepted a deal that would have restored the Johannesburg coalition, keeping the African National Congress (ANC) out of Johannesburg and "most likely, the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] out in Ekurhuleni".

The deal would see ActionSA sacrifice two positions on the mayoral committee to accommodate the PA.

According to Beaumont, the DA's fedex rejected the deal.

"The DA's stated reasons for rejecting the deal are a false pretence to mask their intention to allow the coalition government to collapse in Johannesburg," Beaumont said. The coalition partners implored the DA to reconsider, but according to Beaumont, they refused.

"The DA's position was put to the PA which rejected the proposal and stated that they would not work with this multi-party coalition arrangement in Johannesburg involving the DA," he said.

On Tuesday, the national coalition structure wrote to DA leader John Steenhuisen to urge the fedex to reconsider its position.

"Despite the urgency of an impending motion of no confidence on Thursday, the DA has not favoured its partners with a response," Beaumont said.

According to him, the motion against Phalatse will most likely succeed as "a direct result of the DA's actions".

"The actions of the DA are a deliberate and inexcusable betrayal of the public commitment made by parties in the coalition to keep the ANC out of government and to provide an alternative to all South Africans. It has produced a bizarre dynamic where coalition partners have worked tirelessly to keep Mayor Phalatse in office while the DA is obstructionist to this agenda," Beaumont said.

"ActionSA will remain consistent and vote against the motion of no confidence in Mayor Phalatse on Thursday to ensure we remain true to our commitment to the coalition even if the DA has reneged on its commitment. Alongside other coalition partners, ActionSA supports a proposal made to accommodate the PA, which was agreed to by all parties (including the PA and the DA) and continue to push the DA to honour this agreement."

Chairperson of the DA's federal council Helen Zille said Beaumont's statement was "premature and in bad faith".

"The ball is entirely in their court. Our fedex met last night and sent an updated offer this morning (Wednesday), in good faith. ActionSA issued their statement even before considering our offer," Zille said in a text message to News24.

"That shows that they are not serious about these negotiations. While they should be making a considered response to a further compromise the DA has made, as we have done in good faith through these negotiations, they have ignored our response and are trying to apportion blame. That is very unfortunate."

She said the DA had shown good faith throughout and had made substantial compromises to keep the coalition in place and the ANC out of government in Johannesburg.

Beaumont said ActionSA must now consider the possibility that the multi-party government in Johannesburg could collapse.

"ActionSA is now openly part of a group of parties within the coalition that is working to see if an alternate coalition can be ...

Opposition party leader John Steenhuisen said that a vote for the Democratic Alliance (DA) could ensure that power is reclaimed from the ruling African National Congress (ANC), who he blames for the country’s current energy crisis.

Steenhuisen addressed his supporters in the vicinity of Luthuli House during the DA's Power To The People march on Wednesday, which was organised to highlight the exacerbating energy crisis.

Steenhuisen reiterated that the root cause of where the country was stemmed from the energy deals that were struck at Luthuli House, as calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to get rid of Gwede Mantashe gain momentum.

“Together we will beat crime, together we will beat unemployment, and together we will beat poor service delivery. But today’s challenge is the energy crisis, which threatens to derail not only our fragile economy, but our entire project South Africa. Because if we don’t solve this problem soon and end loadshedding for good, our society will start falling apart. Already we are close to breaking point, and communities across the country have run out of patience. We have to restore power to the people before the situation explodes into chaos,” said Steenhuisen.

He went on to criticise Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille for spending hundreds of thousands of rands worth of free diesel to run free generators, allegedly provided to all Cabinet Ministers instead of making sure that places like the hospitals and old age homes had power.

“And when the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says you must pay 19% more and then another 12% more, on top of 650% increase you’ve already paid these past 15 years, they don’t care. Because they don’t even pay for their electricity. You do, for all of it. So why would these Ministers feel any urgency to fix a situation that doesn’t affect them at all? And why would the people inside that building stop doing what they’ve been doing all these years when it’s been so rewarding for them?” Steenhuisen said to supporters.

He blamed the woes of Eskom on outdated policy, greed and corruption and cadre deployment.

Steenhuisen said the DA’s march was about taking back the power from a small elite that had insulated itself from poverty, crime and loadshedding.

He said the DA was marching on the ANC’s headquarters because the liberation party was to blame for the current energy crisis that the country found itself in.

“Every decision to delay the building of new power stations or to delay the procurement of electricity from other sources, every decision to put off station maintenance until things started falling apart, every corrupt contract issued to a connected crony, was either made inside that building, or by an ANC cadre deployed by a committee that sat inside that building,” he said.

He called on South Africans to make a change at the election polls in 2024 for a prosperous country.

He called it the “most important election any of you will ever vote in”.

“If we want to end loadshedding, we have to start ANC-shedding. And that will only happen if you remember on voting day exactly what they did to you. Don’t be fooled if they run the diesel turbines for weeks around elections to temporarily halt loadshedding. Don’t be fooled if Stage 6 suddenly becomes Stage 2. Remember them at their worst, because that is what it will undoubtedly return to if they are given another chance,” Steenhuisen stated.

The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has thrown its support behind President Cyril Ramaphosa to halt the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's Eskom tariff hike decision.

This comes after the party apparently received a comprehensive presentation from him on government’s interventions to stop loadshedding, in what ANC KZN provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo called “frank, robust and no-holds-barred discussions”.

Ramaphosa said he had asked Eskom not to impose the tariff hike that is set to take place on April 1.

Addressing the media on Tuesday following a Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting, Mtolo applauded Ramaphosa for “being honest when it comes to the time it would take to fix the country’s energy crisis”.

The country was dealing with ongoing power cuts which Mtolo said were resulting in negative economic conditions that were imposing hardships on millions of people in the province.

Mtolo said the engagements held with Ramaphosa were indicative of the party’s quest to finding long-lasting solutions to loadshedding, the collapse of water infrastructure and the high rate of unemployment.

“As the PEC we have resolved to ensure that the people of this province see visible action that takes us beyond these challenges. It will be an indictment on all of us as the PEC and the NEC if we fail to act against the reversal of the gains we have made since attaining democracy in 1994. We must hasten to point out that the participation of the president in the PEC was aimed at inculcating the culture of accountability by leaders elected by the structures. We want to entrench this culture in the regions and branches,” said Mtolo.

He added that the ANC in KZN put the blame for the energy crisis on outgoing Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and COO Jan Oberholzer for failing to ensure that Eskom's energy availability factor across all power stations was maintained.

Mtolo painted De Ruyter as an “incompetent leader” who had been constantly encouraging the Western Cape government to cut ties with Eskom.

WATER MANAGEMENT CRISIS

The KZN PEC said it acknowledged that access to water was a basic human right and that it was alive to the fact that whenever the ANC government was condemned, it was on the basis of the non-availability of water.

Mtolo revealed that the PEC had resolved to support Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu’s efforts to radically champion the delivery of water services in a manner that ensured ownership by the community through water associations.

On the Makhathini Lower Phongolo Water User Association, which consisted of various stakeholders, including civil society and the business sector, Mtolo said the ANC would ensure that all water users in the uMkhanyakude and Zululand District catchment areas were part of decision-making processes regarding water management.

“It is through the ANC that the community of uMkhanyakude and Zululand districts will be actively involved in the management and operations of water infrastructure - including a 350 km pipeline network in their districts. We must hasten to point out that the formation of the Water User Association comes hot on the heels of great progress towards the awarding of a water abstraction licence to the uMkhanyakude municipality by the Department of Water and Sanitation,” stressed Mtolo.

Those "aggrieved" by the upcoming 18.65% electricity tariff hike will have to lodge a court application to challenge the energy regulator's decision, power utility Eskom has said.

This comes days after President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates at the African National Congress Free State provincial conference that he asked the power utility to halt the tariff hike amid ongoing loadshedding. The tariff is set to kick in April.

Responding to questions from News24, Eskom indicated that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is the only authority in the country that can set the price that consumers can be charged for electricity. Nersa also follows an "exhaustive" public participation process to get input from different stakeholders and considers the costs that Eskom will incur before deciding on the final outcome.

Nersa allows for Eskom to recover "efficient costs," said Eskom. These relate to commitments such as coal contracts, Independent Power Producer Contracts, diesel purchases, the implementation of maintenance, employee contracts, and debt commitments.

"If Eskom does not recover from the consumer, then the burden on the taxpayer increases. Thus efficient costs will need to be recovered – they do not just disappear," the power utility said.

It added that the only route open to challenge Nersa's decision is to launch an application with a high court to review and set aside the regulator's determination.

"Neither Eskom nor any other authority can determine electricity prices, Nersa cannot change its own decision unless reviewed in a court of law. Once a decision has been made, Nersa lacks any power to re-examine its decision. Charging any price other than that determined by Nersa is not legally possible."

University of Johannesburg Professor Hartmut Winkler, who focuses on energy matters, similarly highlighted Nersa's role in setting the electricity price. He argued that if Eskom were not to implement the tariff hike, there would need to be a trade-off such that government provide some support to make up for the shortfall the utility faces.

Winkler warned that if Eskom adheres to the president's request, it will set a precedent for the price increase to be halted again in future.

In bidding farewell to the late founding Speaker of South Africa’s democratic Parliament Dr Frene Ginwala, President Cyril Ramaphosa encouraged citizens to recognise that the struggle for equal rights and opportunities for women is far from won.

Delivering the eulogy at Ginwala’s memorial service in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said despite significant progress, women are still under-represented in positions of authority, responsibility and influence across nearly all areas of public life.

“And despite the progressive policies we have pursued since the advent of democracy, women are still over-represented among the poor, the unemployed and the vulnerable,” he said.

Ramaphosa described Ginwala as a pioneer, pathfinder and a leader who was instrumental in setting up the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) first office in exile.

Ginwala passed away at her home in Cape Town on January 12, at the age of 90 following a stroke two weeks earlier. She was laid to rest in a private ceremony earlier this month.

She served the anti-apartheid struggle and South Africa’s democratic dispensation in a diversity of roles as a lawyer, academic, political leader, activist and journalist.

“We gather here this morning to celebrate the remarkable life of Frene Ginwala, and pay tribute to her profound contribution to the cause of freedom, peace and progress. We remember a life that was as rich in experience as it was rich in meaning,” said Ramaphosa.

He said Ginwala was an eloquent and persuasive champion of the cause of the South African people.

Ginwala formed part of the task force to establish the ANC Women’s League in the country. She became the convenor of the Women’s National Coalition, which brought together women from across the political spectrum to draw up a women’s charter.

Ramaphosa highlighted that this formation played a critical role in ensuring that the rights of women received proper attention in the negotiations process and were enshrined in the new constitutional order.

“As Frene would remind us, until we have achieved equality between men and women in all spheres of life, we will not be free. We will remember Frene Ginwala as a pioneer in building our democracy from the ruins of apartheid,” Ramaphosa stated.

She was also amongst the women who marched on the Union Buildings in 1956.

Ramaphosa said as part of the ANC’s negotiating team, Ginwala brought all her legal training, sharp mind and political conviction to forge a new Constitutional order in the country.

Ramaphosa added it was through her role as the first Speaker that she had the greatest and most enduring impact on the country’s young democracy.

Retired South African politician affiliated with the ANC, academic and businessman Mac Maharaj also attended the memorial service.

“May Ginwala’s legacy inspire us to soldier on to build the South Africa of our dreams. The South Africa enshrined in the Freedom Charter and in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which was signed into the country’s foundation law at Sharpeville by the late former President Nelson Mandela on December 10, 1996,” he said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that there is no intention of overhauling the Energy Action Plan he unveiled in July last year, even while acknowledging that “many of the measures in the plan will not be felt in the immediate term” and that loadshedding will, thus, continue.

Writing in his weekly newsletter following a week of consultative meetings on the electricity crisis with various social partners and the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM), which he chairs, the President said he had used the meetings to underline “the importance of staying the course, instead of coming up with unsustainable short-term solutions”.

“Six months ago I announced a national Energy Action Plan to improve the performance of Eskom’s power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible.

“This plan was the result of extensive consultation and was endorsed by energy experts as the most realistic path towards ending loadshedding,” the President writes.

Many of the measures, would not be felt in the immediate term, however.

“We must be realistic about our challenges and about what it is going to take to fix them. While we all desperately want to, we cannot end loadshedding overnight.”

He made no reference in the newsletter to his reported request to Eskom to halt the implementation of the 18.65% tariff increase, which was recently sanctioned by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

Such an intervention, while popular, would further weaken Eskom’s financial ability to respond to the crisis, including to implement the Energy Action Plan’s goal of recovering the performance of the under-maintained coal fleet, as well as to beef up security around Eskom’s assets, which have become hotbeds of corruption and crime, including sabotage.

Speaking on Radio 702, Eskom chairperson Mpho Makwana denied the President had requested Eskom to halt the hike, but had rather requested the utility to assess ways to “absorb the impact of the 18.65%”.

"We have indicated that we have a number of brilliant minds on our board that will look at all means possible to ease the pain. We are sympathetic to South Africans," Makwana said, adding that it would report back to NECOM on possible mechanisms to limit the impact of the tariff increase.

Should the increase, which is due for implementation on April 1, be moderated, it is possible that Eskom may need to approach the National Treasury for support over-and-above the regular injections already being received to sustain the State-owned company as a going concern.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has already rebuffed the utility’s attempt to secure money to purchase additional diesel, but is expected to announce details of a debt-relief package in his February Budget.

Godongwana indicated in October that between one-third and two-thirds of Eskom’s near R400-billion debt could be transferred from Eskom to the National Treasury.

In his newsletter, meanwhile, Ramaphosa says he is aware that “everyone is fed up” with loadshedding, but insists that, by implementing the Energy Action Plan, loadshedding will steadily become less severe.

“That is why we are using every means at our disposal, calling on every resource we have, to get power onto the grid as a matter of extreme urgency.”

There is a big focus, he indicates, on improving plant performance, particularly at the six underperforming power stations of Kendal, Matla, Majuba, Duvha, Tutuka and Kusile.

The day before the newsletter was published, Eskom released details of a board- and shareholder-approved generation recovery plan to deliver more than 6 000 MW of Eskom generation over the coming two years.

The maintenance-led initiative aims to recover Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) from an average for the current financial year of 58% to a nominal 60% by the end of March. The goal is then to progressively increase the average EAF to 65% by the end of March 2024 and to 70% by the end of March 2025.

Engineering consultant WSP Africa hav...

Despite worldwide criticism, South Africa will not abandon its neutral stance on Russia's war on Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans said on Monday.

"Contrary to the assertions by our critics, South Africa is not abandoning its neutral position on the Russian-Ukraine conflict," the ministry said in a statement.

It added that it would "remain firm in our view that multilateralism and dialogue are keys to unlock sustainable international peace".

Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, sparking a protracted war and sanctions by the west. While Russian forces have faced stiff resistance from Ukraine, suffering significant losses, it has annexed four regions of Ukraine.

In October, South Africa abstained from a United Nations vote on Russia's annexation of the regions. Previously, the country also abstained from a vote on whether to suspend Russia from the UN's Human Rights Council.

The ministry's statement comes as the SA government prepares to host the People's Liberation Army Navy from China and the Russian Federal Navy during the multilateral maritime exercise scheduled to take place from 17 to 27 February.

Known as Exercise Mosi II (Two), the maritime exercise will take place in Durban and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa, like any independent and sovereign state, has a right to conduct its foreign relations in line with its own diplomatic relations and national interests, the government said.

"South Africa sees Exercise Mosi II as an opportunity to contribute towards further strengthening the strong bonds that exist between South Africa, Russia and China."

This will be the second such exercise involving the three naval forces. The first one was held in November 2019 in Cape Town, the ministry said.

This year's exercise will see more than 350 SA National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel from various arms of services and divisions participate alongside their Russian and Chinese counterparts, he added.

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise said she was confident the exercise would "benefit all three participating nations".

"The envisaged exercise will benefit all countries involved through interoperability of the naval systems, joint disaster systems management enhancement, maritime cooperation and anti-piracy exercises," she said.

In addition, Exercise Mosi II will serve as a platform for the three nations to share operational skills, expertise and experience, she said.

SA enjoys diplomatic relations with all member states of Brics (Brazil, Russia and China) at a bilateral level, in addition to multilateral levels, said the ministry.

"We also enjoy defence diplomatic relations with several countries across all the continents of the world, since we have become an integral part of the community of nations and no longer a pariah state."

The ministry said that in recent months, South Africa had engagements with counterparts in the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Ghana.

There was no hype about any of these countries, especially with regard to the USA wherein we held an even longer exercise, known as Exercise Shared Accord, in KwaZulu-Natal last year regarding our military health capabilities, it added.

Exercise Shared Accord, planned and executed by the United States Army Southern European Task Force, features several key exercises occurring simultaneously, including a medical training exercise, field training exercises and a training segment.

The SANDF plans and budgets for military exercises with other nations across the globe, both at bilateral and multilateral levels, and Exercise Mosi II was no exception, the ministry pointed out.

It added that a biennial maritime Exercise Oxide between South Africa and France took place in November last year at the Simon's Town Naval Base.

Meanwhile, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor was meeting with Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in Pretoria on Monday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says red tape has hampered Eskom's maintenance and the supply of additional megawatts from other sources.

"When we are now supposed to do things, there is this regulation, law and processes. When Eskom has to buy a boiler, they have to go to the Treasury and get permission, it is a long process," said Ramaphosa on Monday.

He was addressing a meeting of the African National Congress (ANC) KwaZulu-Natal's provincial executive committee (PEC), which was held at the Msunduzi Athletics Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

"We want to improve and speed up the licensing. We have established so many regulations, that ties us up and delays us and adds to the bureaucracy that we have to go through," he said about independent power producers (IPPs).

South Africa is currently in one of its worst electricity crises since democracy, with record levels of loadshedding, which peaked at Stage 6 in recent weeks.

The crisis has caused extensive damage to an already ailing economy, while ordinary South Africans and businesses continue to lose faith in the government's ability to supply power.

Ramaphosa told the KZN PEC that regulations put in place have hampered the deepening crisis, which is set to continue for at least another two years.

"We have put in place regulations that hold them back. These are some of the things that frustrate them (Eskom). They say, 'president, we cannot get spares easily'."

Renewable energy

Ramaphosa said the government was aiming to improve the performance of existing power stations and also to add more megawatts through renewable energy.

The government also wants to source surplus power from other southern African countries, he said.

"In our case, we are aiming to improve, right now, the performance of existing power stations. As I said, 80% of them are coal.

"The other objective is to add new capacity. When it comes to that, to address the current crisis, we are saying, yes, we are going to look at renewables. There are a lot of great opportunities emerging with renewables."

The Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape are well-equipped when it comes to the capacity to generate solar and wind energy, he said.

"These are new technologically advanced sources of energy that we can utilise, so that is why we embarked on an IPP which, for Northern Cape, has brought almost R200-billion worth of investment."

He lamented the shortage of 6 000 megawatts on the national grid, saying poor maintenance ushered in the electricity crisis.

"In the past, one of the problems we had was that, over time, we did not maintain our power stations. In fact, we went through a period with Eskom where the word that was issued was, 'Don't maintain, just run the power stations and keep the lights on', particularly as we went into 2010.

"What we are reaping today is that many plants have not been properly maintained. Over time, maintenance was downgraded and the plants were run very hard."

He said the repair for current power stations had to be budgeted for two years in advance.

"And we would have to take them out of service for between six months and a year. We have to look at every part and replace what is not working."

The government was scaling up the process of issuing permits for renewable energy, he said.

"We have also been looking around southern Africa to see if other countries have more megawatts they can sell. That has been underway and we have been acquiring a number of megawatts from those countries."

Bemoaning the constant delays in his R225-million Free State asbestos corruption case, former African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule sarcastically suggested that he might take a leaf out of President Cyril Ramaphosa's playbook and apply for an interdict to halt his own prosecution.

Referring to Ramaphosa's successful urgent interdict application on Monday halting former president Jacob Zuma from privately prosecuting him as an accessory after the fact in his alleged leaking of his medical records, Magashule told journalists on Friday that he was considering the same legal route as a last resort.

"I am sure they will postpone this case repeatedly while creating stories that it is us, the accused, who are not ready."

Magashule added: "Maybe I must do what President Cyril Ramaphosa has done and interdict these proceedings so that I am also not charged, and then I will see whether the courts treat us the same because once you are charged, you have to appear in court."

He was speaking outside the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein before the pre-trial hearing on Friday. He is a key accused in the case, which has been postponed to 5 May.

Magashule has unsuccessfully tried to have the charges against him thrown out, and has since approached the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The case was postponed in order for the applications at the SCA to be heard first.

Magashule and 18 others stand accused of fraud, corruption, and money laundering.

During his last appearance, Magashule insisted that his concerns about the case being a political witch hunt be placed on record.

He asked to be charged separately in order to speed up proceedings, and suggested that the endless postponements could jeopardise his political career.

His ally Carl Niehaus, who has also been expelled from the ANC, spoke to the media outside court, saying it was unfair that the continued postponements had effectively ruled Magashule out of contention at the recently concluded ANC elective conference.

Despite being out in the cold, Magashule said: "I am here and still fine. Watch this space."

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday congratulated the Matric Class of 2022, with nearly two-thirds of distinctions having been achieved by female candidates and a 10% increase in the number of female candidates obtaining Bachelor passes.

Ramaphosa said this was evidence of growing gender equality in education.

On Thursday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced the National Senior Certificate results, which boasted a 80.1% pass rate, an increase of 9% compared with 2021, in the number of learners qualifying for Bachelor studies.

The results also included a 77.2% pass rate among candidates from no-fees schools and a 91.5% pass rate in independent schools.

Ramaphosa congratulated the Class for outstanding individual and collective performances, especially since learners faced the challenge of two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Class of 2022 deserves the congratulations and respect of the nation for rising above the challenges of Covid-19, loadshedding and a period of unrest,” he stressed and said the results promised for a more hopeful future.

The President went on to encourage citizens to work together to build a society where learners were not only measured by their resilience in testing times but where they can fulfil their potential in conducive conditions.

“As much as we celebrate individual achievement, the Class of 2022 also constitutes a pass for our education system; it vindicates the extensive and unwavering investment we have made in education during nearly 30 years of freedom,” he stated.

He added that the achievements of 2022 were owed to the diligence of learners alongside the commitment and support of teachers and education officials, who also endured the challenges of the year.

Ramaphosa encouraged matriculates who failed to pick themself up and take advantage of a number of options that would empower them to continue their journey to success.