November 26, 2014.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

Operational and financial headwinds place Eskom in the worst position in ‘living memory’.

Sub-Saharan Africa is faced with downside risks owing to its links to China's economy.

And, street protests in Burkina Faso prompt a minister's resignation.

State-owned electricity utility Eskom is forecasting a dramatic slump in profitability for the full-year to March 31, 2015. CEO Tshediso Matona indicated that its profit is likely to fall to R500-million in 2014/15 from nearly R7.1-billion in 2013/14.

Releasing interim results on Tuesday, Matona indicated, too, that the group was facing serious operational headwinds. These, together with its financial constraints, meant that Eskom was in its “most challenging position in living memory”.

In the six months to September 30, 2014, Eskom recorded a 5.4% rise in revenue to R82-billion period on period – a rise that was attributed entirely to higher electricity tariffs, with electricity sales falling by 1.4%. The decline was attributed to industrial action in the platinum sector, a contraction of the gold industry and the closure of the Bayside aluminium smelter.

Revenue for the full year was expected to come in at only R146-billion. Finance director Tsholofelo Molefe said sales were expected to decline materially in the second half of the financial year, while profits earned in the first half would be more or less “wiped out” in the second half.

Municipal debt, which exceeded R7-billion, had also become a major drain on the utility, whose cash and cash equivalents declined to R12.9-billion by the end of September, from R19.7-billion at the end of March.

Ratings agency Moody's Investor Service says sub-Saharan Africa is faced with downside risks because of its links to China's economy.

Moody's vice president and senior credit officer Matt Robinson  said countries demonstrating strong regional trade links are faced with lower risk than those that relied on commodity exports.

Robinson said the importance of China for the sub-Saharan Africa as an export destination had risen to be almost on par with traditional European trading partners, reflecting greater trade integration and a near-doubling in sub-Saharan Africa's share of global trade over the past decade.

Moody's expected Chinese growth,– one of the drivers of global gross domestic product – to be between 6.5% and 7.5% in 2015. However, a slower than expected expansion would further undermine global economic prospects.

Robinson said sub-Saharan Africa could be negatively affected by a sharper-than-expected slowdown in China or further by the deterioration in commodity prices.

A minister in Burkina Faso's transitional government who was seen as being close to former President Blaise Compaore's administration resigned on Tuesday following two days of protests over his appointment.

The resignation is an early test for the West African country's new leaders President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida who will lead until the elections planned for 2015.

Compaore resigned and fled the country in late October following protests over his bid to amend the constitution to extend his 27 years in power.

A brief period of army rule under Zida ensued before he ceded to African Union pressure to hand power back to a civilian ruler.

Culture and Tourism minister Adama Sagnon, appointed to the 26-member interim government at the weekend, submitted his resignation on Tuesday and it was accepted.

Earlier in the day, hundreds marched in front of his ministry accusing him of not doing enough to investigate the mysterious murder of prominent investigative journalist Norbert Zongo in 1998 when he was a prosecutor. The case was dismissed in 2006.

Also making headlines:

The South African National Accreditation System, which operated under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry, is embarking on a drive to develop synergistic accreditation bodies across Africa to bolster international trade.

The South African Post Office says it is encouraged by the increased return of employees to work following a settlement with unions.

And, burial workers in Sierra Leone have dumped dead bodies in the street outside a hospital in protest at authorities' failure to pay bonuses for handling Ebola victims, in the latest strike to hamper the fight against the worst known outbreak of the virus.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.