June 18, 2014
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:
 

President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address unveils plans to tackle growth-sapping labour and power woes.

The African Union ends Egypt and Guinea Bissau’s suspension following their respective elections.

And, Eskom’s load reduction is likely to extend until Thursday.

 

President Jacob Zuma placed the growth-sapping issues of labour instability and electricity insecurity at the centre of his post-election State of the Nation address to lawmakers on Tuesday night.

He also used the platform to announce a series of new interventions to "jump-start" the economy, ranging from the creation of a Cabinet subcommittee to tackle the country’s energy constraints to a serious re-engagement with business to deal with the prevailing constraints to investment.

Zuma announced that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa had been mandated to convene a “social partners dialogue”, through the National Economic Development and Labour Council, to improve relations between government, business and labour, while he would personally oversee the implementation of the “landmark” Framework Agreement for a Sustainable Mining Industry.

This business-friendly stance, however, was balanced by an announcement that government would study the institution of a minimum wage, alongside more immediate initiatives designed specifically to improve housing and municipal services in mining towns.

The African Union (or AU) ended the suspension of Egypt and Guinea Bissau from the grouping on Tuesday after the two countries elected new leaders, a senior AU official said.

Egypt held an election in May after it was suspended from all the activities of the African body when the military overthrew the elected president, Islamist Mohamed Mursi, in July last year. Guinea Bissau also held a vote in May after a military takeover. Suspension is the AU's usual response to any interruption of constitutional rule by a member.

AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui said that a decision had been taken to allow Egypt to regain its seat in all the activities of the African Union.

State-owned power utility Eskom’s rotational load shedding was likely to continue until Thursday as the national grid remained under significant strain.

A spokesperson for the power utility, which started implementing rotational load reduction just after 17:00 on Tuesday to cut electricity use and balance the system, told Engineering News Online that the system remained constrained and load shedding would likely be implemented to conserve electricity.

The outlook for Friday and the weekend was more positive, with no power cuts expected, as demand eased in what was generally a lower-use period.

The most recent biweekly system status bulletin, released on Monday, forecast peak demand for Wednesday at 35 026 MW and 35 192 MW on Thursday. Eskom said it was planning on releasing an update on the state of the power system later on Wednesday.

Also making headlines:
 

Mining companies are ‘reviewing’ the response from AMCU on the latest platinum sector wage offer.

An explosion tore through a venue in the northeast Nigerian town of Damaturu where fans had gathered to watch a World Cup soccer match on Tuesday, killing several people.

And, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s investigations into reports that national police commissioner Riah Phiyega allegedly tipped off an officer about probes against him, have been completed.
 

That’s a roundup of news-making headlines today.