August 14, 2014.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Motshabi Hoaeane.

Retired judge Zac Yacoob is concerned about the delays in starting the NPA investigation.

Eskom outlines it blackout scenario, saying it won’t be challenged on load-shedding.

And, an Ebola vaccine trial could start in the upcoming weeks.

Retired judge Zac Yacoob has expressed concern about a delay in getting documents from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) so that he can begin his investigation into media leaks at the prosecuting authority.

Yacoob told a radio broadcaster the NPA was meant to deliver documents to him within 48 hours but there was a delay. According to the broadcaster, Yacoob doubted he could meet the three-month deadline in which to complete his investigation.

He said as time went on, the three months time limit became less and less doable.  He said if he was unable to finish the investigation by the middle of October, he would start on the investigation again only at the beginning of December.

In a statement at the end of July, the NPA said it had appointed Yacoob chairperson of a fact-finding committee to investigate allegations of the involvement of NPA employees in leaking information to the media and other parties.

State-owned power utility Eskom will make no apologies for its unpopular load shedding measures, saying on Wednesday that the long-term sustainability of the group and the security of the national power grid remained at the heart of its decisions.

Noting that the parastatal had to make “difficult decisions on a daily basis” to keep the lights on, Eskom group executive for sustainability Dr Steve Lennon told a media and stakeholder information session that the company had recently made a “step-change” in its approach to align security of supply with increasing demand.

Lennon added that one of the critical functions of Eskom was to maintain the power system at a frequency level of 50 Hz to prevent a blackout, which would be averted through the implementation of scheduled load-reduction measures when necessary.

Eskom’s fierce defence of its load reduction measures rested on the need to avoid a “devastating” blackout scenario, which would see a level of electricity demand that could not be met by reserve or other grid-linked power sources.

NewLink Genetics Corp, which licensed an Ebola vaccine developed by Canadian government scientists, has enough doses on hand to launch the first human safety trial of an Ebola vaccine this summer, its chief executive said.

The company has also lined up two contract manufacturing companies and possibly a third and will be able to produce tens of thousands of vaccine doses within "the next month or two," Dr Charles Link said in an interview.

The company is in discussions with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and Walter Reed Army Medical Center about where to conduct the trial and how to recruit volunteers. To get robust data, Link said, the vaccine should be given to between 20 and 100 healthy volunteers, all of whom would give informed consent.

Also making headlines:

South African waste management company EnviroServ has developed an anaerobic digestion system, which converts sludge into green energy at its Belville facility in Cape Town.

The US has threatened sanctions on those blocking the peace deal in South Sudan, particularly against anyone committing human rights abuses.

And, a consignment of experimental Ebola drugs arrived by plane in Liberia on Wednesday to treat two doctors suffering from the virus, which has killed more than 1 000 people across four West African countries.

Also on Polity:

Don’t miss this week’s Suttner’s View, an analysis by Professor Raymond Suttner on Nelson Mandela’s changing manifestations of masculinity.

Also, be sure to read the latest report by Human Rights Watch on the Rab’a massacre and mass killings of protesters in Egypt.

Don’t forget to follow @PolityZA on Twitter for updates on breaking news.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.