June 29, 2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown says Eskom may need to borrow more.

Burundi votes in parliamentary poll amid opposition boycott.

And, the Presidency appoints energy adviser for Zuma.

South Africa's cash-strapped power utility Eskom will have to tap debt markets if the State-owned company fails to get the tariff increase it is seeking, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown was quoted as saying on Monday.

Eskom has asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (or Nersa) to approve a 9.58% price hike. This would bring the total increase this year to over 22% after prices also rose in April.

Nersa was expected to announce its decision on the request on Monday.

Brown said if Nersa did not grant the increase Eskom would have to re-examine its finances and go out and borrow.

Eskom, which imposes rolling blackouts on an almost daily basis due to inadequate electricity capacity, is facing a funding gap to 2018 of up to R200-billion.

Meanwhile, the government had pledged to provide Eskom with a R23-billion capital injection and a R60-billion loan from the State would be converted into equity to improve the utility's liquidity and boost its borrowing capacity.

 

Burundians voted for a new Parliament on Monday, the first in a series of elections boycotted by the opposition after weeks of protests and violence triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term in office.

Gunshots echoed overnight around the capital Bujumbura, the centre of opposition rallies against Nkurunziza and his government, before voting began. Many polling stations opened late.

Despite mounting international criticism, the government had pressed on with the parliamentary vote and its plan for a presidential race on July 15, amid the deepest political crisis since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005.

Demonstrators say Nkurunziza was violating the Constitution by seeking a third term.

The African Union said on Sunday it would not send observers as it did not believe voting would be free or fair. The United States and European Union nations have withheld some aid and threatened sanctions on those behind the violence.

 

The Presidency has appointed Silas Mzingeli Zimu as a special adviser on energy to President Jacob Zuma.

An electrical engineer by qualification and training, Zimu joins the Presidency from the private sector and brings extensive experience in both business and strategic management in energy.

He has held various management positions at State-owned power utility Eskom and also previously worked as MD of Johannesburg City Power.

Director-general in the Presidency Dr Cassius Lubisi welcomed Zimu to the Presidency and said his considerable experience and expertise in matters of energy would greatly contribute to the work being done to mitigate and resolve the energy challenge.

 

Also making headlines:

Square Kilometre Array South Africa project director Dr Bernie Fanaroff said the world will continue to underestimate South Africa until the country develops confidence in itself.

Britain warns further Islamist attacks in Tunisia are possible.

The US has proposed six rival commanders from South Sudan to be the first people blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council for threatening the peace and stability of the world's newest State.

At least two were killed overnight in Burundi one day before parliamentary elections. 

And, twelve Sudanese medical students, most carrying Western passports, are believed to have travelled to Turkey with the intention of crossing into Syria to join Islamist militant groups.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter[@PolityZA]
That’s a roundup of news making headlines today