September 1, 2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

Roads have been closed and shops have been looted by residents in Limpopo.

Islamist militants attacked the African Union base in south Somalia.

And, global management consultancy McKinsey & Company says gas represents a R250-billion opportunity for South Africa.

Roads in Vuwani, Limpopo remained closed on Tuesday and businesses were looted overnight as residents continued to protest against planned inclusion into a newly demarcated Malamulele Municipality.

Limpopo police spokesperson Elijah Malatji said a total shutdown in the area saw schools and businesses closing down as the protests turned violent.

Malatji said several businesses were looted and some burnt down.

He added that there was no public transport in or out of the area, as roads were barricaded with tyres and rocks.

On Monday, police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds who demanded that President Jacob Zuma intervene and accede to their demand to be excluded from Malamulele municipality.

 

Al Shabaab militants attacked an African Union (AU) base in southern Somalia early on Tuesday with unconfirmed reports that dozens of AU soldiers were killed.

The al Qaeda-aligned militants said one of their fighters rammed a car bomb into the base and then gunmen poured inside the facility run by the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia, AMISOM.

Al Shabaab said 50 AU peacekeepers were killed in the attack on Janale base, about 90 km south of the capital, Mogadishu.

 

Global management consultancy McKinsey & Company argues that South Africa should urgently pursue a ‘big gas’ energy option to bridge an electricity supply gap of between 6 GW and 10 GW that could arise by 2025 as older coal-fired power stations are decommissioned.  

The recommendation was contained in a country-level report titled ‘South Africa’s Big Five: Bold Priorities for Inclusive Growth’ published today.

Coauthor Christine Wu said that with up to 14.4 GW of capacity planned for decommissioning between 2020 and 2030, natural gas could be introduced with a significantly shorter lead time than would be the case for either new coal or nuclear.

The completion of the Medupi and Kusile power stations would add nearly 9 600 MW of capacity when the plants eventually entered commercial operation in the early 2020s, with only the 794 MW Medupi Unit 6 having been introduced into the national grid to date.

 

Also making headlines:

France is set to build a camp at Calais for 1 500 migrants.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar accused government forces of repeatedly breaking a ceasefire and putting at risk a peace deal just days after it was reached.

And, an Ivorian opposition coalition threatens to obstruct elections in October unless the government opens talks on issues such as insecurity and the electoral commission.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.