For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa calls urgent Cabinet meeting to discuss new plan for old coal power stations; De Lille to dissolve SA Tourism board in wake of Tottenham Hotspur scandal; And, Free State High Court hears urgent ANC application to have Mangaung mayoral election overturned

Ramaphosa calls urgent Cabinet meeting to discuss new plan for old coal power stations

President Cyril Ramaphosa will chair a special Cabinet meeting today to examine a plan by electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to slow the decommissioning of old coal power stations as the country battles with energy supply.

This special Cabinet meeting was called after the African National Congress' national working committee approved a plan that would slow down the retirement of old coal power stations. 

According to two insiders with knowledge of the discussions, the plan suggests that this would be done through public-private partnerships, limiting the financial burden to the fiscus.

Prolonging the life of Eskom coal stations will be in direct conflict with SA's just energy transition and the climate goals it committed to at the COP26 conference in 2021.

A group of foreign governments has pledged $8.5-billion (or R155-billion) of concessional funding on the basis that SA meets its nationally determined contributions agreed at COP 26.

The special Cabinet meeting is also expected to focus on the ramping up of emergency power as power-utility Eskom implemented stage six loadshedding. 

Ramaphosa called a special Cabinet meeting as the next ordinary sitting of Cabinet was only due in May. 

De Lille to dissolve SA Tourism board in wake of Tottenham Hotspur scandal

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has announced her intention to dissolve the board of SA Tourism by the end of the week.

This comes after SA Tourism's controversial proposal to sponsor English Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur for nearly R1-billion.

De Lille said she had written to former board chairperson Thozamile Botha, asking for representations on why she should not dissolve the board using the minister's powers under the Tourism Act.

In her letter, De Lille added that she had requested Botha to respond to her in writing by yesterday.

De Lille said eight of the eleven board members, including the chairperson, had resigned between 7 and 13 April.

And, Free State High Court hears urgent ANC application to have Mangaung mayoral election overturned

The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein has started hearing an urgent application by the African National Congress to challenge a Mangaung council sitting that resulted in Afrikan Alliance for Social Democrats president Papi Mokoena being elected mayor of the troubled municipality.

Besides petitioning the court to declare the 14 April council sitting unlawful, the ANC has also asked the court to interdict and restrain Mokoena from performing any mayoral acts.

In its court application, the ANC said the participation of its fired councillors, which allowed the council meeting to reach a quorum, was unlawful as the party had been granted an interdict stopping the seven councillors from participating.

Seven councillors were expelled as members of the ANC in March 2023. The former councillors attempted to partake in the meeting despite their expulsion.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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