For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: Govt asked to take bold steps to restore public trust, UIF hits R40bn disbursement mark and, Stage 2 load-shedding to continue

Govt asked to take bold steps to restore public trust

The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference has appealed to President Cyril Ramphosa to abandon the “politics of expediency and appeasement” and take steps to restore the public’s trust in The Presidency.

This follows the recent corruption scandal involving the alleged looting of public resources and funds meant to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

SACBC said it was appalled at allegations of looting of public resources during the pandemic but said it was not surprised.

The organisation also expressed concern that anticorruption institutions continue to be compromised and are made less effective by patronage politics and “blind allegiance” to political factions.

UIF hits R40bn disbursement mark

The Unemployment Insurance Fund has hit the R40-billion mark in coronavirus Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme disbursements in efforts to ease the financial difficulties faced by workers during the pandemic-induced lockdown.

Dubbed the “magical figure” that government committed to, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi confirmed on August 14 that government had committed to an extension of the scheme until August 15 as a result of the disaster period change.

This means that, in the end, more funds will be paid out than what was initially promised.

Nxesi said his department wanted to  make sure that all the outstanding valid claims are paid as soon as all the information is received.

Stage 2 load-shedding to continue

Despite successfully returning four generation units to service, Eskom has said this will not stave off load-shedding and has announced that it will continue to implement Stage 2 load-shedding between 8am and 10pm on Friday.

The power utility said this load-shedding has been caused by an increase in plant breakdowns over the past few days.

It said staying on Stage 2 load-shedding will also assist in preserving their emergency generation reserves.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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