August 02, 2022.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Nadine Ramdass.

Making headlines:

Stage 2 load-shedding expected at short notice

Ramaphosa says communities must not shelter criminals

And, R745-million Eskom fraud case to resume in November after yet another delay

Stage 2 load-shedding expected at short notice

Eskom warned today that Stage 2 load-shedding might be implemented at short notice between 4pm and midnight over the next three days.

This is due to a delay in returning a generation unit to service each at Arnot, Kusile and the Koeberg power stations, as well as the failure of a generation unit each at Medupi, Hendrina, Camden, and two units at Majuba.

Some generation units at other power stations are expected to return to service over the next few days. However, Eskom said should there be any further loss of generation capacity over the next three days, or should some units fail to return to service as anticipated, load-shedding may be required to be implemented at short notice.

Eskom currently has 2 986MW out on planned maintenance, while another 15 513MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.

Ramaphosa says communities must not shelter criminals

President Cyril Ramaphosa is urging South Africans to act with greater urgency and purpose to stop gender-based violence, and he is specifically calling on communities to work with the South African Police Service to ensure that criminals are apprehended.

Last week a group of men and women shooting a music video at a disused mine near Krugersdorp were attacked by armed assailants who gang raped eight of the women.

Ramaphosa said GBV and femicide is a deep-rooted societal problem that is the responsibility of all society to bring to a decisive end.

New legal provision that came into effect on Sunday now means that all South Africans have a legal duty to report crimes to authorities.

He reaffirmed that all tip-offs received by the Saps Crime Stop contact centre are confidential.

R745-million Eskom fraud case to resume in November after yet another delay

The case involving former Eskom managers accused of fraud, corruption and money laundering, related to a deal at the Kusile power station, has once again been postponed.

The power utility's former senior manager France Hlakudi appeared at the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court in Johannesburg.

The charges against the accused relate to a contract worth R745-million at Eskom's Kusile power station in Mpumalanga between 2014 and 2017. Hlakudi and a co-accused allegedly walked away with R30-million each in bribes.

The case has been beset by a series of postponements since it began in 2019. Some of the delays were due to Hlakudi changing lawyers.

In the latest hearing, the defence was meant to argue its unreasonable delay application after accusing the prosecution of disclosing information little by little. 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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