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

Making headlines: Cape Town to pay cash for electricity; DA wants Ramaphosa to show Mantashe the door; And, Public Protector's office completes Phala Phala investigation

Cape Town to pay cash for electricity

The City of Cape Town announced today that it will pay cash and an incentive to businesses that feed their excess power into the grid, laying the basis for further future loadshedding reductions. 

The same will be extended to households generating their own energy later this year.

To pay cash to entities feeding into the municipal grid, the City had to apply for exemption from the National Treasury from public procurement legislation which requires competitive bidding for all purchases.

The City also dropped the policy requirement that customers be "net users" of electricity, which previously only allowed municipal bills to be credited for excess power, instead of cash payments.

Also, the City had to apply to the National Energy Regulator of SA for an approved feed-in tariff.

DA wants Ramaphosa to show Mantashe the door

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen has said that if President Cyril Ramaphosa is serious about halting the electricity price increase, he must get rid of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

South Africans and the business sector have spoken out strongly against the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s decision to grant Eskom a 18.65% price increase in electricity tariffs on 1 April, this as the country battles loadshedding, which is crippling the economy.

The DA leader pointed out that Mantashe is a major obstacle to an urgently needed reform of South Africa’s electricity sector.

He wants to see an end to political interference in Eskom, and has suggested that the President fire Mantashe and Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and replace them with “capable individuals who understand that socialism has failed and that open markets deliver prosperity”.

Steenhuisen also wants Ramaphosa to bring back experienced, skilled engineers to Eskom to help alleviate the energy crisis.

The DA is marching to the ANC headquarters on Wednesday.

And, Public Protector's office completes Phala Phala investigation

The Office of the Public Protector has completed its Phala Phala investigation and an interim report has been completed

The acting executive manager of the office's investigations branch, Vusumuzi Dlamini, told African Transformation Movement leader Vuyolwethu Zungula this in a letter on January 20. ATM complained to the Public about allegations that President Cyril Ramaphosa violated the Executive Ethics Code after the theft of dollars that were hidden at his game farm, Phala Phala, in Limpopo, in 2020.

He also indicated that further progress or new developments would be communicated to Zungula.

Zungula welcomed the update but indicated that progress on the investigation was taking a long time.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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