For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Eskom announces Stage 6 load-shedding; Steenhuisen says SA's chances of survival slim if ANC remains in power beyond 2024 elections; And, Ramaphosa says Russia-Ukraine conflict could force African countries to become more self-reliant

Eskom announces Stage 6 load-shedding

Eskom has announced that load-shedding will be escalated to Stage 6 on Tuesday from 4pm to 10pm.

Stage 4 load-shedding will then be implemented from 10pm to midnight. Load-shedding will then be reduced to Stage 2 until 5am on Wednesday morning, after which stage 4 will kick on from 5am until 4pm. Load-shedding Stage 6 will then again be implemented at 4pm to 10pm on Wednesday evening.

Eskom said this is because of the unlawful and unprotected labour action, which has caused widespread disruption to Eskom’s power plants.

Stage 6 has only been implemented once before, in 2019.

Steenhuisen says SA's chances of survival slim if ANC remains in power beyond 2024 elections

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen has said that if the African National Congress survives another election cycle as a party of national government, the chances of South Africa's survival will deteriorate sharply.

Steenhuisen was in London where he delivered a speech at Chatham House on the role of opposition parties, coalitions and the future of South Africa's democracy.

He said the next two years could make or break the country.

The opposition party leader said a perceptible shift had taken place in South African politics.

He said for the first time in almost three decades, an ANC government is no longer considered an inevitability.

And, Ramaphosa says Russia-Ukraine conflict could force African countries to become more self-reliant

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Russia-Ukraine conflict could have a silver lining for African countries in the long run because it forces them to be more self-sufficient as they look to bolster their food supply.

He said African countries faced a similar concern during the Covid-19 pandemic when they had no choice but to manufacture their own vaccines.

The president spoke after he represented South Africa at the G7 summit meeting in Germany on Monday. 

He said one of the pertinent engagements between the seven members of the G7 and the five invited non-members as around food security in light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He said South Africa would work with G7 countries to work on how African countries could be self-sufficient regarding fertiliser production, which is usually imported from Ukraine and Russia.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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