Cape Town —
Cabinet Warns Western Cape Govt That South Africa Remains One Country
Minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the national government will not allow the Western Cape province to usurp its powers, TimesLive reports. In a post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday, she said the government has the responsibility to remind the province that "there is no room for secession" and "South Africa will remain one country". EyeWitness News reports that the draft Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill seeks to get the national government to cede control of police, trade and public transport to the provincial government. Ntshavheni said the bill was against the democratic spirit of building a unified South Africa.
Auto Component Companies to Invest Almost R5 billion in South Africa
Automotive component manufacturers in South Africa have pledged to invest R4.86 billion into the domestic economy between now and December 2024, Moneyweb reports. National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers executive director Renai Moothilal said on Thursday that this investment represented the response from 16 exhibitors at the Naacam Show 2023, to a call to report on their committed or planned investments. Trade and Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said the investment pledges are a strong vote of confidence in the country.
Two Emergency Power Projects A Step Closer to Implementation
Two additional emergency power projects are one step closer to getting off the ground, having signed legal agreements with government this week, News24 reports. The hybrid renewable energy projects consist of solar PV, wind and battery storage technologies, and will together add 203MW to the grid. In practice, this means one of the bids is set to help meet the power needs of 120 000 households for 20 years, while the other is expected to provide backup energy to as many as 320 000 households. The Oya Energy Hybrid facility is developed by G7 Renewable Energies and ENGIE, and government will procure 128MW from its Karoo-based project. Umoyilanga Energy's project, meanwhile, is developed by EDF Renewables, and government is set to procure 75MW from it.
