Update as at 17h00 SAST
ANC to Challenge Court Ruling on Cadre Deployment Records
The African National Congress (ANC) said it would challenge ruling by the Johannesburg High Court on February 2, 2023, that instructed the party to hand over records of its cadre deployment committee to the Democratic Alliance (DA), Eyewitness News reports. The court instructed the ANC to provide records, such as minutes and text messages, dating back to when President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the committee while he was deputy president.
Western Cape on Measles Vaccination Drive for Children
The Western Cape Health Department says it plans to vaccinate 95% of children under the age of 15 years against measles, Eye Witness News reports.
This comes after five cases of measles were reported in the province recently.
Anglo American SA In Court Battle Over Zambia Lead Poisoning
A class action law suit is being brought against mining giant Anglo American South Africa, over its historic involvement with the Kabwe mine in Zambia, where unsafe lead mining and smelting operations spanning the course of almost a century, have left the land and its people exposed to dangerously high levels of lead, Eyewitness News reports. Even now, almost 30 years after the mine finally closed in 1994, the contamination remains.
Zimbabwe Govt Ready to Assist Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Holders to Return Home
Zimbabwean Ambassador to South Africa David Hamadziripi has said that the government wants to assist citizens who voluntarily wish to return home before the expiry of their permits on 30 June 2023, reports SABC News. He said that the embassy and the consulate of Zimbabwe would conduct a mapping exercise to identify and register Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders. Hamadziripi has also dismissed accusations that the move by the government to assist those Zimbabweans in South Africa whose permits are not going to be renewed is a political ploy by the regime to lure voters ahead of elections. "We call on them to be law abiding and respect the laws of South Africa. The invitation is for voluntary registration. We wish to facilitate and assist Zimbabweans who wish to go back home. It is by no means ... to compel those who don't wish to return home voluntarily," said Hamadziripi. ZEP permits were set to expire in December 2021 but were extended until June 2023.
SABC Now Demands TV Licences Fees for Computers, Laptops
The South African Broadcasting Corporation has started demanding that South Africans pay TV licence fees for computer monitors, even if they are not receiving broadcast signals on these devices, reports IOL. According to a local tech news channel, MyBroadBand, the public broadcaster's notice came with an additional sentence stating that the definition of a TV set includes a "TV monitor (without receiving capabilities) able to receive a broadcast signal by virtue of being connected to any television receiving equipment".
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PetrolSA Making Eskom Pay Exorbitant Prices for Diesel
Cash-strapped Eskom has been forced to pay exorbitant prices for diesel, despite purchasing the product in bulk from PetroSA, according to the Citizen. The state-owned oil and gas company is Eskom's main diesel supplier. The diesel is needed to power Eskom's two open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power plants, Gourikwa and Ankerlig, which are effectively its emergency backup generators that can mitigate against two stages of load shedding if running at the full output of 2067 MW. According to BusinessTech, Eskom warned the national government in November 2022 that it had run out of diesel to keep its open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) going. While the turbines are only supposed to be used in emergency situations, the power utility has come to rely on them as a primary power source.
