Cape Town — Power Crisis: Infrastructure Problems More to Blame Than Corruption - Electricity Minister
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is leading an eight-day assessment tour to power stations across the country, EyeWitness News reports. The Daily Maverick is reporting that the minister said that the efficiency of Eskom's power stations was heavily affected by technical defaults. On Tuesday March 21, 2023, Ramokgopa told the media during his visit to Kusile Power Station: "The challenges that we've had here, these are technical problems, they have nothing to do with so-called corruption." Ramokgopa said the issues at Kusile were down to the structural integrity of the chimney and the design components of the flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD), which "have nothing to do with corruption and everything to do with technical designs".
National Assembly Speaker Leads Delegation in Russia
Parliament has announced that National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Amos Masondo are leading a multiparty delegation at a conference organised by the Russian Parliament, themed "Russia – Africa in a Multipolar World", News24 reports. "More than 40 high-ranking delegates from various African states are in attendance alongside their Russian counterparts. The conference aims to discuss the contribution of parliamentarians to the comprehensive development of cooperation with African states," reads the statement from Parliament.
Man Wanted for Allegedly Scamming North West Woman of R2 Million in Pension Money
The Hawks in North West are looking for a man who allegedly scammed a 54-year-old woman of more than R2 million after meeting on a dating site, News24 reports. North West Hawks spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said the funds were part of the woman's pension payout. Rikhotso said the money was handed over between May and August 2022 to the alleged scammer. She also said the man used a fake name in interactions with the woman.
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Western Cape Govt Administers Over 500,000 Measles Vaccines in Response to Outbreaks
In the wake of an immunisation campaign headed by the National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD), the Western Cape Government confirmed that it has administered over 500,000 vaccinations to curb the spread of viral outbreaks that began in June 2022, Eyewitness News reports. The campaign continues until the end of March and, according to vaccination campaign coordinator Sonia Botha, is not an ordinary campaign due to the time involved.
Climate Report Reveals Century-Long Impact of Fossil Fuel Use, Minister Calls for Urgent Efforts to Curb Climate Change
Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy has called for accelerated action to curb climate change in order to close the existing adaptation gap, SABC News reports. This comes after the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Summary for Policy Makers. The reports revealed that a global temperature increase of 1.1 degrees is attributed to more than a century of burning fossil fuels and the use of unsustainable energy, particularly in developed nations.
