Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is expected to brief the media on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan on Monday.
Load-shedding has now remained suspended for 25 days. Eskom announced on Sunday that power cuts were likely to remain suspended until Friday by when the utility would provide another update.
Eskom said last week that though load-shedding had been suspended for almost four weeks, it remained committed to “ultimately” eliminating the rolling blackouts.
“Eskom has kept the lights on for at least 535 hours — a feat last achieved nearly two years ago. This is a result of sustained generation capacity, adequate emergency reserves and reduced electricity demand from the grid. The last time Eskom achieved a similar milestone was in June 2022, with 20 consecutive days without load-shedding,” Eskom said on April 18.
DA MP and spokesperson Angel Khanyile said in a statement on Sunday that the party would this week submit information it recently obtained via written responses to a parliamentary question to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which is investigating maladministration in the department of home affairs (DHA).
According to the responses it received, the DA said the department had spent R413m of taxpayers’ money on litigation in the past five years.
“The amount spent on litigation ballooned since 2018/19. In the 2018/19 financial year, the litigation cost was around R7m. In 2023/24 this amount escalated to R117m, a 1,496% increase. Worryingly, in the latest 2023/24 year, the DHA spent more than double on private law firms instead of using the state attorney,” Kanyile said.
In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a proclamation for the SIU to investigate 20 years of maladministration and corruption in the issuing of permits and visas in the department.
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi had to account to the people of SA as to how the department could “justifiably spend almost half-a-billion [rand] on legal fees when they are unable to keep its system up and running”.
On Wednesday, the select committee on finance in the National Council of Provinces is set to consider the Pension Fund Amendment Bill.
On Monday, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba and the party’s Mpumalanga premier candidate, Thoko Mashiane, are set to lead a picket in front of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) headquarters in Pretoria over the NPA’s alleged delay in prosecuting those involved in the Lily Mine tragedy in Mpumalanga in 2016.
Mineworkers Solomon Nyirenda, Pretty Nkambule and Yvonne Mnisi died after being trapped underground following a tremor that collapsed part of the mine near Barberton.
ActionSA said seven months had passed since the Mbombela magisitrate’s court ruled in October 2023 that the NPA should consider criminal prosecutions against “individuals, including the department of mineral resources & energy, for the Lily Mine tragedy”.
Also on Monday, ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont will begin the party’s “Worst Roads” tour in the North West. The tour will also visit Limpopo and Mpumalanga, and is part of efforts by ActionSA to develop a comprehensive plan to fix broken roads.
This week, DA Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde, with the party’s provincial leadership, is set to embark on several “canvassing events” across the DA-run province, as the battle for votes for the 2024 general election on May 29 hots up.
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