Luke Folb, SAccess
We’re no strangers to load shedding by now with rolling blackouts a staple of everyday South African life. There seems to be no end to the dark void as Eskom continues to stumble about in the dark searching for new batteries for its torch. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the big announcement yesterday that there would be a change to the energy policy allowing for companies to build power plants and sell on electricity without a licence, up from 1MW to 100MW.
Business Day calls it a “major development” and goes on to state that it will effectively unblock the economic reform process around energy and become the “start of the real liberalisation of SA’s energy market.” Adding, “It will effectively mark the end of the Eskom monopoly and introduce competition into the sector for the first time.”
Wait, is that some light we see there in the distance? Read.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to announce a strategic equity partner for the beleaguered state-owned airline, South African Airways, today. But, OUTA head Wayne Duvenage contends in the Daily Maverick that while many governments around the world helped its airline industries stay afloat by bailing out even the private airlines, the South African government only saw fit to pump more money into “their two defunct and perpetually lossmaking airlines (SAA and Mango), while placing the third smaller cousin of SA Express out to pasture.” Read.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson writes for News24 today on the global recovery post-pandemic, provided everyone “summon the will and ingenuity” to do the work. Johnson tells of his meeting at the G7 Summit this week and how the world’s largest and most powerful economies must unite to help the rest of the world battle the scourge of the coronavirus that has claimed over 3.7 million lives to date. Read.
Here’s a roundup of the other editorials online today.
Time to sell, as SA’s homebuying mini-boom fades – Financial Mail
GDP focus trips South Africa up – Mail & Guardian
Sorry, but the Burger King bid was a bad deal – Fin24
A president at the wheel is far better than a reshuffle – Business Day
