Morning Brief – Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Good morning. Today we’re covering the protests that broke out in Tembisa on Monday, a spy equipment saga that won’t escape the Joburg mayor, and even with private sector help Eskom will still be short on the worst days of load shedding.

Four killed in Tembisa protests – TimesLIVE

The death toll has risen to four people after protests broke out in Tembisa on Monday.

Residents are protesting electricity cuts due to defaulting customers while there is also dismay at the rising municipal rates. Protestors damaged a substation, which has sparked outrage among other Tembisa residents who fear power cuts could be on the cards.

Ekurhuleni metro police confirmed that two people had died earlier in the day while a further two were killed allegedly via an attempted ATM bombing. Read more here.

Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse reported to Saps over ‘spy’ equipment – The Citizen

Joburg’s executive head in the office of the city manager, Mesuli Mlandu has accused mayor Mpho Phalatse and former group forensics and investigation services (GFIS) commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of having ‘spy’ equipment.

The State Security Agency (SSA) was asked to investigate the alleged procurement of intelligence gathering equipment by GFIS back in April but found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Unsatisfied with the result, Mlandu has turned to the South African Police Service (SAPS), claiming there is evidence from the SSA itself that implicates Phalatse and Sibiya. Read more here.

Ramaphosa’s energy plan will add 1,950MW in the next three months – not enough to end rolling blackouts – Daily Maverick

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s energy plan seeks to incorporate private sector role players to help alleviate the burden on Eskom but even though the private sector will contribute nearly 2,000 megawatts over the next three months it will still fall short of ending load shedding.

On the worst days, Eskom will lose around 6,000 MW of capacity, which leads to events like stage 6 load shedding. Even with the private sector’s contribution, it will still be around 4,000 MW too little to eliminate load shedding at the worst times.

And many of the interventions proposed by Ramaphosa are set to take effect sometime in 2023, which means rolling blackouts are here to stay for at least another 12 months. Read more here.