Ramaphosa cancels trip to WEF amid load-shedding crisis
In what is becoming an increasingly regular occurrence for Cyril Ramaphosa, the president cancelled his working trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland so that he can attend to the load-shedding crisis. On Sunday, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson said he was currently meeting with leaders of political parties, NECCOM and the Eskom board. The decision to stay in South Africa comes after Eskom implemented Stage 6 load-shedding on Wednesday until further notice. Read more on News24.
Eskom price hike rejected as ‘unfair’ and ‘cruel’
Following energy regulator Nersa’s decision to grant Eskom an 18.65% price hike for 2023/2024, political parties, businesses, and trade unions have slammed the decision, arguing cash strapped consumers would pay more for electricity that they do not get to use because of ongoing power cuts. The decision is not sustainable and will force business owners to look at alternative energy sources to get off the grid. Read more on Business Day. (for subscribers)
Plans to take Eskom to court over tariff increases
Prominent advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC said he had the backing of several major groups and individuals to take the government and Eskom to court over load-shedding. The executive head of the Solidarity movement Dirk Hermann said his organisation would also head to court over load-shedding. Ngcukaitobi said the government made contradictory statements over its plans to stop load-shedding while Eskom’s “arbitrary way” of deciding on load-shedding stages was unacceptable. Read more on BusinessTech.
National shutdown threat in protest of Eskom’s power cuts
A national shutdown might be on the horizon in response to ongoing blackouts and rising electricity prices. The nationwide shutdown has been endorsed by civil society, members of the public, and political parties across the spectrum. There are plans for a march to either the Union Buildings or Eskom’s Johannesburg headquarters, Megawatt Park. No date or venue for the marches has been decided yet. Read more on Daily Maverick.
What’s happening in the markets?
The JSE All Share Index hit an all-time high of 79,333 points on Friday, firming along with its global peers as the rally prompted by Thursday’s US consumer price index, which showed inflation slowing in December, began to gain momentum. Asian stocks have opened mixed this morning while in the currency markets, at 06.02 am, the rand was trading at R16.7481 against the dollar.
