Morning Brief: Declare an energy emergency says advisory body

Good morning, here’s what you need to know today.

Government’s top advisory body wants a national emergency to be declared amid the energy crisis, suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s legal challenge blocking impeachment proceedings comes to an end, and British prime minister Boris Johnson clings to power as a string of aides resign.

National Planning Commission wants energy crisis to be declared an emergency – Business Day (for subscribers)

To solve South Africa’s vast energy crisis, the government’s national advisory body has urged that a declaration of an energy emergency be made.

The national planning commission (NPC) believes that if an energy emergency were brought into place, then the red tape holding up the onboarding of urgent new energy generation capacity would be eliminated.

The NPC want to make the end of load shedding a “unifying national goal” after rolling power cuts have plunged the country into darkness and left households and businesses in the dark for up to six hours a day at times.

Read more here.

Stalingrad has fallen: Acting Public Protector to withdraw Mkhwebane’s court applications – News24

Suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will no longer have the legal backing of the Office of the Public Protector after the acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka said the office will withdraw Mkhwebane’s applications to reverse her suspension and block parliament’s impeachment proceedings against her.

This means Mkhwebane’s legal battle not to face parliamentary oversight, which started in 2020, has come to an end unless she approaches the courts herself, but this will be without the backing of the Office of the Public Protector.

Read more here.

Defiant Johnson Refuses to Quit, Fires Gove Over Past Betrayal – Daily Maverick

British prime minister Boris Johnson is clinging to power after as many as 45 ministers and aides quit yesterday following the shock resignations of chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid, the day before.

Johnson launched into an attack yesterday, vowing to stay on as prime minister and fired former close ally, and the last big name to still hold a cabinet post, Michael Gove after the latter urged Johnson to resign as PM.

Johnson recently faced a vote of no confidence from his party’s powerful 1922 committee and is theoretically immune from another such vote for a year, but the committee could decide to change its rules and hold another vote soon with Johnson’s government on the brink of collapse.

Read more here.