Good morning.
Severe rolling blackouts continue after some relief was promised by Eskom over the weekend the power utility had to ramp up load-shedding to stage 5 again following further breakdowns.
ANC NEC members put pressure on Gordhan and Mantashe over Eskom’s failures
Members of the ANC’s national executive committee fired off angry questions at public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and energy minister Gwede Mantashe during a meeting of the body on Friday over increased rolling blackouts.
NEC members are concerned that Eskom’s poor performance will reflect badly on the ANC government during future elections with the electorate likely to vote for a different party. Read more here.
(Business Day, for subscribers)
Pressure mounts on Gordhan to fire Eskom CEO André de Ruyter
Some members of the NEC pressured Gordhan to remove André de Ruyter as chief executive of the power utility given the severity of the current load-shedding schedule and an apparent failure to resolve the constant generation capacity breakdowns at Eskom.
Gordhan presented the NEC with an energy crisis plan but it was met with a tepid response. One NEC member said every time De Ruyter speaks publicly he threatens the prospect of Stage 8 load-shedding but does not present any solutions.
Read more here. (MyBroadband)
Load-shedding crisis comes just days before the ANC elective conference
The crisis at Eskom has pre-empted the ANC national elective conference just days before it is set to kick off on December 16 and run through to December 20.
The party is expected to discuss Eskom and government policy for the next five years at the conference with incumbent party president Cyril Ramaphosa widely expected to win re-election. But Ramaphosa’s challengers have made a last-ditch attempt to attract support away from the president with candidates Zweli Mkhize and Lindiwe Sisulu travelling to Ramaphosa strongholds to try and convince them otherwise.
(News24, for subscribers)
Here’s what else you need to know today:
Shoprite gets green light to buy some Massmart stores but must leave some for independent retailers – News24
SACP in Mpumalanga rejecting closure of coal powered stations – SABC News
Developing economies’ debt more than doubled over decade: World Bank – AFP/News24
‘Mafia’ warning for South Africa’s economy: report – BusinessTech
Dark, Dumb and Dangerous: Inside South Africa’s perfect (electrical) storm – Daily Maverick
SpaceX Launches Japanese Startup Ispace’s Lunar Lander to Moon – Bloomberg
Elon Musk Steps Up Attacks on Twitter’s Former Safety Head – Bloomberg
Dollar up, stocks down as traders eye rate paths: markets wrap – Daily Maverick
