Daily news update: R1bn ‘wasted’ at Koeberg, ANC Gauteng conference resumes, petrol thieves running rampant

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Daily news update – 10 July

‘Pointless expense’: Energy activist slams R1bn wasted at Koeberg power plant

Energy activist Peter Bekker has slammed the expensive and extended maintenance that is taking place at the Koeberg power plant.

Speaking to CapeTalk, Bekker was critical of the work being done at Koeberg because it is adding to South Africa’s load shedding woes. It is also too costly considering the Koeberg plant might shut down in two years.

Koeberg’s Unit 2 was taken offline in January for maintenance to replace three steam generators in the containment building. Bekker, however, claims that maintenance didn’t take place.

“For the last seven months we’ve had one extra stage of load shedding due to some form of incompetence at the Koeberg plant,” said Peter Bekker, an activist at the Koeberg Alert Alliance.

Load shedding ramped up to stage 4 on Sunday

Eskom on Saturday announced that stage 4 load shedding will be implemented on Sunday.

South Africans had been suffering through stage 2 and stage 3 load shedding on Saturday.

The power utility blamed the loss of five large generation units and the delay in returning five units to service. Load shedding will now be ramped up to stage 3 and stage 4 on Sunday.

Wales snatch late victory to level series against Springboks

The fringe Springboks were their own worst enemy as they dominated the match but allowed Wales to claim a historic 13-12 win in the second Test, levelling the three-match series at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening.

The Boks missed a number of chances in the first half, which left the sides level pegging at the break, before moving ahead 12-3 by the 60^th minute, and looked like they would comfortably see out the match.

However, Wales replacement flyhalf Gareth Anscombe kept them in the hunt with a penalty, before replacement back Josh Adams went over for a 78^th minute try, with Anscombe’s superb touchline conversion enough to steal the win on the night.

Lesufi says delegates in ‘discussion mode’ as ANC Gauteng conference resumes

The African National Congress (ANC) Gauteng’s 14th provincial conference resumed on Saturday, 9 July, to conclude its business.

Proceedings got underway at the Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg, with the Gauteng conference set to elect additional members of the provincial executive committee (PEC), among other things, over the next two days.

The provincial conference, previously held from 23 to 26 June 2022, was marred by several delays over the adoption of credentials and a failed urgent court bid to halt it from going ahead.

Elon Musk pulls the plug on $44 billion deal to buy Twitter

Elon Musk on Friday pulled the plug on his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, accusing the social media giant of “misleading” statements about the number of fake accounts, a regulatory filing showed.

Musk’s effort to terminate the deal that he inked in April sets the stage for an epic court battle over a billion-dollar breakup fee and more.

“Mr. Musk hereby exercises (the) right to terminate the Merger Agreement and abandon the transaction,” his lawyers said in a letter to Twitter, a copy of which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Litigation against acting Public Protector looming over Mkhwebane’s funds withdrawal

Legal action could be taken against the office of the Public Protector following the reversal of Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s appeal application.

This week, Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka announced that the office would not fund Mkhwebane’s appeal against the  interdict application to halt her impeachment proceedings and the  rescission application pending before the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).

Following the announcement, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) launched an attack on Gcaleka, saying her action was against the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and added that “it will all end in tears”.

The party further threatened litigation if her decision was not withdrawn within 24-hours.

Petrol thieves running rampant, warns Fidelity security group

South Africans spending their hard-earned cash at the petrol pumps now also need to guard against criminals stealing their “liquid gold” when their cars are parked.

According to a report by BusinessTech, Wahl Bartmann, the chief executive officer of the Fidelity Services Group said there have been several incidents across the country in recent weeks involving attempts to steal fuel by drilling into a petrol tank or siphoning it out of the tank.

This new crime trend comes on the back of several petrol price increases in recent months, the latest being the record price increases for both petrol and diesel for July.

‘Somizi’s child is older than you!’ – Tweeps react to Mohale’s age

Less than a week after his uncomfortable Durban July “dance-off” with his ex-husband Somizi Mhlongo, Mohale Motaung jetted off to Europe to celebrate his 27th birthday with his besties.  

Mohale seems to have chosen Paris to celebrate his birthday as a way to “close one chapter and open another”.  

While most people wished Mohale a happy birthday and a beautiful day, others were shocked that he is only 27-years-old.