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Cold week will be extra icy, as Eskom announces stage 2 load shedding

Picture: iStock

As of 4pm on Monday, Eskom will be reintroducing Stage 2 load shedding until at least 5am on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the power utility said the power system was under “severe constraint” due to the persistent shortage in generation capacity, adding that the supply constraints were caused by the high breakdowns in generation units and “high winter demands.”

“This load shedding has been caused by the higher demand as a result of the cold front setting in much earlier than expected, as well as high breakdowns of generation units,” reads the utility’s statement on Monday.

ANC vs Magashule: High court set to hear application in June

Ace Magashule, suspended African National Congress (ANC) secretary general is seen in court ahead of the the corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma at the Pietermaritzburg High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on May 26, 2021. Jacob Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, graft and racketeering relating to a 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and military gear from five European arms firms for 30 billion rand, then the equivalent of nearly $5 billion.
He is accused of accepting bribes totalling four million rand from one of the firms, French defence giant Thales. (Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE / POOL / AFP)

The High Court in Johannesburg is expected to hear Ace Magashule’s application seeking to overturn his suspension as ANC secretary-general later in June.

In May, Magashule approached the high court on a semi-urgent basis after he was suspended by the ANC’s national working committee for failing to comply with the 30-day period given for him to voluntarily step down from his position.

He faces fraud and corruption charges in the Free State in connection with a R255 million asbestos project while he was the province’s premier.

‘You’re too smart for a black person’: One of many shocking racism claims at Cornwall Hill

A pupil at Cornwall Hill College in Centurion during a protest against allegations of racism at the school, 31 May 2021. PICTURE: Jacques Nelles

Black pupils at Cornwall Hill College claimed on Monday they have had their hair compared to steel-wool used for scrubbing pots, while another said she was told by a teacher that she was “too smart for a black person”.

The pupils and their parents staged a protest against allegations of racism at the private school in Centurion on Monday morning, which prompted Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi to meet with the school’s management.

The pupils felt they were not being treated equally to their white peers, with Grade 11 pupil Singo Ravele saying they experienced a lot of “micro-aggressive racism” and racist comments from teachers.

Steve Hofmeyr says he’d like to play Shaka Zulu

Steve Hofmeyr. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark.

In a sarcastic Facebook post on Monday morning, controversial Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr took aim at a historical British TV series that last year sparked debate after casting a black actress as King Henry VIII’s wife Anne Boleyn.

Boleyn was beheaded after being found guilty of treason against her husband. Among other things she had been accused of sleeping with several men, including her brother, and plotting to murder her husband. Historians largely agree that the charges were spurious and she was framed.

‘That’s okay’: Cyril catches flak for footage with maskless Graça Michel

President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS

Not even a day after warning that South Africans have become too complacent with mask wearing and social distancing, President Cyril Ramaphosa has been recorded telling someone who was not wearing a mask not to worry about it. 

In the clip, which was uploaded to Twitter on Monday afternoon, Ramaphosa is seen in a room with Nelson Mandela’s widow Graça Michel and Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

Michel greets Mapisa-Nqakula, but realises halfway through the embrace that she is not wearing a mask. 

She exclaims: “But I’m not even wearing a mask!”, to which Ramaphosa responds: “No, that’s okay.” 

EFF concerned about further restrictions on gatherings ahead of local govt elections

Picture: Gallo Images/Darren Stewart

The EFF has reiterated its concerns over the country’s ability to conduct free, fair and safe local government elections in October amid fears over the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Sunday evening in which he placed the country on alert level 2 effective from Monday. Among the restrictions under level 2, the national curfew will run from 11pm to 4am. Gatherings will be limited to 100 people maximum, with no more than 50% capacity allowed in smaller venues.

The EFF said it was worried that the months preceding the local polls on 27 October 2021 will be characterised by further lockdown restrictions on public gatherings.

Lesufi: Act against me if my name comes up in R431m Covid cleaning probe

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi. Picture: Neil McCartney

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has laid down a challenge that there should be action against him should his name come up in the corruption probe of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in the multimillion-rand school decontamination tender probe.

Lesufi was speaking at Cornwall Hill College on Monday morning. The topic came up while he was addressing parents and pupils who were holding a peaceful protest outside the school calling for an end to racism.

Fourteen bank accounts of service providers have been frozen after they were linked to a tender worth R431 million to decontaminate schools during the early days of the Covid-19 lockdown. The splurge was criticised for being largely pointless since the schools had been empty for weeks and were unlikely to have any SARS Cov-2 virus anyway.

‘Pay us or we let them die’, private ambulances threaten DOH and RAF

A nurse walks past one of the only three working ambulances at the Zengeza Clinic in Chitungwiza on March 20, 2020. – Since the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak began in China at the end of last year the worldwide mantra has been to “wash your hands” thoroughly and often to avoid contracting or spreading the virus.
But in Zimbabwe, a southern African country on its knees after two decades of economic misrule, basic infrastructures are failing and health services are all but extinct. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP)

People without medical aid could find themselves in the crossfires as scuffles between the department of health (DoH), Road Accident Fund (RAF), and private ambulance operators continue.

It has emerged that lately private ambulance operators leave patients without medical aid to suffer on accident scenes as they claim the RAF does not pay the service fees.

The dispute happens after a voice note of a passerby who witnessed an accident complaining about ambulance staffers who watched patients and left without helping them.

Chiefs get Safa green light to rehire Baxter

Stuart Baxter, head coach of South Africa (Gavin Barker/BackpagePix)

The South African Football Association have no issues with Stuart Baxter coming back to work in South Africa. Baxter is heavily linked with a return to Kaizer Chiefs as head coach, after they fired Gavin Hunt on Friday.

Speaking to Phakaaathi on Monday, Safa CEO, Tebogo Motlanthe said they had no objections to Baxter coming to work in South Africa. Safa had previously banned former Free State Stars coach, Luc Eymael when he was accused of racism.

Chiefs are expected to announce their new coach in the next few weeks and there are rumours that Baxter will arrive in South Africa this week.