News today: Repo rate, SABC bailout, DA blames ANC for Eskom cadre deployment, and more

News today includes Pravin Gordhan rejecting recommendations from Eskom’s board to replace former CEO Andre de Ruyter.

Meanwhile, the repo rate will remain at its current level, giving retailers less of an “excuse” to hike food prices, and SABC to get another bailout.

News Today: 22 September

In today’s weather update, South Africa will be bracing itself for a diverse weather palette, ranging from thunderstorms to extreme heat – full forecast here.

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DA Blames ANC for Eskom cadre deployment

Eskom continues to be without a leader after Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, rejected recommendations from the power utility’s board to replace former CEO Andre de Ruyter. 

News24 reported the reason Gordhan rejected the board’s recommendation was it had only shortlisted one candidate instead of three. 

Gordhan’s spokesperson Ellis Mnyandu confirmed this and noted the shortlisting requirement was part of Eskom’s Memorandum of Incorporation.

CONTINUE: DA blames ANC cadre deployment committee for Gordhan rejecting Eskom CEO recommendation

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Repo rate

The repo rate will remain at its current level of 8.25% per year after three members of the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep rates on hold, while two members preferred an increase of 25 basis points.

South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) governor, Lesetja Kganyago, announced the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday afternoon. 

CONTINUE: Repo rate unchanged after split vote

Meanwhile, the unchanged repo rate gives retailers less of an “excuse” to hike food prices while consumers buckle under a crushing financial load as they profit.

“It is concerning that our food retailers seem to have been hiking their grocery prices and not dropping them in line with inflation coming down, especially with two-thirds of the nation struggling to put enough food on the table to feed their families” Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, says.

READ: Unchanged repo rate means retailers have less of an ‘excuse’ to hike food prices

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SABC to get another bailout

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele says cash-strapped South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will once again get a bailout. 

Gungubele said the bailout will ensure the public broadcaster carries out its broader responsibilities, especially covering the upcoming elections in 2024.

The minister was answering questions in Parliament during an oral reply session.

CONTINUE: SABC to get another bailout to carry out its ‘broader responsibilities’ ahead of 2024 elections

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Monster waves and an air ambulance

Rough seas and the sound of helicopter blades cutting the air added to the chaos as rescue workers rushed to save seven members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) washed overboard on Wednesday.

The navy mariners were participating in a navy exercise near the Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie, near Cape Town at the time of the incident.

The defence department said the mariners’ submarine was en route to Cape Town while conducting a vertical transfer exercise.

CONTINUE: Monster waves and an air ambulance: Inside the daring rescue to save 7 mariners swept out to sea

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Water, hot weather and load shedding

A storm that ravaged parts of Gauteng this week not only left many without power, but others without water. No injuries were reported but trees were uprooted and homes, cars and property were damaged in the storm.

Pretoria was hardest hit, with residents in Hammanskraal and surrounding areas left in the dark after a power station was struck by lightning and gutted by fire.

CONTINUE: Not only power blackouts, Gauteng storm also wreaked havoc with water supply

Meanwhile, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says his statement that hot weather was one of the reasons affecting the performance of Eskom’s generating units and leading the country getting high stages of load shedding has been misconstrued. 

Ramokgopa, who appeared for an oral reply at the National Assembly, suggested his statement had been taken out of context. 

CONTINUE: Ramokgopa clears ‘confusion’ on hot weather and load shedding comments

And if you woke up without electricity on Thursday, here’s why.

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In other news today:

• ‘No loopholes’: Parliament starts process to impeach judges Hlophe and Motata
• Pay attention: This is how cyber criminals trick you
• Calls for risk assessment of Joburg CBD buildings after several ‘mind-boggling’ fires

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Yesterday’s News recap

READ: Malema’s gun, protests, govt’s overspending, several fires