Flash Briefing: MTBPS delayed AGAIN; JZ loses latest legal bid; load shedding extended to Saturday

  • South Africa’s government delayed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s maiden budget for a second time. Godongwana will deliver the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) on Nov. 11, a week later than previously announced, parliament spokesman Moloto Mothapo said on Twitter. The closely watched speech usually takes place in late October and had been rescheduled to Nov. 4 to accommodate municipal elections initially planned for the same period. The further delay follows a decision to shift the election to Nov. 1, the National Treasury said in an emailed statement. Investors are looking to Godongwana’s budget for direction and clear strategies on reducing debt and lowering the deficit.
  • Former South Africa President Jacob Zuma lost his legal bid to have the state prosecutor in his corruption trial dismissed on the grounds that he wasn’t independent and impartial. The ruling was handed down by Judge Piet Koen at a High Court hearing in the eastern town of Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday. Zuma, 79, stands accused of soliciting bribes from arms dealers in the 1990s, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyers argued that the entire National Prosecuting Authority team led by Billy Downer lacked credibility and couldn’t be given the responsibility of presenting evidence against him.
  • Eskom has announced that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 09:00 on Tuesday until 05:00 on Saturday. This comes after the power utility had to reschedule load shedding last night at short notice to begin earlier. “While Eskom teams have successfully returned a unit each at the Kusile, Matimba and Amot power stations during the early hours of this morning, further delays in returning other units to service have exacerbated the capacity constraints, hampering the ability to replenish the emergency generation reserves,” Eskom stated. Eskom said it anticipates returning Koeberg Unit 1 to service during the weekend.
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