- South Africa faces a record year for power outages after an explosion damaged one of the state-owned electricity utility’s newest coal-fired generation units. The blast at the Medupi station on Sunday occurred during a process to find an external leak, according to preliminary findings. “At this point we do not have details as to what it will cost and how long it will take to repair the generator,” Eskom said in a reply to questions. The incident threatens to unravel any progress made by the utility to improve performance and avoid more power cuts that have crimped the economic growth in Africa’s most-industrialised nation. Eskom pledged in March that a maintenance drive to improve performance of its ageing fleet of coal-fired plants would start showing results from September. The incident at the Medupi station, which is being constructed at a cost of about R135bn, demonstrates the utility’s inability to prevent faults throughout the power grid.
- South African business confidence fell to a nine-month low in July, after a week of deadly riots, looting and arson cost the economy R50bn in lost output and imperiled at least 150,000 jobs. A confidence index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry dropped to 93.2 from 96.2 in June, the group known as Sacci said Wednesday in an emailed statement. That’s the lowest since October 2020. The Sacci reading suggests a more muted effect on the overall business climate in the country, after the collective actions of businesses and communities helped to contain the disruptions caused by the rioting and looting, the group said. Still the spate of looting and destruction was a setback to inclusivity, growth and job creation, and could compound and upset investor confidence in the long-term, it said. Economists see the damage from the riots shaving as much as one percentage point off economic growth this year.
- Former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has effectively swapped places with her replacement, Thandi Modise, with the ANC putting her name forward to take over as speaker of parliament. The decision to nominate Mapisa-Nqakula has not been popular with opposition parties, who say she is not fit for the position. Mapisa-Nqakula is seen to have failed in her duties as defence minister during the July riots, and being elected as speaker would be ‘failing upwards’. The ANC said she is more than qualified for the position.
Flash Briefing: Eskom woes; SA business confidence slumps; another questionable move by the ANC
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