Category: South Africa Government

Source: Government of South Africa

Eskom says the power system continues to operate reliably, showing ongoing resilience in effectively meeting winter electricity demand. 

“When occasional system constraints arise, they are effectively managed through the strategic deployment of emergency reserves during morning and evening peak periods,” the power utility said on Friday.

Since 15 May 2025, there has been no loadshedding, with only 26 hours recorded between 1 April and 24 July 2025. 

With 37 days of Eskom’s Winter Outlook period still remaining, Eskom said the system remains well-positioned to maintain stability and meet demand effectively.

“As of today [Friday], unplanned outages are at 11 695MW and the available generation capacity is 30 236MW. Tonight’s electricity demand is expected to reach 27 715MW. The current capacity is sufficient to meet both today’s demand and anticipated requirements over the weekend.

“During the week of 18 to 24 July 2025, planned maintenance averaged 5 050MW. Over the same period, the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) ranged between 62% and 66%, with the month-to-date average further increasing to 63.11%,” Eskom said.

To further strengthen grid stability, Eskom is planning to return a total of 3 960MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 28 July 2025, and throughout the coming week.

Between 1 April and 24 July 2025, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF), which measures the percentage of generation capacity lost due to unplanned outages, decreased to 28.99%. 

This marks a reduction of an ~0.5% compared to the previous week but remains about 2.4% higher than the 26.60% recorded during the same period last year. 

“As of Thursday, the UCLF stood at 23.79%, consistently indicating a notable improvement in performance. The open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) load factor decreased this week, reaching 1.86%, down from the 8.6% recorded during the previous week (11 to 17 July 2025). This indicates less reliance on OCGTs,” Eskom said.

From 1 April to 24 July 2025, diesel spend remains within the budget allocated for 1 April to 31 July 2025.

“The Winter Outlook, published on 5 May 2025, covering the period ending 31 August 2025, remains valid. It indicates that loadshedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. If outages rise to 15 000MW, loadshedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2,” Eskom said.

The power utility has encouraged all South Africans to use electricity efficiently throughout the winter season. 

To help manage household electricity consumption, Eskom customers are encouraged to use the Eskom Residential Calculator, a convenient tool for tracking and optimising energy usage: https://www.eskom.co.za/distribution/residential-calculator/

Correction on diesel spend 

Meanwhile, Eskom has corrected the diesel spend figure published in the Power Alert for the week ending 17 July 2025. 

“We identified a discrepancy in the reported diesel amount. The actual diesel spend should have been R5.554 billion, not R5.897 billion as stated. The figure 5 897 was in fact the R/MWh and was mistakenly captured as spend instead of R/MWh. This regretfully resulted in an inadvertent overstatement of the diesel spend, which we hereby correct. Eskom continuously reviews its diesel spend and energy output figures as part of its monthly reporting and reconciliation processes,” Eskom said. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Source: Government of South Africa

Residents of the Greater Lejweleputswa District Municipality in the Free State have called for stricter measures to ascertain the authenticity of marriages between foreign nationals and South Africans. 

The call was made during the second of three public hearings on the Marriage Bill [B43—2023], held by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs at the Toronto Recreation Centre in Welkom, on Saturday.

“The apprehension raised by participants was that there is a worrying increase in marriages of convenience that expose the national register to fraudulent entry, as a result, participants argued that the Bill must prescribe a clear process to ensure that the intended matrimony is driven by true intentions and not by nefarious reasons,” the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs said.

The issue of fraudulent marriages also surfaced during the two previous public hearings held in other provinces, prompting the committee to call on the Department of Home Affairs to urgently intervene and thoroughly investigate these claims.

 Marriage Bill

The Marriage Bill seeks to rationalise the marriage laws of various types of marriages and introduces a single marriage statute to replace the three existing marriage laws governing civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions.

The key objectives of the bill include recognition of all forms of marriage, regardless of religion, custom, belief, or sexual orientation; legal protection for all existing marriages, including those concluded before the bill’s enactment; and prohibition of child marriages, aligning South Africa with international human rights obligations.

In this regard, the bill introduces a requirement that both prospective spouses must be 18 years and older. Itl further introduces offences and penalties for entering or concluding marriages with minors, as well as solemnising such marriages.

The Bill also ensures that the Minister of Home Affairs can designate marriage officers from all sectors of society, including traditional leadership, and sets out the requirements for designation as a marriage officer.

Some participants raised a concern that the Marriage Bill was not in line with the Constitution. 

“This concern arose from an observation that by harmonising different types of marriage laws into a single marriage statute might infringe on the right of choice as it is enshrined in the Constitution.

“Participants expressed contrasting views on the issue of polygamy. Some supported it highlighting, among other things, its long and deep history in the African communities. They said legislating it will ensure legal framework and certainty,” the committee said.

Other participants called for the equality and protection of all wives in polygamous marriages, especially when a husband enters into a traditional marriage in the rural areas and civil marriages in urban areas where they work.

The committee has expressed concerned with some sections of society for showing a lack of decorum and exhibiting actions that bordered on “discrimination” as it relates to same sex marriages. 

The committee emphasised and asserted the right of every individual as it is enshrined in the Constitution, and that any view should be respected, protected, and above all, the constitutional rights of every South African should be respected.

 “Participants differed on the intention to increase the legal age of consent, with some participants arguing that 18 years marriage threshold was appropriate for consent to enter into a marriage. Some argued against the 18 years, citing the lack of maturity and arguing that children must complete their educational pathways before marriage.

“Marriage officers also highlighted their fear of retribution if they refused to solemnise marriages that go against their beliefs. These participants called for clear and unambiguous measures in place to protect marriage officers if they refuse to solemnise marriages that are against their belief systems,” the committee said.

Other participants called for the Department of Home Affairs to present a roll-out plan for the training of the new marriage officers on the implementation of the bill.

“They argued that polygamous marriages are not sustainable and at times, they are easily riddled with conflicts especially relating to property rights. They called for the prohibition of this type of marriage.

 “On the same sex marriages, there were also differences on the recognition of these marriages. Representatives of a number of faith-based organisations highlighted contradictions with their religious beliefs and teachings. Those in support of same sex marriages highlighted that every South African has a constitutional right of choice and thebBill’s intentions to recognise their marriages is constitutional,” the committee said. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has seized counterfeit and illicit goods worth more than R156 million during operations in Pretoria, Mbombela and Limpopo.

In the past three weeks, the integrated team executed search-and-seizure warrants in terms of the Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of 1997, as well as the Customs and Excise Act at targeted shops in Marabastad, Mokopane, Mbombela, Bela Bela, Mookghopong, and Modimolle.

“During these takedowns, the team seized more than 23 000 items imitating high-end designer brands that include clothing, shoes, bags, caps, and watches as well as counterfeit jewellery, sunglasses, perfumes, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

“Also amongst the seized items are sports apparel that bears the Springboks trademark and other well-known brands. These counterfeit items were seized outside Mbombela stadium and Loftus stadium respectively during recent Springbok rugby games against visiting countries. The team also confiscated illicit cigarettes valued at over R50 000,” SAPS said in a statement on Saturday.

The operations were led by the National Counterfeit and Illicit Goods unit, with support from Public Order Policing (POP), the South African Revenue Services (SARS) Customs and Enforcement team, counterfeit depot officials, brand protectors, and private security personnel.

“SAPS remains committed to eradicate the illegal trade in counterfeit goods in an effort to protect consumers, support legitimate businesses, and ensure the integrity of South Africa’s economy.

“The Counterfeit Goods Act aims to combat the trade in counterfeit goods by protecting trademarks, copyrights, and certain mark owners from the unlawful use of their intellectual property on goods and preventing such counterfeit goods from entering the market,” the SAPS said. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has intensified its operations into the investigation of allegations that Basotho nationals are undergoing militarily training on South African farms, as part of a growing land reclamation campaign.

This was revealed during a Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting, where National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola met with all nine provincial commissioners to discuss crime combatting efforts in the country.

The BOC is the highest decision-making body of the SAPS inclusive of all Provincial Commissioners, Divisional Commissioners and the Acting National Head for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks.

“During the meeting, General Fannie Masemola highlighted his satisfaction that organised crime syndicates in the country are being dismantled, dislodged, displaced and arrested,” the SAPS said in a statement on Saturday.

The comments, initially made by the Lesotho Police Chief, Advocate Borotho Matsoso, were high on the agenda. A preliminary report from the SAPS Crime Intelligence Division was discussed, confirming that intelligence structures have highlighted their operations to investigate allegations made and where necessary, track down and takedown such illegal activities.

The DPCI’s Crimes Against the State (CATS) unit has also been roped in to investigate. Various searches have been undertaken by CATS at various identified farms, and no such evidence has been found to date.

“Further to this, the National Commissioner has reached out to the Lesotho Police Chief, where the two commissioners discussed the allegations made by Advocate Matsoso. Both commissioners agreed that both law enforcement agencies intelligence structures are on the ground to investigate the existence of such camps.

“General Masemola assures all people living in South Africa that the safety and security of the people of SA is of paramount importance, and anyone who is found to be in the country committing illegal acts will face the full might of the law. To this effect, intelligence structures and operatives are on the ground to establish facts,” the SAPS said. 

The SAPS has urged South Africans not to panic or worry as police from both countries remain on high alert. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Parliament has called for an acceleration in gender equality and women’s empowerment across the African continent.

Addressing Parliament’s G20 special engagement between Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament’s (PAP) women and young parliamentarians, held in Johannesburg on Friday, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, challenged parliamentarians to lead an “epistemic shift” by unlearning the colonial ideologies that continue to shape public policy, and to build a new legislative framework grounded in equity, reparations and dignity for all.

“Parliamentary diplomacy must be used not to mimic old power, but to dismantle the logics of exclusion, logics that sort bodies by race, gender and class, and determine who matters and who doesn’t,” Mtshweni-Tsipane said.

With South Africa preparing to host the G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) in October 2025, the Chairperson urged women and young African parliamentarians to seize this historic moment to speak with a united, unapologetically African voice that brings gender justice, feminist solidarity and people-first reforms to the centre stage.

“The rights of women and girls cannot live on paper alone, they must be seen in courtrooms, in clinics, in classrooms and in every village across Africa. We must move from ratification to realisation and from symbolic gestures to systemic change,” she said.

Echoing Mtshweni-Tsipane’s sentiments, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Annelie Lotriet said the policy frameworks are already in place.

“The frameworks are in place, the statistics are known, and what remains is deliberate and determined action that is driven by political will,” Lotriet said.

As South Africa is presiding over the Group Twenty (G20) Presidency, Parliament will hold the P20 Summit, a high-level gathering of Speakers and Presiding Officers from G20 member countries. 

The summit serves as the parliamentary dimension of the G20, aiming to strengthen global legislative collaboration on key development issues. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Source: Government of South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the Northern Cape a province “on the move”. following a Presidential engagement between national and provincial leaders in Kimberley on Friday.

The President spoke to the media following the engagement which was held at the province’s Sol Plaatje University.

The President was accompanied by various Minster, Deputy Ministers and senior government officials. 

“We were very impressed with the presentation that they gave us and the vision that they have for the Northern Cape, [and] various projects, which they are hoping would turn around the economy of the province — from Boetgooebaa,i which is the port, water projects, roads and a whole number of projects. 

“This is the province that’s on the move. And… as you know, when it comes to renewable energy, it is the one province that has attracted more investment,” he said.

President Ramaphosa said the province is seen as a future leader of industrialisation and manufacturing.

“We’re looking at setting up an SEZ and making sure that manufacturing does come here which will be underpinned by the natural resources that the province has.

“The [irradiation] in this province are second to none in the world and that is why we’ve been able to attract so many investments to come to this province,” he said.

In a statement, the Presidency explained the key issues discussed at the engagement with the Northern Cape’s executive.

“The meeting discussed the ongoing roll out of catalytic economic development projects that require the deepening of cooperation between the national and provincial governments.

“These include the Boegoebaai Harbor and SEZ development, revitalisation and expansion of Vaalharts, Namakwa SEZ and the development of the infrastructure masterplan. The meeting further affirmed closer cooperation on issues of climate change mitigation considering the province’s vulnerability to erratic weather conditions.

“The national executive pledged to continue working closely with the province in areas of Transport and Logistics, Basic Education, Water and Sanitation infrastructure development, Human Settlements, Tourism and Energy and Electricity,” the statement read.

The engagement with the Northern Cape’s provincial government is the sixth such following meetings with executive councils of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

According to the Presidency, the sessions have resulted in “strengthening cooperative governance, breaking down silos and cooperative project planning that leads to collaborative execution”.

“As President Ramaphosa said during the Budget Debate last week, when the three spheres of government work together, the lives of the people of South Africa are improved.

“The President emphasised the importance of structured engagements between the national and provincial executives that assist government coordinate more efficiently, resolve challenges together and to plan smarter.

“The meetings are also meant to facilitate innovative ideas and proposals to address service delivery and skills challenges,” the statement read. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, through the National Treasury, has called for eligible market participants to submit proposals that will raise a minimum amount of US$ 500 million for the country’s foreign currency borrowing programme.

This as National Treasury is seeking to supplement its foreign currency borrowing programme for the 2025/26 fiscal year by exploring innovative and cost-effective financing mechanisms.

“Proposals should raise, on a stand-alone or combined basis, a minimum amount of US$ 500 million. If funding is offered in another hard currency, the counterparty must commit to swapping the proceeds into US dollars at closing,” National Treasury said in a statement on Friday.

This funding initiative aims to diversifying the sovereign’s hard currency funding toolkit beyond a traditional Eurobond; reduce execution risk and minimise the all-in cost of funds; and maintain flexibility for future liability management actions aligned with evolving market conditions.

Government is expecting responses from primary dealers in South African government securities; internationally active arranging banks; multilateral institutions; institutional investors; and other regulated financial entities with capacity to fund at scale, either directly or through an arranging bank.

Treasury will consider a range of instruments, including, but not limited to:
•    bilateral term loans;
•    private placements of floating rate notes;
•    repurchase agreements against sovereign collateral;
•    cross-currency or total return swaps with funding legs in US dollars, and
•    other structured note formats.

Proposals incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) or sustainability-linked features are encouraged, particularly if aligned with the National Treasury’s ESG framework.

Proposals will be assessed on the basis of:
•    overall cost of funds (spread over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) or equivalent benchmark);
•    speed and certainty of execution;
•    compatibility with the sovereign’s maturity profile and debt service peaks;
•    operational simplicity; and resilience to market shocks, including currency volatility and rate spikes.

Interested parties have been advised to submit a PDF term sheet, including proposed amount, tenor, pricing and indicative spread; settlement date; key covenants or conditions precedent; collateral requirements (if any); governing law and documentation platform; and any relevant ESG characteristics.

Deadline for submission

The deadline for the submission of proposals is Wednesday, 6 August 2025, at 12:00 South African Standard Time (SAST).
The evaluation window will start on Thursday, 7 August 2025 – Friday, 29 August 2025.

This request contains no material, non-public information and may be shared with public-side desks. All proposals and follow-up discussions will be treated confidentially and will comply with all applicable South African public finance regulations.

Submission channel and contacts are as follows:
•    Please email proposals to: debtissuanceandmanagement@treasury.gov.za

Enquiries may be directed to:
•    Terry Bomela Msomi Director: Treasury Funding Tel: +27 12 315 5135
•    Wanga Cibi Chief Director: Liability Management Tel: +27 12 315 5132

– SAnews.gov.za