News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Improvements in the intensity of load-shedding is expected by Wednesday
# The  Electricity minister says Eskom will continue ramping up planned maintenance
# And, Minister Motshekga will today launch the 2024 School Governing Body elections

# Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says significant improvements in the intensity of load-shedding are expected by Wednesday. Some four-thousand-400 megawatts of power generation were taken off the grid at the end of last week, as a result of boiler tube leaks, that took nine generating units offline, plunging the country into stage six load-shedding. Ramokgopa says Eskom management has identified boiler tube leaks as a major area of concern that undermines the availability of these units:

 Ramokgopa also said ramping up planned maintenance is a calculated risk that Eskom will continue to carry out. The power utility is currently maintaining high levels of maintenance, which is removing some seven-thousand megawatts from the grid. The minister says this adds to the risk of higher load-shedding in case of unexpected breakdowns. He adds that this short-term pain is worth the long-term gain as it results in healthier power stations:

# Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga will launch the 2024 School Governing Body Elections in Pretoria today. The elections, scheduled nationwide from March 1, 2024, are crucial for school governance and a legal requirement. Comprising of parents, teachers, non-teaching staff, learners, and the school principal, SGBs are elected every three years to ensure representation and effective management in schools across the country.

# The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has condemned former US president Donald Trump’s comments, saying it remains ready and able to defend all allies. At a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump said he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to any Nato member country that does not meet spending guidelines on defence. Nato says any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of its security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk.

# Golf: Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg managed to fend off South Africa’s Ryan van Velzen, in the playoff to win the Cape Town Open at the Royal Cape Golf Club. He holed a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to claim victory. South Africa’s Louis Albertse finished third on 15 under with a final round of 67. Lindberg, who is the second Swede to win the Cape Town Open, says this is an important win for him:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-3-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 48-thousand-436-dollars-7-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-24-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….