News 07:00

BULLETIN 12 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nersa is going to approach the Court of Appeal over the electricity tariff
# South Africa may exit the grey list by October next year
# And Biden is outraged at the killing of an American in the West Bank

# The National Energy Regulator of South Africa says it will be approaching the Supreme Court of Appeal, to challenge a ruling that found the method used to determine electricity tariff hikes unlawful. The case was initially lodged at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria by AfriForum, which argued that the tariff hikes were not based on cost-of-supply studies as required by law. Nersa’s CEO, Nomalanga Sithole, says they believe that the decision that the court has taken has huge implications for the industry as a whole.

Meanwhile, AfriForum says it has not received official notification from Nersa regarding its plan to appeal the High Court ruling. The energy regulator’s application for appeal was dismissed in August. AfriForum’s Morné Mostert condemns Nersa’s approach and urges consumers to dispute illegal tariff hikes:

# South Africa must address 22 flagged issues by February 2025 to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list by October 2025. National Treasury official Ismail Momoniat says the country has completed eight items and aims to finish the remaining before February 2025. Speaking to Engineering News, Momoniat confirmed a site visit in May, and a plenary will decide if South Africa can be removed from the list in June. Failure to meet these requirements may lead to reputational damage and increased bank costs.

# Eskom says the Sheriff of the Court has successfully attached Emfuleni Municipality’s four bank accounts to ensure that the money collected for electricity is paid directly to the power utility. As of the 31st of August, the municipality owed Eskom over eight-billion-rand for bulk electricity, placing Emfuleni among the top three municipalities in debt to the utility. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says Emfuleni failed to comply with the requirements of the National Treasury debt relief programme:

# US president Joe Biden says he is outraged and deeply saddened by the death of Turkish American Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi. She was killed at a protest in the occupied West Bank. The Israel Defence Forces has acknowledged responsibility for Eygi’s death. Biden says a preliminary investigation has indicated that her death was the result of a tragic error resulting from an unnecessary escalation. He says the US government has had full access to Israel’s preliminary investigation, adding that there must be full accountability.

# Golf: South Africa’s Daniel van Tonder is teaming up with Malcolm Mitchell for the Ubunye Championship at Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate in Pretoria teeing off today. The tournament sees Sunshine Tour professionals compete in a team format. Van Tonder is in great form with two Sunshine Tour victories in August alone. Young star Yurav Premlall, who has Ryan van Velzen as his partner, says he is finding his confidence again after finishing second to Van Tonder at both of his victories:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-92-cents and the euro at 19-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-34-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-972-dollars-72-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-512-dollars-30-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….