News 17:00

BULLETIN 23 January 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Koeberg power station is at 100-percent and has been synchronised
# Pretoria’s suspended chief magistrate fails in a bid to have his corruption charges withdrawn
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic reaches the Aussie Open semis 

# Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the energy outlook is set for improvement with the return of Koeberg unit one to the grid, ensuring a substantial boost of at least 27 additional megawatts. Unit one was successfully synchronised in November last year, following an extended outage, which signifies a positive step towards enhancing energy resilience. Briefing the media on the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa anticipates a notable reduction in load-shedding intensity, but says planned maintenance is still significantly high:

Meanwhile, Ramokgopa says the successful integration of new generation capacity, particularly from renewable energy sources, is crucial for efficient transmission. He revealed private sector financing is available for transmission projects, following discussions with heads of missions representing foreign interests in the country. He assured that private sector investment would not compromise the state’s ownership of the grid:

# The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court denied the request of the city’s suspended chief magistrate, Desmond Nair, for the charges against him to be withdrawn. The court didn’t agree with his lawyer, Danie Dorfling, who filed the request in July last year, arguing the state had not provided sufficient evidence for a criminal trial. Nair is facing corruption charges for allegedly receiving 200-thousand-rand’s kickbacks in security upgrades to his home from former company Bosasa, linked to state capture. The case was postponed to the 15th of March.

# The International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organisation have extended cooperation on the safe transport of dangerous goods by aircraft. IATA director-general, Willie Walsh, states the agreement signed in Geneva, Switzerland, ensures that dangerous goods are handled according to the highest globally applicable standards, adhering to dangerous goods regulations. The regulations encompass operator variations, supporting documents, tools, guidelines, and notes, essential for a secure approach to the safe transport of dangerous goods on aircraft.

# Tennis: World number one Novak Djokovic reached the semifinals of the Australian Open by beating 12th seeded American Taylor Fritz in four sets. The Serb won 7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on a hot day in Melbourne to continue his bid for a record-extending 11th title at the Grand Slam tournament. The 36-year-old defending champion says it was a tough game:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-2-cents and the euro at 20-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 38-thousand-963-dollars-59-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-27-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….