South Africa: Minister Blasts Municipalities for Poor Electricity Maintenance

Minister Blasts Municipalities for Poor Electricity Maintenance

Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has expressed concern over the inadequate maintenance of electricity infrastructure by municipalities, according to EWN. This follows ongoing power outages in various communities due to municipalities’ failure to distribute electricity properly. Ramokgopa said that Eskom is working with municipalities to address load reduction issues. “We are dealing with a new challenge, which is load reduction. This is largely unrelated to generation capacity issues, as we produce enough to meet demand. These are downstream problems affecting both Eskom and municipal operations,” he said.

Heatwave Culminates in Severe Thunderstorms

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a Yellow Level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms and intense lightning in Gauteng, reports SABC News. This follows a week of persistent heatwave conditions, with temperatures soaring into the mid-30s across several regions. Weather forecaster Letlhogonolo Thobela said “The heatwave predominantly affected the north-eastern provinces, lasting until Monday, and has now broken, giving way to today’s thunderstorms.” “While there’s a low probability of these severe thunderstorms occurring, their impact could be significant. Heavy rain is expected from the afternoon into late evening, affecting Gauteng, the north-eastern Free State, eastern North West, parts of Mpumalanga, and the extreme southwestern areas of Limpopo,” he said.

New Initiative Streamlines Roadworthiness Testing in South Africa 

The Department of Transport (DOT) has announced a major step forward in modernizing its services with the digitization of vehicle roadworthy testing, reports IOL. The initiative, launched by Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa at the Middleburg Testing Station, aims to roll out digital technology across all Vehicle Testing Stations (VTSs) in South Africa. The goal is to curb corruption, improve testing accuracy, and reduce waiting times by eliminating paper-based processes, thus streamlining the roadworthiness testing procedure.

More South African news