Government of South Africa

2023 - 1 - 20

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Image courtesy of "ACI Africa"

South Africa Being Ruled by Mafia, “government appears to be ... (ACI Africa)

Criminal gangs and mafias have taken control of South Africa and are wreaking havoc against innocent civilians, the President of the Southern African ...

As we begin this plenary meeting, we renew our gratitude to God for Pope Benedict, and we accompany him with prayers,” Bishop Sipuka said January 18. “By the look of things, there is little hope that we will overcome this hopelessness of poverty and moral bankruptcy any time soon. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa. We provide news from Africa, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church - so that you can grow in your Catholic faith. They have made themselves objects of delivery by the government, and the government likes that,” Bishop Sipuka said. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University.

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Image courtesy of "BusinessTech"

US government flags risk of grid collapse in South Africa: report (BusinessTech)

Leaked recordings from a meeting of US officials with local stakeholders shows that worries are mounting around South Africa's power grid.

“A national blackout will have massive implications, and every effort is made to prevent this from occurring. The caution from the US comes as South Africa is sitting on its 82nd consecutive day of load shedding. According to Cruise, in the event of a blackout, all loads representing load to the grid would be removed from the grid so that it could be maintained and the power stations could continue to power the lines and each other. Depending on the nature of the emergency, it could take a few weeks for the grid to recover from a blackout.” Even at these extreme levels of theoretical load shedding, however, the grid would still be protected from collapse as that is the entire point of load shedding to begin with. According to energy expert at Hohm Energy, Matthew Cruise, the stage 8 load shedding ‘limit’ is an arbitrary ceiling, and Eskom could, in theory, have load shedding stages as high as grid capacity would allow.

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Image courtesy of "MyBroadband"

US Government warning about Eskom — time to think about total ... (MyBroadband)

The consequences of a total blackout would also be devastating, making it worth preparing for even if the likelihood is low. The US Overseas Security Advisory ...

“To start one unit at Medupi would require a 60-megawatt generator. “I have a lot of faith in Eskom System Operators. It should be noted MyBroadband was not party to the agreement. MyBroadband has viewed a recording of the meeting. The US Government warned attendees that they would be unable to rely on South Africa’s national security structures as they would be stretched too thin. However, the US Government official said Eskom would not confirm how long it would take to bring Pretoria back online after a blackout. Eskom has publicly stated that it would have to restart the system in islands, beginning with the interior network. This is evident by the Eskom has repeatedly explained that load-shedding is necessary precisely to prevent a total collapse of the grid. The official emphasised that Eskom was talking about the ruinous consequences of a blackout to illustrate why load-shedding is critical. “Eskom estimates, in the best case scenario, it would take 6–14 days to restart the power grid,” the official said. They said that although a total blackout presents several dangers, the primary threat is the time it takes to bring a system back up from that total collapse.

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