Three children are dead. More than a dozen homes have been gutted by fires in the past six months. And, as the Mail & Guardian reported last week, all this could have been averted had the Lekwa municipality in Mpumalanga followed due process in obtaining new fire trucks. Lekwa is one of the worst-performing municipalities […]
Eskom’s woes are often because of boiler problems at its power plants. R50-billion has been set aside to fix them, but some of the contracts are going to questionable entities
Cyril Ramaphosa wants to do the right thing – bring independent power producers on to the grid. He must act despite opposition from top ANC members
The transition to a decarbonised economy based on water, wind and solar energy will save trillions, plus people’s lives and climate crisis costs
Eskom appointed a new interim chairperson this week — board member Professor Malegapuru Makgoba. Makgoba is not a new face. He was the health ombudsman tasked with investigating the Life Esidimeni tragedy. He was also deputy chair of the national planning committee. He is also a leading immunologist, physician and public health advocate. But for […]
The finance minister says despite the difficult fiscal environment, structural reforms are under way to put SA on a new growth path
Photographer Daylin Paul, inspired by a former colleague, brings into view coal’s devastation in Mpumalanga
South Africa needs to seriously start thinking about shifting its energy focus. This is for two reasons. The first is that the country’s important exports — coal and platinum — face potential collapse with the imminent shift of global energy markets. A number of factors are driving this. The move away from vehicles powered by […]
To improve the South African economy, we need to institute practical measures to effect change
ANC president says only his party can improve lives, as Northern Cape residents lament their struggles in South Africa’s sparsest province
There has been no progress in expanding national electricity grids in most African countries since 2016
Regular maintenance, zero corruption and no emergency coal procurement are the main issues
The environment department has lost patience with Eskom’s defiance of air pollution regulations
I’m hammered — by endless rain, power outages and Cyril’s sabotage performance
The union federation offers unprecedented concessions on job protections
Why are we dithering when independent power producers hold the answer? Ideology, it seems
The blackouts are man-made and the result of corruption, crony politics and mismanagement
It’s not clear whether President Ramaphosa can coordinate his ministers in a way that provides clarity about dealing with the country’s energy crisis
Why were they established in the first place and how have they survived this long? Their histories provide clues for their successes and failures
Eskom is stuck in a tricky situation and doesn’t have the wholehearted support of MPs when it comes to recouping its money
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian Data Desk, the head of SIU said it is fixing internal problems
Citizens, politicians, business people and civil society organisations must reject unethical leaders
Gwede Mantashe needs to shift from costly, climate crisis-inducing fossil fuels to renewables
The former head of stressed Nampak has been brought in to set right the floundering utility
The latest report card on how we are doing as a country to reduce emissions is in — and we’re not doing well
Citizens are cutting off their noses to spite their faces when they refuse to pay for certain public services – such as electricity
But analysts say that cost-plus mines would mean ‘a subsidy for private investors’
Items meant for the more than R300-million defunct Kusile accommodation project goes missing but no one is facing arrest
Rather than wading into the economic rucks and mauls, we’ve been kicking for touch: buying time, instead of making game-winning yards
Mboweni’s medium-term budget policy statement will likely make crisis management a focal point
The new Eskom plan still lacks too much detail to give any real insight into how the utility survives
The finance minister’s medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday will be watched like it is the main event