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South Africa postpones nuclear power plant plan

Published

4 months ago

August 18, 2024

In response to legal objections, South Africa’s energy minister has announced that the country would postpone initiating the procurement process for a new nuclear power plant to allow for additional consultation.

In December, the government declared that it was getting ready to put out bids for an additional 2,500 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power. Nevertheless, two non-governmental organizations and the Democratic Alliance (DA), the then-opposition party, filed lawsuits to stop the procurement.

Following an election in May that saw the African National Congress lose its legislative majority for the first time in thirty years, the DA is now a coalition government member.

According to a statement from his office, President Cyril Ramaphosa also signed legislation into law that establishes the framework for a competitive power market.

The long-awaited changes to the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act are a part of the attempts to improve the efficiency of the power sector in the most industrialized country in Africa. Although there haven’t been any blackouts in over four months, rolling blackouts have been a problem for the past few years.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Kgosientsho Ramokgopa acknowledged that there ought to have been more public involvement up until this point when he announced the postponement of the nuclear purchase on Friday.

He declared that he had decided to remove a document from the government gazette that would have permitted the purchase to move forward.

After further public consultation, officials will revise a report that addresses the requirements the energy regulator set for its approval of the procurement.

It was made very evident by Ramokgopa that the government was committed to building more nuclear power at a rate and scale that the nation could afford, beyond the 1,900 MW Koeberg facility west of Cape Town.

“Nuclear is part of the future, but it’s important that as we go out and procure, the procurement process must be able to stand the test of time,” the minister said.

The only nation in Africa with a commercial nuclear power facility is South Africa. The Koeberg nuclear power station has two reactors that produce about 5% of the country’s electricity. The Vaalputs Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in the Northern Cape is where spent fuel is disposed of.

Many South Africans are sceptical of the government’s nuclear aspirations following the 2017 court case that halted a 9,600 MW agreement with Russia that was started during Jacob Zuma’s scandal-plagued presidency.

Related Topics:Featured Nuclear energy South Africa

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

9 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

VenturesNow

Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

9 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.