Day: April 24, 2023

In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is determined to tackle both the energy crisis and climate change together.

“The country is faced with both an electricity crisis and a climate crisis, which we must tackle together. Our position is clear and principled: it is possible for us to prioritise our immediate energy needs without jeopardising our climate commitments, and we are determined to do so.

“In fact, we must accelerate the pace of investment in new renewable electricity generation as an important part of the plan to overcome load shedding,” the President said on Monday.

While the country is faced with both an electricity and climate crisis, President Ramaphosa said government is intensifying efforts to address the electricity shortfall and it remains committed to reduce carbon emissions through a just transition.

The President says that how the country responds to the energy crisis will determine the future and the growth of the economy.

In addition to ending load shedding, the Energy Action Plan will act as a springboard to a just energy transition, boosting the rollout of renewable energy sources, mobilising hundreds of billions of Rand in investment and creating new jobs in sectors from electric vehicles to solar installation.

“We must be able to look back on this crisis as a crucial turning point for South Africa – as a moment where we not only worked together to overcome a national challenge, but laid the foundation for a better future,” he said.

The President highlighted that intensive work is underway to reduce load shedding by improving the performance of Eskom’s power stations.

This includes returning units at the Kusile and Medupi power stations to service on schedule, which will together add over 3,500 MW back to the grid.

It also includes improving the quality of coal supplied to power stations and ensuring that appropriate skills, adequate funding and effective planning are put in place for maintenance.

“We are making real progress in adding new generation capacity to the grid, buying power from neighbouring countries, fast-tracking new wind, solar, battery storage and gas projects. We have previously said that we have a deficit of some 6,000 MW, which we are working to close through all these efforts.

“We are seeing a massive surge of private investment in electricity generation as a result of reforms we have embarked upon. These reforms mean that private companies can invest in generation projects of any size and feed their power into the grid,” the President said.

He acknowledged that while these initiatives give the country confidence that it will end load shedding, they will take time to show results.

He said that Eskom is undertaking necessary maintenance now to ensure that planned outages can be limited during winter, when demand is expected to increase.

“As we enter the winter months, when our consumption of electricity rises, we will need to manage our use of electricity. One of the ways in which every South African can contribute to reduce load shedding is by switching off at peak times the home appliances that use a lot of electricity, such as geysers. There are simple energy saving solutions like geyser timers or geyser blankets that we can use,” the President said.

The President added that one of the issues widely discussed in light of the current electricity shortfall is the pace at which older coal-fired power stations that are coming to the end of their lives will be decommissioned.

South Africa has committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 2030 to within a target range which, at its upper level, is compatible with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5ºC.

“We remain committed to achieving this target. We need to do this to prevent the worst effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and other disasters. We also need to protect jobs in sectors of our economy that have to decarbonise to remain globally competitive. However, the manner in which these commitments are achieved must not compromise energy security or the immediate priority of reducing load shedding,” the President said.

In some cases, the President said, it may be necessary to re-examine the timeframe and the process of decommissioning or mothballing of coal-fired power stations temporarily to address the electricity supply shortfall.

“Few would argue that we should close down power stations even as we experience load shedding. A number of countries in Europe that had decommissioned or mothballed their fossil fuelled power stations are recommissioning them to address the current energy shortage as a result of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“The process of re-examining our timeframes is not a reversal of our position on the just energy transition. Other countries have had to do the same in recent years without deviating from their long-term shift to renewable energy sources,” he said.

The President emphasised that any decision on decommissioning will be informed by a detailed technical assessment of the feasibility of continuing to operate older plants.

He added that it will also be informed by the timeframe in which we can expect new capacity from other energy sources and the impact on our decarbonisation trajectory.

“The health and environmental impact of emissions from coal-fired power stations also needs to be considered. In a meeting last week of the Presidential Climate Commission, it was pointed out that the transition to clean energy sources will prevent more than 400,000 avoidable deaths attributable to air pollution by 2050,” the President said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Western Nzema Youth League have called on corporate organisations especially oil and gas companies operating in the Cape Three Point Area to, as a matter of priority, see to the completion of the abandoned toilet in the community. Cape Three Points, a village located near Princes Town in the Western Region of Ghana is said to have no toilet facility and as such, residents are compelled to use the beach as their place of convenience, thus, affecting the scenic beauty of the area. However, a toilet facility, which was started by the Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC) some two years ago, had been abandoned for unexplained reasons. The call by the Western Nzema Youth League was expressed in a statement issued and signed by its leader, Dr Patrick Ekye Kwesie and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Takoradi at the weekend. ‘Sanitation is key in every society, and it will surprise you to know that Ghana’s cape three point cannot boast of a single toilet facility not to talk of access to clean water,’ the statement said. ‘We urge the GNPC to stop political favoritism in delivering projects across the Western Region and complete the abandoned toilet facility which is left to rot in the bush,’ it added. The statement bemoaned why in the 21st century, a village with much relevance and importance could not access necessities such as toilets, the basic human sanitation and were using the beach for convenience. ‘It is very disheartening and not humane. Nzemas are the most peaceful people but are always taken for granted and neglected despite being the owners of Ghana’s Hydrocarbon Resources. So, as a matter of urgency, we are calling on all stakeholders to come to the aid of this sensational community and give them a befitting place for nature’s call.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) has partnered with the County Government of Bomet for the last ten years in development projects aimed at improving residents’ lives. In a memorandum of understanding that was signed between KRCS and the County Government of Bomet in the year 2014, the humanitarian organization agreed with the county government to focus on the development agenda of the county that included the four thematic areas of Food security, Health, Water, and sanitation. Bomet Governor Prof. Hillary Barchok held talks recently with the KRC team led by Lucy Sembei and Ms. Maria Twerda from the British Red Cross during the handover of the Nogirwet irrigation project in Chebunyo ward that the humanitarian society had funded. ‘We applaud the contribution and the Support of Kenya Red Cross Society to our development agenda. Key among them is the implementation of the Bomet Integrated Development Plan (BDIP), a product of a 2014 MOU between the KRCS and the County Government with a focus on four thematic areas: Food security, Health, Nutrition, and Water and Sanitation’ noted the governor. The governor further noted that the overall goal of the projects is to contribute to sustainable development among the residents of Bomet County. The key milestones projects that have been achieved through the partnership include the construction of Nogirwet dispensary, declaration of 10 villages as open defecation free (ODF), support of 200 farmers with farm inputs including Drip irrigation systems, vegetable seeds, and tissue culture bananas and construction of Sigor water supply system which serves 60,000 households in Chepalungu Sub-County. Following the successful implementation of the BIDP, the Bomet Integrated Food Security and Livelihood project was realized in July 2022 with funding from the British Red Cross. The two-year project that was anticipated to run from July 2022-June 2024 is targeting smallholder farmers in the Chebunyo ward, Chepalungu Sub-County and its overall objective is to improve the livelihoods of residents by enhancing food security. Statistics indicate the project targets a total of 617 beneficiaries including 517 in horticulture smallholder farming and 100 in poultry farming. ‘This is a testimony of the goodwill of the humanitarian society is offering in helping improve the lives of our people and we shall continue working hand-in-hand with them to realize the development needs of our people,’ said Barchok.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Mr Divine Bosson, Ho Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has pledged to provide more streetlights to Godokpoe, a suburb of Ho and its environs to improve the lighting in the area. He said the security of the people was of paramount importance to him and that one of the ways to ensure and enhance the security system in the area was to improve the lighting system. The MCE said miscreants capitalised on the pockets of darkness in the area and hide and carry out their nefarious activities against innocent people. Mr Bosson said when the lighting system was enhanced, it would ensure safety and protection of the people and deter such unscrupulous persons from engaging in their sinister acts. He made the pledge in an interaction with the Ghana News Agency during a tour of some project sites within the municipality including sectional repair and potholes patching works on Ziavi Main Road and construction of culverts at Godokpoe down. Mr Bosson said his outfit was advancing every necessary plan for accelerated socio-economic development of the municipality to transform the lives of the people. The MCE asked the people to support the Assembly in its drive to develop the municipality and make it one of the best in the country. He said the Assembly’s quest to gain metropolitan status was on course, however, a lot had to be done to make it successful, and each one must be involved to achieve it. The MCE also used the tour to interact with pupils of SDA Basic School and urged them to take their studies seriously for them to attain greater heights to become responsible future leaders of the country. Mr Bosson entreated them to carefully observe the road when crossing it to avoid accidents and avoid acts that would have negative impact on their lives and truncate their dreams. Madam Gloria Agbesi, Assembly Member for Ziavi Electoral Area, commended the MCE and the Assembly for their efforts at championing development projects in the municipality.

Source: Ghana News Agency