Archive for August, 2010

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will be in South Africa this week, on a visit expected to strengthen economic, political and cultural relations between South Africa and Serbia.

Jeremic and South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane are expected to discuss draft agreements on waiver of visa on diplomatic and official passport holders, avoidance of double taxation, and a memorandum of understanding on law enforcement cooperation.

Education, skills development, issues related to the United Nations Security Council, and Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, will also be talking points during the meeting between Nkoana-Mashabane and Jeremic.

Jeremic's visit will also present a platform for the two countries to share their experiences, both from their country's and region's perspective, on issues such as peace, democratisation and development processes.

South Africa and Serbia share similar values on many international issues and have supported each other's candidatures for non-permanent seats at the United Nations Security Council and on the Human Rights Council.

"Besides its EU ambitions, Serbia is using all available diplomatic and legal means to continue to fight to preserve the territorial integrity over Kosovo and one priority is the regional relations, including protecting the rights of Serbs in the Balkans," the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement last week.

Kosovo was a southern autonomous province within Serbia before the break-up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Albanian-dominated region was plunged into ethnic conflicts in 1990s.

Kosovo was placed under United Nations administration in mid-1999 and issued a unilateral declaration on independence from Serbia in February 2008.

Source: BuaNews

Developed first-world infrastructure combines with a vibrant emerging market economy to create huge investment potential.

The organisers of the Comrades Marathon expressed their optimism about the future of the world famous ultra-marathon at the official launch of the 2011 race in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The 85th edition of the event was hugely successful, and interest in the race grew, not only among South Africans, but all over the world. Last year's race featured the second-largest field in the history of the Comrades, surpassed only by the millennium race in 2000.

There were new records for the size of the international entry (5%), women's entry (24%), and novice (29%) entries, while the organisers expect the Comrades Marathon to be officially recognised as the world's biggest ultra-marathon by the Guinness Book of Records.

It is therefore no surprise that the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) is upbeat about the future of "The Ultimate Human Race".

The CMA says it is confident that it can repeat the successes of the 2010 Comrades Marathon, and expects a surge in interest from novices from all over the world, but mostly from South African athletes who have rediscovered the lure of the Comrades Marathon as a national icon and one of the "must do" events for sportsmen and women.

Entries

Entries for the 2011 Comrades Marathon, an "up-run" from Durban to Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, 29 May, open on 1 September for all athletes, novices and former Comrades athletes.

All entries – including online entries at the Comrades Marathon website, entries at Mr Price Home, Sport and Clothing Stores, and manual entries – open at 09:h00.

Athletes can also post their completed entry forms and proof of payment to the Comrades Marathon office in Pietermaritzburg.

In addition, entries can also be hand delivered to the Comrades Marathon House in Pietermaritzburg.

Entry forms will be obtainable from local running clubs, provincial federations, Sportsman Warehouse outlets and Mr Price outlets or can be requested from the Comrades Marathon office in Pietermaritzburg.

The size of the field will be restricted to 18 000 entries and the CMA has emphasised that entry requirements must be strictly adhered to at all times; they are clearly spelled out on the entry form.

Entries will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

SAinfo reporter

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South Africa is following the lead of a desert beetle in tackling the problem of water scarcity in the country's drought-prone Limpopo province, where remote rural communities live far from reliable water sources – yet in areas that are often shrouded in mist.

For years now, members of Vondo Village, in the Thulamela Municipality in Limpopo, have been implementing an innovative solution to their water shortage problem, using special nets erected at Tshanowa Primary School to harvest drinking water from fog.

With the nearest water sources being a non-perennial spring about two kilometres away, and a dam about five kilometres away – and with water source contamination rife in the province – the fognets have given the school children and the wider community a lifeline.

It's a method followed by the Namib fog beetle, which has net-like hairs on its underside that enables it to harvest water from the sea-fog that rolls in over the desert every morning.

The Tshanowa Primary School research project was led by University of South Africa (Unisa) climatologist Jana Olivier, an associate professor at Unisa's School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Olivier has since been involved in setting up similar research projects in half a dozen places across South Africa.

Now, Unisa and University of Pretoria have partnered with the South African Weather Service and the Department of Water Affairs to give the Tshanowa Primary School project additional backing, while formalising it and extending it to Tshiavha Primary School in Tshiavha village, also in the Thulamela Municipality.

"These fognets have over the years been providing water to local communities," Deputy Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said at the launch of the Fognet Project at the Mphephu Holiday Resort in Limpopo this week.

Mabudafhasi added that the Fognet Project had the additional virtue of bridging the gap between science and day-to-day living.

Members of the two universities and the South African Weather Service are training members of the two communities to maintain the fognets.

According to the Science in Africa website, which ran an article on the Tshanowa Primary School project some years ago, "each fog collector consists of three 6m-high wooden poles, mounted 9m apart. Steel cables stretch horizontally between the poles, and from each pole to the ground. A double layer of 30 percent shade cloth is draped over the cables, and fixed to the poles on each side.

"Water dripping from the net into the gutter runs through a sand filter and is then emptied into a tipping bucket," Science in Africa reporterd. "From there, it flows into a 10kl storage tank further down the slope. Two additional tanks were erected at the school to collect the overflow from the first. An automatic weather station was also installed to record rainfall, wind speed and wind direction.

"Within four days of completion, school children and members of the local community were drinking water collected by the fog screen ... the giant fog screens at Tshanowa Junior Primary School ... are providing pupils and members of the community an average of between 150 litres and 250 litres of water per day."

• Science in Africa: Fog-harvesting for water: clouds on tap
• National Geographic: Water harvested from clouds in rural South Africa

SAinfo reporter, Science in Africa and National Geographic

South African initiatives for "people, planet, prosperity".

Government, business & civil society initiatives to improve South Africans' lives.

Brad Morgan

The Look & Feel Good Expo visits Cape Town in September and Johannesburg in October. It offers an opportunity to explore every resource for healthy and conscious living under one roof.

The Expo made its debut in 2009 in Johannesburg and drew an impressive 16 000 visitors, which reflects on how important health and wellness has become to people, and how big it has become as an industry.

Included among the speakers was John Gray, the renowned author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.

Key words

What does the Expo explore? The key words are health, wellness, longevity, positivity, vitality, environmental awareness and sustainability. It's about living healthily, nurturing oneself and nurturing the planet.

The organisers say the expo, which attracts both men and women, is about "feeling fabulous within and without".

Exhibitors will showcase products in six main lifestyle categories: health, beauty, fitness, wellbeing, greening and happiness. Among the new attractions will be free treatments, samples and therapy trials.

Included in the healthy (pardon the pun!) line-up of offerings are health and wellness workshops, yoga demonstrations, a health kitchen, the Feel Good Joy Gym, the dance & movement stage, the style pavilion (makeovers and style advice), Boost Juice feel good health bar, Mr & Mrs Fitness zone, a day spa, a healing herb garden and a health assessment zone.

Workshops

The workshops will feature speakers from South Africa and abroad, including celebrities, leading nutritionists and exports.

The Liberty Medical Scheme Dance & Movement Stage will come alive to a wide range of dance styles, among them belly dancing, Nia, and ballroom dancing. Also on show will be TRX suspension training, Katabox, Russian kettlebells, Zumba, and kiddies’ dance.

The Yoga Studio's offerings will be led by some of the country's top instructors, and different disciplines, such as Bikram Yoga, Living Yoga Flow, Kundalini Yoga, Preggie Yoga and Yoga 4 Kids, will be explored. Visitors will be able to participate in the sessions.

Makeovers and pampering

Style advice, mini-makeovers and pampering will be on offer at the Style Pavilion. Expert advice on invasive and non-invasive treatments will be presented during an anti-ageing clinic.

At the Clicks Health Assessment Centre visitors can get a top-to-toe health assessment, including blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol testing, stress and a lifestyle assessment.

For those up for trying something different, the Feel Good Joy Gym helps one laugh one's way to health with Laughter Coaching.

Also on offer are mini spa treatments and complimentary skin consultations.

Healthy eating

Health and wellness has a lot to do with eating a healthy diet and that's where the SABC/Spekko Rice Kitchen will come in, with top chefs putting on cooking demonstrations of delicious and nutritious food.

Among the offerings in the Mr & Ms Fitness SA Zone will be a Fitness Fashion Show featuring Mr & Ms Fitness SA at midday on Saturday. In addition, there will be an extensive exercise programme featuring, among others, dance fitness, boxercise, and British military fitness.

The Look & Feel Good Expo takes place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 10 to 12 September. The Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg hosts the Expo from 8 to 10 October.

Celebrating every art, food, drink and farm commodity!

South Africa's Crime Line tip-off service scooped the media awards in the print, radio and television categories for communities of over 5-million at the 2010 Crime Stoppers International (CSI) conference in Halifax, Canada. Over 300 delegates from 20 countries attended the conference.

In a statement this week, Crime Line said South Africa was competing against countries like the USA, UK, India, Australia, the Netherlands and others.

In the print category, Crime Line won the award for an outstanding campaign around the 2010 Fifa World Cup™. The campaign called on South Africans to "give crime the boot", "show criminals the red card", "blow the whistle on crime" and "let's tackle crime".

In the radio category, a campaign highlighting a spate of mall robberies around South Africa last year was cited as being the best special report/feature. The promos called on the nation to blow the whistle on the culprits.

In December, Crime Line partnered with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in a festive season campaign that saw the deployment of large police contingents to malls.

Tears for Fears

Earlier this year, Crime Line partnered with SHOUT, an initiative launched by leading artists, musicians and entertainers, which saw the launch of a music DVD, will all proceeds going towards creating a safer South Africa.

SHOUT encourages the public to use Crime Line. CSI has adopted the "Tears for Fears" song, and the plan is to take it worldwide.

In the "best television report/feature" category, the award again went to Crime Line for its association with SHOUT.

The awards were presented by CSI President Gary Murphy.

South Africa's SMS first

Head of Crime Line, Yusuf Abramjee, said: "Crime Line has made its mark on the international stage in a very short space of time.

"We were one of the first countries to introduce SMS technology for anonymous tip-offs using the 32211 number. Today, text messaging has become a major weapon, all over the world, in the fight against crime," he said.

Crime Line has recorded over 1 000 arrests and R36-million worth of seizures since its launch in June 2007. It is fully endorsed by the police and has the support of various companies, non-government organisations and civil society.

Partnerships vital

Abramjee said: "We have many partnerships and we salute each and every organisation and every individual that has and continues to support Crime Line.

"Partners include the SABC, Jacaranda 94.2, Algoa FM, DSTV, When Duty Calls on SABC 2, community radio, The Caxton Group of Newspapers, Ad Reach, community newspapers and the Independent Group of Newspapers.

"From day one, the Primedia group of companies as well as its four radio stations - Talk Radio 702, 94.7 Highveld Stereo, 567 Cape Talk, 94.5 Kfm have been fully behind Crime Line.

"Each month, Crime Line celebrates the Star of the Stars for SAPS members who excel in partnership with Pick ‘n Pay."

Professionalism, vibrant energy, passion

The vice-president of CSI, Michael Gordon Gibson, said he was struck by the "professionalism, vibrant energy and the passion" of all those involved in Crime Line when he visited South Africa during an Interpol conference last year.

Crime Stoppers South Africa, of which Crime Line and Crime Stop are members, is being represented at the Canada conference by Major General Vinesh Moonoo and Colonel Attie Lamprecht of Detective Services.

Abramjee, Moonoo and Lamprecht are directors of the CSI Board, representing Africa. South Africa was admitted as a full member of the board last year.

Abramjee said: "Let's continue to do the right thing and strengthen the partnership between the public, the media and the police.

"Each and every South African needs to LEAD SA every day and stand up. Crime Line has entrenched itself as a mechanism to fight crime without endangering one's life or threatening one's safety. It's totally anonymous.

"Let's use our fingers to make tip-offs to the 32211 SMS number or to the www.crimeline.co.za tip-off page."

SAinfo reporter

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President Jacob Zuma has now visited all of the so-called BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – in little over a year, signaling a move to reposition South Africa's economy to take advantage of new trade and investment opportunities with the world's fastest-growing emerging economies.

BRIC and the shift in global economic power

The acronym "BRIC", according to Wikipedia, was coined by academic Jim O'Neill in a 2001 paper entitled "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs", and has since become widely used to symbolise a shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies toward the developing world.

Some experts have predicted that the combined wealth of the BRIC economies could eclipse the world's current richest nations by 2050. And there are signs that the BRIC countries have been seeking to form an alliance in order to convert their economic power into greater negotiating power on the global stage.

Zuma's three-day state visit to China, which ended on Thursday, came a week after the Asian nation officially became the world's second-largest economy.

What South Africa can offer BRIC

Sanne Mars-van der Lugt, a research analyst with the Centre for Chinese Studies in Cape Town, said Zuma's itinerary showed that the South African government viewed the BRIC countries as an important strategic grouping.

However, she told BuaNews, it was unlikely that South Africa would become a "member" of the BRIC economies any time soon. Instead, Van der Lugt said, South Africa could be consulted by BRIC countries on challenges it shared with them, such as poverty and inequality.

"It is therefore up to South Africa to show its regional and international leverage to the other emerging countries in order to be invited for these discussions."

Van der Lugt noted that even though South Africa did not share certain BRIC characteristics, such as close-to-double digit growth numbers and extremely large populations, the country still had a great deal to offer emerging economies.

South Africa had a great abundance of natural resources, paired with talented human resources and intellectual capital. "South Africa is seen as a country with an abundance of resources, like many other African countries, however, with lower risks to investment."

By engaging with the BRIC countries, South Africa could also learn a great deal about alleviating social ills such as high unemployment.

China's role in Africa

Van der Lugt hoped that Zuma and his delegation would use this week's visit to secure greater political and corporate alignment between South Africa and China with respect to both countries' interests in Africa.

"China and South Africa are now in the position that they can be donors of support for the development of other countries ... They have money to invest in the development of Africa and they have the will to do so, to boost their image as responsible global powers, as well as for ... creating markets for their products."

There has been growing debate over China's role in Africa, with critics raising concerns over China's support for countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe, as well as its questionable worker safety rules.

However, Zuma has defended China's surging investment in Africa, telling an audience at Beijing's Renmin University on Wednesday that China was making an important contribution to the development of the continent.

According to Van der Lugt, the truth of the matter "lies somewhere in between. China is not purely in Africa to either do good or to plunder the resources. Sino-African relations should be perceived from a global market system perspective."

A report by business consultancy McKinsey has labelled China's role in Africa as "dynamic", a view that Zuma himself shares.

New ways of promoting development

"We are still at an early stage of what will be an exciting journey, a journey out of poverty, a journey to sustainable improvements in the lives of our people, here in China, and on the African continent," he said this week.

In the report, McKinsey said that China's willingness to undertake additional strategic development projects in Africa should be supported, and that collaboration between Chinese institutions working in Africa and other donors or partners ought to be developed and encouraged.

By pursuing these opportunities, it said, Africa and China could uncover new ways of promoting economic development and the reduction of poverty on the continent.

Van der Lugt echoed this view, saying South Africa should aim to establish untapped international trade ties to help the country's economic growth.

China, she said, was an interesting trading partner and market for South Africa with potential to grow.

"The hope for South Africa is that it can diversify its export to China from mainly raw materials to a better mix of raw materials and manufactured goods," she added.

Source: BuaNews

South Africa and China, which operates the largest high-speed rail network in the world, have signed an agreement that seeks to promote co-operation, trade and investment in rail projects between the two countries.

The agreement was signed in Beijing on Wednesday by Chinese Railway Minister Liu Zhijun and South African Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele, who was part of a delegation accompanying South African President Jacob Zuma on his three-day state visit to China, which ended on Thursday.

Ndebele said that South Africa could move faster from a developing to a developed country by transporting people and goods efficiently, effectively and with the least cost to the environment and economy.

"We are confident that our friends in the world, including the Chinese, can help us leapfrog many stages on our journey to becoming a developed country," he said.

Zhijun said his country was willing to share its expertise in the development of railways networks.

"We are willing to share this expertise with South Africa. We operate 86 000km of railway track, 7 000km of high speed rail, and we have 13 000 high-speed projects under construction.

"We operate the largest network of high-speed rail in the world," Zhijun said. "The Shanghai to Beijing railway line is the largest in the world, but in addition we are specialists in the development of highland rail, high speed rail, upgrading of networks and their maintenance."

The agreement recognises the need to find new approaches for consolidating, expanding and deepening the rapid developments in the transport sector between South and China.

It seeks to will foster co-operation in rail infrastructure maintenance and development, financing, network safety and regulation, technology transfer, harmonisation of technical standards and human resource development.

The agreement includes identifying research institutions and private organisations such as universities and private companies that have the technical and financial capacity to implement specific projects in the transport sector.

The two countries agreed that there would be an exchange of engineers and related professionals and broad cooperation in the areas of intelligent transport systems, and environmentally sustainable and labour-intensive best practices.

Source: BuaNews

27 August 2010

The operation was accompanied by the seizure of assets including a Lear jet, worth in total roughly the same amount.

The crimes relate to alleged attempts to defraud the KwaZulu-Natal provincial health department by inflating the prices of water purification equipment for hospitals. One purification plant valued at R420 000 was allegedly sold to the department for R4-million.

The men face fraud, corruption and money laundering charges and charges under South Africa's Public Finance Management Act, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

In the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates' Court, former KwaZulu-Natal health department head Busi Nyembezi was granted bail of R50 000. Bail was set at R20 000 for the department's former procurement officer, Mdu Ntshangase, and at R10 000 for the provincial legislature's current chief financial officer, Sipho Buthelezi.

In Cape Town's Specialised Commercial Crime Court, Uruguayan national Gaston Savoi was granted bail of R200 000.

Savoi also represented accused number six on the charge sheet, namely a company called Intaka Holdings, the company that allegedly supplied the water purification plants at the inflated rate.

His co-accused, businessmen Fernando Praderi (also an Uruguayan national), Ansano Romani, Donald Miller and Ronald Geddes, were granted bail of R50 000 each.

Praderi was a director of Intaka at the time the offence was allegedly committed. Miller was the sales marketing manager for Grotto Defrancheschi (Pty) Ltd, the company that developed purification plants for Intaka.

Geddes owned Imvuso Stainless CC, a close corporation which allegedly supplied one of the quotations which formed part of the fraud charges.

The case was postponed to December 2, when all the accused will appear in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court.

The state did not oppose bail for any of the eight.

The Cape Town men were, however, ordered to hand in their passports, and not to interfere with anyone on a list of 56 potential state witnesses.

Savoi's advocate, Francois van Zyl, told the court his client had been aware of the investigations since February 2007. He had given three statements to the police, and had offered to hand himself over when the police wanted to take him into custody.

Despite this, he has been arrested at his home, where police arrived while he was in the shower.

In the same court, prosecutor Anton Steynberg told Magistrate Amrith Chabillal that the accused had undertaken to satisfy the state's "misgivings" about certain funds that had been transferred overseas.

They would make a full disclosure on the source of the funds.

He said Romani, Miller and Geddes were all South African citizens with substantial business interests.

However they had not benefited directly from the fraud, he said. The NPA said in a statement that the Asset Forfeiture Unit had begun seizing assets worth an estimated at R200-million from Savoi and Intaka.

These included the Shamwari Lodge in the Eastern Cape and the Lear jet, which was housed at Cape Town airport.

Also on the seizure list were a Maserati and a Ferrari.

Ithala Development Finance Corporation CEO Sipho Shabalala's City Royal Hotel in Pietermaritzburg, his Othandweni farm, Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz were also due to be seized.

Shabalala, the former head of the KwaZulu-Natal treasury, was however not among those arrested.

In a statement he said he was not aware of the basis upon which the provisional order to seize his assets was obtained. He was consulting his lawyers ahead of his appearance in court on September 30 in a bid to have the order set aside.

NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said in the statement that Intaka and its subsidiaries had allegedly fraudulently and corruptly secured tenders to supply water purification plants to provincial hospitals.

"It is alleged that in awarding Intaka the said tenders, certain officials from the department had fraudulently colluded with Intaka and certain entities without following the ... procurement process," he said.

"It is further alleged that Intaka colluded with those officials to obtain fraudulent 'cover quotes' from two other Cape Town businessmen and charged grossly inflated and excessive amounts in respect of goods supplied."

Mhaga said it had been established that Intaka allegedly received a total payment of over R180-million from various provincial departments in KZN and the Northern Cape in respect of several other suspected fraudulent or corrupt tenders.

He told reporters in Cape Town that investigations on the Northern Cape leg were continuing, and that the total amount involved was in fact about R200-million.

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe said in Pietermaritzburg earlier the arrests followed an investigation which started in 2008.

"Today's arrests and seizure of assets must send a message as clear as a bell to every doubting Thomas that there indeed is a political will on our part to combat corruption," he said.

Sapa

Opportunities, incentives, regulations, assistance.

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) is to set up service points at selected shopping malls around the country to help taxpayers file their tax returns.

From the weekend of 28 August through to November, Sars will be at the Pavilion and Gateway Malls in Durban, the Riverside Mall in Nelspruit, the Cape Gate Shopping Mall in Cape Town, and the Waterfall Shopping Mall in Rustenburg.

Taxpayers are asked to bring an income tax return (ITR12) form, an IRP5 form from their employer, a medical aid certificate, a retirement annuity contribution, investment income statements, and all supporting documentation to substantiate claims.

In a statement on Thursday, Sars said that since the start of the tax season on 1 July it had visited 787 workplaces throughout the country, where employers had requested Sars to assist employees with their tax affairs.

According to Sars' executive for taxpayer engagement, Sobantu Ndlangalavu, Sars outreach teams have already assisted 30 000 employees to register and file on e-Filing through these workplace visits.

"At the same time, these workplace visits and other points of service engagements have resulted in 15 327 new taxpayers being registered," Ndlangalavu said.

To date, Sars had received more than 1.3-million returns for the 2010 tax season.

"This work of the Taxpayer Services Engagement Unit reflects the commitment of Sars to continually reach out to taxpayers; improve the quality of service they receive and to educate current and future taxpayers about their tax responsibilities," Ndlangalavu said.

"Furthermore, Sars wants to be where taxpayers are in order to make it easier for taxpayers to file early and to reduce the number of taxpayers visiting Sars branches."

Ndlangalavu said the unit also conducted taxpayer education workshops to equip taxpayers with relevant information about the tax products and services offered by Sars.

"In this way we help to increase compliance and grow the tax register," he said.

Sapa

Opportunities, incentives, regulations, assistance.

South African state power company Eskom has signed two loans with Deutsche Bank and Credit Agricole, worth approximately R1.6-billion, to fund construction at its Ingula pump storage scheme and Medupi power station.

On Wednesday, Eskom said it had concluded a loan worth approximately R1-billion with Deutsche Bank which will be used to fund 85% of the turbine pump contract for the 1 352 MW Ingula pump storage scheme, which is situated on the boundary of KwaZulu-Natal and Free Sate.

The second loan agreement, of approximately R600-million, arranged by Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, will be used to fund the 4 800 MW Medupi power station construction in Lephalale, Limpopo.

Eskom financial director Paul O'Flaherty pointed out that the company was a key contributor to the growth of the South African economy. "Funding is a critical enabler for the successful execution of the capacity expansion programme and export credit agency backed funding compliments our other sources of funding in the Eskom funding plan."

Kusile still on track

There are no plans to cancel the Kusile Power Station project, Eskom said, following media reports that the station, which is being built in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, was going to be cancelled.

Eskom said that it was still committed to building Kusile and that it had been in discussions with the government to explore various funding options for the project.

"Eskom is on record saying that in order to plug the gap in electricity supply over the next few years, South Africa needs new base-load power stations like Medupi and Kusile. Funding to complete the Medupi station has recently been approved by the World Bank," Eskom said.

Securing funding

In April, the World Bank announced that it would grant the utility a US$3.75-billion loan to co-finance the 4 800 MW Medupi coal-fired power plant in Limpopo as well as the country's first large wind and concentrated power projects.

"We are working hard to resolve the funding issue because there is no viable option to replace Kusile," O'Flaherty said. "Without the additional power from Kusile from 2014, there could be constraints on South Africa's economic growth."

Source: BuaNews

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