Cape Town —
Cap on How Much Government Pays for Ministers’ Water, Power Usage Removed From Ministerial Handbook
Opposition parties are concerned about reported changes made to the ministerial handbook in May this year, which appear to have removed a R5,000 cap on the amount that the government will pay towards government ministers’ municipal utilities. eNCA reports that the change is to section eight of the handbook under water and electricity costs. According to the handbook, the Public Works Department is responsible for providing water and electricity.
Eskom Load Shedding Stage 2 Kicks In From Tonight
Load shedding will be implemented daily at 16:00 – 00:00 from Monday to Wednesday this week. Eskom announced on its website that it will endeavour to limit load shedding to night-time to have minimal impact on the economy and population. The most recent load shedding bout lasted for three weeks. According to the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, Khaya Magaxa, “the newly appointed Eskom board should be thinking of creative ways of improving the available energy, by addressing the functioning of power stations that are experiencing increasing breakdowns, which are resulting in blackouts.”
Gauteng Residents Urged to Conserve Water as Dam Levels Drop
Gauteng residents are being urged to do their part in conserving water as the province implements Stage 2 water restrictions. Rand Water says water consumption has increased significantly, resulting in a decline of their overall reservoir storage capacity from 52% to 38%. Matters have not been helped by the heatwave which the province has experienced over the last week.