South Africa: Eskom plans to raise electricity prices

In South Africa, the public electricity company Eskom has been at the center of the debate since it announced its intention to increase its tariffs by 20.5% in 2022/2023. According to Eskom, this measure will allow it to service its debt of 26 billion dollars and finance the maintenance work necessary to maintain an adequate supply of the country.

But in Johannesburg and Cape Town, this announcement went badly, the mayors of the two cities will challenge this measure with the national energy regulator. They are asking Eskom to apply alternative measures such as reducing its payroll, canceling calls for tenders with certain suppliers, managerial restructuring and debt collection.

The price of electricity has increased by 307% over the past 13 years in South Africa, far exceeding inflation. Despite paying more for electricity, South Africans constantly complain about frequent power cuts. We have to wait until March 13 to find out if Eskom will be authorized to increase the cost of electricity.

The South African company has announced major power cuts in order to cope with an increase in demand.

South Africa's state-owned power company Eskom announced major power cuts in the country on Wednesday, citing the need to ration consumption to cope with a spike in cold-weather demand at the start of winter. southern.

The load shedding " will be implemented from 2 p.m. this afternoon to 10 p.m. this evening ," Eskom said in a statement, also citing technical problems. " This measure aims to ration the remaining emergency reserves ," adds the company, singled out for its poor performance. Further cuts are expected in the coming days.

With Eskom unable to meet the country's needs, South Africa is regularly affected by power cuts. Regular load shedding is also necessary because of the poor performance of the aging and poorly maintained power plants of Eskom, accused of being the biggest polluter in the country.

The continent's first industrialized country and a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, South Africa produces more than 80% of its electricity from coal and is lagging behind in the energy transition.

“ It is unrealistic to expect us to meet the same deadlines as developed countries for the transition of our economies and divestment from fossil fuels ,” President Cyril Ramaphosa stressed on Tuesday, during a virtual meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), in view of Africa's participation in COP26.

At least 16 dead in a nightclub fire in Cameroon, What's the story?

The Cameroonian government announced that a fire broke out in a nightclub in the capital, Yaounde, killing at least 16 people and wounding them in critical condition.

The Cameroonian government announced on Sunday that a fire broke out in a nightclub in the capital Yaounde, killing at least 16 people and injuring others.

The director of Yaoundé Central Hospital said in a press conference that the wounded were in critical condition, and they were immediately transferred to the local hospital.

In turn, the Ministry of Communications stated, in a statement, that "the initial report indicates 16 dead and eight seriously injured", as a result of the fire that broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning.

This comes at a time when Cameroon is hosting the African Nations Cup matches.

The fires burned the main hall of the "Leafs" night club, in the Bastos neighborhood of the capital, which is the embassy district and the residence of diplomats.

The ministry explained that "the tragedy was caused by the explosions of fireworks that are often used in these places, and they first devoured the roof of the building, which led to two very powerful explosions, which caused a state of panic and stampede."

For his part, a firefighting official said, asking not to be named, "When we arrived there was panic, a strong fire broke out and thick smoke," according to his statement to Agence France-Presse.

While a security guard who was present during the fire said that it "happened very quickly," adding, "It was a little after two in the morning and most of the customers arrived around three in the morning. There were many casualties."

Cameroon is hosting the Africa Cup of Nations, despite the ongoing violence in the west of the country, where armed men in English-speaking regions declared secession from the majority French-speaking country in 2017.

Separatists and government forces are accused of atrocities in the fighting that has killed more than 3,000 people and forced more than 700,000 to flee their areas.

Start-up of the Pan-African payment system [Business Africa]

The lack of an efficient payment system was one of the major issues hampering the pace of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest trading and economic bloc in the world.

The existence of different financial systems and more than 40 currencies across the continent have slowed, and sometimes even stopped, trade . The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) will therefore help to stimulate intra -African trade.

Because cross- border payments usually involve a third currency such as the US dollar or the euro , which leads to high costs and long transaction times. From now on, with the PAPSS, a chocolate producer established in South Africa will be able to buy and pay for cocoa beans from Ghana without resorting to a third currency.

At least five billion dollars are lost each year in transaction costs between African countries. The platform, backed by Afrexim Bank , has been successfully tested in six countries that make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

The PAPSS will also reduce the liquidity needs of commercial banks for cross-border payments and interbank transactions, and support the economic integration of the continent.