South Africa -Weeklikse Landbou Nuusoorsig - Weekly Agriculture News Summary 8th March 2023

Weeklikse Afrikaanse Landbou Nuusoorsig - Die Afrikaanse Nuus is die afgelope paar dae op AGRI NEWS NET geplaas, saam met nog ander artikels. 

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as minister for electricity has already mapped out his plan for the energy crisis, saying in a 37-page document, posted on his Linkedin page and circulating in government, that rolling power cuts are a crisis. He will be expected to facilitate the co-ordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations, and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity. The primary task of the electricity minister is to reduce the severity and frequency of load-shedding “as a matter of urgency. 

When Andre De Ruyter became its CEO in December 2019, Eskom was disintegrating. The once fine organisation that had provided the world’s cheapest electricity, very reliably, was being wrecked. New power stations had not been built in the 1990s when they were urgently needed.   The ANC made matters worse with racial engineering and corruption, replacing skilled, experienced engineers and managers with incompetent, unskilled, inexperienced staff who had been appointed on skin colour and political connections alone.   The ANC implemented BEE coal procurement so that Eskom was forced to buy very expensive, very bad coal, which damaged the power stations, but which enriched the BEE coal suppliers. (President Ramaphosa has made it clear that he supports BEE whole-heartedly).  Finally, Eskom was cursed with outright crime and sabotage. De Ruyter tried to stamp out the corruption and crime with some success, but not enough, because it seems his hands were tied. The finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, says that when De Ruyter had taken issue with the ANC government on corruption in Mpumalanga and an investigation had found criminal syndicates with links to the SA Police Service, a number of people had been arrested.  

Hoewel boere hul oeste teen vloede kan verseker, sal ’n versekeraar nie oeste verseker wat onder die vloedlyn aangeplant is nie. Mnr. Andries Wiese, hoof van landbou by Hollard Insurance, sê boere moet wanneer hulle aansoek doen om oesversekering, hul ligging met behulp van geografiese kruispunte aandui. Indien die landery, boord of wingerd onder ’n vloedlyn is, sal die versekeraar dit nie verseker nie. Oeste bó vloedlyne kan wel verseker word, maar boere moet seker maak hulle neem spesifiek hierteen versekering uit. Dit is nie deel van versekering vir byvoorbeeld spesifiek hael- of brandskade nie. “Daar is net vier maatskappye in Suid-Afrika wat oesversekeringsdekking bied, en elkeen spesialiseer volgens sy kundigheidsgebied. Dit is moontlik dat ’n spesifieke versekeraar byvoorbeeld nie vrugte of grane dek nie.”

    Wees op die uitkyk vir 'n splinternuwe Nasionale Kompetiese.      

Ons span is die week weer op die pad- Die wereld is nat en miljoene rande se skade is aangerig-  Daar is baie skade in Vaal en Oranje riviere se oewers aangerig. Een van die Vaaldam se een sluis is stukkend en Lock Vaal se watervlak was nog nooit so laag nie.   Dit het lekker gereen in die Wes Kaap wat nie algemeen die geval is die tyd van die jaar nie. 

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