Pope Francis has again seized the opportunity to call on humanity to change its mindset and to plan for peace.
Addressing participants in a Catholic National Congress on Hispanic Ministry, he notes that we are living an “absurd time in which, without having yet come out of a pandemic that has afflicted all humanity with great suffering and sorrow, we find ourselves in the midst of the suffering and tragedy of a war.”
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As World Immunization Week is observed from 24-30 April with the theme “Long Life for All,” the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its vaccine champions continue to support sharing accurate information about vaccines as well as access to vaccines across the globe.
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“Your charism is of flagrant actuality, unfortunately!” Pope Francis told members of “Trinitarian International Solidarity” gathered in the Vatican on Monday.
He said our time “boasts of having abolished slavery, when, in reality, there are too many men and women, even children, reduced to living in inhumane conditions, enslaved”.
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State power utility, Eskom, has warned that the power system is under severe pressure due to delays in returning generating units to service and multiple breakdowns at some power stations.
The electricity supplier warned that although load shedding is currently not being implemented, this could change at short notice.
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Together with the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa, the solidarity visit to Sudan is taking place from 20-25 April.
This visit was originally planned for early 2020, but was prevented by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is now being undertaken in a context that in the meantime has greatly changed, in particular due to the events of October 2021 in which the Sudanese military suspended the Constitution and dissolved the civilian administration,” notes Rev. Ibrahim Wushishi Yusuf, WCC programme executive for Peacebuilding in the African Region.
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On Tuesday 26 April 2022 the President of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, together with other representatives of the National Religious Forum that has been collaborating for over two years on COVID-19 combat, will conduct a Walk of Witness and joint prayer at some of the flood-affected areas of KwaZulu Natal (KZN).
The religious leaders are also calling for a nationwide moment of prayer by all South Africans wishing to lift these challenges in prayer, wherever they may be – in their workplaces, at home, in their various modes of transportation, to observe a moment’s prayer according to their tradition and faith, using the 15-minutes between 14h00 and 14h15, for a collective nationwide prayer event.
The leaders delegations will use that time to pray with the communities they are visiting. “We would hope that the KZN, Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provincial Governments, as well as national departments of government, especially those seized with addressing the flood disasters that have visited the provinces of KZN and Eastern Cape; and the Western Cape in the form of the devastating fire, would take part in this moment of prayer as they see fit to,” said Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, General Secretary of the SACC.
The religious organisations involved in the Religious Forum include: the South African Hindu Maha Sabha; the Union of Orthodox Synagogues; the Council of Muslim Theologians (Jamiatul Ulama); the Nazareth Baptist Church (Ibandla lamaNazaretha); the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; the Bantu Church of Christ; the Council of African Independent Churches; The Evangelical Alliance; the International Fellowship of Christian Churches; and the South African Council of Churches (SACC), which currently chairs the Religious Forum through General Secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana.
The KZN chapter of the SACC, KwaZulu Natal Christian Council (KZNCC) is the facilitating organisation for this day, where a representative delegation of the Religious Forum will make the Walk of Witness in four groups going to four selected areas. “The Walk of Witness is being undertaken by a broad spectrum of inter-faith religious leaders, working together to emphasise the presence of God at this time of loss and despair in KZN,” said Bishop Malusi.
“It is our intention – through our collective presence – to demonstrate the love of God to all those who need to feel it, walking together through the communities that have been hardest hit by the floods,” he said.
The purpose of this trip is to:
“There are many reports of people saying they are not getting attention and support. We appeal to all affected communities to approach their nearest religious centre, and report their plight, and we shall, through the Pietermaritzburg office of the KZNCC, ensure liaison with the appropriate offices for attention. We all work together on an interfaith and interdenominational basis, regardless of what church or faith community people belong to, or no faith at all.”
The four areas to be visited for this Walk of Witness are listed below, having been selected because church leaders have visited them before at least more than twice:
uMlazi (South of Durban):
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South Africa has been going through a lot in recent times, starting from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – which resulted in high proportions of corruption, to the 2021 July unrest which led to rampant looting and destruction of property which cost the country about R1 billion.
Furthermore, the country has witnessed recent acts of vigilantism in Gauteng which has seen violence erupt in some areas. Archbishop Dr Thabo Makgoba of the South African Anglican Church joins SABC News for this conversation.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is doing everything in its means to ensure that the current load shedding experienced by the country becomes a thing of the past.
In his weekly newsletter to the nation, the President empathised with South Africans experiencing constant blackouts saying government is determined that this should not continue to be a part of their lives into the future.
“It is difficult and unacceptable for South Africans to endure load shedding. But we are doing everything in our means to ensure that, like state capture, it soon becomes a thing of the past,” the President said.
President Ramaphosa noted that last week much of the country experienced load shedding as breakdowns at several of Eskom’s power stations resulted in the loss of substantial generation capacity.
He said that this costs the economy dearly and causes great frustration among all South Africans and creates hardship for households and businesses.
“A stable and reliable supply of electricity is essential for almost every aspect of our daily lives and a necessary condition for economic growth. That is why we are focused on achieving energy security as one of our foremost priorities,” he said.
Even as the country continues to experience crippling load shedding, he said the reality is that much progress has been made towards ending the energy supply challenges.
The President said that it is difficult to expect the millions of South Africans grappling with the inconvenience and hardship caused by intermittent power outages to remain patient as they resolve these longstanding challenges.
“It is difficult to convince them, as they sit in the dark, that we are making progress towards a secure and reliable supply of electricity.
“But the reality is that the energy landscape is being transformed, the problems at Eskom are steadily being addressed and substantial new energy generation capacity is being built,” the President said.
The root of power supply challenges
The President said that it was important for the nation to understand the root of the problem in order to solve this intractable problem.
He said that South Africa’s fleet of coal-fired power stations are old and their performance is deteriorating.
“Despite warnings from energy experts about impending energy shortages nearly two decades ago, there was a delay in commissioning new generation capacity.
“When construction began on Medupi power station in Limpopo in 2007 it was the first power station to be built by Eskom in more than 20 years. Medupi has subsequently been beset by delays, costs overruns and breakdowns due to design problems, with many of these challenges linked to allegations of corruption,” he explained.
President Ramaphosa said that for years the existing power stations were not maintained properly, particularly as these plants were made to ‘run harder’ to meet the country’s energy needs.
He added that there was insufficient investment in the technical skills needed to operate and maintain power plants.
He acknowledged that this situation was made worse by the devastating impact of state capture as billions of Rands were diverted from critical operational requirements at Eskom into private pockets.
“Eskom’s huge debt burden, including more than R36 billion of outstanding municipal debt, undermines Eskom’s ability to improve its maintenance, infrastructure build and other operations.
“In short, the load shedding we experience now is the result of policy missteps and the impact of state capture over many years. This is the situation that we have confronted since the start of this administration and that we are all working to fix,” the President said.
The President said that the country owes the board and management of Eskom their full support as they work to turn the utility around.
“They have to keep the lights on while rebuilding Eskom as a viable entity that fulfils its developmental mandate as a state owned enterprise, and positioning it for a just energy transition.
“We also owe our full support to the many hardworking employees of Eskom, including power plant workers. Despite many challenges, they are doing their best to keep our ageing plants running and supply the electricity the country needs,” he said.
Structural reforms
The statesman said that it may be difficult to imagine a future without load shedding, but the steps government is taking now will ensure that the country gets there.
He said that the process of structural reform the current administration embarked on in 2018 will have a far-reaching impact on the South African energy landscape, even if the changes will take time to bear fruit.
In 2018, government revived the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme that had been stalled since 2015.
This enabled 2205 MW from Bid Window 4 to proceed to construction, most of which has now been connected to the grid.
A further 5200 MW of solar and wind power is being procured through Bid Windows 5 and 6.
“This additional generation capacity is due to connect to the grid from late 2023. The Integrated Resource Plan 2019 provides for a further 3000 MW of gas and 500 MW of battery storage to be procured from independent power producers,” the President said.
In June 2021, the President announced that the licensing threshold for new generation projects would be raised from 1 MW to 100 MW.
This means that private investors do not require a license to build generation facilities up to this size and can produce their own power or sell it across the grid to other buyers.
“A joint task team comprising all relevant government departments and the private sector is working to accelerate investments in new generation projects under 100 MW. There is a pipeline of 58 projects under development with a combined capacity of 4500 MW, many of which will commence construction this year. The task team is working to speed up environmental authorisation and other approvals,” he said.
Draft Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill
President Ramaphosa emphasised that South Africa’s energy security can only be assured if the country can reduce reliance on a single utility for power and unlock private investment in generation capacity.
He said that this is one of the most important reforms contained in the draft Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill that was gazetted for public comment in February.
The Bill provides for the establishment of an independent transmission and system operator. This means that while the national grid will remain owned and controlled by the state, there will be competition among multiple generators selling power to distributors and customers.
“The introduction of a competitive electricity market will unleash new investment in generation capacity and will be a key driver of economic growth,” he said.
This reform process has already begun with the establishment of a separate transmission subsidiary by Eskom in December 2021, with the unbundling of Eskom on track to be completed by December 2022.
For its part, he said Eskom is forging ahead with its maintenance programme and with correcting design defects in its plants at Medupi and Kusile.
“It is also decommissioning old power stations that have reached the end of their design life and repurposing others to use cleaner energy sources. Eskom is also bringing in additional skills to assist with maintenance, including former employees and experienced plant managers,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
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The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported at least 3 222 new COVID-19 cases in the country over the past 24 hour reporting period.
The new cases represent a positivity rate of some 16.7% – bringing the cumulative number of cases in the country to more than 3.7 million since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The provincial breakdown for new cases is as follows:
“Due to the ongoing audit exercise by the National Department of Health (NDoH), there may be a backlog of COVID-19 mortality cases reported. Today, the [department] reports five deaths and of these, two occurred in the past 24 – 48 hours. This brings the total fatalities to 100 303 to date.
“There has been an increase of 21 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours,” the NICD said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, some 3375 more vaccines were administered over the past reporting period – the majority of which were administered in Gauteng and the Western Cape, followed by the North West.
The total number of people who have received at elast one jab of the COVID-19 vaccines now stands at some 34.6 million jabs in arms. – SAnews.gov.za
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The letter reads: “I am aware that it is not in your power and authority to stop the war or to influence those who have such powers of decisions. But the faithful are waiting for a comforting word from Your Holiness.
They think that if you come out with a public statement and request, as the spiritual father of so many millions of Orthodox in both Russia and Ukraine, that might have an impact.”
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