Daily news update: Massive electricity price hikes, Fort Hare task team and Ramaphosa vs Zuma

Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.

Daily news update: 13 January

Massive electricity price hikes on the cards for SA

There could be more bad news for cash strapped South Africans with massive electricity price hikes of up to 32% on the cards.

This comes amid the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa’s) impending announcement on how much it will allow Eskom to hike electricity prices for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.

The announcement which is expected to take place on Thursday follows several delays by Nersa, which was supposed to make its final decision on Eskom’s application in November 2022.

Cele sets up task team to probe Fort Hare attacks

The South African Police Services (SAPS) said they are intensifying their response to the recent violent and fatal attacks that have taken place at Fort Hare University.

This comes after the assassination attempt on the university’s vice-chancellor, Sakhela Buhlungu.

Buhlungu’s bodyguard Mboneli Vesele was shot dead on Friday night by assailants who were in a vehicle near Buhlungu’s Alice campus residence.

Ramaphosa’s legal team argues Zuma is trampling on his constitutional rights

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal team has argued that the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg is empowered to hear his urgent interim interdict application to halt the private prosecution proceedings brought against him by former president Jacob Zuma.

The president’s lawyers have also contended that his application is urgent because his constitutional rights are being trampled on by Zuma’s “unlawful” private prosecution.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa vs Zuma: ‘If it’s a cooked court outcome, we’ll not accept it’ – Manyi

Naomi Osaka announces pregnancy

Former world number one Naomi Osaka announced on Wednesday that she is pregnant and will be taking a break from tennis until 2024.

“I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch my matches and tell someone, ‘That’s my mom’ haha,” she wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a picture of a pregnancy scan.

ALSO READ: Naomi Osaka launches her own sports agency

“2023 will be a year full of lessons for me, and I hope I’ll see you guys at the start of the next one cause I will be back at the Australian Open 2024. Love you all infinitely,” she added.

‘A lot of pressure’, but Vincent Koch is settling in at Stade Francais

Wasps’ financial meltdown left the club in tatters and booted out of the English Premiership, but some players have rebounded in fine form in the Top 14, where life has proved to be different from that in Coventry.

Vincent Koch ran out for South Africa against Italy in Genoa on November 19. The next day he was on a plane back to his homeland to finalise his visa for France having bagged a contract with Stade Francais.

No time was lost as the prop touched down in Paris to make his Top 14 debut three days later in a narrow defeat by Toulon.