Daily news update: Repo rate returns to pre-Covid levels, Pongola accident report and ‘Load shedding happens everywhere’

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Daily news update: 23 September

More pain for South Africans as repo rate returns to pre-Covid levels

South Africa Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, has announced that the repo rate will increase by 75-basis points. The repo rate is now 6.25%.

This is the fifth repo rate increase since the it hit its lowest level during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was last hiked in July this year to 5.50%.

Delivering the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on Thursday, Kganyago said that three members were in favour of 75 basis points increase, while two were in favour of a 100 basis points hike.

The level of the repurchase rate is now closer to that before the start of the pandemic.

Mbalula says driver error and reckless driving to blame for Pongola horror crash

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says driver error and reckless behaviour are the cause of last week’s tragic N2 Pongola crash, which claimed the lives of 20 people.

Mbalula on Thursday briefed the media in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal, on the findings of an accident investigation report conducted by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

Last Friday 20 people died after a truck collided with a bakkie that was transporting primary school children on the N2 highway between Pongola and Itshelejuba.

The accident killed 18 pupils, aged between five and 12, and two adults.

ALSO READ: Pongola horror crash: Case against truck driver postponed for bail hearing

SA is not an island – load shedding happens everywhere, says Mantashe

However dark the situation may seem, Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe said South Africans should be mindful of the fact that the “electricity crisis is a global phenomenon.”

Mantashe on Thursday signed three project agreements under Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

This is part of a last-minute bolstering of renewable energy to an ailing national power grid, in an effort by government to quell South Africa plummeting into a load shedding wormhole.

The three successful projects due to be launched are Coleskop Wind Power, San Kraal Wind Power and Phezukomoya Wind Power.

The REIPPPP was first launched in April last year, with the remaining 22 projects due to be signed off in October.

‘Stop vilifying me’ – DJ Zinhle defends friendship with Pearl Thusi

DJ Zinhle has come out to defend her friendship with actress Pearl Thusi after a video of their interaction went viral. 

Thusi is seen supporting her friend DJ Zinhle during a recent music gig on Wednesday evening.

It can be interpreted in the video that Zinhle is “dismissing” Thusi during her set, with people further claiming she was mean to the Queen Sono actress. 

The video quickly went viral as people assumed this was a clear indication the two’s friendship was rocky. 

Ghana’s new recruits get Brazil test ahead of World Cup

While Brazil will jet off to Qatar in November dreaming of winning a sixth World Cup, Ghana hope the addition of reinforcements from the diaspora can re-establish the Black Stars as one of Africa’s top sides.

Unbeaten throughout World Cup qualifying, Brazil’s only competitive loss since going out to Belgium in the 2018 quarter-finals in Russia came against Argentina in last year’s Copa America final.

Ghana’s recent record is far less impressive going into Friday’s match in Le Havre, one of two final warm-up games for both nations ahead of the global showpiece.

A shock loss to the Comoros in January consigned Ghana to their earliest Africa Cup of Nations exit in 16 years.