Day: August 5, 2022

State-owned enterprise (SOE) rail and port company, Transnet, is steadily improving its performance and has made progress in improving its financial position to enable greater investment, says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

The development is contained in the second quarter report of Operation Vulindlela (OV).

In the second quarter, the OV noted progress in:

National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) established to oversee the implementation of additional measures to address the electricity shortage and end load shedding.

Comprehensive review of the work visa system completed, with detailed recommendations to attract skilled immigration and investment.

National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency Bill approval by Cabinet for public consultation.

Backlog of water use licenses cleared.

Revised Raw Water Pricing Strategy developed to provide policy certainty in the water sector.

OV was established in October 2020 as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms.

It is a government-wide approach through which Ministers, departments and entities implement the reforms. A Vulindlela Unit in the Presidency and the National Treasury monitors progress, addresses challenges and actively supports implementation.

OV’s five key objectives are:

supply of electricity stabilise

Reduced cost and improved quality of digital communications

Sustainable water supply to meet demand

Competitive and efficient freight transport

A visa regime that attracts skills and grows tourism

Releasing the report on Friday, Godongwana said the country had experienced significant challenges with both the ports and rail infrastructure.

These, he said, were “as a result of security issues, inadequate investment in equipment, procurement processes that were tainted by state capture, and poor operational performance”.

He said: “However, Transnet is steadily improving its performance and has made progress in improving its financial position to enable greater investment going forward”.

This month, he said, requests for proposals in respect of private sector participation in rail are due for 16 slots made available by Transnet on the Durban-City Deep and Pretoria-East London lines.

“It is important to recognise that this is only the first step in enabling third-party access to the freight rail network,” he said.

The Minister said OV in the coming months anticipates the passage of the Economic Regulation of Transport Bill, which will establish an independent Transport Economic Regulator and enable properly regulated, non-discriminatory access to the network beyond these initial slots.

“In addition, RFPs for private sector participation in the container terminals at the Ports of Durban and Ngqura will also be issued this month, in order for partnerships to be in place by January 2023.

“This is a major step forward to enable experienced international terminal operators to invest in the expansion of infrastructure and improve the management of port operations,” he said.

The Minister said the logic of these reforms was that port and rail infrastructure would remain state-owned, while encouraging and enabling competition in operations to improve efficiency and leverage private sector investment.

“During the next quarter, we will prioritise reforms in the transport sector with the same degree of urgency with which we have responded to the energy crisis during the previous quarter,” he said.

Also speaking at the briefing, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said since OV was established, government had steadily addressed constraints binding the South Africa from creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.

“We have identified the key ingredients for higher growth in South Africa,” he said.

He said if OV achieved the key five objectives, government was confident it could place South Africa on a fundamentally different growth trajectory and start creating jobs.

“This is the premise of (OV) and the reason why the President has made structural reforms our foremost priority.”

Last month, President Ramaphosa unveiled the country’s energy action plan, which was aimed at addressing power generation.

Gungubele said the actions build on the foundation that has already been laid in the energy sector over the past year.

“Certain licensing threshold was raised. The pipeline of embedded generation projects has grown to more than 80 projects with a combined capacity of over 6000 megawatts,” he said.

The joint task team set up by OV, led by Minister Godongwa, to support investment in new generation capacity has implemented several key changes.

These, he said, include designating the projects as strategic infrastructure projects and streamlining regulatory requirements.

"Through these efforts, the average time taken for registration of projects by NERSA has been reduced from as long as four months to just 19 days. The time it takes to obtain an environmental authorisation has been reduced from close to 150 days to just 57 days. Shell capacity has been built in the grid access unit within Eskom to expedite grid connection approval [for] this project to proceed as quickly as possible.

Work, he said, had already begun to ensure that the energy action plan was swiftly and fully implemented.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Premier Winde and Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister Mireille Wenger help launch exciting new Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) qualification through Premier’s Council on Skills.

The current bout of load shedding is yet another infuriating reminder of the urgency required to decisively tackle South Africa’s energy crisis. It is an appropriate time too for the Premier’s Council on Skills (PCS) to forge ahead with its mandate of promoting skills development, generally and specifically in the field of renewable energy.

Premier Alan Winde was thrilled to have the PCS help launch the innovative and unique Solar Photovoltaic Technician-ICT4APP qualification pilot project today. The qualification is being rolled out at several Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in the country, including West Coast College and False Bay College, in the Western Cape. These institutions – with the help of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (merSETA) and The South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC) - have developed the training infrastructure needed to teach and equip learners with the necessary SPV skills so they can contribute to our push for a green economy and ultimately end mass power cuts.

The Premier remarked while the theme of today’s launch was “Energy Resilience in the Solar Photovoltaic Industry”, it could also be themed “Opportunities Coming out of the Dark” given the country has once again been plunged into rolling power cuts.

He told delegates: “The skills we grow today, must make an impact tomorrow.” Premier Winde added: “It’s critical to get the province’s skills mix right so as to get the investment mix right, and to get the entrepreneurial skills right.”

Among the aims of the project is to help employers make informed decisions regarding hosting a learner and supporting the supply of technical skills in the sector.

This is the first digital learning experience designed to incorporate the latest online technologies, while also guiding learners through practical training and eventually into the workplace.

The programme is unique:

It is based on a repackaged digital teaching and learning pathway;

Knowledge components are completed online;

When assessments show a sufficient theoretical grasp, learners are then invited to practical workshop training;

Practical skills training takes place at an approved TVET institution equipped with technical mentorship expertise;

Once these skills are mastered, learners are then invited to approved workplaces to complete their training.

There are numerous benefits to taking part in this pilot:

Learners are “work-ready” before the first workplace assignment; and able to contribute to the business;

Learners benefit from high-quality teaching in the latest PV technology infrastructure;

Learners are paid the same daily stipend through the merSETA-ICT4APP on a weekly basis while in the workplace. This is not the responsibility of the employer and so reduces administrative overheads for the employer;

Employers receive a “hosting stipend”.

Adding to the project’s environmentally friendly focus is the fact that it is paperless and entirely digital-based.

Solar PV forms part of the Western Cape Government’s drive toward a green economy. “We have a strong green economy ecosystem,” said Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger. She told delegates: “We are working hard to cultivate this.”

“Building energy resilience is a key priority, not only because we need to mitigate the effects of load shedding and the resulting economic damage, but because of the immense potential this sector has to attract investment, grow our regional economy and create jobs,” said Wenger.

She stressed: “SPV has become a cost-effective, carbon-free, and sustainable form of electricity generation for businesses and households; and so we must ensure that we have in place the right skills pipelines so that the renewable energy sector can thrive in the Western Cape.”

The Premier strongly urged employers to consider joining this pilot project to enhance their businesses and help in overcoming the power crisis, while at the same time offering learners employment and a brighter future.

Source: Government of South Africa