June 07, 2022.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sabrina Jardim.

Making headlines:

EFF wants Ramaphosa to step aside

GDP returns to pre-pandemic levels

And, Eskom warns of a risk of load-shedding

EFF wants Ramaphosa to step aside

The Economic Freedom Fighters is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take a leave of absence and step aside as per the rules of the African National Congress, to allow for investigations into the theft of an alleged $4-million from his Limpopo farm.

Former spy boss Arthur Fraser has laid criminal charges against Ramaphosa for allegedly contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act for failing to report the theft in 2020.

EFF leader Julius Malema said the party is demanding that the President not deliver Thursday’s budget vote speech and that he allow the police to their job without fear of favour.

The red beret leader warned that if Ramaphosa does not step aside, the EFF will mobilise its supporters and other political parties.

GDP returns to pre-pandemic levels

Statistics South Africa reported today that the country’s seasonally-adjusted gross domestic product rose by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of the year.

This is primarily driven by the manufacturing sector, which increased by 4.9% and contributed 0.6 of a percentage point to the overall tally.

On a year-on-year basis, unadjusted GDP was 3% higher.

The size of the economy is now at pre-pandemic levels, with real GDP slightly higher than what it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Within manufacturing, petroleum, chemicals, rubber and plastic products were the largest contributors to increased production in the first quarter.

Eskom warns of a risk of load-shedding

Eskom has warned of a "very constrained" power system adding that it might have to implement load-shedding at short notice.

It said should there be any significant breakdowns, load-shedding may be required most likely during the evening peak of 5pm and 10pm.

Eskom said it had 2 195MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 950MW of capacity was unavailable due to breakdowns.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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