March 19, 2021.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Load-shedding halted; SAA rescue practitioners keen to exit the process at the end of March; And, Mboweni warns third wave of Covid-19 could hurt country's ratings

Load-shedding halted

Load-shedding will be cancelled, for now, from noon on Friday as generation units return to service, Eskom has said in a statement.

Earlier in the week, generation capacity had been lost at Medupi, Arnot, Duvha and Kendal power stations. The shortfall was partly attributed to boiler tube leaks, units tripping as well as an increase in demand, according to Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha.

Since Thursday, a generation unit each was returned to service at Duvha, Medupi, Kendal, Kriel and Kusile. A further unit each was expected to return to service at Camden and Majuba on Friday.

The utility currently has 7 193 MW on planned maintenance, while another 10 464 MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays.

SAA rescue practitioners keen to exit the process at the end of March

The business rescue practitioners of South African Airways plan to exit the process at the end of March.

SAA has been in business rescue since December 2019.

The primary achievement of the business rescue process, according to the practitioners, was to transition SAA from being an insolvent company to a company that is both solvent and liquid.

Compromises the practitioners negotiated with concurrent creditors and lessors have reduced the state-owned airline's liabilities by R35.7-billion from R38-billion to R2.3-billion.

According to the rescue practitioners, they are making every effort to finalise the outstanding items by the end of March 2021 so that they can file a notice of substantial implementation with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.

And, Mboweni warns third wave of Covid-19 could hurt country's ratings

Finance minister Tito Mboweni  said that a third wave of the coronavirus could destabilise the government's efforts to control its finances and avoid a further downgrade of the country's sovereign rating.

Two of the top three rating agencies - Moody's and Fitch - downgraded South Africa's sovereign rating further into junk in November on concerns of rising debt levels and the government's ability to raise revenues and pay off debt amid the economic shock inflicted by the pandemic.

Mboweni said any third wave would have to be handled so that the country could still keep the economy going, or else it could hurt its fiscal framework.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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