Eskom announces Stage 2 load shedding, citing ‘higher-than-expected' demand
Eskom announced that it would implement Stage 2 load shedding from 4pm on Thursday, 24 April, until at least 5am on Friday.
The utility said 'higher-than-expected' electricity demand, 'extensive' planned maintenance and 'the loss of generation units' were the proximal causes for this most recent bout of rotational power cuts.
Daily Maverick has previously reported that Eskom last implemented Stage 2 load shedding on Wednesday night, 19 March.
In February, Eskom CEO Dan Marokane told Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts that the utility would need to meet its targeted goal for reliability and additional generation capacity before declaring that load shedding was permanently over.
He was echoing the sentiments of Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who has stressed that Eskom's fleet is undergoing a period of deep, sustained maintenance, which will have the effect of reducing the available capacity at any one time, but will be in the utility's long-term interest.
Should there be an unplanned loss of generation capacity or 'higher-than-expected' electricity demand, as was the case on Thursday, Eskom would be forced to implement load shedding to protect the national grid, he said.
Marokane said in that meeting that when the utility finished this 'cycle of deep maintenance', Eskom would get back to 'a comfort level that helped us manage the long period of no load shedding'.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena told Daily Maverick on Thursday that the recent inclement and rainy weather in parts of the country was likely to have played an important role in increased electricity demand.
She would not be drawn on details on which power stations were affected by the loss of generation units, citing recent security protocols.
Earlier on Thursday, Eskom attempted to pre-empt the possibility of load shedding, saying, 'With tonight's peak demand (5pm-9pm) approaching, the electricity grid is under strain. We urge everyone to act now by reducing energy use. Please switch off all non-essential appliances; every small action makes a big difference.'
Eskom has doubled down on this message, urging people to reduce their electricity consumption to 'help reduce pressure on the grid'.
Democratic Alliance spokesperson on energy and electricity Kevin Mileham told Daily Maverick on Thursday, 'The return of load shedding highlights the significant constraints on our electricity systems. It also demonstrates that the energy availability factor (EAF) of Eskom's fleet is still falling far short of the targets they set for themselves.'
As part of Eskom's generation recovery plan initiated in April 2023, the power utility set a target of 70% EAF. It now hovers at around 55%, a return to a near-identical low seen when the plan was first implemented.
'We need much greater emphasis on the Generation Recovery Plan,' said Mileham, 'as well as much speedier procurement of new generation capacity. Given that Eskom is severely limited financially, that means it would have to come from Independent Power Producers.' DM
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Malaka's Mansion
Investigation – IDT contractor ripped off workers, bankrolled Tebogo Malaka's new R16m property By Pieter-Louis Myburgh On 6 August 2025, Daily Maverick released a shocking video showing how suspended IDT CEO Tebogo Malaka tried to buy this journalist's silence with a wad of cash. Here is the story Malaka didn't want the public to see. A prominent Gauteng businessman made at least two payments towards an upmarket property currently being built for suspended Independent Development Trust (IDT) CEO Tebogo Malaka. This while his non-profit foundation secured a R60-million contract from the IDT to run employment schemes. Malaka's benefactor is Collen Mashawana, chair of the Collen Mashawana Foundation, a non-profit company (NPC) headquartered in Johannesburg. Mashawana also runs the Afribiz group, which clinched multi-billion rand infrastructure development projects funded by Gauteng's provincial government. Mashawana's million-plus social media audience gets regular updates on the self-styled 'philanthropeneur's' charitable work. His foundation, co-managed by younger brother Austin Mashawana, builds houses for the poor and feeds the hungry. The Mashawanas' work for the IDT, however, may have left hundreds of poor, unemployed South Africans in a fix. The payments Mashawana made towards Malaka's property are troubling for two main reasons: Shortly after the first payment, Mashawana's non-profit secured a substantial Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) contract from the IDT. To date, the IDT has transferred at least R23-million to the Collen Mashawana Foundation. Most of these funds should have gone to the foundation's EPWP workers. However, we established that hundreds of EPWP participants did not receive their hard-earned salaries, sparking concern that the funds may have been used for other purposes. Some of the disgruntled EPWP workers in the Free State Mashawana did not only financially contribute towards Malaka's new house. Our investigation shows that he acted as something of a project manager. All this while the unpaid EPWP workers were fighting with his charitable foundation to receive their salaries. What's more, Daily Maverick's secretly filmed conversation with Malaka points to an allegedly improper relationship between her and the Mashawanas. The suspended IDT CEO suggested that the brothers would be 'very open' to engage with this journalist, and that she could 'facilitate' such a meeting. Malaka's offer Mashawana made his first contribution towards Malaka's property in late July 2024. At the time, the IDT was evaluating bids from non-profit entities and NGOs for EPWP initiatives in the 2024/2025 (previous) and 2025/2026 (current) financial years. Less than three weeks later, the Collen Mashawana Foundation secured by far the largest slice of the IDT's EPWP spend. This was despite the fact that it had no previous experience in managing an employment initiative of this magnitude. According to records Daily Maverick obtained, the foundation was to be given nearly R30-million during 2024/2025. It is unclear how much the IDT allocated to Mashawana's foundation for the current financial year, but all indications are that the two-year contract is worth around R60-million. Mashawana's foundation was tasked with running employment schemes for nearly 1,800 people in Gauteng, North West, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and in the Free State. Employment schemes under Mashawana's control EPWP participants typically collect rubbish in public spaces, do road maintenance work, clean schools and clinics, or do similar work. Those contracted to Mashawana's foundation were supposed to earn roughly R1,700 per month, but we established that the foundation short-changed hundreds of these workers. In some months, EPWP participants received no money whatsoever, despite putting in hours and hours of physical labour. More than one of the workers told us that they frequently couldn't buy food due to the problems with their salaries. While some of the workers fought with the foundation to receive their salaries, progress at the IDT CEO's new house in Gauteng's upmarket Waterfall Country Estate continued at a steady pace. Our research points to a remarkable concurrency of developments surrounding the Waterfall property and key events pertaining to the IDT's EPWP contract. In fact, major works at the property only kicked off after the IDT had started depositing large sums of money in the Collen Mashawana Foundation's bank account, the very funds meant for the EPWP participants. Major work at Malaka's stand only started after Mashawana's foundation got money from the IDT In addition, the main contractor at Malaka's new house on several occasions paid for goods and services directly after the foundation received money from the IDT. A troubling timeline Meanwhile, Mashawana's role as something of a project manager for the Waterfall development underscores his ties to the IDT's suspended CEO. We have proof that shows Mashawana appointed the builder and other service providers, and coordinated the delivery of certain materials. We presented our findings to Mashawana and Malaka and expressly asked them if they were funding the Waterfall property with the EPWP workers' salaries. We also invited them to present us with evidence to contradict our investigation. Neither Mashawana nor Malaka took up our offer. In fact, Malaka did not get back to us at all. We sent Collen and Austin Mashawana a list of 19 detailed questions regarding the unpaid EPWP workers, the payments towards Malaka's property, and other matters relevant to this investigation. Collen Mashawana answered none of these questions and instead offered only a broad denial of wrongdoing. 'If you have proof of wrongdoing I encourage you to approach the authorities.' 'Neither I nor any entity I own or that is associated with me has received preferential treatment by government in our dealings with government. We have also not engaged in any unlawful conduct,' stated the businessman. 'It will not be appropriate for me to defend myself in the media on unsubstantiated and untested allegations,' added Mashawana. He said Daily Maverick had already written its story and that our questions were merely a box-ticking exercise. 'Under the circumstances, if you have proof of wrongdoing I encourage you to approach the authorities and report it [to them] for further investigation,' said Mashawana. This investigation draws from a wide range of documentation and source interviews, collected and conducted over a span of several months. We visited some of the EPWP participants in Gauteng, rural Limpopo and in the Free State. We also studied records pertaining to both the IDT's EPWP projects and Malaka's property. Finally, we consulted current and historical satellite images, allowing us to construct a reliable timeline of the progress at the Waterfall plot. A most secretive project A tip-off in November 2024 prompted us to closely scrutinise some of Malaka's financial dealings, especially those relating to her property portfolio. Daily Maverick earlier revealed that Malaka's Magogodi Family Trust in 2023 paid R3.6-million to acquire the leasehold rights for an erf in the Waterfall Country Estate. The transaction was concluded without a bond. Next, we turned our focus to the building project. According to satellite imagery, Malaka's stand remained vacant until it was cleared of vegetation during the first week of June 2024. This was the same week in which Mashawana's foundation and other NPOs had to submit their bids to the IDT for the EPWP contracts. Waterfall Country Estate | Photos: Waterfall City The properties in this slideshow are for illustrative purposes only and are not linked to our investigation. At first, we couldn't find anything that betrayed Mashawana's ties to the property. It seemed that Malaka didn't want to be associated with the plot either. A construction sign on the erf's sidewalk simply listed the client as 'private'. The architects, engineer and contractor didn't have any overt links to Mashawana. However, we soon established that a woman named Thirusha Moonsamy was one of the project's key role-players. Moonsamy had a company called Leeanka Cost and Construction, which was a subsidiary of Afribiz Invest, the holding company for Mashawana's construction, civil engineering and property development ventures. Moonsamy confirmed that she was working on Malaka's new house, but she wouldn't reveal much else. 'As the project team we are very mindful of complying to the POPI Act, especially since Tebogo [Malaka] is a public figure,' she said in a Whatsapp message in April. A little while later, we picked up a tidbit that seemed to explain Moonsamy's reticence. All the contractors and other role-players involved in the project were made to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by the client. They couldn't talk to us, even if they wanted to. However, records and information from sources underpinned Mashawana's direct involvement in the project. In fact, several factors suggested that Mashawana was actually calling the shots. Firstly, there is Two Putswa Maeba Construction and Projects, the main contractor listed on the construction sign. Our sources informed us that Mashawana himself had appointed the company. But we need not take our sources' word for granted. Documented evidence in the form of Whatsapp correspondence further underscores the extent of Mashawana's close involvement. Not only did Mashawana remain in constant contact with Peli Joshua Maseko, Two Putswa's sole director, but he also set up meetings between the contractor, Malaka, Moonsamy and the project architects. Mashawana also coordinated the delivery of key materials to the site, including a truckload of ready-mix concrete sourced for the project in January this year. Asked about his role in the project, Maseko said we should speak to the owner. If you appreciate the work of our investigative journalism, then please support it by signing up to Maverick Insider, Daily Maverick's membership programme, for whatever amount you choose. Support Daily Maverick Mashawana's money The two known payments Mashawana made towards Malaka's new house cements his questionable role as one of the project's key actors. In the last week of July 2024, Mashawana transferred roughly R100,000 to the engineer working on Malaka's house, using one of the myriad entities registered in his name. The payment was made by Luande Mukhethwa Properties. At the time, Mashawana was the company's sole director. Considering what was happening at the IDT during this period, this payment warrants scrutiny. At the time of the transfer, the IDT was still considering the Collen Mashawana Foundation's EPWP bid. In fact, mere days before the transfer, the IDT's programme managers and supply chain management (SCM) administrators were still signing off on tender checklists and other documentation. The Collen Mashawana Foundation's bid would no doubt have crossed their desks. On 14 August 2024, less than three weeks after Mashawana paid the engineer, the IDT's Management Bid Adjudication Committee (MBAC) approved bids from 421 non-profits for the roll-out of EPWP projects across South Africa's nine provinces. Because of what was happening at the IDT at the time, Mashawana's payment towards Malaka's property is a big red flag. The IDT's spend for these initiatives in the 2024-25 financial year would amount to roughly R700-million, benefiting some 44,000 unemployed South Africans. The Collen Mashawana Foundation somehow secured the largest chunk of the IDT's EPWP budget. By all accounts, this was a startling development as the foundation lacked experience in managing employment schemes of this magnitude. Also, it had never participated in the IDT's EPWP initiatives before. The uneven distribution of EPWP funds was especially pronounced in Limpopo. Records in our possession reveal that Mashawana's foundation secured funding to employ 700 individuals in this province, at a cost of nearly R13-million. The Collen Mashawana Foundation was among 70 non-profits appointed in Limpopo. None of the other organisations received nearly as much funding as that reserved for Mashawana's non-profit. The NGO with the second highest allocation in the province was given only R2.5-million, less than a fifth of the Collen Mashawana Foundation's allocation. Shock over allocations Shock over the allocations reverberated throughout the IDT and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the IDT's parent department. Daily Maverick has seen communications between IDT and DPWI officials in which the allocations were questioned and sharply criticised. Local NGOs in Limpopo were just as stunned. 'I've been involved with the IDT's EPWP work in Limpopo for many years now, and this is the first time one organisation was given so many participants to manage. It is entirely out of the norm, and we are all questioning how this happened,' said one source, a manager at one of the Limpopo NGOs. According to another source, the IDT in previous years distributed the allocations far more evenly among the qualifying organisations. In KwaZulu-Natal, meanwhile, Mashawana's non-profit trumped 128 other NGOs to win the biggest chunk of the IDT's EPWP spend for the province. 'It is entirely out of the norm, and we are all questioning how this happened.' It also got the most funding in North West, beating 43 other non-profits. The IDT appointed 14 non-profits for the Free State. The Collen Mashawana Foundation was among only two NGOs in the province that received more than R7-million in funding. Only in Gauteng did the foundation's allocation roughly align with the average spend per NGO. We scrutinised a dataset for the IDT's EPWP allocation in all nine provinces. The records confirm that the Collen Mashawana Foundation was alone among the 421 non-profits in securing funding for five provinces. A handful of organisations were appointed to work in three provinces, but their funding allocations came to only a quarter of that reserved for Mashawana's foundation. Mashawana's second Waterfall payment In early April 2025, the project engineer for Malaka's new house received a second payment from Mashawana, also totalling about R100,000. The payment was made through an entity called Orinea Trucking. This company also listed Mashawana as its sole director. The circumstances in which the payment was made warrants close scrutiny. The same can be said for several other transactions that we'll unpack below. According to financial records in our possession, the IDT in March this year made three payments to the Collen Mashawana Foundation for its EPWP work in the Free State, totalling R1.68-million. The last of the three payments amounted to R572,000, and it was transferred to the foundation on 31 March. Only four days later, the engineer for the Waterfall project received his second payment from Mashawana's Orinea Trucking. 'They stole from us' We have no evidence that the engineer had been paid with the EPWP funds. However, what we can say with certainty is that the Collen Mashawana Foundation was not using the money for its intended purpose, at least not all of it. As mentioned, the March transfers were meant for the foundation's workers in the Free State. Our investigation identified scores of EPWP participants in the province who weren't receiving their wages. Daily Maverick travelled to the Kgotsong township outside Bothaville in June. We expected to find perhaps a handful of disgruntled EPWP workers. Instead, more than 50 people were packed into the local community centre to tell us their stories. 'Our contracts said we would work until the end of March, but we didn't get a cent for the work we did after October 2024' Those who had come out to meet us were among a larger group of 208 EPWP participants from the Nala local municipality — nearly half of the Collen Mashawana Foundation's Free State cohort. The group began working in August. At first, they were all assigned to the township's rubbish dump. Later, they were split into smaller groups. Some of them picked up litter in Kgotsong. Others helped out at the local clinic. Although their contracts provided for 14 work days per month, the programme only started midway through August. The group ended up putting in 11 work-days during that month, so they were meant to receive roughly R1,300. However, in September, when their salaries for the previous month were finally paid, the Kgotsong participants were shocked to see that the foundation had transferred a measly R366 into their bank accounts. We obtained multiple sets of bank statements to verify the workers' claims. 'The Collen Mashawana Foundation told us there were some problems with the funds and the paperwork they submitted to the IDT. They promised that we would get our full salaries at a later point,' explained Katleho Mokolutlo, a 29-year-old mother of three who relied on the EPWP work to feed her children. It is highly doubtful that the Collen Mashawana Foundation would have had any cause to withhold portions of the workers' salaries. Mashawana's foundation claimed more than R1,300 from the IDT for each EPWP worker's salary in August, yet paid them only R366 Financial records confirm that the IDT in September 2024 transferred nearly R3.3-million to the foundation. This included nearly R1-million specifically earmarked for EPWP participants in the Free State, including those from Kgotsong. What's more, the IDT released the funds on the back of attendance registers and payment sheets signed by all 494 workers in the Free State, copies of which have been shared with us. The Collen Mashawana Foundation had no rightful reason to use the monies for any purpose other than paying the EPWP participants their full salaries. The Kgotsong group nevertheless kept on working, hoping that the discrepancy would eventually be addressed. But matters only got worse. The Collen Mashawana Foundation paid them their salaries for September and October, but after that the money simply dried up. 'It was terrible, doing all that work and then not getting our money. Many of us went to bed hungry' 'Our contracts said we would work until the end of March [2025], but we didn't get a cent for the work we did after October 2024,' explained Ramosalioahae Mothibeli. Known to fellow Kgotsong locals simply as Ramos, this 28-year-old was one of the participants who'd taken it upon themselves to fight the group's cause. Frustrated and angry, Ramos and a few others travelled to Bloemfontein in February for a meeting at the IDT's regional offices. Austin Mashawana, the non-profit's chief operating officer (COO) and Collen's younger brother, also attended the meeting. Mashawana allegedly told Ramos and his colleagues that the IDT had terminated the EPWP contract. 'We knew this couldn't be true,' Ramos told Daily Maverick. 'We knew the programme had to run until the end of March and that the IDT couldn't simply cut the funding.' Ortman Kgathatso (31) and Isaac Setsoho (27), two more EPWP participants from Kgotsong, said the foundation exploited them. 'They probably thought we didn't know our rights. But we know our rights. We signed contracts to work from August [2024] to March [2025],' said Kgathatso. 'It was terrible, doing all that work and then not getting our money. Many of us went to bed hungry,' added Setsoho. When Daily Maverick met some of the workers at the Kgotsong community centre, things at times got somewhat heated. 'They stole from us! They are thieves!' one of the participants shouted, much to the agreement of his fellow workers. Spur Wednesdays Considering the general mood Daily Maverick observed in Kgotsong, it was probably for the best that the IDT CEO or representatives from the Collen Mashawana Foundation never met with the entire group. However, Malaka and Austin Mashawana very nearly did just that. Throughout January 2025, Ramos and some of the other Kgotsong participants kept up the pressure. They made direct contact with the IDT CEO. They were in touch with the Collen Mashawana Foundation's COO too, asking him when they would receive their salaries. At the beginning of March, Malaka and Austin Mashawana drove to Bothaville, no doubt hoping to douse the growing resentment. A series of Whatsapp exchanges, coupled with a few source accounts, represent the most reliable record of the day's events. It was a Wednesday, and Malaka and Mashawana arrived in Bothaville shortly after 3pm. They wanted Ramos and just a handful of his fellow participants to meet them at the municipal offices in town. However, Ramos and his colleagues insisted that the meeting should take place at the library in Kgotsong. They wanted the IDT CEO and the foundation's COO to face the group's collective frustration. In the end, though, Malaka and Mashawana refused to travel to the township. Instead, they spent the afternoon inside Bothaville's Spur restaurant. As soon as they realised that they couldn't convince Ramos to come and meet them in town, Malaka and Mashawana drove back to Gauteng. 'The meeting didn't end up happening because they refused coming here, feeling all scared of the 'mob',' Mokolutlo suggested when we met the group in June. Shortly before our trip to Bothaville, Daily Maverick met Austin Mashawana at the foundation's offices in Rivonia, Johannesburg. He said there had been 'hiccups' and 'teething problems' with the programme, but he claimed the Kgotsong workers had received all the monies that were due to them. This, as we'll see, was not quite true. We asked Mashawana why he and Malaka didn't meet the group in Kgotsong. 'We thought it was unsafe,' he said. CCMA The Kgotsong group weren't going to let the matter go that easily. One week after Malaka and Austin Mashawana's fruitless trip to Bothaville, Ramos and 207 of his fellow EPWP workers lodged a complaint with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in nearby Welkom. The commissioner considered the group's evidence. In April, he ruled that the Collen Mashawana Foundation had indeed failed to pay them their salaries. They were owed money for the wages they should have earned from November 2024 to March this year. The CCMA ordered the foundation to pay its workers their outstanding salaries, totalling nearly R1.7-million. To date, however, the non-profit has not complied with the decision. Free State and beyond Failing to pay more than 200 EPWP workers is egregious enough. Sadly, though, the issue wasn't limited to the Kgotsong group. Our investigation identified scores more people elsewhere in the Free State who suffered the same fate. We also found plenty of workers from other provinces who'd allegedly been ripped off by the Collen Mashawana Foundation. Upcoming reports will take us to rural Limpopo, to the villages that line the North West provinces's border with Botswana, and to the Free State's Goldfields region. In each of these areas, the Collen Mashawana Foundation ran EPWP schemes on behalf of the IDT. While the foundation claimed and received funds from the IDT, the workers were being short-changed. In some instances, they weren't getting paid at all. We believe there exists sufficient circumstantial evidence to entertain the notion that some of the EPWP funds went towards Malaka's property. The most pressing riddle to solve, then, is what the foundation was doing with the monies it had banked from the IDT. Were the funds perhaps diverted to Malaka's Waterfall property? We believe there exists sufficient circumstantial evidence to at least entertain this notion. As demonstrated earlier, one of Mashawana's companies paid Malaka's engineer shortly after the IDT had paid the businessman's foundation. To conclude this piece, we'll unpack additional developments and transactions that give us more reason to be concerned. The container payments Satellite images, written correspondence and vital information gleaned from sources make up the various puzzle pieces that allowed us to put together an interesting picture concerning Malaka's Waterfall property. The stand had been cleared of vegetation in June 2024, but the project only really kicked into gear in October, after the Collen Mashawana Foundation had received its first payments from the IDT. Our investigation highlighted a remarkable concurrency of activity at the Waterfall property and the IDT's EPWP payments. During the second week of October, for instance, the IDT made a series of payments to the Collen Mashawana Foundation, totalling R3.6-million. Key developments regarding the Waterfall project unfolded the very next week. There was a site handover meeting attended by the contractor Mashawana handpicked for the project. Secondly, the project team submitted their building plans to the Waterfall Country Estate for approval. Finally, the architects, interior designers and other service providers were added to a Whatsapp group for the project. In short, work on Malaka's property had now kicked off in earnest, at the very moment when the Collen Mashawana Foundation's EPWP workers were asking why their initial salaries didn't add up. On 20 December, the Collen Mashawana Foundation received R1.1-million from the IDT. The next day, Two Putswa settled the outstanding rental fee and also made an advance payment for January's lease. Naturally, Malaka's contractor had to tend to all manner of costs relating to the new house. One such expense was for a construction container, one in which the contractor could safely store tools and equipment. We examined four payments the contractor, Two Putswa Maeba Construction and Projects, made for leasing the container. There is an uncanny proximity between these transactions and the payments Mashawana's foundation received from the IDT. On Thursday, 10 October 2024, the IDT transferred roughly R856,000 to the Collen Mashawana Foundation. By the following Friday, Two Putswa had paid nearly R3,500 to settle the first invoice for the container. The same thing would happen over the next few months. Only, the delay between the IDT's EPWP payments and Two Putswa's transfers for the container hire would get shorter and shorter. On 8 November 2024, a Friday, the IDT paid R1.23-million into the Collen Mashawana Foundation's account. The following Wednesday, more funds from Two Putswa reflected in the container company's account. Two Putswa's payment in December is especially interesting. The company had fallen behind on settling that month's invoice for the lease. On 20 December, the Collen Mashawana Foundation received R1.1-million from the IDT. The next day, Two Putswa settled the outstanding rental fee and also made an advance payment for January's lease. When the time came to settle the bill for February, Two Putswa again made the payment only one day after the IDT had transferred funds to the Collen Mashawana Foundation. The foundation received another R1.23-million from the IDT on the 12th of that month. The following day, Two Putswa paid nearly R1,000 for the lease. One of Two Putswa's more substantial payments towards Malaka's project also caught our eye. February's R1.23-million transfer was among four payments the Collen Mashawana Foundation received from the IDT towards the end of that month, totalling R2.3-million. In the week the payments were made, Two Putswa's director, Joshua Maseko, began working on quotes for large drainage pipes and related materials. The following week, Maseko's company paid roughly R11,000 to source the materials. Time will tell whether nor not these goods were bankrolled with IDT-linked funds. The same goes for Mashawana's own payments towards the Waterfall property. In the meantime, Malaka's close dealings with an IDT contractor is scandal enough to cast a deep shadow over her tenure as the entity's CEO. As for the EPWP workers' unpaid salaries: any law enforcement body worth its salt would immediately set out to probe this most woeful saga. DM * This investigation was made possible by funding from the Henry Nxumalo Foundation, an independent non-profit company that supports investigative journalism in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. * Some of the satellite images are from Airbus Space and Defence's Pléiades Neo satellite and were generously supplied to us by the company. *Information and documents related to this story can be securely uploaded to Daily Maverick's encrypted tip-offs portal. On 28 August, Pieter-Louis Myburgh will take the stage at The Gathering 2025: Changemakers | Impact Edition to speak out for the first time on this explosive saga, share new insights and offer a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the story continues to unfold. If you want to be in the room for this, don't wait. Book your ticket now. * Not based in CT? Register here to attend virtually. This investigation was made possible by the support of our Maverick Insider members. It's their voluntary contributions that keep our journalism free for all South Africans to read. Isn't it time you joined them? Become a Maverick Insider IDT contractor ripped off workers, bankrolled Tebogo Malaka's new R16m property On 6 August 2025, Daily Maverick released a shocking video showing how suspended IDT CEO Tebogo Malaka tried to buy this journalist's silence with a wad of cash. Here is the story Malaka didn't want the public to see. Pieter-Louis Myburgh 11 August 2025 IDT CEO bribery scandal – How I ended up with R60,000 in a Dior bag Daily Maverick journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh says he had a hunch that 'something nefarious' was afoot before his meeting with the suspended Independent Development Trust CEO and her spokesperson – who went on to offer him a wad of cash to suppress a continuing journalistic investigation. Victoria O'Regan 9 August 2025 Tebogo Malaka 'sting' – here's why Daily Maverick did it and what's next The action of the Independent Development Trust's CEO and her spokesperson is an assault on the fourth estate, a vital pillar of a functioning democracy, and on freedom of expression. Pieter-Louis Myburgh and Jillian Green 7 August 2025 Load More
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Ramokgopa admits electricity tariffs are unsustainable
Household are no longer able to afford electricity. Image: File Picture: Matthews Baloyi Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has conceded that the price of electricity is not sustainable and has ordered a review of the electricity tariffs. This comes as scores of electricity payers protested over soaring prices in Tembisa and elsewhere. Ahead of the ANC NEC meeting at various venues in Gauteng, Ramokgopa said South Africa is on the brink of "energy poverty" as the current cost of electricity is unsustainable, adding that South Africans can expect big changes to prices in the coming months. "Electricity is unaffordable. We cannot continue along this tariff path. We are getting into a situation here in the country with new dimensions of energy poverty. There are households there, as I speak to you, that will not be able to afford the cost of electricity. "Poor households are being forced to make choices between a loaf of bread and buying prepaid electricity units," he said. Energy expert, Professor Vally Padayachee, reflecting on the soaring prices of electricity, indicated that the rising cost of electricity is concerning as it impacts not only household budgets but also the overall economy. "Increases of over approximately 600% in recent years are unsustainable and disproportionate to many citizens' income levels. Electricity, a public good, should arguably be like water, a fundamental right, accessible and affordable for all South Africans. Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa highlighted the detrimental effects of the rising electricity costs during a recent public address. Image: File "For the average South African household, rising electricity costs have become a serious financial concern. Many families find themselves allocating a growing portion of their income to energy bills, which can lead to difficult choices between essential services such as food, education, and healthcare. This financial strain can cause stress and adversely affect family life," he said. To curb the effects of energy poverty, Vally said: "The rising costs of electricity calls for urgent structural reforms to the energy pricing model in South Africa. Policymakers must explore ways to stabilise prices for households and reduce the burden on vulnerable populations. There must be a concerted effort towards transitioning to a sustainable energy future that emphasises renewable energy sources." Taking to X, former Eskom COO, Matshela Koko, lamented the rising costs of electricity in spite of a promise that IPPs (independent power producers) would help reduce energy prices. "Eskom's electricity sales have plummeted from 220 TWh to 180 TWh over the past decade, yet electricity costs have skyrocketed by 600%. Here's the truth: wind, solar, and battery storage won't lower the electricity prices you see on your electricity bills. It is irrespective of the near-zero marginal cost of production of wind and solar projects." Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel. Cape Argus
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- Daily Maverick
Crucial Air Traffic and Navigation Services faces payroll and skills crisis
Payroll issues, staff discontent and a potential exodus of skilled air traffic controllers are colliding at the state-owned Air Traffic and Navigation Services, raising fears of operational instability in South Africa's skies. The state-owned Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), responsible for controlling every aircraft in South Africa's skies, is facing a convergence of crises. Already under regulatory scrutiny over grounded flights, leadership instability and concerns about passenger safety, ATNS is now grappling with payroll chaos that has left air traffic controllers and other critical personnel short-paid, overpaid or unable to access payslips. A whistleblower told Daily Maverick that these issues, far from being isolated glitches, form part of a broader pattern of operational lapses, internal inequities and governance failures that threaten safety and service continuity. 'This is the second payroll issue in less than a year and the third incident this year regarding unpaid overtime claims and training allowances,' an ATNS employee told Daily Maverick, underscoring that the distraction of missing pay is not merely an HR hiccup but a potential hazard in a safety-critical environment. Stalled on the runway In July, many ATNS employees logged into their bank accounts to discover their salaries had been underpaid by thousands of rands. Others were overpaid, while some could not even access their payslips. For a workforce where operational vigilance is paramount, the impact of such disruptions isn't merely a speed bump but a safety risk. Linden Birns, aviation expert and publisher of the industry newsletter Plane Talking, underscored the risk to Daily Maverick: 'You don't want people who have got such a responsible job to be distracted by something like that.' The psychological burden is not academic — air traffic controllers and ATNS staff manage split-second decisions involving hundreds of lives, and the erosion of their financial security risks undermining the very focus that makes aviation safe. At the centre of the payroll dispute is the payroll software in use by ATNS. According to Solidarity's sector co-ordinator for aviation, Barend Smit, who confirmed the salary issues, the system's shortcomings have been long evident. Smit told Daily Maverick the system was 'unreliable, outdated… Many clients have become frustrated with [its shortcomings] and moved on.' He said that in correspondence with ATNS, the union had cited contraventions of sections 32(3) and 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Solidarity has formally demanded the termination of ATNS's agreement with Oracle in favour of a more reliable system. In its written response to Daily Maverick, the ATNS disputed any systemic failure, stating: 'A temporary technical glitch occurred and corrective processes were implemented.' Pay disparity and policy challenges Beyond the immediate payroll dispute, internal wage and policy disparities are fuelling further resentment. In the 2025 salary adjustment round, air traffic controllers allegedly received a 9.3% increase, technicians 6.3% and administrative staff 5.3%. Air traffic controllers also benefited from retention packages in the 2024/25 financial year, while other categories did not. Employees allege this has compounded morale problems, especially when coupled with differing remote work arrangements. 'Support staff are forced to work in the office full-day Monday to Friday, while the rest of the head office and some admin staff work remotely,' the whistleblower told Daily Maverick. For Smit, these disparities have operational implications. 'If a controller or technician isn't paid on time, you create a chain reaction — they may not be able to cover transport costs, they arrive stressed, and that stress carries into the control room. In this job, distraction can be dangerous.' In response to questions from Daily Maverick, ATNS clarified that employee remuneration structures and service level agreements with third parties — such as their payroll contractor — were not disclosed to external parties. Leadership in turbulence The payroll instability comes against a backdrop of leadership challenges and infrastructure lapses. Earlier this year, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy suspended ATNS CEO Nozipho Mdawe over the organisation's failure to maintain instrument flight procedures at key airports — procedures that dictate the circumstances under which flights can operate. Birns recalled one striking example at Kimberley airport just last week: 'No flights could go in or out … because there are no currently valid instrument flight procedures for Kimberley, either arrival or departure.' This followed an earlier systems failure at Johannesburg, where the primary air traffic control system was corrupted and the backup had not been maintained, creating operational gaps in one of the busiest airspaces in the country. The looming exodus ATNS is also contending with a looming skills crisis. Globally, trained air traffic controllers are in short supply, and South Africa has seen its share of departures. 'There's been quite an exodus of people going over to other parts of the world … there's a global shortage of controllers,' said Birns. The opening of new international airports in other countries will intensify this competition, given the global skills shortage, and Smit warned that the impact could be direct, highlighting that a new airport will soon open in the Middle East. 'That will need at least about 150 traffic controllers,' said Smit. 'I think there's only one place that those airports are going to look for them, and that's in South Africa.' The combined effect of payroll instability, wage disparities and morale issues risks accelerating staff departures at precisely the moment when replacements are hardest to find. Why ATNS matters The stakes extend beyond ATNS's internal performance. Birns emphasised that the aviation sector had 'massive catalytic power in terms of cascading job creation' and that the government's failure to grasp the interdependence of air transport and economic growth was costly. 'Infrastructure failures hold the growth of the economy to ransom,' he said. An ATNS that is distracted, understaffed or hobbled by systemic faults risks constraining trade, tourism and investment far beyond the runway. The Department of Transport did not respond to direct questions from Daily Maverick, but referred all queries to ATNS, which stated that it 'fosters a culture of open, honest and fair two-way communication with employees' and applies 'internal policies based on operational requirements, safety imperatives, and service continuity'. It said hybrid work arrangements are supported 'where feasible' and that operational requirements dictated site presence for some staff categories. It did not respond to direct questions about salary disputes. In response to the mounting challenges at ATNS, Creecy mandated a comprehensive turnaround strategy, and on 30 January she approved recommendations from her Committee of Aviation Experts — established in December 2024 — to immediately enhance staffing, critical systems and governance within the organisation. The plan focuses on accelerating the recruitment of air traffic controllers and technical personnel over a period of up to three years, while also upgrading communication, navigation and surveillance infrastructure, including air traffic flow management; restoring and maintaining vital instrument flight procedures; and streamlining governance by instituting single-point accountability for implementation. In an update in March, Creecy outlined measures to stabilise and rebuild ATNS since December 2024, including fast-tracking the recruitment of air traffic controllers, upgrading critical navigation and surveillance systems, reinstating suspended flight procedures and strengthening safety oversight. She said these interventions were 'beginning to show progress', while noting that ATNS's CEO remained on precautionary suspension pending an independent investigation. DM
