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Gov't Fears Losing AGOA Benefits, Eskom Chair Sees Future Without Loadshedding

SOUTH AFRICA
  • BusinessDay reports that the government has warned that US lawmakers could use the upcoming African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum to point to South Africa's relations with Russia and China to "potentially exclude it from the preferential access to US markets that SA currently enjoys." The AGOA Forum will take place in South Africa in November, following the August BRICS summit.
  • A new Social Research Foundation survey showed that the radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) could replace the African National Congress (ANC) as the official opposition in Western Cape. Support for the EFF rose to 15% from just 4% in the 2019 provincial election, while the ANC's support eroded to 13% from 29%. The Democratic Alliance (DA) improved to 64% from 55%. The next round of provincial elections will take place in 2024 alongside a national election.
  • Eskom Chair Mpho Makwana said that loadshedding was becoming less severe this month until weather conditions deteriorated. He said that it is possible now to see a future without rolling blackouts, adding that the energy availability factor (EAF) should improve consistently to 65% by March 2024 and to 70% by March 2025, at which point loadshedding shouldn't be needed.

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