Cry My Beloved Country 😢
Here I cut straight past the shiny headlines and dig into the structural math of the proposed determination tabled by Minister Ramokgopa last Wednesday.
I break down the 9,600 MW proposal with practical, engineering-first points:
▪️ The Battery Illusion : 4,600 MW means nothing without a megawatt-hour duration. A 2-hour battery and an 8-hour battery are completely different animals when the test is surviving a cold winter peak.
▪️ The Gas Overlap Question: Is the “new” 5,000 MW of gas actually new, or is it just the same 6 GW already factored into the NTCSA’s outlook under a different name? If it’s the latter, we aren’t adding any new firm capacity against the 2030 coal cliff.
▪️ The Infrastructure Reality Check : Transmission lines, substations, gas pipelines, and port infrastructure don’t just appear—especially with five-year lead times and often longer.
▪️ The Risk of a “Diesel Cliff” : If replacement capacity slips past 2030, the fallback is burning millions of litres of expensive diesel in peaking turbines as baseload. That would obliterate any hope of lowering electricity prices.
My conclusion is straightforward : coal retirement dates are fixed on a calendar by the March 2025 Ministerial determination, but replacement dates are merely assumptions. Cry, my beloved country. 😢
Engineer Matshela Koko 12.10.2026
This is giving me goosebumps man. I love it when we all win as young people, we can dream and actually work towards making our dreams a reality. Beautiful man❤️
POLICE SEARCH FOR MISSING MAN IN VEREENIGING
Police are appealing for public assistance to locate 33-year-old Rethabile Nkaota, who went missing under suspicious circumstances after last being seen at a local pub in Vereeniging on 9 October 2026.
His friend reported him missing after being unable to find him the following morning. His Nissan NP200 bakkie was also missing, and his flat was found ransacked, raising suspicions of possible foul play. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Warrant Officer Letsoalo on 072 726 3851 or Colonel Thithi on 082 778 5945, or submit an anonymous tip via the MySAPS app.
When someone tolerates your toxic ego because they have a family to feed, do not mistake their silence for weakness. How you treat people who cannot afford to challenge you is the ultimate mirror of your character. Stop using another person’s survival needs as a playground for your arrogance. The universe doesn't read corporate organizational charts. When you use your temporary rank to step on others, you are fracturing your own spiritual weight. You might command the room today, but frequencies of cruelty leave an echo in the ether. That echo always finds its way back to the source.🫶🏽