A Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the February edition of public Sector Leaders (pSL)

In his first letter to the nation for the month of February, His excellency, Cyril ramaphosa focused on the struggle for more affordable electricity. His excellency framed the letter referencing the recent announcement of an increase in electricity tariffs and his call for the eskom board to consider measures that would help to mitigate the impact of the 18.65% increase from an implementation timeframe point of view – this at the same time as noting that the new tariff was approved by the independent National energy regulator of South Africa (NerSA) after following a prescribed process.

“This is the problem we face: we have to ensure that eskom has the resources it needs to resolve the electricity crisis while protecting South Africans from the effects of higher prices,” – president ramaphosa.

It is a busy month for public sector leaders with our president delivering a keynote address at the investing in African Mining indaba, Cape town international Convention Centre. H.e. chaired the Cabinet Lekgotla held at the Sefako Makgatho presidential guest House, Pretoria and received a courtesy call from the prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the right Honourable Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane, at the Mahlamba Ndlopfu residence.

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address at the 2023 Basic education Sector Lekgotla held at the Sandton international Convention Centre, Johannesburg and, on 9 Feb, delivered the much anticipated SoNA address - which we cover as the lead story in this edition of public Sector Leaders.

The month of February celebrates social justice and the environment - and in this bumper edition, while we feature the SoNA address as the lead story, we also focus on social justice and economic inclusion, as well as taking a look at our indigenous languages from a Higher education perspective. Celebrating our natural environment and rich resources, we zoom in on South Africa’s wetlands as well as conservation efforts across the provinces – and how the agricultural sector is growing the economy.

Keeping you up to date with the latest developments in the mining sector, we bring you the important announcements made by H.E. president ramaphosa and Hon. Gwede Mantashe at the investing in African Mining indaba.

Our regular features include the calendar of upcoming events and this month we celebrate as our trailblazer the new Secretary to parliament, Hon. Xolile George. For February’s Woman in Leadership spotlight, we are delighted to bring you a retrospective on the lifetime achievements of dirCo Minister, the Honourable Naledi Pandor in an article fittingly entitled “With Grace”. the regional Focus looks at Eastern Cape, with exciting news about the world’s largest deep sea cable. In Legal Matters we take a look at employment contracts and probation, while Money Fit focuses on a topic close to everyone’s pocket – how to increase your disposable income.

Whether you are in the public sector, the private sector, supply chain or an interested individual, pSL has something for you.

We hope you enjoy the read.

Fiona Wakelin | group editor