It has been one of my core contentions, but never a naysayer … what are the problems? “Let’s get the overalls out and find the opportunities” my view, always.
EXACTLY as you are now going to do … you wanted to, just needed the motivation t expand. 
You with an EV, I with geysers, the Solis idea …
Time for a 7kW wallbox charger 
Or a bigger battery…
Well if we are playing the “Money is no object” game to solving this problem, yes that would be the best solution 
More battery and PV is perpetually on my Wishlist as well, sadly our current setup is working too well… My wife can use all the appliances she wants and its been a long time since a tree falling down introduced a 8+ hour outage, time to go and find a chainsaw…
I think that’s the thing for me too. There is really no need to get ahead of yourself. I was planning an upgrade anyway (even before we decided to move our transport across too), but the goal was never complete independence.
I was also planning on making the EV jump some time around 2025 (boy, did we jump the gun on that!), and then we’d need at least another 1kWp of PV, which should on average generate 5kWh a day, which is 30km in the EV. Easy, right?
But with the elevated levels of load shedding, and already only covering 50% of my needs, I now realise the entire plan needs to be accelerated a bit, and possibly enlarged. So it is not an entirely new plan… just an amended one, somewhat hastened by a compulsive acquisition.
Edit: Right now, a wall box with even 3kW, and the larger inverter that’s already here and waiting to be installed, will tide us over for another while. And that’s not really in the “money is no object” category just yet.
I think it’s interesting to see the differences in reporting on this between Daily Maverick and News24. I think we did say back then that the News24 ‘expose’ was 'n bit weird timing and content wise.
As Daily Maverick had been aware since early May, Fivaz had approached Joubert after the publication by News24 of a series of “exposés” under the all-caps title “ESKOM DIRTY DOSSIER”. Written by author and journalist Jacques Pauw, these articles — according to Fivaz himself — had inflicted fatal damage on the private intelligence-gathering operation, forcing the operatives to retreat from their positions or face the very real prospect of assassination.
On the front lines was Tony Oosthuizen, a former agent of the apartheid state who had crossed over into the intelligence services of President Nelson Mandela before leaving for the private sector. By focusing on Oosthuizen’s past, as Fivaz told Daily Maverick , Pauw had “conveniently ignored” the fact that he was “just one of six handlers” that GFFR had contracted to run the operation.
‘Their lives are at risk’
“These six handlers, Tony included, were running a total of more than 40 agents in the field,” Fivaz repeated — a detail that Daily Maverick had long known first-hand, given that we had been working on the Eskom intelligence files since December 2022.
This is also quite interesting. When the media reported on this subject earlier (Carte Blance nogal), they mentioned that the operatives were ex-apartheid-era. That sounds bad. But when you also hear that at least one of them was on the Nelson squad… that doesn’t quite fit with the narrative, does it?
Besides, I have always said that the argument is textbook genetic fallacy, when information is dismissed based on the source and not the validity of the information itself.
The Nazis were the first to research passive smoking and prohibit smoking in public. Therefore, a smoking ban is unacceptable.
This is the same. Oh, the information is from ex-apartheid spies. Therefore it is bad information and we don’t have to even look into it…
… what was that media company in the UK that was contracted to change the narative a few years ago ? Sounds very similar.
Bell Pottinger.
…
tldr, everyone is busy writing/reading stories. Nelson squad is possibly a bit over-generous
…
everyone is pushing a “narrative” in the end - dailymaverick included.
The Fivaz “clean bill of healtht” opinion is
A) from someone that Fivaz appointed and probably paid (report refers to the “client”).
B) based to a large extent on analysis of their own information by GFFR themself since “this exercise took a considerable amount of time and it was subsequently arranged with the client that the remaining 70% of the database would be completed by their team”
C) Concludes not much more than intelligence information can be used by law enforcement agencies and
D) there is further confirmation of criminal activity at Eskom,
E) points out a questionable practice by GFFR in grading informant reports as trustworthy without having established a basis for it,
F) also contradicts something AdR claimed (total inaction by law enforcement is contradicted by the fact (?) that GFFR claimed by November 2022 “Full-time liaison with a special police investigation unit or working group endorsed by the national Commissioner of SAPS, Gen Fanie Masemola” ).
So the “clean bill of health” looks possibly a bit more like “further testing is required”.
dailymaverick is probably also guilty of using the Mandela name to try and counter the negative perception of the apartheid era spy - possibly also conflating the concept of serving during vs serving under/being part of - so we end up with someone being erroneously on the “Nelson squad”. Tony Oosthuizen was apparently part of DCC (Directorate of Covert Collections - which fell under Military Intelligence). Long story short, during the pre 1994 transition period there were multiple investigations/enquiries around SADF members/units etc. who were not all that keen on the transition and attempts to possibly resurrect agencies like the CCB. These enquiries were often obstructed and fizzled out. Only after 1994 were more active steps taken to identify these members. Oosthuizen’s name appears as part of this grouping. So, while he probably served for a period overlapping with the Mandela presidency it is unlikely that he was part of the “Nelson Squad”.
He (Oosthuizen) was also more than just “spy”. Quoting Eugene de Kock during TRC testimony
MR DE KOCK: The request from Tony Oosthuizen was that the driver of the vehicle, which was a 4X4 bakkie, and four trained armed members of the PAC had to be shot out.
MR HATTINGH: Do you mean they had to be killed?
MR DE KOCK: That is correct. In my approach from Brigadier Schoon, surrounding our co-operation, he and I both agreed that these person should be arrested and not shot. However, I did not tell this to Tony Oosthuizen. The reason for that being that he may not make use of our services.
Whatever one’s view of such a request during that time period, he was not just reading people’s mail and his motivation to provide unbiased “intelligence” today should at least be called into question.
Lastly, in terms of pushing narratives, why did MEDIA agencies have copies of the GFFR reports? Hoping for someone to “leak” the names? Everyone is pushing a narrative…
Just to be clear, I was being a bit deliberate with that term. What I mean to say is: What you’re dealing with here is someone who is a career “spy”. When the new government takes over, he essentially stays in his job. The allusion to apartheid is almost coincidental, lathered on top to dismiss the report.
While DM is almost certainly pointing this out to make the opposite argument, I still find it helpful. It is not like we’re dealing here with 6 people who immediately (after the referendum) handed in their resignation and then continued to work in the background from some apartheid shadow-state remnant. No, it’s just ordinary intelligence guys who are on the older side, and now work for a private firm.
Their age hardly means the data they compiled is inaccurate. Of course there might be other reasons, but that’s not what made the news.
Irrespective of your past affiliation, you still have an ability to collect data or information.
How this is used or interpreted, is where the bias comes in.
I agree that past affiliation, like race, should not be an automatic “you are dismissed”. The six intelligence handlers might be just that - ordinary and everyone possibly have the noblest intentions. Thing is though that South Africa’s past and present have very little that was/is ordinary. Someone who becomes a career military officer who serves whomever forms the government of the day is one thing - I will hazard that many in the intelligence community involved with the likes of Vlakplaas etc. have a much deeper commitment to a specific worldview that would not easily be swayed - regardless of age.
Other than potential cognitive decline, age is absolutely irrelevant but again the world of intelligence and counter intelligence is much more than just reporting factual information. So, being critically aware of possible motive remains relevant in judging information in the absence of clear evidence. Take note I say judging - not dismissing.
I must say … this article
Gives me NO confidence.
How many businesses can do that?
versus …
How many that cannot?
Waste of money if you ask me when the country implodes due to lack of electricity.
And then this …
Bah … I give up.
Read the “A week from hell” chapter in AdR’s book. Precisely the same thing happened that time. Even the unions know that the people are already well paid. It was also interesting how he describes his relationship with NUMSA (fairly good) vs NUM (the union leader sits in meetings looking on his phone instead of paying attention).
i like the topic of this thread!
long ago a colonel told me ‘smit, never come to me with a problem without proposing at least one solution’ - cudos!
Yes, what he says …
Sitting this weekend pondering on NO LS Sunday … only getting NO LS Monday, and then not … how far does one contemplate, with bad weather for weeks on end, when to “let go” and not worry that the LS level jumps up suddenly, catching one off-guard?
Or like this new voltage thing … where some inverters disconnect before, and after, LS due to excessive volts?
Weather, in Cpt, man, it gets tense.
Methinks you are too tense
