Here are four things to look forward to in 2023

Captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis trophy in Tokyo after beating England 32-12 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final. File photo.
Image: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images/Getty Image

It is always good to look on the bright side, despite the country’s ups and downs, when it comes to a new year. 

Despite the challenges 2022 brought with it, there are reasons to be hopefulabout 2023. 

Here are four things to look forward to in the new year: 

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the party’s January 8 statement during its 111th birthday celebrations. The venue for the celebrations is yet to be announced. 

In 2022 the celebrations were hosted at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo. 

In his speech, Ramaphosa addressed issues plaguing the party and nation. The clear message was the ANC would be renewed and rid of problematic members. 

Ramaphosa chastised party members who display ill-discipline and outlined a fresh approach to rooting out the corrupt and filling party positions with competent people. 

According to the president, the journey ahead faced by the party will be tough.

“We should expect and confront resistance from those who may well be opposed to renewal. We should endure the pain this entails, and ultimately we will emerge as an organisation better placed to serve the people of SA,” he said.

Comedian fans can expect to laugh their way through the challenges that may come with the new year.

South African-born comedian Noah is coming home in August and September with 12 shows in Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria. Tickets are on sale at R405 from TrevorNoah.com.

Speaking about his homecoming, the comedian said he couldn’t wait to perform for South African audiences again.

American comedian and actor Hart is set to return to SA, announcing he will bring his Reality Check tour to the SunBet Arena in Time Square, Pretoria, on February 17.

“SA, it’s been too long. Your boy is coming your way on February 17. It is going down. Do not waste an opportunity to be in the arena for me do to what I do best, which is to provide laughter,” he said.

“Years on years on years it’s been, but I cannot wait to get to you. Me in your world, let’s do what we do best. Let’s have a good time together.”

The 2023 Rugby World Cup will run from September 8 to October 28 with matches played across France.

SA will defend its title after beating England 32-12 in the 2019 final in Japan. 

The opening match and final will take place at the Stade de France in Paris. The tournament will take place in the bicentenary year of the “invention” of the sport by William Webb Ellis.

This will be the third time France hosts the Rugby World Cup, having previously hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 1991 Rugby World Cup as joint hosts with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

“2019 is part of history,” said SA Rugby director Rassie Erasmus.

“When you think back to how we performed in 2018, which was not great, we won the World Cup the year after. I think we all enjoyed it, but we all realise the World Cup is next year. We are very proud, but now we want momentum. The aim is to go into a closely contested World Cup next year. Any bloody team can win it.”

Well, not all things to look forward to are good. Eskom’s load-shedding is predicted to continue until March next year. 

Public enterprises minster Pravin Gordhan said Eskom could implement 191 days of load-shedding during summer, which runs from December 2022 to March 2023. 

“Eskom’s worst-case scenario is an assumption of unplanned unavailability between 13,500MW and 15,000MW for winter and between 14,500MW and 16,000MW in summer. 

“This shows 104 days of load-shedding could be expected in winter and 191 days in the 2022/23 summer for a total of the 295 days,” Gordhan said in a written parliamentary Q&A. 

Western Cape premier Alan Winde said load-shedding is expected to worsen in 2023, and the province has resolved to establish a cabinet-level task team to mitigate the impact of blackouts. 

“Eskom has been upfront about this. Load-shedding will likely worsen as they seek to improve the reliability of our energy infrastructure through their proposed maintenance plan. There will be more pressure on the power grid along with the possibility of unplanned breakdowns of generation units. We will do everything we can to ameliorate this in 2023,” said Winde.

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