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ANC, you are the weakest link. Goodbye
Electricity minister faces a Goldilocks dilemma, where the power grid collapses both in extreme cold and heat.
Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa can’t make any promises. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
In this strange fairy-tale country, our electricity minister has just had his “Goldilocks” moment… apparently his power grid collapses when it is “too cold” and now it falls over because it is “too hot”.
We wish, comrade Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, that we could, like Goldilocks, get to the sweet spot where the temperature is “just right” and the lights stay on.
Never mind, minister. At least you said sorry. Nobody expects you to resign. This is South Africa, after all. Failure is an option.
We fear that, as we predicted recently, load shedding will become as South African as hijacking, death-wish driving, blue light convoys and “firepool excuses”.
As the cloak of stage 6 darkness descends on the country – at least those who haven’t been able to get solar power as a back-up – ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s promise that load shedding would be over by December looks as far-fetched as the rest of his party’s promises.
ALSO READ: ‘We have overcommitted our reserves’ – Ramokgopa on reason for stage 6 load shedding
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s claim that we have “turned the corner” on blackouts belongs, similarly, in ANC cloud-cuckoo-land.
The reality is that this stage 6 load shedding is because Eskom’s energy availability hit a record low this week, at just 47%. That is less than half of the installed capacity of our national grid.
When you factor in that private and business solar installations account now for more than 11% of the power generated in the country, then the real power ready for consumers is a pathetic 36%.
It goes without saying that you cannot build an economy and create jobs on those energy numbers.
What is behind this catastrophic collapse?
It is sabotage aimed at undermining the government?
Is it looting?
Is it incompetence?
Is it an excuse to bring us expensive powerships?
Whatever it is, voters need to send a message next year: ANC, you are the weakest link. Goodbye.
ALSO READ: ‘Load shedding started in 1997’ – Ramokgopa says no one currently at Eskom to blame
