Ramaphosa’s presence in the country must be backed up by visible actions at Eskom

There is a public relations go-to phrase that seems to be at the centre of the South African government’s strategy to end electricity blackouts (euphemistically referred to as load shedding): “Be seen to be doing something.”

It would seem that it does not matter anymore what that “something” is, whether it does indeed contribute to ending the power crisis or not, just the act of being seen to be acting.

The most prominent of the actions is President Cyril Ramaphosa cancelling his trip to the Davos World Economic Forum because the country is in the grip of stage 6. It would indeed look quite bad if things were to get worse while Ramaphosa is busy shaking hands with world leaders and smiling for the cameras while the country is in darkness.

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And in continuing to be seen to be doing something, Ramaphosa has declared he is available to meet opposition party leaders to talk about the power crisis. This here is the most powerful move in the art of being seen to be doing something: “See, we are inviting everyone to the table to solve this country’s biggest problem.”

Part of the being seen to be doing something is the way the Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has found a way of inviting independent power producers (IPPs) to the table, only to stall the process while Eskom is losing megawatt after megawatt.

However far along the process has gone with the IPPs, the process has been so slow that it has greatly contributed to some of the unnecessary misery and economic suffering that all businesses are going through.

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The time for “engaging all stakeholders” is long past and only practical actions that produce solutions must be put on the table.

The president cancelling his trip to Davos looks good and is commendable for those that care for aesthetics, but the majority of South Africans want action that is guaranteed to produce a result in combating power blackouts.

It is quite concerning that this late in the game Ramaphosa does not have anyone he trusts enough to see the country through stage 6, or a plan in place that guarantees that the country will not progress to stage 8 while he is away in Davos.

Who’s to say that his presence in Davos would do more to help the country out through new deals with governments and businesses that know how to get out of this?

The presence of the president in the country must be backed up by clearly visible actions at Eskom.

Ramaphosa must tell the country what the government is doing about the stealing of the correct grade of coal before it gets to Eskom. The allegations that there is sabotage of expensive equipment and processes at Eskom must be addressed publicly so that the whole country knows that something is being done about it.

It is not enough to deploy the army to secure power stations because they are national keypoints. Everyone knows the army has no technical know-how of running a power station.

What will be sad will be the day it is revealed that spares are being stolen and sabotage carried out right in front of the defence force.

There is the matter of the long-standing allegation that state-owned enterprises are being destroyed to make way for private sector takeovers. It sounds perfectly ridiculous that a ruling party would risk losing power because they can’t provide electricity just to enrich the private sector.

The more the government only acts simply to be seen to be doing something, the more the theory gains traction.