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Ramaphosa’s energy plan ‘dead in the water’ because of ‘ANC’s political turf war’, says DA
The party has also called on Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to be sacked.
Lethabo Power Plant in Free State. Picture: Gallo Images / Thapelo Morebudi / The Sunday Times
South Africa battles load shedding due to a system-wide failure of units across Eskom’s generation fleet, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ANC-led government for its lack of urgency in implementing the energy response plan.
On 25 July, Ramaphosa announced drastic steps to end load shedding, ensure the sustainability of Eskom, and transform the electricity supply industry.
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At the time, the president said the crisis plan would improve Eskom’s performance, procure more new generation capacity, “massively” increase private investment in generation, and enable businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar.
The DA, however, says it is of the view that the plan has veered off the track due to an ineffective National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM).
NECOM led by the Director-General in the Presidency, Phindile Baleni – is responsible for implementing the measures announced by Ramaphosa.
‘No progress at all’
Briefing the media on Tuesday, DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party believed that no part of the crisis plan was on track, “with no measurable targets or clear timelines attached”.
Steenhuisen called on Ramaphosa to disband NECOM, which comprises of relevant government departments and Eskom, as “they have made no progress at all” and hire independent experts to oversee the implementation of the energy response plan “without having their hands tied by the red tape”.
“They should be taken off the job right away, but they cannot be replaced by another set of ANC politicians. We cannot repeat the same actions and hope for a different outcome. This crisis calls for outside industry experts to lead the way.”
READ MORE: Ramaphosa, ANC failures to blame for current load shedding crisis
According to the Department of Public Enterprises, Eskom has enlisted the help of 18 former employees and experts to assist in the execution of its power plant operations as part of the crisis plan.
In addition, the crisis committee has made progress in streamlining and shortening timeframes for regulatory processes to enable the expansion of private generation, News24 has reported.
But the DA leader further argued that it was clear to see that the crisis plan was “dead in the water” because the president’s crisis committee “has become the scene of a political turf war between ministers and ministries”.
‘Hand over the plan’
He noted that Ramaphosa’s plan was “essentially a good plan”, but urged that both Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan should “be kept as far away from its implementation as possible”.
“But not only these two ministers and the crisis committee. The president himself must hand over the plan to someone who can and will see to it that progress is made.
“During his term as president we’ve been told about nine-point plans, seven-point reforms, and now the latest five-point energy response plan, and yet nothing of this has materialised,” he continued.
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“Since he became president, South Africa has shed 4 136 gig watts (GWh) of electricity, and this past weekend we were down to half our generation capacity. He’s had his hands on the wheel for over a decade, and in that time our energy situation has deteriorated sharply.
“He needs to face the sober reality that neither he nor his ministers are capable of solving this predicament. They have lost control and our country is spiralling into disaster,” Steenhuisen added.
