ROLLING BLACKOUTS
Opposition parties unite to condemn ANC for crippling energy crisis
‘Our immediate priority is to get as much generating capacity back on line within the shortest possible time.’ — President Ramaphosa, December 2019. And now: ‘We will remain seized with this issue until the situation is resolved.’
With Stage 6 rolling blackouts over the weekend, the electricity crisis in South Africa shows no signs of being resolved any time soon. The deepening power cuts left consumers in the dark for hours three times a day — and even more, in some parts of the country.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Waking up to Stage 6, now Eskom execs are fighting to fend off Stage 8 power cuts”
The weekend’s blackouts prompted President Ramaphosa to cut short his trip to the US. He released a statement on Tuesday shortly after returning home.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Ramaphosa: “Solving the electricity challenge is vital for South Africa’s investment drive.”
Some opposition parties said his return from the US was a public relations exercise that did nothing to help resolve the crisis.
Also on Tuesday, the DA held a media briefing to outline its plans to deal with the power problem.
“At Stage 6 — and with talk of even higher stages of load shedding if the situation at the stricken generation units doesn’t improve soon — we are teetering on the brink of a complete collapse of our grid. This will spell disaster for our entire country,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
“This is the second time this year that we have breached Stage 6, but whereas last time it was only for short periods as units were brought back online, the language this time around is far more ominous.”
‘Dissolve National Energy Crisis Committee’
Steenhuisen proposes that industry experts from outside Eskom be brought in, but says Ramaphosa should first immediately dissolve the National Energy Crisis Committee.
On bringing in someone to lead Eskom out of the crisis, he said: “It is critical that this person is both apolitical and a leading expert in the energy field, and that he or she is sufficiently empowered to do whatever it takes to stabilise our current generation fleet and bring additional generation on board, without having their hands tied by the red tape that has held our recovery back until now.”
According to Steenhuisen, this independent expert should not have to “answer to racial bean-counters in any ANC ministry, and [have] the power to make decisions on the procurement of additional electricity from independent producers, free from the stifling regulations imposed by the likes of Minister Mantashe and Minister Patel, who is still insisting on 35% localisation for bid window 5 — clearly oblivious to the fact that we are approaching a national catastrophe”.
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The EFF is of a different view. The red berets want Eskom’s entire board fired, including CEO André de Ruyter and COO Jan Oberholzer.
“The incompetence and arrogance of Eskom executives has plunged South Africa into a perpetual and unwarranted darkness that is killing businesses and livelihoods,” said the EFF in a statement.
“The collapse of Eskom and the failure to prove dependable and consistent energy supply are meant to render the country’s electricity utility redundant and useless.”
The EFF argued that other than the appointment of competent people, the country needs a sustainable and practical long-term solution and a balanced energy mix… through nuclear, renewable, coal and other sources.
IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa appears to agree with the EFF on axing top executives. The IFP also wants the process to appoint new board members to be made public.
“First and foremost we have no confidence in the board, executive and the CEO. They’ve quite simply failed to turn things around at Eskom and we are calling for a transparent public process of interviews of all those who will be appointed to the board and executive,” said Hlengwa.
The IFP said there had been a culture of people appointed to head Eskom without due process. In addition to this, Hlengwa said there was a need for diversification of the country’s energy supply and the introduction of the IPP.
Presidential ‘PR exercise’
On Ramaphosa’s return to the country from his trip abroad, the IFP said: “That is a PR exercise. The president was already fully aware of the load shedding crisis when he left. His return does not have a material effect on the people or the economy. The fundamental issue is the absence of consequence management at Eskom. At some point we were told about sabotage. Nothing has ever come out of that bold statement.”
The Freedom Front Plus says SA’s energy crisis has been left unattended for far too long. Spokesperson Wouter Wessels says Eskom’s immediate task should be to tackle its high salary bill.
“It is one of the power utilities with the most employees in the world, and a very high salary bill. And yet we’re producing less electricity. If you look at the increase in the number of staff members in the last 10 to 15 years, it’s quite significant, but the production of electricity has declined.”
On Ramaphosa cutting his trip short, Wessels said, “It is too little, too late. As deputy president, he was responsible for the turnaround strategy for Eskom. He failed. His executive has failed to prevent the current crisis. To cut his trip short is a PR exercise and will achieve nothing.”
‘Not a Ramaphosa failure, but an ANC failure’
Political analyst Xolani Dube said the government’s failure to address the energy crisis could not be attributed to a single person, but rather to the entire leadership of the ANC, including former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, who did not give it the urgent attention it required.
“I think we have to accept that it is not Ramaphosa who has failed us, but it is the ANC as a whole. The issue of energy started way back… Thabo Mbeki never took it seriously, and now we are here — so it is not a Ramaphosa problem… it was the ANC that was not ready to govern this country.”
Dube said it remained to be seen whether the ANC would be punished by the electorate in the 2024 general elections. DM
Nah, the electorate will stupidly elect the same crooks to rob us blind until we’re another basket case failed state like Zim.
True, The bottom line.
The most workers and they produce the least electricity? Very reminiscent of the USSR! Who has overseen or organized this policy? Fire them! This catastrophe is entirely the government’s fault: cadre deployment, corruption, BEE and the unions.
hold Thabo Mbeki and Alec Erwin responsible. it started with them and then a bunch of appointments that were disasterous up to De Ruyter who at least provided direction. but too little too late! South Africa the first fourth world country in the world!
I am amazed at De Ruyter’s perseverance. He must have known that it was an uphill battle but not the same task as given to Sisyphus. Gwede Mantashe must be our version of gravity and Hades is Pravin Gordhan keeping him alive so he can be punished!
Ramadolittle should not have cancelled his trip. He should have extended it. By at least 10 years. The longer he is not around to do nothing the better frankly, the rest of us can get on with it – we’re better off without his blathering, ‘surprise’, ‘shock’ and lies since 2015 that this mess would be sorted out.
The problem with electricity supply in our country began back in the time when Mandela was campaigning for the ANC before the first democratic elections.
He promised the residents of Soweto free electricity if they voted ANC. The residents sold their coal stoves and bought electric ones. They refuse to pay for electricity to this day because it was promised to be “free” by Madiba. The same process unfolded in many other towns across the country. The result was an unprecedented increase in
demand for electricity without a similar increase in supply. Add non-payment by millions of residents and the hollowing out of the competent employees at ESKOM by the ANC cadre deployment policy and we are today in shyte street.
Steenhuisen is talking crap because it is exactly what the jockey on the dead horse has been doing with the circus running Eskom. What has been happening has been a deliberate neglect of maintainence of Eskom fleet to get the unreliable IPPs into the grid. How do we get from 48 000 MW to 15 000 MW? This is because de Ruyter is there to destroy Eskom as we see him attending renewable conference after conference. He does not talk of energy build and there is nothing in the budget for energy build. There is no accountability for failure to meet the targets. We are given poppycock by a spokesperson for black outs called Sikhonathi Mantshantsha which is nothing else but a running commentary on the incompetence of running of Eskom by de Ruyter and his clowns. That commentary is a proper legal basis to dismiss de Ruyter and all the nonsense he has been saying. The board must go. Those who want solar and wind power must gracefully leave Eskom to build their companies. The TV stations bore us with the hogwash from Megawatt Park frankly because it is complete rubbish. Gordhan must be fired also. The President must account for all his promises and empty speeches on Eskom. We must get a team of qualified engineers to run Eskom. Mantashe was correct!
Mantashe is a dinosaur.
You go from 48, 000 to 15, 000 over a few years – and in the short period that De Ruyter has been trying to get things sorted. You are showing selective amnesia! This is a problem of the ANC’s making.
Unreliable IPPs? Really, really, maybe this shows your real agenda!