POWER CRISIS
Government is considering declaring SA’s rolling blackouts a National State of Disaster, says Ramaphosa
SA’s load shedding crisis, which has been in existence for more than a decade, could soon be declared a National State of Disaster, President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested on Monday night.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has seemingly agreed to heed calls for the load shedding crisis to be declared a national disaster in a bid to end it “within a much shorter time frame than what has been projected”.
At present, 2023 is set to be worse than 2022 in terms of rolling blackouts. Experts have warned that the recovery of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations cannot be achieved in the short term and it will take at least two years to improve the energy availability factor (EAF) from the current 58% to 70%.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the closing remarks at the ANC NEC lekgotla at the Esselenpark Conference Centre on 30 January 2023. (Photo: ANC DIP)
The crisis is so dire that Eskom considered implementing permanent Stage 2 and Stage 3 rolling blackouts to give the public more predictability, a statement it has since backtracked on.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom quickly backpedals on statement on permanent load shedding for two years, hints at ‘good performance’ incentives for staff”
Closing the ANC’s four-day lekgotla at Esselen Park in Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa said the issue of possibly declaring the energy emergency a National State of Disaster was receiving urgent attention.
Calls for the crisis to be declared a National State of Disaster were made by a number of roleplayers, including traditional leaders, community-based organisations and trade unions. The call was further aired at the party’s lekgotla held over the weekend.
“It was observed that it would be necessary to have a National State of Disaster because that would enable us to have the instruments that would be necessary to fully address the challenge that our nation faces,” Ramaphosa said.
“Work is already under way within the government to establish whether the legal requirements for the declaration of a National State of Disaster are met and what specific actions we would be empowered to undertake to urgently resolve load shedding within the framework of a National State of Disaster,” he said, as those in attendance cheered in agreement.
Ramaphosa’s remarks came after the party received presentations from representatives who shared the devastating impact of rolling blackouts on communities, small businesses and the farming sector.
NEC members listen as President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the closing remarks at the ANC NEC lekgotla at the Esselenpark Conference Centre on 30 January 2023.(Photo: ANC DIP)
“The lekgotla agreed that energy security is very central to our country’s national interest, our country’s national sovereignty and national security. Without energy security, we will not be able to achieve our other developmental priorities such as building a transformed, inclusive, growing and job-creating economy,” Ramaphosa said.
Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations
The remarks came after several politicians and businesspeople instructed a legal team from seven law firms to demand that the government stop cutting SA’s power. The group also wants fair compensation for the damage caused by rolling blackouts and for the government to play open cards about South Africa’s energy crisis.
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition, John Steenhuisen, announced that he had instructed lawyers to immediately apply to the high court for an interdict to stop the tariff increase and Stage 6 rolling blackouts amid the government’s poor response to “the biggest crisis our country has faced in three decades of our democracy”.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Eskom’s rolling blackouts — 26 years of ANC meddling, manipulation and vested interests
He said the time “for writing letters and for government talk shops” and for “begging” was over — “it’s now time to take this government head-on”.
The lekgotla took place ahead of an expected Cabinet reshuffle.
On Tuesday, the office of the ANC’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, is expected to brief members of the media at its headquarters, Luthuli House, on the outcomes of the lekgotla. DM
Become an Insider
For how long has the DA been saying that this should be done?
Terrifying. The State of Disaster, that is.
Because we all remember how well that worked during the Covid pandemic. Government employees & their friends & family looting & pillaging while those without resources lost everything.
Precisely my thoughts!
Exactly. Add the karpower ships and nuclear to that to keep uncle Gwede on board
Dear DM, please watch this carefully given your previous article about the lack of evidence of qualifications of the consultants on the Karpowership EIA. Please interrogate exactly how a national state of disaster is going to solve loadshedding?
Ah. Proof of life from Cyril. I was starting to wonder if he still existed. While declaring a national state of disaster may allow more rapid resolution, I fear that the vultures and hyaenas in the ANC and their collective are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of less oversight over tenders, and the power hungry may well be looking to see how they can restrict the populace. Call me a cynic but we’ve seen this movie before.
So they agree with the rest of the country that it is a disaster? Wow! Yawn. Not much hope of them coming up with a solution at this rate.
The Government should seriously consider declaring the ANC a National State of Disaster. Just think of what they’ve destroyed or broken during the time they’ve been in office, besides Eskom: NPA, SAA, DENEL, railways, hospitals, municipalities to name a few. ANC is a toxic mix of incompetence and corruption.
The governance of the ANC is a National Disaster!
Agree! The ANC is a national disaster!
I absolutely agree. What a disaster they are.
The ANC has been a State of Disaster for many years. So why did so many of you vote for Ramaphosa in the last elections, as he “was said to be the Good ANC” ??
The Covid experience seems to indicate State of Disaster = Opportunities to steal (since procurement processes are bypassed) and implementation of draconian yet unnecessary restrictions (you’re fine on the sidewalk, but don’t step on the beach)
Wry chuckle. Sigh
And what will he do? Repeat the mistakes of the Covid-19 State of Disaster and put a sinister crook in charge of the country, like he did with Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma, who promptly mismanaged the whole thing whilst protecting and empowering the illegal cigarette makers who fund Zuma Inc? Will it be her again (heaven forfend) or even worse, Uncle Gweezy? Cyril’s track record is not good here. I fear that an Eskom-triggered ‘State of Disaster’ will end up with him putting a fox in charge of the henhouse again. We don’t need a State of Disaster. What we need is a local version of the ‘Untouchables’ to go into Eskom and other SOEs and remove the mafias, by force if necessary.
ANC declaring the ANC a national disaster?
Can anyone tell me how opening the taps to the feeding trough by declaring a state of disaster will somehow rapidly fix what these incompetent thieving idiots have been unable to fix over the past 15 years ?
The plan, and the whole sorry saga of this long and latest series of load shedding is coming into focus, remember a few things:
1. The specter of Russian nuclear power plants is still on the boil, this may also explain the inexplicable maintenance of SA:Russia relationships (military exercises with a defunct navy – why?) despite all principles to the contrary
2. The equally iniquitous, if not inebrious specter of Turkish power ships is boiling over
3. GM has, despite obvious and long term damage to the environment, an inexplicable penchant for coal fired power stations
A state of emergency will open these massive projects (nuclear power stations, ship docked power stations, new and refurbishment of the coal fleet at Eskom) to a level of trough feeding GM and CRs cadres have hither to only dreamt of, albeit they all have the fine taste of Kusile and Medupi still wetting their appetites.
That, unfortunately, all sounds very plausible.
The ANC should be declared a Government of Disaster. ANC corruption and incompetence and factionalism have brought South Africa to this point. And it is not just energy. Transport, Water, Health services, Education, Postal services, Security, the Economy, Social services, Housing, Sewage and waste disposal and probably more are all right up there next to Eskom as national disasters.
That’s actually declaring the Government itself a State of disaster!!
Yes, much red tape needs to be relieved, and urgent action needs to be taken, but there is much that can be done if the government would just start doing it! For example, appointing IPPs and getting contracts finalised and opening up bid windows and encouraging self-generation for businesses and homes, and additional generation procurement by municipalities, and measures to get the Just Econimic Transition plan in place and going. It is obstruction and inaction that are making things much worse. The talk of a state of disaster is because are completely desperate and panicking and somehow want things to miraculously be resolved before the elections!
Excuse our cynicism, but as many have pointed out, a national state of disaster in SA is just another term for unbridled looting and urgent tenders… once again we will see red roses and family members with newly registered companies siphoning off taxpayer money… no wonder they are all cheering and clapping at their talkfest!
Yes, it’s a disaster and has been for a few years, but the sad thing is the ANC government is the real disaster, and the failure of Eskom is just a symptom of that. Who in their right minds can still trust them to do the right thing?
100% accurate and, if one reads through the various comments, new opportunities for frenzied looting without oversight? Solar at home can, however, significantly lower the extreme aggravation of dependence on a failed, corrupt state.
Declaring a state of disaster is no silver bullet. 2024 is just around the corner, so is this just politicking, to be seen to be doing something at a last gasp to salvage votes! They (the ANC) were warned as far back as 1998 that we would be in this crisis if they were not PROACTIVE. But unfortunately for us, they continue to be REACTIVE.
Fiddle Nero, fiddle!
A failed state is a government that has become incapable of providing the basic functions and responsibilities of a sovereign nation, such as military defense, law enforcement, justice, education, or economic stability. Common characteristics of failed states include ongoing civil violence, corruption, crime, poverty, illiteracy, and crumbling infrastructure. Even if a state is functioning properly, it can fail if it loses credibility and the trust of the people. Longely
Could the article please explain what this means? What would a state of emergency deliver or change? All the new reporting is just about what the ANC said, and repeats of things we already knew. How about enlightening us about why this is a big deal. Does it mean more funding? Less paperwork? Specific autonomies?
Definitely more funding and less paperwork. Just what is required to open a new avenue to the feeding trough.
Quick thinking, Cyril!
I don’t know how to respond to this without swearing. Just fix it! I am so tired of political ramblings, finger-pointing and passing the buck. JUST. FIX. IT. Or get out and let someone who knows that they’re doing fix it.
Talk about growing and jobs when they cannot even maintain!
I don’t believe 1 word the ANC utters
Mr President, you cannot solve a problem with the same people who caused the problem in the first place. You sure are unable or unwilling to learn.
Here we go again. They have run out of ways to steal under covid emergency regulations, this Eskom thing sounds perfect!
The gas powerships will be rammed through by end of April. It will be the most wasteful expenditure in the history of South Africa – and that takes some doing.
Eskom will get its diesel, from specially selected vendors.
Watching Cyril delivering the closing remarks from the ANC’s latest talk shop was even more telling than a potential state of disaster (that his ANC cronies will probably refer to as a “great ‘business’ opportunity”) He looked tired – slouching down, shoulders slumped, eyes glazed over whilst mumbling through the prepared script. He is as spineless as he is clueless and has proven over the years that he neither the ability nor the willpower to extricate South Africa from this ANC manufactured mess. He is a national disaster in his own right.
Shame! Poor Cyril!! Time to FIRE HIM!!!
This is quite lazy thinky and poor leadership. The issues around Eskom do not need a state of disaster but leadership that recognises a crisis and is capable of putting together detailed plans that can be actioned with coordination by the Presidency. The critical issue here is whether there are functional operational systems within Eskom of risk management. supply chain management that is responsive and has the necessary quality checks, incident investigations and reporting, security with cameras in all strategic points that is monitored 24 hours and is in the employ of Eskom as a National Key Point with security clearance. The State of Disaster is to add another layer of thieves as we saw during the pandemic. We need consequence management for poor performance and criminality as well as arrests and charges that must include treason and sedition. It is an admission of failure by the ANC and its President. Failure to ensure that the Ministers that need to work together to ensure that the country has energy. If they are unable to work together he must fire them and get those who are willing to address the crisis. If he is unable to coordinate Ministers he then does not have a Cabinet but a federation of Ministers and must accept responsibility of being an incapable leader to lead the country and must resign. We do not need a President wo does a running commentary on issues that he has a responsibility to address through his Ministers. He must shape up or ship out.
Well said Cunningham-an excellent piece summing up the many administrative aspects of the solution. Agee an SOE is not required here.
Desperate measures by a man desperate to cling on to a vainglorious title he has never been fit for. This joke isn’t funny anymore. This foul congress needs to be shown the egress, preferable on the end of a large boot heartily wedged up its well upholstered fundament. Enough is simply enough.
Well that’ll put NDZ in charge of ESKOM. Best go buy booze, sandals and pies and crop-tops now …
Must in no way be declared a national disaster. Too much opportunity for ANC to rob the coffers…. esp. things like KarPowerShips. Government must engage IPP’s and other private structures to work to a solution.
A state of disaster should have been declared when Zuma was elected president of the ANC. The lack of maintenance at Eskom was already advanced, but the grand corruption he and the Gupta’s facilitated broke it completely.
The ANC loves governing under “state of disaster” regulations as they are no longer answerable to parliament – not that parliament is much of an accountable institution anymore.
Mmmm.. here comes the KARPOWER ships and more opprtunity for the ANC criminals to steal!
The ANC is the biggest national disaster, full stop.
As has been mentioned previously, the ANC mantra is ‘If it moves – steal it; If it works – break it’. Eskom is a perfect fit.
The sound of generators purring through the night, is the sound of the ANC’s last days!!
Declaring a National State of Disaster implies bringing emergency powers into play. What, specifically, would the powers available to the government be in this case? What might the government cause to happen that wouldn’t be possible in a state of normality?
The problem of Eskom and other large productive enterprises is a disintegration of administrative efficacy. Matters have become increasingly disorganised, perhaps related to a loss of public service ethic from the centre outwards, from the top down. [This is almost universal in those states whose governance has been captured by merchant corporations and their financiers, for whom public services interfere with their opportunities to extract currency profits from social economies with the inevitable cumulative consequences of increasing immiseration of ordinary people.]
So we need to know in particular what the emergency powers are, and how they would be operated. Can anyone oblige?
They want to steal to finance elections next year. There is nothing that cannot be done under normality. We have rank incompetence in that Cabinet. The budget is in two weeks time and it can be reprioritised. Nothing has been said about the Committee of Ministers ostensibly set up in August and to me it is a lie that such a committee exists. Why did Cyril come back from the Queen”s funeral to deal with electricity crisis in September last year instead of going to the UN if there was such a Committee? If it exists we are having useless people in that Cabinet. However, I believe that the committee is part of the suitcase of lies of the Presidency which includes a threat to Phindile Baleni.
How is he ever going to make up his mind to actually do anything?
SOE (State owned “Enterprise” (that’s a joke!) = SOE (State of Emergency!). Smacks of panic and wanting to be seen to be doing something even if it won’t make the slightest difference as the ANC simply have no clue WHAT to do! The country needs mass/baseload power NOW-not erratic and weak renewables in 2/3 years time-to be connected to a new transmission backbone not yet built. EACH of the 6 units at the newer (70’s-90’s) 6-pack coal stations (Duvha, Kriel, Matla, Kendal, Tutuka, Lethabo, Matimba, Majuba, etc.) generates 600+MW compared to 50-100Mw per renewable station! The quickest/most effective/cheapest (and only) way to restore mass power to the grid is to return poorly maintained/failed coal plants to service.
The long-known solution is the emergency engagement of the many ex-Eskom and other skilled and experienced blue-collar technical/operating specialists (boiler, steam turbine, balance of plant, coal technologists, etc.) several hundred of whose names have been put forward. There is no need for overseas consultants to “analyse the problems”-they are obvious to the many knowledgeable people reading the DM and these posts. Historically Eskom(with OEM’s and Rotek Engineering) have brought several badly damaged/failed units back into service in months. Sadly (and possibly the only justification for an SOE) would be to by-pass the absurd ideological mind-block of cadre deployment and (recently mooted) retrenchment of yet more white skills.
Yes, Richard, a good start! Who would run this recovery?
What I don’t get is the notion that you can put some law in place to stop power cuts ?? A bit like the story of King Canute commanding the seas not to wet his feet. He at least understood that was completely pointless but – like his flattering courtiers – our modern era lawyers and politicians patently do not.
When the ruling party walks out of a critical Eskom board meeting discussing what to do about load shedding, it demonstrates very clearly that they are completely and utterly clueless about what it takes to run the National electricity grid. They walked out because they claimed Eskom board member Clive Le Roux was “sexist” . “Clive le Roux was the chief nuclear officer at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station at that time because this was a very long time ago,” Mvovo told MPs. Perhaps Ms Mvovo believes that if it wasn’t “a very long time ago” she should have been appointed chief nuclear officer.
Caution advised. What a gigantic feeding trough on offer
The “national state of disaster” sounds like another Eskom euphemism for “ another way to steal state funding”. The trust is broken. It cannot be repaired. The rot is deep from the top down and we will need a shift towards new ethical leadership before we can repair the bridges between our people and our politicians. South Africans stand fast and independent, create your own solutions as the guys in power are definitely on a road to nowhere ( or the Caymans)
The anc interpretation of ‘State of Disaster’ is purely to steal more without having to account for the theft in any way. The last couple of years it has become more difficult for these thieves to eat at the trough. Mainly thanks to independent media like DM.
NO, NO, NO ANC.
Declaring a National State of Disaster – The people of South Africa have lost all trust in you – from the people who keep our economy turning over,(and keep you in luxury) to the poorest of the poor we are all gatvol of your looting and lying.
Remember, if you make this declaration, we know the ANC Cadres, Officials and MPs will begin looting our tax payers money as soon as they can.
We will be watching you and our fearless, DM investigative Journalists will keep us informed with enough facts to put you all in orange overalls.
He, he, he.