The pervasive outcomes of rolling blackouts and unpredictable electricity supply in South Africa are rippling across every corner of the country. Yet the solutions to the entrenched and systemic issues seem elusive and the sober reality is that these issues are not going to be wished away.

The crisis — existential as it is — is also not going to be resolved by a government that does not have a coherent or collective strategy. Organisations across the country are discussing the role society must play in order to soften the blows of a crisis that has its origins in 2007, and continues to destroy livelihoods. The solutions available to South Africans are limited and none of them provide an immediate avenue for relief.

The continuing threat to any opportunity or growth in this country continues to be the roadblock of existing brokers of power, systems interested only in self and the failure of any meaningful convening of action.

Now is simply not the time for lofty promises or unrealistic action but rather decisive action. However, as a new election looms, many South Africans have little faith that change will be effective or deliberate in the short term. For far too long, promises have been made and broken. This is the cycle of political dynamics in South Africa, faith in systems and institutions has been eroded.

The current level of power failures — under the euphemism of “load shedding” — is destroying livelihoods and pushing millions further into poverty and economic exclusion.

The upcoming elections, some 18 months away, are suggested as a moment where South Africans can use the power of the ballot to drive the point home. But by then we would have lost far too much already. We only need to look at the cost of a lost decade under Jacob Zuma.

Years later, South Africa continues to be burdened by the bad choices, the consequences of rampant and destructive corruption, and the failure of our governments to serve. The pace of reform is far too slow with very limited and ineffectual change to our electricity ecosystem continuing to force large parts of the country into darkness.

The country’s governing party has held executive power and the ability to shape and determine policy for almost 30 years, and yet we have failed to introduce legislation that enables Eskom and the market to do the simplest of things — fulfil its purpose.

Ideology and political positioning (including political loyalty to those who secure your political position) continue to threaten not just the stability of the electricity supply in the country, but the very fabric of our society. The costs and implications are too dire to ignore.

President Cyril Ramaphosa must not simply rely on the optics of the moment, but steer his government towards unlocking a crisis that has been manufactured. A crisis that was acknowledged under the Thabo Mbeki administration as failing to properly invest and plan for the new generation, and yet a crisis that has worsened since then.

There is no doubt that the State Capture project and the machinery of the shadow state continue to impact electricity generation, coal supply, maintenance of ailing and ageing power generation infrastructure, and the reliance on diesel that has been used as a stop-gap measure by Eskom in the wake of unreliable and temperamental power stations.

There are choices to be made — simply whether those entrusted are willing to go against fealty and allegiance; whether they are willing to push for emergency legislation that unlocks both Eskom’s ability to overhaul its infrastructure and procure diesel directly; and whether the machinery of state will be used to crush criminal and syndicate operations that continue to hold Eskom and the country hostage.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

We require a fundamental shift in policy direction, and with a far greater sense of urgency and consequential decision-making. The policy inertia is not simply theoretical, but rather it threatens our future and prevents the procurement and conclusion of renewable energy that can come online at a far faster pace than fossil-fuel-driven initiatives.

Any transition in South Africa will of course be complex, but we cannot sacrifice our future with dogma and blind ideological prisms.

There are a number of available solutions that include structuring and enabling the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom), established in July of last year, to drive and direct a coordinated and all-of-government approach to the crisis.

Simply, Necom requires an empowered secretariat to drive this agenda and to be convened with the right expertise and single-minded focus to unravel our current crisis. That may seem like a simple enough step, and yet we have not seen the proper structuring of Necom.

Alignment within the government’s energy cluster is essential, but importantly alignment is anchored on the accepted government position that seeks to introduce renewable energy into our mix, and a commitment to confronting corruption and criminality with greater urgency.

This is not the time to sing from different hymn sheets, and the country’s governing party, regardless of its own crisis of confidence, has all the levers available to introduce change.

Sadly, the faith and optimism of South Africans have been erased, and the weight of this crisis is felt by ordinary people. The burden of this crisis is not being carried by the insulated elected representatives or by those able to insulate themselves (further highlighting our deepening inequality).

Urgency is felt by civil society and community organisations that continue to fight the consequences of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Urgency is felt by communities that experience heightened insecurity and criminal threats.

Our existential crisis will not be solved in the short term. Like many of the challenges confronting South Africa, structural reform is long overdue and in some ways will be forced by the consequences of 2024. Even the consequences of 2024 will be messy, and perhaps will introduce new complexities and inertia as we have seen in a series of local government coalitions.

Many wish they could be optimistic and hopeful, but there is very little to hold on to. Millions are being forced into perpetual systems of degradation and exclusion — exclusion from influence, economic opportunity and participation.

This is certainly not the country that so many fought to build. Yet, many behave as spectators to the entire fiasco.

Indeed the 2024 elections will give shape to a different country after more than 30 years of democracy, but it will require much more than one election to change our path. The only option is for us to all collectively fight for a country that values justice and effective structural change over party loyalty and self-interest.

This will require a democratic and values-based movement that is able to force the government to simply do its job, and get out of the way. We have done this before when confronted with unjust and irrational policy.

Beyond the visible and performative acts in the next few weeks, South Africans need civil society, trade unions, business, religious bodies and all those interested in fighting for a better future.

We need South Africans to convene, to battle for the soul of our country and not shy away from abandoning their sentimental ties to what was, and commit to building our country afresh. South Africa needs you to stand up, to fight for a better life for the people of this country, and to defend our democracy once more. DM