Mr Fix-it must present plant to get Medupi back on track

04 January 2016

The DA notes the appointment of Phillip Dukashe, also known as Mr Fix-it, to replace Roman Crookes as the Project Director for the Medupi power plant which is notoriously over budget and behind schedule.

The DA calls on Mr Dukashe to appear before Parliament, at the first possible opportunity, to present his plan on how to get Medupi back on track and to provide South Africa with assurances that Eskom is doing everything possible to ensure a stable supply of electricity. 

The DA expects Mr Dukashe to provide the necessary assurance that no political interference will take place with the further awarding of contracts and services. Eskom has a track record of allowing political interference by Chancellor House. 

Mr Dukashe has noteworthy experience in handling difficult situations, seeing as he was the manager responsible for bringing Majuba back to operation after the silo collapsed. His appointment can be seen as a possible step in the right direction, but citizens are desperate to know whether Medupi will be online in time and on budget.  

The electricity supply in South African remains precarious with load-shedding an ever-present threat. One of the driving factors behind this has been the gross mismanagement of the parastatal and the failure to heed the warnings in 1998 that urgent investment in additional generation capacity was needed. The inaction by the ANC government in 1998 and the chronic delays at Medupi have cost the fragile South African economy dearly.

The DA will be the first to congratulate Mr Dukashe with his appointment to this very controversial position and wishes him the best of luck, but expects him to act in a manner that will instil confidence and reassurance not only to Parliament, but each citizen, that all will be done to prevent further load-shedding and bring stability to our electricity supply. 

Statement issued by Natasha Mazzone MP, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 4 January 2016