Energy crisis state of disaster was created by the ANC itself over the last 16 years
2 March 2023
The root cause of the State of Disaster on the energy crisis was created by the ANC itself some 16 years ago. No-one who created a disaster should be trusted to resolve it.
Load shedding started in 2007. In 2015, former President Jacob Zuma established a so-called "War Room" to deal with the electricity crisis.
The current President, Cyril Ramaphosa, was put in control. Nothing happened. Things only got worse.
That means the current crisis is the ANC's own making. And it is impossible to resolve the disaster you yourself created. The ANC is unable to do it.
Proof of this can be found in how government responded to the President's declaration of the State of Disaster during his SONA on 9 February this year.
The main objective of a State of Disaster is to take swift action and immediately start looking for solutions. But nearly 21 days passed before the disaster regulations were finally announced.
Moreover, only a broad framework was provided, the directives by the departments responsible for addressing the matter are still to come.
Government is clearly in no hurry to act and, therefore, it is unable to effectively handle crisis situations.
From 2018 to 2020, the country experienced a National drought state of disaster. Government exacerbated the crisis by not providing those who needed it the most with the necessary funds.
Thus far, experience has also taught that the funds earmarked for disasters usually become an opportunity for fraud and corruption.
What happened with Covid-19 serves as proof. At the time, the President gave the assurance that the National Treasury (NT) and Auditor-General (AG) would ensure that no corruption takes place.
But ultimately, billions in tax money that should have been used to mitigate the impact of the disaster was stolen.
The biggest disaster to ever hit South Africa is the ANC government. This disaster must first be resolved before other disasters, like the electricity crisis, can be tackled.
The only way to do that is to bring about a change in government. Voters can help do that by ousting the ANC in the 2024 elections.
Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 2 March 2023
