Mantashe contradicts Ramaphosa (again!) on moving away from fossil fuels

9 November 2021

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Kevin Mileham MP

President Cyril Ramaphosa should clarify comments by Mineral Resource Minister Gwede Mantashe that African nations “unite” against the global move away from fossil fuels.

The Minister’s comments come days after the announcement that South Africa had secured R131 billion in financing to accelerate South Africa’s path towards renewable energy.

Minister Mantashe’s comments at the African Energy Week today are therefore not only regressive as it relates to South Africa moving towards cleaner and more diverse energy sources, but also go directly against President Ramaphosa’s statements last week that this investment would speed up the country’s shift away from coal.

Mantashe and Ramaphosa are clearly not on the same page. The DA therefore calls on the President to urgently clarify whether the Minister’s seemingly anti-clean energy views are in line with the government’s position. Or whether the multi-billion Rand agreement, announced with much fanfare last week, was just another smokescreen to distract the public from the rolling blackouts his government has inflicted on the nation.

Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, 9 November 2021