Permanent loadshedding: Ramaphosa must dump Mantashe as Energy Minister without further delay
22 January 2023
ActionSA rejects with contempt the announcement by the Eskom Board Chairperson that we should expect permanent loadshedding for the next 2 years, which will vacillate between stage 2 and stage 3. This ludicrous announcement makes it clear that there still is no coherent plan to get us out of this mess nearly 15 years after loadshedding began.
This announcement directly contradicts that of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, who have frequently claimed that loadshedding would be a thing of the past in the next 6 to 12 months.
The President and his sidekick are either oblivious to the truth or have blatantly lied to the nation. Either way, they clearly have no grip on this crisis and no plan to address it.
A large contributor to permanent loadshedding is due to Minister Mantashe’s obsession with coal, and his rejection of lower cost renewables that would be quicker to market. Since Mantashe took over the Energy Department nearly four years ago, not a single publicly procured megawatt has been added to the grid. This is unforgiveable.
The fact is that Gwede Mantashe has a chokehold on our energy sector, and we challenge President Ramaphosa to put his personal and political affiliations to the side and dump him as Energy Minister without delay. Mantashe must be replaced with a fit and proper person who appreciates that South Africa is running out of time to fix this mess which has devasting effects on our already beleaguered economy
The incongruity between the propaganda spread by the President and Minister Mantashe demonstrates the level of chaos in which our energy sector finds itself at the hands of dishonest and politically expedient ANC cadres.
Today’s announcement about permanent loadshedding ought to have been made months ago as we have effectively been on permanent loadshedding for some time now. Instead of telling South Africans the truth, the ANC government decided to mislead the nation which is contemptible but not surprising.
ActionSA will also be consulting with its senior legal team to explore avenues to hold this government to account for the promises it makes. It cannot be that a government can make promises that affect millions of people and there be no consequences for when they do not meet these deadlines or blatantly mislead the nation.
While the ANC will never hold itself accountable, South Africans will have the opportunity to relegate them to obscurity come 2024. Should the President fail to fire Minister Mantashe, in 2024 we have no doubt the voters will fire them both.
When that happens, ActionSA will be ready to work with all stakeholders that are interested in moving South Africa forward, and together we will build the South Africa that we all deserve.
Issued by Herman Mashaba, ActionSA President, 23 January 2023
