Ramokgopa's ambiguous powers underscore the need for an ad hoc committee

26 May 2023

The DA notes the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that he has, in terms of Section 97 of the constitution, signed a proclamation transferring to the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, powers and functions in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act.

Once again, Ramaphosa has failed to provide decisive leadership on the energy cluster as the country now has two Ministers in charge of the Electricity Regulation Act – Ramokgopa and the Minister of Energy, Gwede Mantashe. This is certain to exacerbate the confusion between the two Ministers and precipitate the continuation of mixed messaging in the midst a national electricity crisis.

It is curious that Ramaphosa chose to issue this proclamation less than 24hrs after his comrades in Parliament voted to reject a DA motion to establish an ad hoc committee to oversee the projects, activities, and decisions of the Minister of Electricity. Now that he has powers, in terms of section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act, to determine new generation capacity, pricing and private participation – the question that should be answered is, who will Ramokgopa be accountable to?

This Minister now holds powers that materially affects power generation in South Africa and it will be scandalous for the ANC to shield him from parliamentary accountability and oversight. In all probability, he will now require a budget to fulfill his obligations under the Act – how will this be allocated when Parliament has essentially been sidelined?

Ramaphosa’s proclamation will essentially be of no effect until he recognizes that Ramokgopa’s executive powers cannot be exercised outside the purview of Parliament. The Minister of Electricity cannot be a law unto himself based on ANC political expediency.

Unless Ramaphosa takes active steps to address the confusion that has been created by his proclamation, there is no way of knowing who will be in charge of the IRP policy, NERSA and IPP office between Mantashe and Ramokgopa. Just as we have been cautioning for a while now, Ramphosa has acted – not to provide clarity on responsibilities between the Ministers in the energy cluster, but to appease the warring factions in the ANC and buy time.

Issued by Samantha Graham-Maré MP - DA Shadow Minister of Electricity, 26 May 2023